Climate on the Continent: Turning Words into Action
The African continent is the most affected by climate change, but those outside the continent lead many conversations around the issue. This session will explore how climate is communicated on the continent and how such conversations translate to action and investment.
This event is co-organized with Columbia students from the African Development Group.
Speakers
Dr. Sheila Ochugboju is a futurist, international development expert and communication specialist who has worked in research science and international development for over 15 years. She most recently served as Head of Strategic Communications for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). In addition to senior management roles in Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria, she has worked with international think tanks, various United Nations agencies, multilateral institutions and philanthropic organizations across Europe, Africa and Asia. She earned a Bachelor of Science in medical biochemistry and a Ph.D. in plant biochemistry from the University of London. She completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in baculovirus expression at the University of Oxford.
Dr. Olufunso Somorin is a Regional Principal Officer at the African Development Bank. He leads the Bank’s work on climate change and green growth in the 13 countries of the Bank’s East African region. This includes supporting countries’ access to climate finance for implementing their climate actions, and mainstreaming climate change in all Bank policies and programs. He holds a Ph.D. in International Environmental Policy from Wageningen University, the Netherlands, and two Masters’ degrees from Finland and Netherlands in Agriculture and Forest Policy. He gives guest lectures at King’s College London, African Leadership University (Rwanda) and Strathmore University (Kenya). Somorin is an Eisenhower Fellow.
Duncan is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, University of Nairobi. Duncan holds and has research expertise and interests in entrepreneurial, development, personal, and corporate finance. Duncan served in the Kenyan banking industry as an SME relationship manager and credit analyst with roles in relationship creation, portfolio development and portfolio monitoring. He has served as a member of the Institute of Certified Investments and Financial Analysts (ICIFA) council, where he chaired the Education and Research Committee, and as a director of the ICIFA college. He is currently a member of the institute's Disciplinary Committee. Duncan founded the Entrepreneurship Educators Foundation for Eastern Africa (EEFEA), an entrepreneurship ecosystem support player in the East Africa region that spearheads the Youth Entrepreneurship Accelerator Platform (YEAP). Duncan is also the founder and Editor in chief of the African Development Finance Journal (ADFJ) and the African Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (AjeIN). He is also the founder and coordinator of the Annual Development Finance Conference (ADFC).