Founding Members

Kamala D. Harris

First woman, first Black American and first South Asian American to serve as U.S. Vice President.

Nancy Pelosi

Speaker Emerita; longtime U.S. political leader who represented San Francisco in Congress for decades; first woman to serve as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Gavin Newsom

California Governor; former Mayor of the City of San Francisco.

Karen Ross

Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture ("CDFA"); oversees the state’s $50 billion agricultural economy, food-safety and market-promotion programs, and California’s international agricultural trade partnerships.

Toks Omishakin

Secretary, California Department of Transportation; $30 billion yearly budget and 42,000 employees; leads California's transportation policy and infrastructure investment at the cabinet level.

Willie Brown

Former Speaker of the California State Assembly and former Mayor of San Francisco; one of California's most influential African American political figures of the past half-century, with deep ties across state government, business and civic institutions.

Curren D. Price Jr.

Los Angeles political leader who served in the California State Assembly and California State Senate; currently serves as a Los Angeles City Councilmember.

Matthew Haney

California Assemblymember and active supporter of Africa.

Dee Dee Myers

Director, California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development ("GO-Biz"); GO-Biz oversees the state’s Travel and Tourism Commission.

Caroline Beteta

President & CEO, Visit California — the state's official tourism marketing organization.

Rodney Scott

President, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, California; direct regional-government tie-in for Bay Area trade initiatives.

Donald P. Wagner

Chairman, Orange County Board of Supervisors, California.

Karen Bass

Mayor of the City and County of Los Angeles; former U.S. Congresswoman and California Assembly Speaker.

Barbara Lee

Mayor of the City of Oakland, California; former longtime U.S. Congresswoman representing Oakland.

Lisa M. Gillmor

Mayor of the City of Santa Clara, California.

Daniel Lurie

Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco, California.

Webster Lincoln

Mayor of the City of East Palo Alto, California.

Matt Mahan

Mayor of the City of San Jose, California.

Raj Salwan

Mayor of the City of Fremont, California.

Vicki Veenker

Mayor of the City of Palo Alto, California.

Shamann Walton

Supervisor for District 10 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, City and County of San Francisco; focused on economic opportunity, housing, education, public safety and community development.

Elihu Harris, Esq.

Former Mayor of Oakland and Chancellor of the Oakland college system; leadership that led to $1.3 billion in upgrades to Oakland International Airport and the establishment of the Port of Oakland as a leading container port.

Eric D. Bates

Former Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice; attorney-litigator with decades of legal, trial, investigative and oversight experience, including service in the California Office of the Inspector General.

Bonny Nyaga, MSc., P.E.

International Policy Advisor, California State Transportation Agency ("CalSTA"); experienced in state-government transportation and international policy.

H.E. Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue

Vice President of Equatorial Guinea.

King Clement Haastruk

Yoruba King, Nigeria.

H.E. Crisantos Obama Ondo

Ambassador of Equatorial Guinea to the United States of America.

H.E. Abdoul Wahab Haidara

Ambassador of Senegal to the United States of America.

H.E. Lateef Kayode Kolawole Are

Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States of America.

H.E. Agniola Ahouanmenou

Ambassador of Benin to the United States of America.

H.E. Victor Emmanuel Smith

Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to the United States of America.

H.E. Fatoumata Kaba

Ambassador of Guinea-Conakry to the United States of America.

H.E. Noël Nelson Messone

Ambassador of Gabon to the United States of America.

H.E. David K. Kerich

Ambassador of Kenya to the United States of America.

H.E. Ibrahima Touré

Ambassador of Côte d'Ivoire to the United States of America.

H.E. Jean Bosco Barege

Ambassador of Burundi to the United States of America.

Honorary Consul Rajen Ranchhod

Honorary Consul of Zambia in California, Sacramento.

Honorary Consul Mame Mbaye

Honorary Consul of Senegal in California, Los Angeles.

Cyril Ndaba

Former Consul General of South Africa in California, Los Angeles.

John Harman

Board of Directors, United States Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC (Fortune 500).

Charles DeBow

President, National Black Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC.

Jay King

President, California Black Chamber of Commerce.

Rodney Fong

President, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Matthew Ajiake, Ph.D., MBA

California-based business leader, author and advocate for small-business and economic inclusion; former President of the San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce (SFAACC).

Helena Jones Kim

Chair, Board of Directors, San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce.

Gene Hale

President, Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce.

Zeke Patton

Executive Vice President, Black Business Association of Los Angeles.

Cathy Adams

President, Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce.

Adoubou Traore

President, San Francisco African Immigration Center.

Algérie — Saida Neghza

Présidente, Confédération Générale des Entreprises Algériennes (CGEA).

Angola — Francisco Viana

Président, Confederação Empresarial de Angola (CEA).

Bénin — Eustache Kotigan

Président, Conseil National du Patronat du Bénin (CNP-BENIN).

Burkina Faso — Idrissa Nassa

Président, Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Faso (COGEF).

Cameroun — Célestin Tawamba

Président, Groupement des Entreprises du Cameroun (GECAM).

Congo-Brazzaville — Michel Djombo

Président, Union Patronale et Interprofessionnelle du Congo (UNICONGO).

Côte d'Ivoire — Ahmed Cissé

Président, Confédération Générale des Entreprises de Côte d'Ivoire (CGECI).

Égypte — Mohamed El Sewedy

Président, Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI).

Éthiopie — Sebsibe Abafira Abajbir

Listed in the Founding Member document for Ethiopia.

Gabon — Alain-Claude Kouakoua

Président, Fédération des Entreprises du Gabon (FEG).

Ghana — Dr. Kofi Nsiah-Poku

Président, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI).

Guinée — Ansoumane Kaba

Président, Confédération Générale des Entreprises de Guinée (CGE-GUI).

Kenya — Dr. Jas Bedi

Président, Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA).

Mali — Mossadeck Bally

Président, Conseil National du Patronat du Mali (CNPM).

Maroc — Mehdi Tazi

Président, Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Maroc (CGEM).

Mozambique — Álvaro Massingue

Président, Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA).

Namibie — Vetumbuavi Mungunda

Président, Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI).

Nigeria — Richard Ayibiowu

Président, Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association (NECA).

Sénégal — Abdel Kader Ndiaye

Président, Confédération Nationale des Employeurs du Sénégal (CNES).

Sénégal — Baidy Agne

Conseil National du Patronat (CNP).

Afrique du Sud — Mxolisi Mgojo

Président, Business Unity South Africa (BUSA).

Tanzanie — Angelina Ngalula

Présidente par intérim, Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF).

Togo — Laurent Tamegnon

Président, Conseil National du Patronat du Togo (CNP-TOGO).

Tunisie — Samir Majoul

Président, Union Tunisienne de l'Industrie, du Commerce et de l'Artisanat (UTICA).

Ouganda — Humphrey Nzeyi

Président, Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU).

Zambie — Anthony Kabaghe

Président, Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI).

Zimbabwe — Zivanayi Rusike

Président, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI).

Patricia Veringa-Gieskes

Vice President, East African Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (EACCIA); Regional Ambassador for Central Africa of the Alliance des Patronats Francophones; Board Member of the American Chamber of Commerce in DR Congo "AmCham DRC."

Tanoh Amoa

Founder & President, International Chamber of Commerce of Nevada; business and international economic-development advocate; Consul of Côte d’Ivoire in Los Angeles, strengthening commercial, cultural and institutional partnerships between Africa and the United States.

Albert Yuma Mulimbi

Former President of the Fédération des Entreprises du Congo (FEC); past President and Chairman of Gécamines in the DRC, with leadership and board positions in international business organizations including CPCCAF and the International Organization of Employers.

Baraka Kabemba

CEO, Gécamines S.A. and EY Partner (DRC).

Célestin Kibeya Kabemba

CEO of COMINIERE, a DRC state-owned company with strategic interests in critical minerals, including lithium and other battery-related resources.

Kurt House

Founder & CEO, KoBold Metals; mineral-exploration company pursuing over $1 billion in lithium and cobalt development in the DRC.

Flavio Ammaral

Executive Vice President, Blue Quest Resources, a leading global minerals trader with offices on six continents and headquarters in Switzerland.

Philip Father

Founder & CEO, Scepter, Inc.; former CEO of ProtoStar Ltd.; leads a San Francisco-based earth and atmospheric intelligence platform applicable to mineral exploration and emissions monitoring.

Kassongo Bin Nassor

President of the "FEC" Chamber of Mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo, representing the DRC mining sector in government negotiations; former Vice President and Senior Advisor at Tenke Fungurume and former Chief of Staff to the President of the National Assembly.

H.E. Ambassadeur Ezéchiel Nibigira

Président of the "ECCAS" Economic Community of Central African States Commission (CEEAC).

Daniel Claude Abate

Vice-President, "HCA" High Business Council of the ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African States); responsible for regional and international cooperation and resource mobilization, strengthening private-sector integration, investment and economic partnerships across Central Africa.

José Luis Cham Sabuera

President of the "HCA" High Business Council of the ECCAS in Equatorial Guinea and CEO, Eagles Brothers Corporation Ltd (EBC).

Deanna Tryon

Chief of Protocol of Silicon Valley; a leading protocol and international-relations professional.

TESLA

Founder & CEO Elon Musk.

OpenAI

CEO Sam Altman / Corporate Affairs.

NVIDIA

CEO Jensen Huang / Corporate Affairs.

Apple

CEO Tim Cook / Government Affairs.

Alphabet / Google

CEO Sundar Pichai / Google Government Affairs.

Meta Platforms

President/CEO Mark Zuckerberg / Public Policy.

Cisco Systems

CEO Chuck Robbins / Global Government Affairs.

Oracle

Chairman & CTO Larry Ellison / Government Affairs.

Salesforce

CEO Marc Benioff / Global Public Policy; San Francisco.

Intel

CEO Lip-Bu Tan / Government Affairs.

Adobe

Chair & CEO Shantanu Narayen / Government Relations.

Applied Materials

President & CEO Gary Dickerson / Government Affairs.

Waymo

Co-CEOs Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov; San Francisco.

Upali Karunaratna

President of Spire USA Inc., focused on technology and financial solutions for innovative aquaculture and agricultural production systems.

Chantelle Fitzgerald

CEO, Mindset Strategies LLC; AI Consultant.

Hervé Kiteba Simo

CEO, HAKS Group, advising major state-led projects on deal structuring and fundraising; CEO, Africa Equity Mining; Board Member, Fund for the Promotion of Education in DRC; AI technologies expert and trainer for senior executives.

John Thompson

Former Chairman of Microsoft; venture partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners; active in Silicon Valley diversity programs.

Jonathan Mayes

Former SVP & Chief Diversity/Inclusion Officer, Albertsons Companies, one of California's largest grocery-retail employers; corporate diversity and workforce-strategy expert.

James D. White

Former Chairman, President & CEO, Jamba Juice; led the California-based smoothie chain and remains active in board and advisory work.

OUI Capital

OUI Capital investment team; African venture-capital fund.

Launch Africa Ventures

Zachariah George & Janade du Plessis, Managing Partners.

Ajim Capital

Eunice Ajim, Founder & Managing Partner.

Rotimi Morohunfola

Chief Executive Officer of UBA America, New York.

Samuel A. Opoku

CEO & Chairman, African Financial Bridge Limited; Manager, Bank of America, Administration, Corporate Credit and Mortgage Banking.

Myles Stevens, AIA, RILA

San Francisco-based architect, urban planner and landscape architect; President of Stevens + Associates, with more than 200 architecture, transportation, infrastructure and urban-development projects in California and internationally, including BART and SFO International Airport.

Allan Dones

General contractor and leading African American developer; projects include the Oakland Port and the 7th Street BART transit station, with work in Africa including energy-grid projects between Ghana and other countries.

AE3 Partners

San Francisco-based architecture and construction-management firm working in architecture, construction management, sustainable design, project management and real-estate development.

Aire Sheet Metal

Bay Area-based industrial and construction company specializing in sheet-metal fabrication and related mechanical systems.

Kristi McKenney

Executive Director, Port of Oakland; first woman to lead the Port of Oakland, overseeing both the seaport and Oakland International Airport.

Gene Seroka

Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles.

Charles Gerard

Port Director of the Port of Richmond, California; the port specializes in bulk, break-bulk, vehicle, metals and other commercial cargo operations.

Michael Martin

Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco; oversees the San Francisco waterfront and the Port's maritime and real-estate portfolio.

UC Davis — Dr. Gary S. May

Chancellor, University of California, Davis.

Stanford University — School of Engineering & Center for African Studies

Dean, School of Engineering; Center for African Studies; Professor Jef Caers, Founder-CEO of Mineral X at Stanford, co-host of the DRC Forum 2nd Edition.

Stanford University — Professor Deborah Senesky

Professor, Stanford University.

UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center

Dr. Harold Torrence, Director of the UCLA African Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles.

UC Berkeley Center for African Studies

James Q. Davies, Director.

San Jose State University

Department of African Studies.

Santa Clara University

Department of Ethnic Studies — Black Studies and African American Studies.

Howard University — Dr. Kimberly L. Jones

College of Engineering and Architecture and Computer Sciences, Howard University.

Mark Suzman

CEO and governing board member of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with global efforts in health, poverty reduction, agriculture, nutrition and education.

Nicole Taylor

CEO, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, one of the largest charitable foundations in the United States, providing grant-making and philanthropic capital access.

Fred Blackwell Jr.

San Francisco Foundation; California nonprofit public benefit corporation combining grantmaking with advocacy, civic leadership, convening, collaboration and program-related investing.

Timothy Alan Simon, Esq.

Attorney, law professor and former California Public Utilities Commissioner; current Chairman of the California Black Chamber of Commerce board, with regulatory and cross-organization experience across California's business community.

Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown, Pastor Emeritus

Prominent San Francisco pastor, civil-rights leader and advocate for African and African American communities; longtime NAACP leader and former Freedom Rider with international engagement.

California Wine Institute — Steve Gross

CEO. Trade association supporting agricultural trade and export dialogue with Africa.

California Wine Institute

Tim Schmelzer, Vice President. Trade association supporting agricultural trade and export dialogue with Africa.

Ahmad Thomas

CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group; former investment banker at Barclays Bank and former senior aide to Senator Dianne Feinstein; business advocacy organization.

Florizelle B. Liser

President & CEO, Corporate Council on Africa (CCA); Washington DC-based association with member companies headquartered in California, connecting U.S. companies with African governments and business institutions.

Bay Area Council San Francisco

Listed in the Founding Member document under trade associations and business advocacy.

Njamba Mungai

International Businesswoman.

Thierry Tohuenou

Founding Secretary, African-California Chamber of Commerce; West Africa Region Manager, Amadeus International; General Secretary of Benin Diaspora USA/California and Vice-President, International Investment Group.

Jerold O'Brien

Founder & CEO, Silver Mountain Vineyards, Santa Cruz Mountains; industry leader in organic and sustainable practices since 1979.

McBride Sisters Wine Company

Oakland-based company; the largest Black-owned wine company in the United States, producing, importing and marketing wine brands distributed across the U.S. and internationally.

Julie Coker

Incoming President & CEO, Visit California; leads the state's official destination-marketing organization supporting California's tourism economy.

Ted Sarandos

Co-CEO, Netflix, headquartered in Los Gatos, California; Netflix has made sustained investment in African original content and local talent development.

Byron Allen

Founder, Chairman & CEO, Allen Media Group; a major U.S. media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles with broadcast stations, networks, digital platforms and OTT businesses, and agreements in South Africa.

Carol H. Williams Advertising

A long-established, Black-owned advertising and communications agency specializing in strategic marketing, advertising and communications for major organizations and brands.

Miguel Kashal Katemb

Served as Director General of the Autorité de Régulation de la Sous-traitance dans le Secteur Privé (ARSP), and as provincial deputy and Minister of Infrastructure, Urban Planning and Housing of Haut-Katanga.

ActOne Group

A global workforce-management and business-services company headquartered in California, operating in 47 countries and serving more than 28,000 clients with over 2,600 employees.

Encanto Squared

San Francisco-based technology and business-services company focused on technology-enabled business solutions.

Thomas Agbor

International Business Development & Consultant.

Nicole Sulu Tshiyoyo

Founder of the Makutano business network, a major pan-African platform connecting entrepreneurs, investors, public-sector decision-makers and international partners; champion of private-sector development, entrepreneurship, women and youth entrepreneurship.

Georges Swain

Founder & CEO of GeorgeSwain Investments, an independent investment-banking and advisory firm serving small and middle-market companies, and real-estate investment professional, with transactions exceeding $1.2 billion.

Frederick Jordan, P.E.

Co-Chair, Board of Directors, San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce; Founder, California Black Chamber of Commerce; Founding Member and former Chair, National Black Chamber of Commerce; Founder & CEO of F.E. Jordan Associates with 1,000+ completed infrastructure projects; Peer Review Member, by law, for the $128 billion California High-Speed Rail Project.

Lino N'Shimba

Past President & Chairman of the Board, U.S. Chamber of Commerce in DR Congo "AmCham DRC"; Chairman, DRC Forum Foundation; Board Member and former Vice President, Federation of Enterprises of Congo (FEC), Commission of External Relations; Founder & CEO, Africa Equity & Investment Group; Founder & Owner, In Vino Veritas Cellars; former senior financial advisor at Wells Fargo Advisors and manager at Citigroup.

H.E. Ambassador Jean-Paul Carteron

Diplomat and international statesman; Founder and Chair of the Crans Montana Forum and the WDA World Diplomatic Academy since 1986, one of the oldest and most respected Swiss international platforms bringing together heads of state and government, public officials and business leaders.

Mark Lindquist

California-licensed architect and seasoned construction executive with 40+ years delivering commercial and industrial projects; past President of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of California; former President, Hartley Construction Inc.; experienced in international construction projects in Ghana, Cameroun and Nigeria.

H.E. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo — Nigeria

Current and/or former Head of African State and/or President of the African Union.

H.E. President Jacob Zuma — South Africa

Current and/or former Head of African State and/or President of the African Union.

H.E. Alpha Condé — Guinea-Conakry

Current and/or former Head of African State and/or President of the African Union.

H.E. Macky Sall — Sénégal

Current and/or former Head of African State and/or President of the African Union.

H.E. Denis Sassou Nguesso — Congo-Brazzaville

Current and/or former Head of African State and/or President of the African Union.

H.E. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema — Gabon

Current and/or former Head of African State and/or President of the African Union.

H.E. John Dramani Mahama — Ghana

Current and/or former Head of African State and/or President of the African Union.