Agriculture Panel
Joshua Reed-Diawuoh (Moderator) - Founder & CEO, Gria Foods Co.
Joshua Reed-Diawuoh is the founder of GRIA Food Co., a venture dedicated to bringing premium African snacks to consumers around the world. He is a graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management where he focused on finance, entrepreneurship in emerging markets, and agriculture innovation; he was also a Fellow at the MIT Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship, where he founded GRIA Food Co. Joshua has a diverse range of experience as an operator and consultant, leading projects across agriculture, public health, healthcare IT, fintech, and workforce development. He currently works at Danaher within their rotational management program and serves on the Board of Roca Inc.
Philip Gasaatura - Country Director - Rwanda, Katapult Africa VC
Philip started out his career in financial services working at ABN AMRO and Citi. He then went on to become the founder and CEO of the New Food Company based in Uganda with operations in the United Kingdom. He relocated to Rwanda and worked as Project Director at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and eventually became the Country Director at Katapult in 2021. He received his BSc in Computer Science from Makerere University, his MSc from University of Witwatersrand and his Masters in VC Finance and Private Equity from the London Business School.Philip started out his career in financial services working at ABN AMRO and Citi. He then went on to become the founder and CEO of the New Food Company based in Uganda with operations in the United Kingdom. He relocated to Rwanda and worked as Project Director at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and eventually became the Country Director at Katapult in 2021. He received his BSc in Computer Science from Makerere University, his MSc from University of Witwatersrand and his Masters in VC Finance and Private Equity from the London Business School.
Yann Le Beux - Co-Founder & General Manager, Yux Design
Yann Le Beux is a co-founder and investor at LOOKA, an independent business unit of YUX, building a fast-growing market research Saas dedicated to African SMEs. Yann is also a co-founder and investor in KAYFO, the first Senegalese video game studio, building casual mobile games inspired by the African context. He is a former Catalyst at CTIC Dakar, a leading Startups Incubator in Senegal (+75 companies supported with a total turnover of $5 millions in 4 years). Yann has a breadth of work experience and networks within the US, West-Africa, France, UK and Germany.
Simbarashe Mhungu - Chief Operating Officer, CBZ Agro Yield
Simbarashe is the COO of CBZ Agro Yield, one of the largest agriculture financing institutions in Africa. CBZ Agro Yield is a subsidiary of listed CBZ Holdings, the largest financial services group in Zimbabwe. Simbarashe began his career in the equities division at Goldman Sachs in New York where he advised global multi strategy hedge funds managing up to USD 2 billion in assets. In Africa, he went on to advise on several significant transactions involving fortune 500 companies in the agribusiness, telecoms, finance and FMCG sectors. Simbarashe has been a keynote speaker at the World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC. He is a regular on BBC World Business News commenting on African Capital Markets and Africa - China Trade and Debt dynamics. Simbarashe sits on several boards in Africa and was educated at Howard University and London Business School.