MIPAD Announces Trade Champions of African Descent Worldwide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Geneva, Switzerland: January 1, 2024 – Happy New Year, and best wishes for a prosperous 2024! Today, as we celebrate the annual January 1 anniversary of the founding of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and stand in solidarity with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), MIPAD is delighted to unveil the inaugural Honorees of the Most Influential 100 Export and International Trade Edition. Nominations are still open for the remaining honorees to complete the distinguished 100 in this special edition. The complete list of Global Top 100 Honorees in Export & Trade Edition will be announced on May 25th, 2024, in celebration of Global Africa Day.

In the spirit of recognition, MIPAD proudly announces the first set of Honorees and highly celebrated personalities in Trade & Export.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Director General, World Trade Organization (Switzerland/Nigeria) [BIO]

Wamkele Mene: Secretary General, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat (Ghana/South Africa) [BIO]

Admassu Tadesse: President & Managing Director, Trade and Development Bank (TDB) Group (Mauritius) [BIO]
Adrian Padmore: Chairman, Export Barbados (Caribbean) (Barbados) [BIO]
Ambassador Albert M. Muchanga: Commissioner for Trade and Industry, African Union Commission (AU) (African Union) [BIO]
Ambassador Clarence E. Pilgrim: Caribbean Export, Permanent Secretary of Trade & Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Antigua and Barbuda) [BIO]
Angelle B. Kwemo: President & CEO, AstrategiK Group (USA/Cameroon) [BIO]
Constance Hamilton: Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa (USA) [BIO]
Enoh T. Ebong: Director, U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USA) [BIO]
Florizelle Liser: President and CEO, Corporate Council on Africa (USA) [BIO]
H.E. Kamel Rezig: Minister of Trade and Export Promotion, Algeria (Algeria) [BIO]
H.R.H Togbe Afede: Chairman, World Trade Center Accra (Ghana) [BIO]
Hon (Dr) Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite: The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment (Nigeria) [BIO]
Kanayo Awani: Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Bank (IATB) (Egypt/Nigeria) [BIO]
Kemi Arosanyin: Director, Trade Development (Africa & Caribbean), World Trade Center Miami (USA/Nigeria) [BIO]
Kemi Badenoch: Secretary of State for Business and Trade & President of the Board of Trade (United Kingdom/Nigeria) [BIO]
Kendra Gaither: President U.S.- Africa Business Center at U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USA) [BIO]
Milady Garces Arboleda: President of the Buenaventura Chamber of Commerce (Colombia) [BIO]
Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe: Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc (Nigeria) [BIO]
Nonye Ayeni: Executive Director & CEO Nigerian Export Promotion Council (Nigeria) [BIO]
Pamela Coke-Hamilton: Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC) (Switzerland/Jamaica) [BIO]
Prof. Benedict Okey Oramah: President, African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank) (Egypt/Nigeria) [BIO]
Prof. Landry Signé: ED, Thunderbird School, Co-Chair, World Economic Forum Friends of the AfCFTA & Senior Fellow, Brookings [BIO]
Reta Jo Lewis: President & Chair of the Board, Export-Import Bank of the United States (USA) [BIO]
Sand Mba Kalu: Executive Director, Africa International Trade & Commerce Research (Nigeria) [BIO]
Susan Namulindwa: Executive Director at Africa Trade Desk (Canada/Uganda) [BIO]
Thiago Thobias: Advisor, Foreign Trade, Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) (Brazil) [BIO]
Wrenelle Stander: CEO, Cape Town & Western Cape Trade Promotion Agency (WESGRO) (South Africa) [BIO]
Wanjiru Machugu-Zenz, Joy. Founder & CEO, African Women in Trade (AfWITrade) Germany/Kenya [BIO]

Please join us in congratulating these inaugural 2024 MIPAD Honorees for their positive contributions to trade in Africa and across the Diaspora, BRAVO! Congratulations once again to the outstanding individuals shaping the future of global trade.”

We look forward to hosting these inaugural Honorees, on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York City, USA

For congratulatory ads, sponsorship, and speaking opportunities, please contact

in**@mi***.org

or call +1 917 541 8394 or +1 917 256 9940 (New York)

Nominate leading personalities in EXPORT & INTERNATIONAL TRADE today at bit.ly/MIPAD100TradeEdition. If you are a TRADE EXPERT, join the global conversation.

Join the Celebration & Grand Finale

MIPAD eagerly anticipates hosting all Honorees, past and present, in New York City for Most Influential 100 Recognition Week 2024 (RW2024) from September 20th to 22nd, following the opening of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York City. #UNGA

As we approach the conclusion of the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024), we warmly invite all honorees, totaling 2,000 recognized from 2015 to 2024, to join us in this significant grand finale during the Recognition Weekend 2024 following the opening of the 79th UN General Assembly in New York City.

For congratulatory ads, sponsorship, and speaking opportunities, please contact Jonathan at

jo******@mi***.org

or call +44 7810 081699 or +1 (917) 541 8394 (New York).

About Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD)
The Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD), is a global civil society initiative in support of the International Decade for People of African Descent, proclaimed by United Nation’s General Assembly resolution 68/237, to be observed from 2015 to 2024. MIPAD identifies high achievers of African descent in public and private sectors from all around the world as a progressive network of relevant actors to join together in the spirit of recognition, justice and development.

For media inquiries, please contact:
– Diaspora (Charreah Jackson)

me***@mi***.org

– Inside Africa (Dorcas Ndegwa)

do****@mi***.org