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EMpact es una organización que crea empresas emergentes (venture studio) que atiende cadenas de valor fundamentales en mercados emergentes al abordar problemas críticos que oprimen a estos mercados y afectan a nuestro planeta. EMpact impulsa el cambio mediante la incubación de talentos, además de la creación e incubación de empresas que abordan las necesidades de los actores clave en estas cadenas de valor con un enfoque en la agricultura. El último paso en este modelo de organización que crea empresas emergentes es ampliar el capital presemilla a las empresas emergentes crecientes, acompañarlas durante la fase inicial de su proceso de crecimiento y, con el tiempo, entregarlas a inversionistas en etapas posteriores.
EMpact es un esfuerzo de colaboración entre socios corporativos, capitalistas, de desarrollo de capacidades y tecnología y está bajo la dirección de sus socios fundadores Sami Lahoud y Prateek Shrivastava. Sami y Prateek aportan una gran experiencia corporativa, filantrópica y empresarial que abarca asociaciones público privadas, desarrollo, inversión de impacto, inclusión financiera, transformación digital, innovación tecnológica, asuntos y gobierno corporativos.
Nuestros líderes
Sami Lahoud
Co-founder & CEO
- Líder empresarial global en mercados emergentes, con amplia experiencia en comunicaciones.
- Se jubiló de Mastercard en noviembre de 2022 después de 10 años en puestos de alto nivel en comunicaciones, aprobación de comerciantes y asociaciones público privadas. Cuenta con un profundo enfoque en la inclusión financiera y el desarrollo de ecosistemas de pagos equitativos
- Puestos de alto nivel en comunicaciones en Barclays Bank y Boeing en mercados emergentes, precedidos por puestos de consultoría en Hill & Knowlton y Weber Shandwick.
- Originario del Líbano, Máster en Gestión Bancaria y Finanzas, vivió y trabajó en Beirut, Baréin, Yeda, Dubái y Nueva York. Reubicarse con su familia en Costa de Marfil en julio de 2023 para acercarse a los mercados emergentes y las cadenas de suministro agrícola
Prateek Shrivastava
Co-founder & COO
- Driving innovation across financial services for economic development
- Over 30 years of experience in delivering technology led innovation in over 40 countries across the world in the field of supply chain, field automation, financial services, foodtech.
- Built startups, designed a PE investment fund, sits on boards of banks, fintechs and non profits.
- Co-founder/MD/VP roles at Monitise plc, BeyondBranches, Accion
- Advisor at Accion Impact Funds, World Bank, IFC, FinTech mentor, board member for multiple companies
- Asesoría a empresas emergentes a través de Techstars, StartupBootcamp Fintech y Level39.
Lina Kacyem
Portfolio Manager
- Seasoned investor and startup mentor
- Deep portfolio management experience in West Africa
- Over 15 years of experience in innovative financial services
- Fund Management, Investment Portfolios, Due Diligence, Business Strategy
Patrick Halford
Strategic Advisor
- R&D to commercialisation funding across AI, Electronics, Agri-tech, Health tech, Smart Cities/Mobility & Defence; building consortia between corporates, SMEs, startups, universities & research institutions. Led team of scientists & project managers from 14 nationalities (Africa, Europe, Asia & NA).
- Strategic Advisor at Next CoLabs North America on AI/organisational impact.
- Expert @ Singularity Group in AI/organisational impact and mobility.
- Board of Advisors Nordic drone & mixed reality startups. Mentor @ 4 European accelerators.
- Guest faculty @ Nordic Business Schools Executive MBA programmes on AI/organisational impact.
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20 years leading IBM technology and services teams.
- International conference moderator.
Our Advisory Board
Executive Director at Miller Center at Santa Clara University
Brigit brings 30 years of experience creating and delivering innovative solutions to social and environmental challenges in 45 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, in both the private and public sectors.
Miller Center is the premier university-based social enterprise accelerator dedicated to eliminating poverty for the next generation.
She was previously vice president for the global development company Development Alternatives, CEO of the Multilateral Investment Fund (IDB Lab), senior specialist at the IFC, senior expert at McKinsey & Company, as well as a founding member of CGAP and sits on boards of AlphaMundi and BRAC USA.
Investment Director, Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P)
Nouss’ 15 year career reflects a deep commitment to finance and investment, with a special focus on emerging markets and sustainable development in Africa.
At I&P, Nouss is focused on impact investing in the African Food and Agriculture sector, building on her portfolio management experience at Sahel Capital in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. She also lived in Chile and worked as an investment banker with Banco Santander and Societe Generale, after having started her career with Credit Agricole and EY in Paris.
She holds an MBA from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and a Masters in Finance from ESCP Business School, Paris.
CMO, IBM Latin America
Cris has over 25 years of leading teams focused on purpose-driven solutions increasing brand reputation, revenue, market share and scaling sustainable initiatives.
Overall strategy and execution of marketing and communications for IBM in Latin America, supporting both Technology and Consulting, with the goal of providing a holistic and unique perspective of IBM to the regional markets.
At Mastercard, she oversaw the mission to bring one billion people into the digital economy by 2025 and drove environmentally sustainable solutions like the Carbon Calculator and Priceless Planet Coalition.
She holds an MBA in Marketing & Services from Sao Paulo University and executive education from the Yale School of Management.
Evelyne brings a wealth of experience in educational governance and community engagement, with leadership roles in French schools in South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire. She recently served as President of the Amicale of Parents of Students at Lycée Français Blaise Pascal in Abidjan and as a Director on the Board of Lycée Jules Verne in Johannesburg, where she led the School’s Business Club.
Her career spans PwC, Booz Allen Hamilton, the World Bank, and IFC in Washington, DC. In 2004, Evelyne moved to Johannesburg to work with Citigroup’s Global Transactions Services, focusing on Central and West African financial institutions.
Fluent in French, Portuguese, and English, Evelyne holds a BA in Geography and Regional Sciences from George Washington University, an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird and Regional Board Certification from Côte d’Ivoire’s National Institute of Administrators (INAD-CI).
Co-Founder and Board member of Asili Agriculture
Eduardo has had a dynamic 35+ year entrepreneurial career reflecting results oriented leadership with creative independent thinking and strong people management skills.
He built best of breed software focused on real time visualization of data and video in Homeland security applications, and internet of things. Since 2013, he has focused on agriculture value chain efficency and impact investment.
Asili is an integrated platform for food security and agricultural transformation, and is a leading engine in climate smart agriculture, in East Africa.
Eduardo is an active participant, coach and volunteer in various charities in the US and Africa.
Special Adviser to CEO and Head of Global Initiatives at Yara
Arne is an innovator and driver of new models for sustainable development and public private partnerships within the food and agriculture sector.
Formerly Executive Director for Grow Africa and Senior Director at the World Economic Forum, EVP and Chief Marketing and Communication Officer with Yara International. He has also held senior management positions with Telenor, Gazette, and Digital Equipment Corp and has served as the Chairman of the Board for the humanitarian organization CARE Norway, been on the board of CARE International and on the board of the Global Fairness Initiative, as well as the Chair of the Farm to Market Alliance (FtMA) and the Chair of Generation Africa which he co-designed.
CEO and General Manager of Fundacion Genesis Empresarial
With over 30 years of experience, Edgardo is a seasoned banker development professional and innovator.
He is member of The Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), President of the Board of Directors of the RED ACCION, Member of the Board of Directors of the Network of Microfinance Institutions of Guatemala –REDMIF- Guatemala Member of the Board of Directors of the Network of Microfinance Institutions of Guatemala –REDMIF- Guatemala.
He is the former Vice President of the Chamber of Microfinance and was General Manager of two Banking Institutions in Guatemala and three Financial Institutions specialized in Consumer Credit, Credit Cards.