Our Team

Abdoul Aziz Soumare is passionate about leadership and personal development.  Both altruistic and philanthropic, Mr Soumare studied International Business. While pursuing his studies, he joined AIESEC which is a global platform entirely run by youth for youth to develop their leadership potential through international internships and volunteer opportunities.

During 5 years as Talent Manager and then Organization Development Manager, he had to develop several training tools, train hundreds of young people on leadership and entrepreneurship skills and implement AIESEC in 3 universities in Sénégal.

Mr Soumare joined Ashoka Sahel in June 2017 as a Community Management intern, then consultant in communication before taking the role of Fellowship and Changemakers Community Manager.  Currently, Abdoul Aziz is Youth Program Manager at Ashoka Sahel.

Dadisai Taderera Co-Director and Venture and Fellowship Lead for Southern Africa. She has worked for over a decade supporting change makers and communities to advocate for transparency and accountability to ensure a more equal and just society. She has worked with organisations such as Global Integrity, Open Society Foundation of South Africa and Accountability Lab among others. She was a founding member of the Right2Know campaign in 2010 a movement centred on freedom of expression and access to information. She was born and raised in Zimbabwe but currently lives in Johannesburg where she is also raising two children and hopefully future change makers.

Mtha’ meaning “ray of light” is a driven, compassionate, young woman who is intentional about making a significant impact in society. At 16, she became a radio host and used the platform to hold important discussions with community leaders and young people about finding solutions to Africa’s socio-economic issues.
 
As an Allan Gray Fellow, she possesses leadership qualities and an entrepreneurial mindset. Her focus is on empowering Africa. She is passionate about economic development and is a part of Africa Skills Alliance, a think tank which provides data to resolve workforce challenges and African youth unemployment . Mtha has volunteered for various non-profit organisations including Blue Chip Future Fund. She has led community initiatives, working in programs, partnerships and social impact storytelling. She is a master’s candidate in public policy at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Nqobile is an Allan Gray fellow and holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from Wits University. A passionate advocate for educational equity. During her time at Wits, Nqobile served as the Academic Officer of the Wits Student Representative Council, Member of the Wits Senate Council, Teaching and Learning Committee, and Secretary of the School of Human and Community Development. In these roles, she championed student rights and implemented policies that fostered a more conducive learning environment. In these roles, she championed student rights and implemented policies that fostered a more conducive learning environment.

Okey is a global Leadership Group Member of Ashoka and currently leads the Youth Years strategy in Africa. In the last year, he has been establishing and co-leading strategic partnerships with government, faculties of education, publishers, education unions and the media, towards a movement that creates an enabling environment for young people to feel, act, and thrive as changemakers. Okey has been a pioneer in justice reform, security reform, and social transformation at the national and regional levels in West Africa for 15 years. Previously, he led the ECOWAS Commission reform program in improving transparency, accountability, effectiveness, and people participation in security decision making. He has supported regional policy formulation, parliamentary capacity building, knowledge sharing, and forging multilateral and multisector partnerships. He is the Founder of EduTrust Foundation and Ofala Publishers Ltd. A lawyer and Master’s degree holder in Conflict, Security and Development from King’s College London, Okey loves to write, to teach, and to capture beautiful moments of joy and wonder through poetry and travel photography.

Paula is passionate about food security, poverty alleviation, youth and female empowerment, and has contributed to academic researches that inform knowledge on the role of African women in Agriculture and the pricing system of agricultural produce on the Italian commodity exchange market.

She possesses a Master of Science degree in Agricultural and Food Economics, a Bachelor of Arts combined degree in Economics and Theatre Arts, and has over five years of work experience in diverse areas including, but not limited to, Project and Program Management, Partnerships, Human Resources and Retail Management.

Currently, she leads the Transforming Children and Youth Years program at Ashoka Anglophone West Africa and, supports Partnerships and Venture at Ashoka Africa. In this capacity, she is identifying and supporting young changemakers in the region to increase the visibility and social impact of their work while positioning them for success through collaborative partnerships with diverse stakeholders.

Born and brought up in the Coastal town of Mombasa in Kenya, where not many young girls went past primary school. Peris knew from a young age that she had to change that, by being a role model to other girls and youth in her home town and create opportunities for others to also succeed. She informally taught neighborhood children while still in primary school and led many other ventures. Currently she runs a Public Benefit Organization, Asilia Africa focused on improving Reproductive Health Services for marginalized and vulnerable women as part of reducing maternal morbidity and mortality. Peris joined Ashoka in 2012 and is currently the Director, Fellowship, Africa

Sarah Mujulizi became a part of Ashoka in 2019, assuming the role of Knowledge and Communications Associate at the Africa Hub based in Lagos, Nigeria. With a wealth of experience, she brings a multifaceted skill set encompassing strategic planning, community engagement, content management, and project coordination. In her prior positions, Sarah excelled in delivering targeted media and communication solutions, catering to a specific audience of development stakeholders in government, non-profit organizations, and prestigious international bodies such as the United Nations and the African Union.

Currently, Sarah serves as the Fellowship and Partnership Manager for Ashoka in Africa, where she is dedicated to advancing Ashoka's 'Everyone a Changemaker' vision across the continent. Her proactive approach and commitment to meaningful change make her an invaluable asset to the organization as she continues to play a pivotal role in amplifying Ashoka's impact in Africa.

Stéphanie joined Ashoka Africa Leadership team since September 2017, after 13 years with Ashoka on different continents: at the Global Headquarters in the US, Mexico City and Paris. Stephanie is leading the launch of the “Changemaker Company” initiative in Africa to create more bridges between the corporate world and social entrepreneurs and engage businesses in developing their full changemaker potential. Stéphanie is also an international evaluator for the selection of new Ashoka Fellows and a board member of Ashoka Romania. She started her carrier in management consulting with Deloitte in Paris, and Boston, before joining World Relief in Rwanda for 2 years as program director where she supported the launch of Ikirezi, a social enterprise producing essential oils with rural communities led by Ashoka Fellow Nicolas Hitimana. Stephanie was born and raised in France and holds an MBA degree from ESSEC Business School in Paris. She is a mother of 3.

I am a passionate advocate for inclusive spaces and a committed champion for educational accessibility. A former Gender Studies and Governance major at the University of Cape Town, and honors graduate from the African leadership University. My work has been a contribution to research and discourse on the decolonization of education, focusing on making tertiary education more financially and operationally accessible in South Africa.