Addis Ababa, Sptember 28,2021 (Walta) – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced that Dr. Eleni Z. Gebremedhin has taken a role as Chief Innovation Officer within UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa, taking the lead in launching Timbuctoo, a revolutionary private-public Youth Start-up Innovation Financing Facility for Africa.
Dr. Geberemedhin, a member of UNDP Africa’s eminent group of African Influencers for Development, comes with over 25 years of experience in designing and implementing innovative solutions and is a highly recognized thought-leader and respected voice on African development, agricultural markets, entrepreneurship, and youth innovation.
She has held several senior positions straddling private and public organizations, notably as chief happiness officer of BlueMoon, Ethiopia’s leading youth business incubator, as well as chief executive officer of eleni LLC, Africa’s premier commodity exchange builder.
Dr. Eleni is most well known for being the founder and former CEO of the highly acclaimed Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) from 2008 to late 2012, successfully trading $1.2 billion annually after 3 years of operation.