Ethiopia Internet Development Conference 2020

Brice Abba

Community Development Manager, AFRINIC

Brice ABBA is currently Community Development Manager and former Technical Trainer team lead at AFRINIC on the Internet related technologies. He also helped several countries in their national IPv6 deployment plan and instructor at WASIG. He was System Administrator at MORPHO Identification for the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) in many countries and has trained many system administrator all over… Read more about Brice Abba

Lishan Adam

Lishan Adam, is a researcher and consultant with extensive experience in ICT sector analysis in emerging economies. He specialises in broadband access, infrastructure development, policy and regulation, e-government systems and applications in sectors like health, education, agriculture and trade. Initially, he worked at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa as a programmer, trainer, network manager and… Read more about Lishan Adam

Dr. Ahmedin M. Ahmed

State Minister, Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT), Ethiopia

H.E Dr. Ahmedin is State Minister at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT) since June 2019. He obtained leadership and professional diploma from Florida International University, Miami, USA in 2018. Dr. Ahmedin has PhD Degree from Dalian University of Technology in Computer Science, MEng in Software Engineering from Chongqing University in 2015 and 2011, respectively. His research area includes… Read more about Dr. Ahmedin M. Ahmed

Zelalem Assefa

Director-General, Ethiopian Education and Research Network (EthERNet)

As Director-General of Ethiopian Education and Research Network, Zelalem works with Ethiopian research and education institutions and other regional and global NRENs to embrace technology to improve research output and learning environments. In this role, Zelalem oversees the ICT related activities of the research and education sector of Ethiopia. Zelalem originally joined the higher education sector in 2008 as a… Read more about Zelalem Assefa

Dawit Bekele

Regional Vice President - Africa

I am a Regional Vice President for Africa at the Internet Society. I have more than two decades of experience in Internet development in Africa and around the world. At the Internet Society, I worked at various positions to support Africa around Internet policy and technology. Before joining the Internet Society in 2006, I worked at Addis Ababa University as… Read more about Dawit Bekele

Meried Bekele

CEO, IE Networks

Founder & CEO of IE Networks, who was the first person to become Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE) in Ethiopia in 2007 at age 24. Meried has got BSc in Electrical Engineering from Mekelle University and MBA in IT Management from Trident University International in CA, USA. He is certified in IT service management (ITIL) and project management professional (PMP).… Read more about Meried Bekele

Dawit Birhanu

CEO, WebSprix

Dawit Birhanu is founder and CEO of WebSprix, a leading ISP in Ethiopia. He has worked in Service Provider product development at Cisco Systems for 16 years. He is the coauthor of a Cisco Press book – Cisco IOS XR Fundamentals (ISBN-13: 978-1-58705-271-2). He has Masters in Telecommunications from University of Pittsburgh. Read more about Dawit Birhanu

Dr. Christian Bope

Chairman, AFRINIC

- Chairman of AfriNIC (African Network Information Centre) - Founder and CEO, NSAT SARL - Senior IT consultant - Researche in the field of Internet Governance, Network, Computer security and computational Biology - Trainer, AFNOG (African Network Operator Group) - Professor at Faculty of Science, University of Kinshasa, Republic Democratic of Congo - PhD in Sciences, Nanyang Technological University Singapore Read more about Dr. Christian Bope

Noel Daniel

Co-founder and Managing Partner, Kudu Ventures

Noel Daniel is a 24-year-old Ethiopian-American/German entrepreneur. He is currently the co-founder and managing partner of Kudu Ventures, the first Ethiopian venture capital firm. Noel Daniel launched Network to Net worth a social enterprise that fosters meaningful relationships through curated Q&A and networking mixers. Since 2017, NTN has hosted a dozen events with over 23 panelists and over 1300 attendees.… Read more about Noel Daniel

Anriette Esterhuysen

Senior Advisor on Internet Governance, Policy Advocacy and Strategic Planning

Anriette Esterhuysen was the executive director of APC until March 2017. Prior to joining APC, Anriette was executive director of SANGONeT, an internet service provider and training institution for civil society, labour and community organisations. She was active in the struggle against Apartheid from 1980 onwards. From 1987 to 1992 she did information and communication work in development and human… Read more about Anriette Esterhuysen

Lydia Gachungi

Regional Adviser on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists

Lydia Gachungi is currently the Regional Adviser on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists at the UNESCO Liaison Office to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Previously, she worked as the Regional Expert for Safety of Journalists and Media Development under the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa. She has vast experience in promoting… Read more about Lydia Gachungi

Nishal Goburdhan

Internet Infrastructure Analyst, Packet Clearing House (PCH)

Nishal Goburdhan is an Internet Infrastructure Analyst at Packet Clearing House (PCH), a non-profit that exists primarily to build and support IXPs, and which has done so more than two hundred times over the past twenty years. Nishal is also ISPA’s country manager for the Internet Exchange Points (INXes) for South Africa. Both from a technical and policy background, Nishal… Read more about Nishal Goburdhan

Dr. Ahmed Hussien obtained his Ph.D in Computer Networks Security from Pierre & Marie Curie University, Paris - France in 1995. Since then, he has been teaching undergraduate and graduate level computer science and cyber security courses at HiLCoE School of Computer Science & Technology. During his sabbatical leave between 2014 and 2016, he has worked as Senior Cyber Security… Read more about Ahmed Hussien

Malcolm Hutty

Head of Public Affairs, London Internet Exchange

Malcolm’s role involves liaising with government and regulatory authorities on behalf of the LINX membership, representing the interests of members to government and briefing members on regulatory developments. Malcolm also acts as Regulatory Affairs spokesman for Euro-IX, the European association of Internet Exchanges. From 2008-2013 he served as President of EuroISPA, the pan-European organisation of membership associations representing the interests… Read more about Malcolm Hutty

Solomon Kassa

Tech Strategist, TV Personality & Author

Currently a technology consulting and strategy manager at a Fortune 500 Global Consulting Firm in the USA, Solomon is also a producer and host of “TechTalk With Solomon,” a very popular science and technology television show on Ethiopia Broadcasting Services (EBS), a private television network which has more than 30 million viewers in Ethiopia and around the world. He is… Read more about Solomon Kassa

Julie Kearney

Global Head of Communications Regulation and Policy, Loon LLC

Julie Kearney is Global Head of Communications Regulation and Policy for Loon, where she leads the company’s U.S. and international regulatory initiatives. Loon is working to bring internet access to unserved and underserved communities around the world via a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space. Loon is a subsidiary of Alphabet. Prior to joining Loon, Kearney was… Read more about Julie Kearney

Robel Kitaba

Network engineer, Backbone & Edge network, Facebook

Robel has more than 12 years of experience working in Telecom and global internet infrastructure where he was designing, deploying and operating some of the largest networks in the world. Previous to Facebook, he worked as a network engineer in Amazon’s AWS global network team and as a design & support engineer for ZTE in Ethiopia during the implementation of… Read more about Robel Kitaba

Olaf Kolkman

Principal - Internet Technology, Policy, and Advocacy

I am an executive-level advisor to, and spokesperson of, the Internet Society, where I formulate, review, and advise on strategic, technical, and policy issues. I serve on several advisory boards and am the treasurer of the Global Forum on Expertise in Cyberspace. I served as IAB chair between 2007 and 2011 and was commissioner of the Global Commission on the… Read more about Olaf Kolkman

Victor Kyalo

Communications Engineer

Eng. Victor Kyalo is a Communications engineer with a wide experience in systems design, integration and project management. He has been involved in the information systems networking/telecommunications for the last 25 years both in deployment of solutions in the public and private sector as well as in training at the University level. He has served at various levels including; CEO… Read more about Victor Kyalo

Verengai Mabika

Former Senior Policy Advisor - Africa

Verengai was the Senior Policy Advisor - Africa at the Internet Society until September 2023. Image credit: © Jordi Ruiz Cirera/Panos Read more about Verengai Mabika

Robert Mullins

Partner, Roha and President, Raxio

Robert is a Partner at Roha, an investment firm that builds companies in Africa. Roha launches new businesses by leading their development from origination to exit, focused on opportunities that address latent demand in local markets with world-class technology, business models, and partnerships. Robert serves as President of the Raxio Group, Roha’s portfolio company focused on building and developing a… Read more about Robert Mullins

Alice Munyua

Policy Advisor for Africa, Mozilla
Former Member, Internet Society Board of Trustees

If you involved in public policy issues as they relate to Information Communication Technology then you know Alice Munyua. Ms. Munyua is Policy Advisor for Africa at Mozilla. She is currently on working on Privacy and Data Protection, Digital Identity and digital taxation. She served as a member of the board of the Kenya Communications Regulatory Authority, led African Government… Read more about Alice Munyua

Michuki Mwangi

Distinguished Technologist, Internet Growth

I'm the Distinguished Technologist for Internet Growth at the Internet Society. I lead the Internet Growth portfolio, which focuses on measuring, building, and extending a resilient Internet to those who need it the most. I'm also a member of the Internet Society's executive leadership team and provide expertise to develop new and forward-looking areas of work. Prior to joining the… Read more about Michuki Mwangi

Mercy Ndegwa

Head of Public Policy for the East and Horn of Africa, Facebook

Mercy Ndegwa is the Head of Public Policy at Facebook covering the East and Horn of Africa. She is seasoned professional with over fifteen years’ experience in the Technology industry, specifically Tech Policy and Regulation. Prior to joining Facebook, Mercy held various senior management positions at Safaricom PLC and the GSM Associations where her roles included Public Policy Advisory and… Read more about Mercy Ndegwa

Bitange Ndemo

Professor, Business School, University of Nairobi

Bitange Ndemo is Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Nairobi’s Business School. His research centers on the link between ICTs and small and medium enterprises with emphasis on how ICTs influence economic development in Africa. Prof. Ndemo is the Chairman of Kenya’s Distributed Ledgers and Artificial Intelligence Taskforce that is developing a road map for the country’s digital transformation.… Read more about Bitange Ndemo

Adugna Necho

Hardware and Networking Department Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty, Bahir Dar University

Adugna Necho was born in Mertule Mariam, Ethiopia, in 1989. He received the B.Sc. degree from Adama Science and Technology University, Ethiopia, in 2013, and the M.Sc. degree from Mekelle University, Ethiopia, in 2018 in Computer Engineering. Starting from 2013, he is a member of Computer Engineering program at Bahir Dar University as a lecturer. During his tenure, he has… Read more about Adugna Necho

Ghislain Nkeramugaba

IXP Development Expert

As the IXP Development Expert at the Internet Society, I primarily focus on the development of Internet exchange point critical infrastructure and peering and interconnection ecosystems. Prior to joining the Internet Society, i did some consulting work for the Internet Society in the area of IXP development. In the past, I occupied various technical and managerial roles in Internet companies,… Read more about Ghislain Nkeramugaba

Bob is a telecommunications Engineer with 15 years’ experience in the multi-disciplinary Telecoms/ICT Industry. Bob joined ICANN in 2013 as a member of the Global Stakeholder Engagement (GSE) – Africa team and supports ICANN org’s engagement activities with key stakeholders including governments, civil society, Academia and the technical community in Africa. Prior to ICANN, Bob worked with a number of… Read more about Bob Ochieng

Reg Orton

Co-founder and CTO, BRCK

Reg Orton is a co-founder and the CTO at BRCK. BRCK is building connectivity hardware and deploying networks for rural and emerging markets. Moja WiFi is BRCKs monetization platform for connectivity allowing users to leverage low cost networks to get access for free. Read more about Reg Orton

Dr. -Ing. Abiot Sinamo

Director General, ICT Sector, Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Dr. -Ing Abiot Sinamo is currently a Director General for ICT Sector under Ministry of Innovation and Technology of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. He has got his PhD degree from Oldenburg University, Germany for the specializations in the areas of Intelligent Systems and ERP systems. He has assumed the post of Dean of School of Computing in Mekelle… Read more about Dr. -Ing. Abiot Sinamo

Andrew Sullivan

Former President and Chief Executive Officer

Andrew Sullivan served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Internet Society from 1 September 2018 until 31 August 2024.   Andrew has focused on Internet infrastructure and standards since 2001, when he worked to launch the .info Internet top-level domain. Because of that experience, he was part of the team that collaborated with the Internet Society to… Read more about Andrew Sullivan

Moctar Yedaly

Head, Information Society Division, African Union Commission/Responsable pour la Société de l'information, Union africaine

Moctar Yedaly is a telecom, satellite and computer engineer with an MBA in international business. He graduated from George Washington University, Amity University and Institute of Informatics. He has more than 20 years of international experience in the field communication and networks management, resources evaluation and policy preparation. Moctar is a former staff member of Intelsat in the USA and… Read more about Moctar Yedaly