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2026 COLUMBIA AFRICA CONFERENCE
SEP 25: Welcome Mixer · Evening INVITE ONLY
SEP 26: Main Conference · Columbia Business School, NY
500+
PARTICIPANTS
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SPEAKERS
70+
15
PANELS
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02
DAYS
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
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KEYNOTE SPEAKER
WINNIE BYANIMA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNAIDS
Winnie Byanyima is the Executive Director of UNAIDS and an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, leading global efforts to end the AIDS pandemic by 2030. A longstanding advocate for social justice and health equity, she is also co-founder and co-chair of the People’s Medicines Alliance, which champions equitable access to lifesaving medical technologies.
Previously, Ms Byanyima served as Executive Director of Oxfam International and as a Member of Parliament in Uganda. She founded the Forum for Women in Democracy and has played a leading role in global coalitions addressing social and economic inequality. In 2025, she served on President Ramaphosa’s G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality.
SPEAKERS
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PANELIST
MAURIZIO CAIO
FOUNDER + MANAGING PARTNER, TLCOM
Maurizio Caio is the Founder and Managing Partner of TLCOM, where he leads the firm’s strategy and management and serves on the boards of Pula, Littlefish, and Swypex.
Before founding TLCOM, he was a Director at Bain & Company, where he led the firm’s EMEA Telecom & Technology practice across Europe and San Francisco, and previously worked at McKinsey & Company on technology and growth strategy.
Beyond investing, Maurizio co-chairs the VC Committee at the African Private Capital Association, serves on the Africa Council of the Global Private Capital Association, collaborates with Stanford SEED, and teaches strategy and venture investing at NUTM. He also developed and taught Ashesi University’s original venture capital course.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
ETHIOPIS TAFARA
REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT, IFC Africa
Ethiopis Tafara is IFC’s Regional Vice President for Africa, overseeing investment and advisory operations across a $20 billion committed portfolio and more than 800 staff working to strengthen the private sector’s role in addressing the continent’s development priorities.
Previously, he served as Vice President, Chief Risk, Legal & Sustainability Officer and Partnerships at the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and as Vice President and General Counsel of IFC, where he led the organization’s legal, compliance and ESG functions.
Before joining IFC, Ethiopis spent nearly two decades in international securities regulation and cross-border law enforcement, including as Director of the Office of International Affairs at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He has also held senior leadership positions across several international financial and regulatory bodies.
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KEYNOTE SPEAKER
EMMANUEL LUBANZADIO
AFRICA LEAD, OPENAI
Emmanuel Lubanzadio is the Africa Lead at OpenAI where he leads the company’s strategic engagement across the continent, spanning policy, partnerships, and ecosystem development. He brings deep expertise at the intersection of technology, policy, and government affairs, with a career that bridges the public and private sectors across Africa, Europe, and North America.
His previous roles include Policy and Government Affairs for Africa at Twitter, as well as positions with the U.S. Congress, United Nations, GIZ, and the global healthcare company, Fresenius.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
ACHA LEKE
SENIOR PARTNER AND CHAIRMAN, MCKINSEY & COMPANY AFRICA
Acha Leke is the Senior Partner and Chairman of McKinsey Africa. He joined the firm in 1998 and helped open the Lagos office in 2010, driving growth across 20+ African countries. He leads McKinsey’s global family-owned business initiative and has advised governments, multinationals, and investors on transformation and growth.
A graduate of Stanford and widely recognized as one of Africa’s most influential leaders, Acha Leke has been featured by CNN, The Economist, Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
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PANELIST
CUPPY
DJ | PHILANTHROPIST
Florence Otedola, widely known as Cuppy, is a powerhouse in music and advocacy whose influence spans across continents. As a DJ, music artist, and advocate, Cuppy has become a cultural icon with global reach. Known for her electrifying DJ sets, she has graced some of the world’s most iconic stages. In addition to her celebrated DJ career, Cuppy is an accomplished music artist with an impressive portfolio of collaborations, including Rema, and Wyclef Jean.
Beyond music, Cuppy’s philanthropic initiatives are at the heart of her work. Through The Cuppy Foundation, she raised over $17 million to support displaced children in Nigeria.
PANELIST
JUDE 'M.I.' ABAGA
ARTIST | CEO, TASCK
Jude Abaga, popularly known as M.I. is a pioneering hip hop artist, entrepreneur, and changemaker who has spent two decades shaping Africa’s creative industries. Rising to prominence with “Crowd Mentality” and celebrated albums like “MI2: The Movie,” he quickly became one of the continent’s most influential musical voices.
In 2020, M.I. founded TASCK, a creative solutions company connecting creatives with causes, campaigns, and opportunities for growth. TASCK has since impacted over 7,000 Nigerian creatives through initiatives in civic engagement, men’s mental health, and youth empowerment.
PANELIST
LADI BALOGUN
CEO, FCMB GROUP
Ladi Balogun is a Nigerian banker, investor, and changemaker. As Chief Executive Officer of FCMB Group since 2017, he has been instrumental in transforming the institution into one of Nigeria’s leading financial services groups, spanning banking, asset management, pensions, and investment. A graduate of the University of East Anglia (Economics) and Harvard Business School (MBA), he has led bold mergers and acquisitions, and built Credit Direct into a top micro-lending platform. Beyond finance, Ladi chairs Tenet Investment Company and serves as President of the Otunba Tunwase Foundation, driving impact across sustainable investing, and children’s welfare.
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PANELIST
DR. BABS OMOTOWA
FOUNDING PRESIDENT, NIGERIA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
Dr. Babs Omotowa is the Founding President of the Nigerian University of Technology & Management (NUTM), where he is shaping the next generation of African leaders through innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology education. Beyond academia, he also contributes to corporate leadership as Chairman of Montserrado Oil & Gas and as a board member with Seplat Energy and Pearlhill Technologies. Before this, Dr. Omotowa built a distinguished global career with Shell across Nigeria, the UK, Holland, and Norway, and later served as CEO and Managing Director of Nigeria LNG Limited, where he led one of Africa’s most successful energy companies.
PANELIST
FOLAKE OLOWOFOYEKU
ACTRESS AND MUSICIAN
Folake Olowofoyeku is a Nigerian Actress and Musician, best known for her role as Abishola in CBS’s “Bob Hearts Abishola.” Her talents extend far beyond the sitcom with appearances in hit shows like “Modern Family,” and “How to Get Away with Murder,” showcasing her range and presence on screen. Off camera, she’s equally powerful in music, writing, producing, and performing with Afrobeat rhythms and electronic sounds at the heart of her artistry. She has also been recognized for breaking barriers as a Nigerian woman leading in American primetime television, inspiring audiences across cultures.
PANELIST
WALE AYENI
MANAGING PARTNER, HELIOS DIGITAL
Wale Ayeni has over 18 years of global technology experience spanning several roles including venture capital, entrepreneurship, tech investment banking, microprocessor & chip design and product development. He currently leads investments in early-growth tech companies in frontier markets with Helios Digital Ventures. Prior to that he led IFC’s venture capital deals in frontier markets across Africa, Middle East and Central Asia, was a member of the management committee of the Disruptive Technologies and Funds group at IFC, and co-managed 20+ venture capital investment professionals across Africa, China, India, Latin America, Middle East, and South East Asia. He helped establish and build the Venture Capital practice of the IFC in Africa.
OPENING REMARKS
DR. WAFAA EL-SADR
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, COLUMBIA GLOBAL; GLOBAL DIRECTOR, ICAP AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY; UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND MEDICINE; MATHILDE KRIM-AMFAR CHAIR OF GLOBAL HEALTH
Wafaa El-Sadr is Executive Vice President of Columbia Global and an expert in global health and infectious diseases with longstanding experience supporting major health challenges around the world. El-Sadr has focused her career on advancing public health knowledge and putting that knowledge into action, establishing collaborative partnerships around the world to strengthen health systems, and engaging with communities to meet health threats and improve health outcomes.
El-Sadr has led large-scale, innovative projects that have had decisive impacts on such pressing global health challenges as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, antimicrobial resistance, emerging pathogens, non-communicable diseases including cancer, and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. El-Sadr received her medical degree from Cairo University in Egypt, a master’s in public health from Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, and a master’s in public administration from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. She is a MacArthur fellowship recipient, as well as a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the Council on Foreign Relations, the African Academy of Sciences, and the Advisory Committee to the Director of the National Institutes of Health. She has had a distinguished research career with more than 500 publications to date in peer-reviewed publications.
PAST SPEAKERS
Ralph Mupita
President & CEO
MTN Group
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Director-General
WTO
Amina J. Mohammed
UN Deputy
Secretary-General
Dr. Albert Zeufack
Chief Economist for Africa World Bank
Tony Elumelu
Chairman
United Bank for Africa
Vera Songwe
Chair in UNI Economic Commission for Africa
Nunu Ntshingila
CEO
Facebook Africa
Lamido Sanusi
Former Governor
Central Bank of Nigeria
Fred Swaniker
Founder
African Leadership Group
Jeffrey D. Sachs
World Renowned Economist & Author
CAC 2026 IS HERE!
25 - 26TH SEPTEMBER
We are bound by a common thread that connects us to our beautiful continent. As we reflect on the last 22 years of building an African community at Columbia, our journey has been on of resilience, courage, and tenacity.
Our 23rd annual conference is testament to the growth the community has made and achieved in different sectors and how we can stay on that path and work more on growing.
ABOUT COLUMBIA AFRICA CONFERENCE
The Columbia Africa Conference is a student-led platform bringing together leaders, thinkers, builders, and communities shaping Africa’s future.
For more than two decades, CAC has created space for bold conversations, meaningful connections, and a richer understanding of the continent’s role in the world.
This year, Africa Ahead explores how Africa can shape the next global order across business, technology, policy, culture, and society.
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