The Presidential Precinct is excited to welcome our 2026 cohort of founders, executives, and innovators to the Corporate Leaders Program, our accelerator for African business leaders committed to social impact.
These 12 business leaders have already made a difference in the industries and communities they represent. During the week-long program, they will have opportunities to boost their networks and knowledge through interactions with area business leaders and the centerpiece of the program, a custom multi-day masterclass with faculty at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
Participants will reconvene in Mauritius for the annual U.S.-Africa Business Summit, co-hosted by Corporate Council on Africa and the government of Mauritius. More than 1,500 U.S. and African public and private sector executives will network at this event, including Heads of State, international investors, U.S. and African government officials, and multilateral stakeholders.
The Corporate Leaders Program, in its third year, is made possible through the partnership of Axxess.
Latifah Adams, Nigeria
A Chemistry graduate of the University of Surrey (UK), she founded the business in 2012 and has grown it into a premium brand recognized for its distinctive take on continental, oriental, and Nigerian cuisine. She recently expanded the brand by partnering with Filmhouse Cinemas to launch Tash X, a contemporary dining concept at the intersection of hospitality and entertainment. Latifah is focused on building globally competitive African hospitality brands and developing cross-border partnerships that support international expansion.
Ifedayo Durosinmi-Etti, Nigeria
Ifedayo Durosinmi-Etti is an author, entrepreneur, and young global leader with over 10 years of management and leadership experience working in the finance, marketing, and manufacturing industries. Ife holds a first degree in Biochemistry and an MBA in Global Business. She is the founder of Herconomy, a financial technology platform that helps women securely grow their wealth by offering high-yield savings accounts, community, financial education, discounts on women-centric products and services with a mission and vision to be the most reliable financial services platform for women in Africa. Herconomy earned the ‘Best Fem Tech Start-up’ award at the African Tech Ecosystem Acceleration – Dakaar Summit 2023, and in 2021 was selected for NASDAQ’s Milestone Makers Program. Among her many accomplishments, Ife is appointed as a Youth Advisory Group Member for Solutions for Youth Employment, a global coalition formed by the World Bank to provide catalytic support to employment and productive work for 150 million youth by 2030.
Lesego Holzapfel, South Africa
Lesego Serolong Holzapfel is a South African entrepreneur, investor, and global trade advocate focused on expanding market access for African products. She is the founder and CEO of Bokamoso Impact Investments and Bokamoso Foods, platforms dedicated to building sustainable African value chains and unlocking opportunities for smallholder farmers and emerging producers. She is also the founder of Moedi Wines, an award-winning South African wine brand exporting to international markets including the United States and Europe. Through her ventures, Lesego works to position African producers as competitive participants in global markets while creating jobs and economic
opportunity in rural communities. Lesego is a Tutu Fellow and holds a Master of Science in Social Policy and Development from the London School of Economics. She is passionate about strengthening trade and investment partnerships between Africa and the world and advancing inclusive entrepreneurship across the continent.
Mimi Kalinda, United States
Mimi Kalinda is a strategic communications and leadership advisor working at the intersection of narrative, influence, and global development. With nearly three decades of experience across Africa, Europe, and the United States, she has advised governments, multinational corporations, and global foundations on reputation, stakeholder engagement, and strategic communications. Mimi is the founder of Africa Communications Media Group (ACG), one of Africa’s leading pan-African communications agencies, supporting organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the African Development Bank, the Mastercard Foundation, and MTN. She is also the founder of Storytelling & Leadership, an executive training platform that helps leaders harness the power of narrative to inspire action and drive impact. Mimi brings a deep understanding of Africa’s cultural and political dynamics. She is the author of Echoes of Influence, a book exploring storytelling as a strategic leadership tool in a complex world.
Dr. Moka Lantum, Kenya
Dr. Moka Lantum is a three-time healthcare founder and systems architect dedicated to dismantling the financial barriers that delay life-saving care. As CEO of CheckUps, he is building the “financial rails” that enable banks to provide credit to the millions excluded from traditional insurance—including informal workers, those with pre-existing conditions, and the self-employed. By turning health financing into a bankable asset, Dr. Lantum is creating a credible alternative to the rigid insurance models that fail under-served communities in Africa and the United States. A physician and traditional leader with deep expertise in urgent care and health systems, he leads with a relentless focus on systemic equity. Beyond the clinic, he serves as a Coach for the Harvard Innovation Labs, guiding ventures entering the African market, and mentors Kenyan startups through the Ventures Wars program. A committed member of the Harvard Alumni network, Dr. Lantum is a visionary entrepreneur determined to rewrite the global playbook for how health is financed and delivered.
Eliud Muriuki, Kenya
Eliud Njogu Muriuki is a technology entrepreneur and the Founder and Chief Technology Officer of E&M Technology House Ltd, a Pan-African technology company specializing in financial technology innovation, digital skills development, and startup incubation within the banking and financial services sector. With over 20 years of experience in the technology industry, Eliud has led the design and implementation of large-scale digital transformation initiatives for financial institutions across Africa. His expertise spans core banking system implementations, enterprise resource planning (ERP) deployments, and the development of digital ecosystems that enhance operational efficiency and expand financial inclusion.
Under Eliud’s leadership, E&M Technology House has grown into a regional technology partner with operations across several African countries and a team of more than 150 engineers, analysts, and project professionals. Eliud is passionate about building Africa’s digital capacity through innovation, apprenticeship-based skills development, and technology-driven entrepreneurship, with a vision of positioning Africa as a global hub for digital innovation and financial technology excellence.
Adebusola Runsewe, Nigeria
Adebusola Runsewe is Co-Founder and CTO of meCash, where she leads the strategy and delivery of regulated global payment infrastructure across Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia. Her work focuses on enabling scalable, compliant cross-border payments for SMEs and platforms operating across fragmented financial systems. She brings over a decade of experience across technology, product development, and financial systems, with a track record of building digital infrastructure that supports growth and trust in complex markets.
Adebusola holds an MBA from the University of Oxford Saïd Business School and an MSc in Software Systems Engineering from University College London. She is passionate about building practical financial infrastructure that expands access to global markets and strengthens sustainable business partnerships between Africa and the rest of the world.
Zainab Salami, Nigeria
Zainab Salami is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Mswitch Media, a communications and media agency that uses strategic storytelling to drive social change, shape narratives, public trust, influence behavior, and support policy adoption across West Africa. With over a decade of experience leading communication campaigns and media projects, she works with mission-driven organizations to translate complex ideas into impactful narratives. Zainab has extensive experience managing large-scale communications and media projects across education, governance, and social development She also leads Mswitch Creative Hub, nurturing and empowering youth and women with creative skills while promoting job creation within Africa’s growing creative economy. Currently pursuing an MBA at Lagos Business School, where her research focuses on business strategy, communication, and organizational leadership. She is passionate about building sustainable creative ecosystems, strengthening partnerships between the public and private sectors, and elevating African voices through authentic storytelling.
Tolulope Shodunke, Nigeria
Tolulope Shodunke is the founder of Green Pastures Kiddies Foundation and a social entrepreneur working to address systemic barriers affecting children in underserved communities. She established the organization in 2006 and, for nearly two decades, has led initiatives spanning education access, child welfare, and community development, mobilizing partnerships and resources that enable children to remain in school and access critical support. Building on this experience, her work increasingly focuses on developing alternative pathways that address the structural challenges shaping children’s outcomes, including skills development, community-led solutions, and collaborative models that strengthen local support systems. Through her leadership, she brings together communities, institutions, and partners to design practical solutions that expand opportunities and pathways for children. She holds a BA in English Literature and professional certifications, including PRINCE2 Practitioner and ISO 27001. She has also completed executive learning programs, including Understanding Children’s Human Rights at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Fasika Teferra, Ethiopia
Fasika S. Teferra is a physician-turned-entrepreneur who leads Beteseb Enterprises, a multi-sector family business in telecommunications, mobile money, digital health, and culinary innovation. Fasika oversees partnerships, growth, and market expansion, while her husband drives day-to-day operations and execution across the company’s ventures. In partnership with state-owned enterprises and key industry stakeholders, the company delivers solutions across telecom and mobile money, facilitating transactions exceeding mid six-figures USD equivalent in 2025 while driving strategic collaborations and market expansion. In digital health, Fasika applies her medical training to develop a first-of-its-kind patient engagement platform, built in-house under her leadership and now preparing for global expansion. Across food production, she bridges Ethiopian culinary traditions with modern pantry essentials, bringing heritage to contemporary markets while positioning locally inspired products for international growth. Beteseb Enterprises continues to scale its ventures and expand cross-border collaborations, generating value for partners and communities, and remains committed to forging new alliances that drive innovation and shared growth.
Rejoice Usim, Nigeria
Rejoice Usim is the founder and CEO of Simkay Foods and Simkay Foundation, innovative enterprises dedicated to transforming Africa’s food systems by reducing post-harvest losses and empowering smallholder farmers through climate-smart agriculture, technology, and inclusive innovation. With a deep commitment to inclusive agricultural transformation, Rejoice champions the role of women in agriculture and works to bridge critical gaps between farmers, technology, and markets.
Rejoice leads pioneering initiatives that deploy UV solar drying technology to process surplus agricultural produce to extend shelf life, reduce waste, and enable farmers to access higher-value markets. Rejoice is also the visionary behind FarmTELL, a digital agricultural infrastructure that equips farmers with real-time data on soil health, climate conditions, and resource use through mobile technology, and she is deploying drone technology to support precision agriculture and reduce labor costs on farms by improving efficiency in crop monitoring and farm management.
Congratulations to these 11 rising leaders!
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