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Jorge Enrique Aragón Medina
Research Coordinator I
Jorge Enrique Aragón Medina is an agronomist engineer graduated from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He currently works as coordinator of the bean program in the physiology area, where he leads research focused on phenotyping under abiotic stress conditions. In this role, he incorporates technological tools such as digital cameras, MultispeQ devices, and environmental sensors, with the objective of advancing medium- and high-yield phenotyping methodologies…
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Aya Mounir
MENA Ecosystem Engagement and Project Support
MENA Ecosystem Engagement and Project Support; at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT of CGIAR. As part of the Accelerate for Impact Platform team. Aya supports the development and execution of projects in the MENA region as well as ecosystem engagement. By bringing together her extensive experience in youth and partners engagement in the food and climate space.
Aya has a background in food systems and international agri-business…
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Lennart Woltering
Project Leader
Lennart Woltering is the Sustainable Innovation and Transformation Lead under Digital Inclusion at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, based in Arusha, Tanzania. He has over 20 years of experience in innovation, scaling and systems change, with previous roles at ICRISAT, CIMMYT, GIZ, and in the private sector. His current work focuses on scaling strategies and partnership development for the Artemis project portfolio, which applies artificial intelligence and…
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Laurens Goormachtigh
Research Team Leader
Ever since he was little, Laurens has always been fascinated with how things work and how to make things better. This intrinsic curiosity led him to pursue product innovation projects immediately after graduating.
After graduating as a bioscience engineer at Ghent University, he served as a scientist at Scion Research in New Zealand, co-authored a patent and successfully secured government grant funding in Belgium. Laurens furthered his education with an MBA from Quantic…
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Susanna Ercolani
Science Valorization & Market Strategy Consultant
Susanna Ercolani is Science Valorization & Market Strategy Consultant at the CGIAR Accelerate for Impact Platform (A4IP). She works closely with entrepreneurs, supporting them through accelerator programs and fostering connections with industry experts, corporates, and investors — helping bridge the gap between scientific research and market-ready solutions. She supports the design and implementation of lab-to-market programs across…
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Wangari Kariuki
Agritech Project Specialist and Community Engagement
Wangari Kariuki works as an Agritech Project Specialist and Community Engagement at the CGIAR Accelerate for Impact Platform (A4IP). She supports the team by spearheading the design and execution of acceleration programs that support agritech startups to scale, while driving ecosystem and network engagement to strengthen the innovation landscape.
Prior to joining A4IP, she served as the Community and Partnerships Manager at the E4Impact…
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Tonle Franck
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Franck Tonle is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, where he integrates artificial intelligence, geospatial analysis, and agroecological modeling to develop intelligent decision support systems aimed at enhancing the resilience of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science through a collaborative program between the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) and the…
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Violet Lasdun
Visiting Researcher
Violet Lasdun is a PhD candidate in Environmental Economics at the London School of Economics, and a visiting researcher with the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT in Arusha, Tanzania. Her research examines how artificial intelligence and digital tools can support inclusive agricultural development by improving data collection, farmer feedback systems, and crop variety evaluation in the Global South. She works closely with plant breeding programs and rural communities to integrate…
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Ruben G. Echeverria
Senior Advisor, Agricultural Development, Gates Foundation (GF)
Prior to joining the Foundation in October 2021 Ruben has worked on international food, agriculture, and rural development issues - with emphasis on agricultural innovation – for more than 30 years.
Ruben is Director General Emeritus of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT-CGIAR) based in Cali, Colombia. He led CIAT from 2009 to 2019 expanding operations into Africa and Asia
and in…
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Hana Gajdosova
Research Team Leader
Hana Gajdosova is a team leader and programme manager with extensive experience in international development, agricultural research, and business innovation. Based in Tanzania, she leads multi-disciplinary teams and manages initiatives developing transformative AI-driven phenotyping technologies built for agriculture in the Global South. Her current work advances decentralised data collection by equipping tech-savvy youth with digital phenotyping tools and meaningful…
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Ricardo Oliva
Senior Scientist, Banana Program leader for Latin America & the Caribbean
Ricardo Oliva, is a Senior Scientist leading the Banana Program in Latin America & the Caribbean at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. His research focuses on sustainable and resilient banana and plantain systems, integrating biodiversity, plant health, and agroecological approaches to tackle emerging threats and enhance food security.
Prior to joining the Alliance, Ricardo held senior research…
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Emely Mwale Banda
Coordinator, Country Representative for Zambia
Emely is a results-oriented development professional with over 25 years of experience in program leadership, strategic planning, and multi-sector coordination across agriculture, nutrition, climate change, and information technology, and with qualification in MSc Project Management, BBA Computer Information Systems and Management and Certificate in Business Marketing Management. Currently serving as the Country Representative for the Alliance and…
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Marius Ekué
Senior Scientist and Country Representative for Cameroon
Marius Ekué is a Senior Scientist and the Country Representative of the Alliance in Cameroon. Marius has a BSc in Agronomy, an MSc in Tropical Forestry & a PhD in Population Genetics and Tree Breeding from the University of Göttingen, Germany.
His current works is focused on 1) building smart tree seed systems for biodiversity, livelihoods and resilient restoration; 2) safeguarding the natural capital and developing agroforestry systems (…
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Connor Haynes
Visiting Researcher
Born in the UK but immigrated to Canada, and now, Cali, Colombia. I've broad experience working to repair degraded natural environments in various ecological systems and geographies. My ultimate goal is to facilitate community and/or Indigenous-led restoration of degraded landscapes in Latin America and use this process for carbon sequestration, amongst a myriad of cobenefits, whilst promoting equitable social justice.
Currently I am assisting the Alliance Bioversity-CIAT with…
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Shekinah Jeanelle Henday
Research Associate
Shekinah is a researcher and consultant in agriculture with a strong focus on sustainable practices. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Agronomy from Sokoine University of Agriculture and a Master's degree in Sustainable Agriculture, specializing in Plant Molecular Breeding from the Nelson Mandela Institution.
Shekinah has worked extensively on disease evaluation and data quality, currently serving as a data quality specialist for the Artemis Project. Shekinah is…
