The SBAI has several African Diaspora experts serving as advisors in the area of ICT; renewable energy; environmental preservation/climate change and health. We will be adding people to this panel, based on the expertise that is relevant l to the areas in which SBIA- profiled entrepreneurs operate. They will be able provide feedback to SBAI regarding the proposals submitted by profiled entrepreneurs based on their technical expertise.
Dr. Sossina a fuel cell researcher at the California Institute of Technology, and a founding member of the company Superprotonic Inc., has made great strides recently in the field of fuel cell research. Her work is contributing to making fuel technology more practical.
The most efficient fuel cells need a large space and large amounts of heat, and the ones small enough for practical applications need more platinum than the earth holds. But Haile, a native of Ethiopia, said she has made small breakthroughs that strike a balance, Fuel Cell Works reported. She has reduced the amount of platinum needed in smaller cells. She and her team also have reduced the amount of hydrogen needed to fuel the cells. Dr. Haile and her team have focused on developing fuel cells that run on ethanol or biomass.
Dr. Haile’s research centers on ionic conduction in solids, with the twin objectives of understanding the mechanisms that govern ion transport, and applying such an understanding to the development of advanced solid electrolytes and novel solid-state electrochemical devices. Technological applications of fast ion conductors include batteries, sensors, ion pumps and fuel cells. It is to this last area that Dr. Haile’s work is most closely tied.
Yemiru is the founder of eVentive Enterprise Inc. a consulting firm focused on information technology - Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Previously, Yemiru was Executive Vice President of an $80 million ventured backed Internet startup "One Inc" focused on B2B and B2C eCommerce. He also has extensive experience in the implementation of call centers.
In Ethiopia, Yemiru took the initiative to develop the vision, strategy and framework for "ICT Industry Sector Development" in Ethiopia. In May 2006 his published Framework and Proposal was personally presented to the Prime Minister and it has been adopted for implementation in the country's ICT Policy by Ethiopian Information, Communication and Technology Development Agency (EICTDA).
His firm, OTS 2.0 in Ethiopia, is an innovative firm seeking to bring state of the art technology to Ethiopia. It has been the responsible for the IT support for a new bank, allowing the latter to provide state of the art technology to the banking sector by being the first to provide multi-channel banking to the country. The firm has also been involved in providing IT support that has enabled ATM access to a couple of other banks in Addis Ababa. Most recently it has introduced mobile banking technology facilitating money transfer from outside of the country.
Delawit has worked as a gender and development specialist for over twenty-five years. She has provided technical advice in strategic planning, evaluation, training and development of advocacy materials for UN agencies including UNIFEM, UNFPA, UNIFEM, UNDP and UNDESA as well as regional institutions such as the ECA, the AU and the African Development Bank.
Some of Delawit’s experience includes evaluation of the Africa Regional Program for the Africa Division of UNFPA New York, a four-year multi-sectoral multi-partnership program funded for a hundred million dollars. The assessment focused on capacity building strategies and earmarking for gender within the program and sustainability of completed projects and activities.
Delawit has also been responsible for preparing a publication on Best Practices on African Youth development and empowerment as a key component of the research and analysis focused on gender equality in youth development and leadership for a joint imitative of the ECA, UNFPA and the African Union. The booklet also served as a policy guide for implementation of the African Youth Charter endorsed by members of the AU.
In addition, Delawit has been involved in the synthesis of AU member states’ reports on implementation of the MDGs and preparation of a comprehensive document on key achievements, critical challenges and lessons as an input to a High Level Meeting of African Finance Ministers held in Abuja, Nigeria.
Mr. Sultan is a founding member of Greener Ethiopia, a non-profit, non-political organization in Ethiopia dedicated primarily to bringing trees back to Ethiopia. He is owner and Managing Director of Harmony Agricultural Enterprise - a socially responsible and environmentally sensitive farm. He is also Chairman of the Urban-Rural Convergence Business Entity. The association has more than 500 members whose main objective is to create sustained economic development in the Ethiopian countryside.
Ethiopia is a country that went from a forestation rate of 38 per cent to less than 3 per cent. This has created serious consequences for the welfare of its people. In the last decade, Greener Ethiopia, and others have worked hard to reverse this critical situation. Today 15 per cent of Ethiopia is once more forested. This has been achieved by a well-researched program firmly focused on encouraging and supporting sustainable economic growth in rural communities.
Tree planting, seed distribution, and specialist training are at the heart of Greener Ethiopia’s initiative. Over the last eight years Greener Ethiopia has planted and distributed around 20 million trees. This has been achieved by working in partnership with individual volunteers; local communities; farming co-operatives; women’s associations and authorities at both regional and national level. Greener Ethiopia aims to achieve a further 100 million in the next five years. The organization’s unique initiative is transforming the lives of thousands and playing an equally significant role in mitigating climate change.