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Catalysing Growth in Nigeria through Regional Innovation

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Supporting Innovation Hubs in Nigeria

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Ife Adebayo

Ife Adebayo, Special Assistant to the Nigerian Vice President on Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Advising, coordinating and leading on issues and projects relating to Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship between government, private sector, development partners and academia. In this role, supporting and growing the Nigerian Tech Startup ecosystem is a key focus to which he brings over 10 years of entrepreneurial technology experience.

Nneka Eze

Nneka Eze leads Dalberg’s work in Nigeria, where she is a Partner and the Lagos Office Director. She has worked with private corporations, state governments, and foundations on strategic planning, market analysis, investment planning, and performance transformation. She has focused on a range of sectors including agriculture, education and youth employment, financial services, and inclusive growth, and is a co-leader of Dalberg’s Global Agriculture and Food Security practice area. She led the team to support the Office of the Vice President on the Job Creation and Employment Strategy and Implementation plan, and supported the team conducting the analysis of the potential for ICT-led innovation hubs to unlock economic opportunities in Nigeria. Prior to joining Dalberg in 2009, Nneka was a consultant at McKinsey & Company in Washington, D.C. Nneka holds an AB in economics cum laude from Harvard University, is a native English speaker, and is proficient in French.

Cristina Navarrete

Cristina Navarrete is a private sector specialist at innovation and entrepreneurship unit at the World Bank Group. Cristina has worked extensively in designing and implementing innovation, entrepreneurship and private sector development strategies, policies and programs in developing countries. During the last five years, Cristina has supported WBG operations in research, policy dialogue, project design, implementation and institutional capacity building primarily on innovation and private sector for inclusive and sustainable growth in LAC, ECA and West Africa. Before joining WBG, Cristina worked as an economist for the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) in Oran, Algeria where she supervised programs on regional economic development in Western Algeria. Prior to that, Cristina was advised to Technopolis Group in Brussels, Belgium focusing on comparative analyses and evaluations of innovation policies and practices across EU countries Grantee of the Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Cristina received a Masters of Arts in European Economic Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges. Cristina also holds a bachelor's degree in Management and Business Administration and a Masters in Financial and Actuarial Science from Comillas Pontifical University (ICADE) in Madrid. Cristina is also a Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation Global Program on Social Innovation.