Planet StartupTM A 501(c)(3) Charitable Nonprofit
Entrepreneuring By Leveraging Free Market Economics To Combat Global Unemployment
College Courses and an MBA Program Coming Soon . . . Stay Tuned!
Meet The Team
We are dedicated to helping young adults in economically disadvantaged and isolated communities over our planet by eradicating the digital divide - - - both in rural areas as well as inner cities - - - to combat growing unemployment of young adults by leveraging the free enterprise system to coach and provide the resources to help them set up their own Internet companies, hire others, and to connect them with the major world economic centers so they might prosper. Quality job creation around the world is plummeting, and we believe it to be the root cause of political instability, crime, and violence. This is something that is fixable through individual entrepreneurism where people can build easily their own companies on the Internet - - - and we show them how to do that.
Dr. Jerald Feinstein
Founder and Dean
Planet Startup founder and former Visiting Fellow at Harvard where the Global entrepreneurial idea was first envisioned - - - I believe that poverty and the growing unemployment of young adults can now be addressed through entrepreneurship by leveraging free market economics to teach young adults in isolated and economically deprived areas to gain Internet access and to set up Internet companies - - - thereby connecting them to the world's Internet marketplace where they can run their own companies and ride the 4th technology wave into the future.
Jeffrey Lund
Associate Dean​
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Jeffrey is an International Instructional Program Consultant, Certified Life Coach, Certified Entrepreneurial MindSet Facilitator and Solutions Specialist who is dedicated in helping all discover their inner potential. Having an MBA, years of leadership experience in education as well as corporate settings, and experience training others in entrepreneurial success, the focus is to help others learn how to turn life's obstacles into opportunities. Jeffrey was able to utilize the Design Thinking environment in order to create a MultiMedia Studio for students as well as a state-of-the art Entrepreneurial Zone. The Multimedia Studio was initiated by students who had an interest in video production and Jeffrey’s passion to create new opportunities for students. The Multimedia Studio created real world applications for students to include client based projects, community impact and global connections. The creation of an Entrepreneurial Zone and certification process has empowered students within the high school and college environment. The community is being served as entrepreneurial training is being developed for small businesses as well. His ability to network creates opportunities within any environment that others may not have envisioned. His strength and passion for creating authentic experiences for students and adults alike pushes through the traditional thinking within education and business. Jeffery believes in equal access to opportunity for everyone, no matter where they live, as a way to as a way to make the world a better place.
D. Alex Chuang
Board Member and CoFounder
Residing in Arizona, an international consultant in marketing, technology, and entrepreneurship - - - I believe that given the resources and training, young adults will opt for starting their own online business - - - not all will, but enough so they might hire others and create needed tech jobs. Mr. Chuang is a Futurist, currently focusing his efforts and working on projects in global and regional affordable education research matters and developing solutions for affordable housing crisis among the senior and underbanked / unbanked populations. Mr. Chuang’s last corporate position was with IBM. He managed a matrixed Workforce of 50,000+ global IBMers spanning across 13 Global Delivery Centers located in 13 separate countries, covering 15+ hour time zones. He has an unique appreciation and comprehension for human capital development & investment, scale, scalability, innovation, and impact delivery key performance indicators (KPIs) that affect and drive company / unit growth, initiatives, and exit strategies.
Email: menesj@planetstartup.org
Phones: +12143356011 (US)
+12146137930 (Global)
+2348068222197 (Africa)
Skype: lawyermenes
Attorney N. Jude Menes, FCIArb
Chief Legal Counsel
Attorney Menes is Chief Legal Counsel of Planet Startup, and founder of African Youth Congress (www.africanyouthcongress.org and www.facebook.com/africanyouthcongress). He challenged himself on eradicating youth unemployment in Africa by 2030. Through Planet Startup and African Youth Congress, he hopes to create a virtual and borderless platform connecting all African youths regardless of tribe, language, or religion, and also provides them with quality training, mentorship, and startup funding to become successful entrepreneurs. He is devoted to development through business relationships between Africa and foreign companies/investors. He helps foreign companies/investors resolve challenges that often impede success in Africa. He also represents African governments/companies to obtain foreign funding for projects. He is always available to speak publicly about youth empowerment, “because in the end, we will be remembered not by how much money we made in our lifetimes, but by how many lives we touched."
Sam Perlmutter
Technology Futurist and Guest Lecturer
Current Product Manager at Microsoft, former Executive Director for Planet Startup, past Board Chair of the Outré Theatre Company, and former attorney in the Broward
Public Defenders Office. He is passionate about education and making a difference in the world. He believes we can ignite entrepreneurism by leveraging the free market system to reduce the growing unemployment of young adults. Now volunteering as a technology futurist and guest lecturer, he is excited to share what he has learned on how new technology can positively impact the world.
Julienne Worring
Executive In Residence and Advisory Board
Julienne became an entrepreneur at the age of 15 where she created her own swimwear company - Karma Bikinis - with her sister Antje. She graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in Marketing, Operations, and Entrepreneurship. She spent a year and a half in Argentina, China, and Spain studying business and Spanish. Throughout her time at the University of Colorado at Boulder, she continued to travel the world with her business. See the story of Karma Bikinis at www.karma-bikinis.com
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Throughout her adventures, she grew a strong connection to travel. Within the last five years, she has devoted her life to discovering new cultures. From her experiences, she has connected with locals all around the world which lead her to her new venture. Julienne now organizes mindful travel plans to travelers worldwide to create customized enriched itineraries.
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Julienne is an inspiration to all, and she will share with our students how she developed her company, and how they can can do the same.
Komi S. Klu
Director, University Partnerships in Entrepreneurialism and International Coordination
Komi S. Klu is a multi-lingual, well-respected entrepreneur, speaker and Financial Services Executive with over 15 years of proven success in driving operational efficiencies and spearheading efforts to prevent and mitigate reputational, financial and operational risks for large global financial institutions, including Capital One Finance and HSBC. Concurrently, Komi is providing entrepreneurial leadership and training consulting services, assisting organizations in building solutions for large scale, complex business challenges in support of global economic development and risk management strategies. Komi has earned a reputation for the innovative and strategic leadership he brings to the financial services industry, as well as to global humanitarian initiatives. In addition, as the president and Chief Risk Officer of EMIGROUP, Komi is currently assisting Sub Saharan African and global financial institutions become efficient, well managed, with sufficient financial resources, and compliant with international legal requirements, including anti-money laundering regulations.
Komi holds Graduate and post graduate degrees from Bordeaux University ( France ) and Widener University ( Chester PA USA) and multiple certificates and accreditations from Stanford University, Wharton Business school, LOMA and Scrum Alliance.
Dan Finkelstein
Advisory Board and Political Liaison
Dan is a serial entrepreneur and trainer who is active in the political and social scene in South Florida. He hails from St. Louis, Missouri, and one of his business ventures is pet care and boarding where he has a unique focus specializing in canine exercise with an emphasis on cardiovascular health. Dan is a patron of the arts who served in leadership roles on non-profit boards such as the Outré Theatre Company and others. He is a champion for animal rights serving as an officer on the Broward County Animal Board, and a Board Member of the Citizens for Pets in Condos Corporation.
Dan is a sought after speaker at public and fundraising events, and is a well known LIS Intuitive Speaker. He is passionate about entrepreneurism and helping others to succeed by teaching and mentoring them to help themselves.
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Professor Komi Wolou
Director, International Educational Partnerships and Conferences
Professor Wolou is a champion of entrepreneurism as a strategy to create jobs across Africa, a recognized international scholar, a leader in social reform with a focus on opportunity and the creation of jobs, and will be a great asset in initiating partnerships with universities and research institutions in Africa and around the world.
He holds a doctorate in Law from Lille II University (France) and is a research professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lomé. In addition, he is a Professor in Private Law and Criminal Science, held the position of Head of Private Law Department at the Faculty of Law of Lomé, and currently is Head of the Doctoral School, Director of the Certificate of Aptitude for the Profession of Advocate (CAPA), Dean of the Faculty of Law, and a member of the OHADA research team at the Business Law Center of Lomé Law School. He is also president of the academic council of IHERIS, a private university in Lomé and lecturer in several African universities in Benin, Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon.
Professor Wolou is the author of a number of articles and directed memoirs and theses notably in Togo and Benin. In addition to his academic leadership he, is in demand as an international consultant to the International Labor Office (ILO), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on various issues related to the law in Togo; the National Consultative Agency of the National Agency for Employment (ANPE) and the Support Project for the Reform of Justice and the Promotion of Human Rights (PAJDH).
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At International Conferences and Seminars he was involved in training of notaries (in Niger), accounting experts (Benin) and lawyers from Banks (Burkina-Faso). He is a member of SEST, one of the unions of higher education in Togo and member of the association A2E (Act Together for Education).
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Professor Wolou's mission is to consolidate an international network of universities partnering with universities in the United States, Brazil, across Africa, Asia and Europe to accelerate entrepreneurism through Planet Startup Programs, collaborating on research, and creating networked conferences among partner universities with the IEEE and other partners.
Emmanuel Musoko, Jr.
Director; International Partnerships
He is the President and CEO of Elite Trends Group, a global business corporation with a go to market commercialization strategy in finance, computer cyber security, technology, entertainment and automobile industries. With a career that spans over 17 years in entrepreneurial activities growing businesses; he is a leader in running high volume operations, a specialist in maximizing growth and an expert in dynamic team building. His keen eye for handling new business development while engaging with multiple stakeholders has seen him hold a variety of positions of responsibility across a broad range of industries. He has worked alongside automobile manufacturers such as BMW and Volkswagen in Germany, supported telecommunications network build for startups in the UK to academic organizations such as Strayer University where, as the acting Regional Director and Director of Operations in Rockville, Maryland
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Engaging in a vast array of leadership in political and service activities, he is the Vice President of Investments and Board member for Renouveau Action Foundation Development Fund. At the end of 2014 he co-founded the Elite Trends World NGO to keep his dream alive of helping the less fortunate and supports this foundation to fund initiatives such as the Diaspora Interventions Volunteer (DIV) Exchange Program. He is a board member of Planet Startup, Inc a public charity helping young adults in high unemployment areas to build and grow their own Internet companies, BuzzAnalytics - futurist consulting firm. He was nominated on the 2017 - 2018 Advisory Board for the USAfrica Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) - Trade and Economic Forum. He is an Executive Member of the 2017 US-Africa International Economic Development (US-AIED) Showcase Africa Summit, and a leader in the international community
Henry Bondzie
Director; Africa Operations
A noted educator in Ghana, entrepreneur, and community leader - I believe that given resources and training to set up online businesses for our young adults will help to combat growing unemployment and unrest throughout Africa, drive free enterprise, and help to connect our young entrepreneurs with the major trade and economic centers of the world. Mr. Bondzie is the Country Director for BYKA-AFRICA-GHANA
Robert J. Gold
Director; China Operations
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Residing in China, Mr. Gold is an international Innovation Consultant specializing in the integration of Disruptive Technologies and Entrepreneurship. He is a member of the China Chapter of the World Future Society. Mr. Gold taught Innovation and Invention for 3 years at the University of Texas and had a textbook (“EUREKA: The Entrepreneurial Inventor’s Guide to Developing, Protecting and Profiting From Your Ideas”) published by Simon & Schuster. Currently, through his company, CyberKnight Int'l", he instructs a 1-2 day “Innovation WAVE” seminar on brainstorming and the creation of an Innovation Culture within companies and organizations to facilitate innovation on four continents.
M +1 646-893-0027 (US)
M +86 186 8869 1863 (Guangdong)
Isabel Wu
Director; Austraila Operations
Residing in Australia, an international management consultant and entrepreneur with a focus on 21st century business needs. Ms. Wu founded the Meta Management consulting firm to help business leaders to navigate business challenges in the 21st century. She believes in the importance of aspects of culture, history, meaning and relationships. Facts and data are important - but only one dimensional until there are stories to enrich them.
Vinicius Almeida
Director; Brazil Operations
Residing in Brazil, Mr. Almeida has led multinationals and national companies for 20 years, including startups in several segments. As a business leader with both a financial and strategic mindset, he led and trained high performing international multidisciplinary teams in highly competitive situations. He developed a solid and very large business-oriented social network of global top influencers to further his ideas of global economic empowerment.
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He has been involved for many years in local and global non-profit organizations that share a common purpose – aiming at a better world. He believes in the economic empowerment of young adults through education as a key factor to combat global unemployment and increase quality job creation through entrepreneurism.
Lawrence R. Carnegie
Director; US Operations
Former high-level business, finance, and technology manager within the U.S. Federal Government, former owner of Environmental Management, Inc., and current President and CEO of Management Resources (formerly Carnegie Enterprises) and the Spoveo.com website, Mr. Carnegie consults with startups and entrepreneurs to help them succeed in business. His mantra is hard work, discipline, and integrity. He helps young adults in remote rural and inner city areas worldwide to confront business challenges and connects them electronically to capital markets so they might participate in the free enterprise markets of the Internet.
Brian Jacob
Director; Fort Lauderdale Area
Entrepreneur, Investor, MadMan, and believer that the next amazing startup can be found anywhere... "Often times, folks just don't have experience, courage, or funding, but most people have solved an issue they've had. Can that solution be scalable?"
Co-Founder of DB Collective, A Creative Digital Agency with Clients such as the United Nations, NHL, AT&T, Mercedes Benz and more. Co-Founder of Collective Ventures, A Startup Accelerator, Tech & Creative Innovation Center, and cool Cafe in Downtown Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Gratien Mukeshimana
Director; Global Investors, Venture Capitalists, and Partners
Residing in Rwanda, Mr. Mukeshimana is developing a group of venture capitalists and investors, spanning continents, to help forge investor relationships with our students. He is an entrepreneur, investor, and venture capitalist who invests in global projects which can better a society's quality of life and who inspires people around the world to pursue their potential on the Internet. He believes that young people with passion can change the world for the better. He has experience in a non-profit healthcare organization that he has been working for since 2010; with the goal of improving the health of HIV+ adults and children in Rwanda. He is the ambassador of Doctor Pocket, Futurenet Inc. and Kalejob. He joined Doctor Pocket with the mission to contribute to Africa by providing the most efficient way of getting in contact with global specialists. He joined Futurenet Inc. with the mission to contribute to Africa by providing the most innovative social networking platform that connects and inspires people around the world to pursue their potential on the Internet, providing them with constantly new products and creative solutions. He joined Kalejob with the mission to develop web and mobile applications to help young people to easily find a job via SMS/MMS - - - A luxury they would have never experienced.
Linda Ansong
Director; International Strategy
As an educator residing in Ghana, a social entreBpreneur, and an advocate for women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), she believes poverty in Africa and in the rest of the world can be eradicated through education. Given the right training, resources and investors, Africans and others can improve their standard of living by finding solutions to pertinent problems in their communities. This creates wealth for themselves and jobs for others.
She is Co-founder and Executive Director at STEMbees Organization, a non-profit that aims at empowering young Africans in STEM as well as a cofounder of a tech startup, Vestracker. Vestracker is a software as a service company for the freight industry. It helps freight forwarders and clearing agents aggregate freight information and easily share with all stakeholders, making work easy and efficient.
She is on the board of one of the top soccer clubs in Ghana, Liberty professionals FC and general manager of a furniture manufacturing company, Reeds Industries Limited.
Floridah Angila Ashitua
Director; Kenya Operations
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As an entrepreneur residing in Kenya, she focuses on social work, and is a dedicated human rights activist who is passionate about the advocacy of young women's active and collective participation in all spheres of leadership with a commitment to the fight against all forms of child abuse.
She is a part- time volunteer operations officer/social media journalist at The Genevieve Audrey Foundation,with aspirations to represent the community in the county assembly, and is the vision bearer of Better Families Foundation a community based organization which was inspired by the Uungwana Institute and Akili Dada organization with the mission to protect and defend families,improve their access to basic needs, champion the need for better families as a tool to discover, develop, and motivate transformational leaders.
Kady L. BOROZE
Assistant Director; Togo Operations
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Kady is passionate about entrepreneurship and is convinced that young people can change their lives through entrepreneurship. My country can eradicate poverty by putting in place processes to stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit of young people and, as a young African leader, contributes greatly to helping peers become entrepreneurs. He is an engineer in Software Engineering, General Commissioner of the Scout Association of Togo, the main education movement for young people in the world and in Togo. Through Scouting, it supports the formation of free, happy, committed and artisanal citizens of development and peace. He is also director of manpower service at autonomous Port of Lomé.
Kezie Hodabalo Bidenam
Director; French-Speaking Africa and Togo Operations
Kezie, residing in Togo, is an environmental and permanent development jurist, legal advisor in solidarite Internationale Pour le Bien-Etre Communicataire (SIBEC-TOGO) organization, and legal advisor assisting solaire solution international Inc. S.A.R.L.U.
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In addition, Kezie is a community leader and passionate about bringing transformational change in his community. He has volunteered in many organisations including ( SIBEC) an environmental organization promoting human rights, and he provides assistance to people and associations working for the betterment of society.
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He is passionate about educating people on the environement, human rights, and democracy . He believes that his contributions in these areas can help ignite quality job creation through entrepreneurism and reduce growing unemployment of young adults throughout Africa with a focus on Togo by leveraging free market economics through incentives.
Augustine Macarthy
Director; Sierra Leone Operations
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Augustine, residing in Sierra Leone, is a young graduate and holds a BS degree in sociology. His passion and desire for community engagement motivated him to join the Young African Leaders Initiative ( YALI ) network, an initiative funded by thethe United States of America..
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He has since undertaken 16 online courses organized by the YALI network which has further prepared him to engage in a important ways many critical issues concerning his community where he feels he can make a substantial impact.
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Augustine is also a change agent and has impacted his community and peers through the numerous courses he has taken with YALI.through entrepreneurism and job creation for young adults.
Emas Potolani
Director; Malawi Operations
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Emas is the Founder of Worship-Quake Malawi which he established while he was a in 2012. He is a Volunteer at CorpsAfrica in Malawi and currently volunteering locally in Neno, South of Malawi, He is also an External Consultant for Uncharted Play (U-Play US). In addition to that, he is a member of the New African Chapter (NAC), where he is the Director of Mentorship and Youth Development. NAC is a non-profit organization that comprises of members from all the 54 African states, committed to leading the development of the new Africa. An Africa that is capable in all sectors of its economy, sustaining itself through its own organizations and initiatives. He also belongs to the Youth to Youth Empowerment (Y2YE) in Malawi and through both NAC and Y2YE platforms; he uses his passion about youth empowerment and activism to engage the youth of Malawi and Africa in youth development programs and practical initiatives.
His current volunteering work at CorpsAfrica will help him to formally launch the operations of Prospect Foundation, the organization he is co-founding with his fiancée. Prospect Foundation's aim is to work with young people in rural communities to enhance education and entrepreneurship skills as a means to building their capacity to become national and world leaders.
Billy Malombo
National Director for Democratic Republic of Congo and Contiguous Nations
Information technology expert, trainer, entrepreneur and mentor, I am convinced that Expertise is cultivated and knowledge is diffused. Thus creating a network of expertise, knowledge and dissemination accessible to all, I am committed to investing in people in order to help them promote their potential but also support them in the entrepreneurial world while fighting against dependency and unemployment.
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Having acquired proven experience for more than ten years in the field of digitalization of data from several projects in the humanitarian sector, statistical analysis of health data and management of child and adult diabetes projects within Belgium working in the DRC in partnership with the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp (IMT); the firm Novo Nordisk and the International Diabetes Federation, I participated effectively during my professional career in the fight against juvenile diabetes by setting up a relational database for the routine monitoring of diabetic patients in order to support the health information system and the national diabetes control program in DR Congo.
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I worked as coordinator in charge of training within CONGO IT EMERGENCE CORPORATION, IT and data manager, Assistant Project Manager within Memisa Belgium.
I am General Manager of PEREX-WP and Direct regional Planet Startup operations to help foster development and job creation in high poverty areas around the world.
BWANGA DEUTCHA Thérèse Pascale Danoss
Associate Director; Cameroon Operations
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BWANGA DEUTCHA Thérèse Pascale Danoss holds an MBA from CESAG Business School in Dakar, Senegal and is currently working as a promoter of a crowdfunding platform in Cameroon for financing farmers to boost agriculture in her country; The three main methods of crowdfunding currently used on the platform are: participatory loan, market services (pre-purchase and pre-sale) and participative capital investments. In addition it provides financing tools needed by farmers in Cameroon.
Born in Douala, Miss Thérèse DEUTCHA immigrated to Togo in September 2009 after graduating to study the financial management of companies in West Africa she developed a comparative study with Cameroon.
This enabled her to easily integrate the big Cameroonian banks on her return to Cameroon such as BEAC (Bank of Central African States) and CITIBANK Cameroon, from 2015 to 2017.
Recently, she had a leadership role as a director for the Federation of Unions and Gics of Producers and Associate Traders of Central Africa (FUGIPROCA), which allowed her to get better acquainted with the agricultural situation in Cameroon thanks to her collaboration with Group of Common Initiatives (GIC) agricultural. She currently co-chairs Cameroon's Plan and Startup group and is actively involved inagricultural initiative
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She obtained a Bachelor's degree in Finance-Audit-Accounting from the Catholic University of West Africa in Togo (UCAO-UUT) and another degree in Marketing-Strategy from the same university before pursuing a master's degree. and MBA at CESAG Business School in Senegal.
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She looks at entrepreneurialism and free market economics as a way to rapidly create jobs and wealth within West Africa for all - - - and in particular sees this as a way to combat the abuse of women, forced marriages, and human trafficking.
Dr. Henry EMEJUO
Director; Nigeria Operations
Dr Emejuo is an Award winning Nigeria Entrepreneur, Strategic Advisor and an experienced professional with medical degrees BMLS, a Doctor of Medicine(MD) and Master of Public Health (MPH). He is passionate about sustainable business development, exchange of knowledge; a social entrepreneur, Health Innovator, Blogger with experience on a range of different subjects. Gender-sensitive, Healthcare development, Agricultural/industrial development, project activities and/or innovations. Today Henry, is not only a Clinician and Scientist but also a Medical and Pharmaceutical Consultant to many companies; Specializing in Hospital Management Consultant, pharmaceuticals, health maintenance organisations, as well as a Biomedical Technologist and Industrialist. He is Certified in Good Clinical Practice (GCP).
He has authored two books; The art of today’s business: strategies for success, and The over view of the sexually transmitted diseases: A hand Book for Doctors. He has published over 15 scientific publications both in local and international journals. His Research interests are Vaccinology, Forensic Bioinformatics, DNA Forensics and Rational drug discovery etc.
Epie Promise Ngolepie
Associate Director; Cameroon Operations
Epie is a youth leader in Cameroon and holds a BA in Geography. Epie founded the Spirit of Youth Association, and was the National Coordinator for Africa Youths for Peace and Development in Cameroon. He attended the 2nd Africa Youth and Governance Conference in Accra, Ghana, the Commonwealth Youth Summit on Climate Change in London, and the World Water Forum in Turkey. Epie is also a facilitator on good quality cocoa production in Cameroon and internal inspector for UT2 certification of cocoa in Cameroon.
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Epie has also organized and trained youths in entrepreneurial initiatives in agribusiness and technology in areas covering poultry, swine, corn, and vegetable production. He is helping to establish Planet Startup Centers in rural areas of Cameroon.
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ATTHOS Yannick Stephane Desire
Director; Burkina Faso Operations
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ATTHOS Yannick Stephane Desire, PGC is a passionate of Entrepreneurship; Humanitarian causes; Professional Training and Executive Education. He is the founder of the International Center for Professional Development (ICPD ELOHIM COMMUNICATION) in the republic of Cote d’Ivoire where he is working as a Management Consultant and Course Instructor in the field of Project Management, Marketing and Human Resources and Strategic Management. Yannick S.D Atthos currently holds a Postgraduate specialization in Project Management (Graduate Training Institute, Legon Ghana) and a Sales Management Certificate from former London Center of Marketing (LCM UK)
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He believes Executive Education through short courses with passionate Instructors could help people of any nationality have confidence in themselves and reveal their potential and better impact not only for their destiny but also for that of the rest of the world by being leaders and initiators of great changes in their related fields
SEMASSA Kayodé Carine Aubierge
Director; Benin Operations
Carine is a young creative Beninois with a bachelor's degree in Marketing, a Project and Events Management (PEM) Certification and a Certification in entrepreneurship.
Carine is passionate about entrepreneurship in this 21st century where young people are struggling in finding employment after graduating as the jobs are disappearing.
She states: "I believe that Africa has strong potentialities - - - especially the women that we can not neglect. I want to be part of a vibrant civil society where I can motivate and encourage people to achieve their lifetime dreams. I strongly believe that no matter what obstacles come our ways we have the power to change our lives and make the world a better place."
Faladema TALAKI
Director; Senegal Operations
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Faladema TALAKI , is Planet Startup’s National Director of Operations in Senegal – he specializes in the Telecom sector, and he holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification (license 1719943). He is passionate about entrepreneurship and firmly believes that young people can change their lives by knowing that entrepreneurship is their highway to success. He maintains that Africa can eradicate poverty by putting processes in place to stimulate youth entrepreneurship, and as a young African leader he plays a big role in helping his peers to become entrepreneurs. He earned an MBA in entrepreneurship from the University of Liverpool with varied experience in leadership roles in many countries; he is using what he has learned from entrepreneurs around the world to help young Africans to develop their own businesses, reach world markets, and use technology to overcome poverty and rising unemployment.
DIABATE Baba Ezéchias
Director; Ivory Coast Operations
As a Business Developer, I believe in education and training as a durable key of developing human potentiality and ability for the future.
Ellen G. White in a her book, "Education," page 57 said: “The greatest want of the world is the want of men—men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest,…, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall”.
Through Planet Startup, we are able to build “the greatest want”.
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Entrepreneurialism employing the Internet will enable young adults to reach world markets, and that is what we teach at Planet Startup - - - helping ourselves as well as our communities.
Dr. Ken Pembamoto
Associate Director; Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Operations
As a Computer Science educator, Entrepreneur and Information Technology (IT) Consultant, I believe in the potential that information technology provides in developing countries. IT can become an enabler of economic development for all types of entrepreneurial businesses.
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Over the last four decades, while working with Fortune 500 corporations, in government, in educational institutions, and in personal enterprises, Dr. Pembamoto has been involved in training, equipping and empowering a new generation of young professionals both in DRC, Zambia, and the United States playing a major role in the development of Information Systems for several international organizations and African countries.
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Over the last 16 years, he has served as corporate officer for several companies. He is a Professor at also was a professional trainer of information technology and of leadership and change management, and has held teaching positions at Howard University in Washington, DC, and Loyola College in Baltimore, Md. For two years, he was a member of an advisory panel on microcomputers for developing countries of the National Academy of Science BOSTID program.
Currently Dr. Pembamoto is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Palm Beach Atlantic University where he works with Planet Startup to help foster development and job creation in high poverty areas around the world.
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Muyisa Mulaghalya Muguy Moïse
Associate Director; Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Operations
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Muyisa Mulaghalya Muguy Moïse is an engineer in construction and public works, he has led programs in the construction and rehabilitation of hospitals, schools, health centers, agricultural developments, roads, and desert reclamation, in many regions including active in zones in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is an agribusiness specialist mentoring young entrepreneurs in supporting themselves by teaching them how to build their own businesses and rely on the free market economy for growing wealth and in promoting their creative spirit.
A man of integrity and bravery in humanitarian aid, he is a specialist in market and agro-pastoral culture and currently leading agricultural business projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Hermann Lange NDJIBI OTHAS
Director; Gabon Operations
Hermann has a BTS in international trade with a strong background combining both technology and management, holding a Pro license in Operations Management with over eleven years of experience in mobile telephony where he held managerial positions.
He is passionate about how entrepreneurism can help people create their own companies, hire others, and use the Internet to trade across Africa as well as the rest of the world. That way, young adults within the interior of many African nations and far from distribution and transportations can reach into the free markets of the world to earn wealth that can then circulate in their communities. With rapidly growing unemployment, jobs are vanishing for highly qualified young adults - - - and it is getting worse where many are convinced that it is impossible for young adults to flourish in the current environment – they must create and do what they love by building it themselves.
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Hermann joined the team to help others become entrepreneurs in order to create wealth for themselves as well as others in order to stop the growing poverty.
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Imafidon Ayemere
Associate Director; Nigeria Operations
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Imafidon Ayemere, a serial entrepreneur, and small business development consultant, has over ten years of experience in the nonprofit sector as a social-entrepreneur and youth empowerment advocate. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Economics from Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria, even as he is a chartered economist, certified banker and fellow of the Institute of Professional Recruitment Consultants (Nigeria and UK).
While working as the founder and community program Manager with Global Youth and Positive Empowerment Initiative (GYPEI), he initiated and led a team to plant trees, carry out environmental programs and trained over 600 teenagers and youths on different vocational and entrepreneurial skills.
Imafidon is skilled in business plan writing with special interest in helping SME"s secure funds for start-ups or expansion and helping to improve the economic life of vulnerable groups such as Women and youth via Agricultural, Real estate training and financial empowerment in Nigeria. He has assisted numerous young entrepreneurs in many ways as well as raising business funds through grants, loans, private investment and so on as the consulting partner of Donse Resources. He coordinate projects, writes proposals and report as well as the mentoring, monitoring and evaluation of small business owners. Previously, he worked with a community based organization and founded nursery and primary schools in Lagos to offer psychosocial and early childhood entrepreneurship-based education for children, vocational learning, and promote Teenage entrepreneurship awareness.
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Imafidon has volunteered as a facilitator on Youth and women related programs and Mentor on Youth entrepreneurship for several groups, including Cooperative Multipurpose Societies, Federal Government of Nigeria’s YOUWIN program and Helping Hands International.Through these experiences, he developed strong project coordination, leadership, youth education, and entrepreneurship development and implementation skills. Imafidon prefers focusing on Entrepreneurship education and good governance, Women empowerment, adolescent mental re-orientation, and has a robust passion for youth education and empowerment through Agriculture/Real Estate.
OROU Orou Raymond
Associate Director; Benin Operations
Raymond holds a Master in Audit and Management Control, and he is currently Director of Operations & Co-Founder of Wouro Investment Sarl as well as a trainer. He is a young adult himself and is passionate about mentoring young adults enabling them to set up their own companies to earn a living through entrepreneurship.
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The trainings I teach address the topics of inclusive finance, entrepreneurship, environmental protection, business creation and accounting, creativity and innovation.
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In 2017, he was selected as the OKYD ambassador (volunteer) on behalf of the NGO CRADES in the commune of Kouandé in northern Benin, where he worked to promote sustainable development objectives using social networks such as Facebook, Whatsapp, and others.
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He believes that African youth has the potential to develop the African continent. For this, He presents seminars to young adults and mentors them in the fields of ecological agriculture, digital technologies and raising capital. To raise funds for these initiatives, he carries out charitable activities in villages and the countryside.
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Pedro Kauffmann
International Coordinator for Entrepreneurial Programs
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Residing in South Florida, Pedro Kauffmann is a student at North Broward Preparatory School in Coconut Creek. Originally from Brazil, Pedro Kauffmann is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, and English. At North Broward, he leads the business community, and he is a candidate for the International Baccalaureate Diploma. He has opened a DECA Chapter at North Broward, where they compete in international business competitions. He believes that education is the most efficient way to help others; especially by teaching communities entrepreneurial skills, which empowers them to carve out their own destiny. And in the internet age, more people have the opportunity to gain their financial freedom. With his entrepreneurial and educational skills, Pedro now helps Planet Startup with the logistics and planning of educational projects all around the globe.
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