My CV


My key achievements to date include:
  • Organised three international business missions (combined) to London, UK and Paris, France creating opportunities for istart and its portfolio companies to engage with and lay the foundation for relationships with leading blue-chip corporates, public sector entities, startup accelerators, investors, and other ecosystem enablers.
  • Senior member of market growth team for Brioche, opening two locations and launching new lines of business in Kenya and Rwanda.
  • Tripled revenue (y-o-y) for 1000 Hills Distillery thus becoming one of the fastest growing SMEs in East Africa.
  • Facilitated debt financing of more than 850,000 EUR to social enterprises and start-ups in five African countries in two years.

Professional Experience
February 2022 - Present 
imec.istart - Internationalization Officer (Antwerp, Belgium)
Taking early-stage tech start-ups into global markets. I act as advisor, mentor and facilitator, helping software and hardware start-ups in imec.istart's portfolio have successful landings in new markets. 
  • Key member team member of imec.istart, declared the #1 university linked accelerator in the world in 2023 by UBI Global.
  • Organized & led three business delegation visits to London, UK and Paris, France to enable traveling companies to engage with local investors, soft landing programs, major corporates, and secure business development opportunities at market leading conferences & tradeshows.
  • Planned and led bi-annual internationalization masterclasses for Scaleup Vlaanderen, providing a framework for international expansion for mature and first-time scaling companies looking to enter new European markets and the United States.
  • Thought leader all topics 'internationalization' related in the Belgian and wider European startup communities, includes speaking at conferences such as And& Connect in Leuven and via quarterly posts on EU Startups. 

Aug 2018 - Dec 2019            
The Distillery Rw Ltd.- Manager (Kigali, Rwanda)
Spearheaded in-country growth and international expansion for East Africa’s largest craft distillery, 1000 Hills Distillery.
  • Developed business plan and communications strategy to triple revenue in 16 months.
  • Designed new tourism products to create additional revenue streams, driving sales increase of 20% month over month.
  • Established key relationships within Rwanda’s tourism eco-system to drive bottle sales and create co-marketing opportunities.
  • Acted as official spokesperson and brand ambassador for local and international media opportunities.
  • Led public affairs engagement to build support with Foreign Heads of Missions and Government of Rwanda to streamline business processes and facilitate policy dialogue.
 
July 2016 - June 2018           
LGT Impact Ventures- Brioche Ltd. Marketing Manager (Kigali, Rwanda; Nairobi, Kenya)
Long-term technical adviser funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and Voxtra Capital, focused on strategy and planning, market development and brand awareness activities in multiple African markets.
  • Designed successful hybrid marketing strategy; earned Brioche nomination for 2017 Smart Service Awards.
  • Facilitated in-depth market research, collected 300 customer surveys for mapping customer demographics and message development.
  • Cultivated strategic partnerships with local community groups, businesses, government agencies and influencers to enhance brand awareness.
  • Managed 30 staff across sales, marketing, HR and customer service departments.
  • Developed relationships, earned coverage in The Star, Daily Nation, RTV (Rwanda), Business Daily, The East African and The New Times (Rwanda).
 
Sept 2015 - July 2016         
Grameen Foundation- TaroWorks Marketing Fellow (Kampala, Uganda; Nairobi, Kenya)
Global communications lead for a non-profit, focused on content creation, media management and new customer acquisition.
  • Secured thought leadership placements in TechCrunch, Harvard Business Review, ICTworks and Next Billion.
  • Increased engagement and followers on Twitter by 77% and LinkedIn by 148% in 11 months.
  • Secured conference speaking opportunities at global conferences as ICT4D and ANDE Metrics.
  • Enhanced pre-existing webinar program, drove attendance and registration up by 109%.
  • Successfully engaged strategic donors of Qualcomm and Vodafone Americas to augment relationships.

July 2013 - July 2015              
KCSA Strategic Communications-Senior Account Executive in Corporate and Financial Services (NYC, USA)
Communications adviser for start-ups and SMEs in North America, focused on local and global market development.
  • Led team of five in the global expansion of Vision Service Plan (VSP) into EMEA and APAC markets. 
  • Designed and implemented product launch for ETF and Absolute Currency Funds for Merk Investments to increase fund awareness and drive investment.
  • Managed community and public affairs engagement for public awareness campaigns of medical marijuana in the State of New York and Canada.
  • Planned and developed global media campaign for Nike/VSP philanthropy event in South Africa.
  • Led pro-active media relations campaign to enhance thought leadership of Espirito Santo Investment Bank and Merk Investments spokespersons in top tier U.S. and European business and financial media. 
 
May 2012 - May 2013           
Hill+Knowlton Strategies UK / Visa –Junior Account Executive in Financial and Professional Services (London, UK)
B2B and corporate communications adviser for leading British and American financial firms. Includes secondment to Visa for the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games.
  • Designed fact-sheets, press releases, and briefing notes for Visa Europe’s month-long UK expenditure campaign.
  • Conducted crisis and issue management for a Big 4 accountancy firm during the HP/Autonomy write-down.
  • Media mapping for Visa Europe’s largest corporate PR campaign Mega Monday which generated over 160 pieces of coverage in national and regional media outlets.
  • Acted as a first point of contact for all media enquiries on Visa’s London 2012 Olympic sponsorship.
  • Liaised and coordinated with 21 European PR agencies working across 36 markets to promote the Visa brand and its services.
  • Provided policy insight on the European Commission’s SSO concerning multilateral interchange fees.
 
Startup Ecosystem & Volunteer Activities  
Aug 2020 -  Present          
Stepchange Africa LLP- Co-Founder (Global)
Leader of Stepchange Africa, a growth agency providing customer-centric and hands-on solutions to fast growing start-ups and established SMEs operating, investing, and expanding in Africa.
  • Mentor and business coach on business development, international expansion and investor readiness for pre-seed and seed stage startups for programmes run by Impact Hub Kigali, Yunus Environment Hub, Open Startup Tunisa, Seedstars and Hindsight Ventures.
  • Facilitated partnerships for startups to VCs, international consultancies, angel investment networks and non-profits to enhance their growth opportunities.
              
Feb 2020 - Present           
 Ondernemers voor Ondernemers (OVO) – Business Coach (Heverlee, Belgium)
Former lead on design and execution of OVO’s flagship programme, SusTech4Africa in Rwanda. Additionally, acted as Investment Committee Member and adviser on expansion of SusTech4Africa into three new African countries.
  • Facilitated 150,000 EUR in debt financing to 8 pre-seed stage companies in Rwanda in 18 months.
  • Provided business support to 14 pre-seed stage companies over 24 months, all of which are still in operations and generating revenue.
  • Completed a four-month expansion study, analysing 30+ African markets against 40 unique parameters, resulting in SusTech4Africa’s growth in three new countries and cities.

Membership        
Feb 2018 - Dec 2019             
European Business Chamber Rwanda (Kigali, Rwanda)
A founding member of a representative body of 80 private sector companies and 250 persons to enhance engagement between European companies and the Government of Rwanda.
  • Offered insight and organisational direction to launch Chamber.
  • Mapped Chamber offerings for members and organised networking opportunities.
  • Engaged European Union Delegation to Rwanda to provide Chamber progress updates.
                               
Training & Workshops  
December 2023
GROW by Open Startup Tunisia
Led masterclass on how to sustainably plan and manage business growth into new markets for 20 startups.
 
October 2023
Ignite Food Systems Challenge by Impact Hub Kigali & WFP
Led investment readiness masterclass and hosted 1v1 sessions for six participating companies in the programme.

March 2023
She Starts Africa
Led a masterclass on how to sustainably plan and manage business growth into new markets for African female entrepreneurs.

October 2022
Ignite Food Systems Challenge by Impact Hub Kigali & WFP
Led investment readiness masterclass and hosted 1v1 sessions for six participating companies in the programme.

August 2022
Women Entrepreneurship for Africa by SAFEEM (Seedstars) 
Led three workshops on growth / internationalization for entrepreneurs selected for the 'growth phase' of the programme.

September 2021
Accelerate 2030 by Impact Hub Kigali & UNDP 
Led workshop on investment readiness, providing early stage companies with a foundation and understanding to enhance their ability to attract investment.
    
Jan 2018 - Feb 2018             
The African Leadership University (Special Projects)
Designed and led workshop for 70 first year students on grassroots, online marketing and new market development in East and Southern Africa.
 
Speaking Engagements
April 2023
And&Connect Conference-The Ultimate Going Global Debate by Scaleup Vlaanderen

May 2022
Le Wagon Brussels - Internationalization Webinar: Think Big, Think Global

November 2021
Global Entrepreneurship Week at The African Leadership University- Funding for Start-Ups.

September 2021
SA Innovation Summit- Panel Moderator - Scaling to 100 million.

February 2021
Shared Value Africa Initiative's Entrepreneurship Forum- Launching SusTech4Africa in Rwanda.
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November 2020
Loop Accelerator (Rwanda)- Featured Speaker- A Recipe for National and International Expansion Success.

March 2020
OVO Africa Business Club- Moderator - Demo & Investor Day for Rwandan & Ugandan social entrepreneurs in Brussels, Belgium.

August 2019         
Global Africa Forum on Communications- Panellist- Trading Reputation- Country Reputation and Impact on Local, Global Business & Investment Attractiveness.

Languages
English (Native). Italian, Dutch & French (Intermediate).
 
Education
2009-2010           
King’s College London, London, UK                                                                 
Master of Arts in International Conflict Studies, Merit

2005-2009                                                     
West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA                               
Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, Cum Laude