Ambassador Fumio Shimizu is the head of the Japanese Mission to the African Union (AU). A lawyer by profession, Shimizu is a seasoned Japanese diplomate and official at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Netsanet Muluneh was recently awarded the East African Women’s Digital Safety Fellowship which has taken her to Entebbe, Uganda as part of the one-year program.

Ivan Gaidarov is a noted Bulgarian doctor who spent his formative years in various towns within Ethiopia.

Dawit Hailu is the Managing Director and owner of Wudassie Diagnostic Center – a pioneering company involved in image diagnostic service.

Mihret Adal Gidi is a young novelist based in Ethiopia. She recently authored her first book, ‘Bleeding Hearts of a Butterfly’. 

Gabriella Sirak works with Meri Leadership and Mentorship and she is helping empower the next generation of leaders within the capital. Here, she reflects with Samuel Getachew of The Reporter on the initiative, on mentorship, partnership and the long-term vision of the program that has attracted much attention in recent months from powerful actors from different sectors. Excerpts:

Atkyelesh G.M. Persson (PhD) is a multidisciplinary researcher who studied and wrote several articles and books on environmental policy and management, global public health and public administration.

Tsedeke Abate (PhD) obtained his PhD from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. He got both his MSc and BSc degrees from the University of Florida, Gainesville.

Noel Daniel is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Kudu Ventures, the first Ethiopian Venture Capital Firm in the nation. Noel is on a drive to motivate and invest in young entrepreneurs. The Ethiopian – American / German entrepreneur spoke to The Reporters Samuel Getachew on his venture capital, on the recent investment he made through iCog, known for its work on Artificial Intelligence and reflects on how Ethiopia can begin to attract Venture Capital investments. Excerpts:

Habtamu Tadesse is the founder of ZayRide, a taxi hailing platform within Ethiopia found in 2016 and on the verge of branching out of the nation on to Monrovia, Liberia.