Close

Dr Eleni Z Gabre-Madhin

Dr Eleni Z Gabre-Madhin

Currently Chief Innovation Officer at UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, and a serial entrepreneur and thought leader on African development whose career spans business, development practice, and policy research. Founded and ran Ethiopia’s top youth agritech incubator and seed investor, prior to which she ran eleni LLC, Africa’s industry leader in turnkey commodity exchange solutions, prior to which she founded and was first CEO of the renowned Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), for which she was recognized by the 2012 Yara Prize. Has held senior positions at the World Bank, the International Food Policy Research Institute, and UNCTAD. Holds a PhD in Applied Economics from Stanford University and was awarded Outstanding Dissertation by the American Agricultural Economics Association in 1999. She has served as a founding board member of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences, and as Non-Executive Director of Syngenta Corporation. 

Currently serves on the board of CNFA and is chair of the African Brand Leadership Academy. She is a Member of Africa Food Prize Selection Committee.