Seedstars

Joined the founding team early and helped launch the Seedstars World pitching competition to build an entrepreneurial community in emerging and frontier markets.

Benjamin Benaïm is a founding partner at Seedstars, where he has held a passive role since 2020. His background includes management consulting and strategy work at McKinsey, venture capital experience at Seedstars, and operational roles in fintech companies including Quickcheck, Lendigo, and SimplePay, with focus areas in growth and digital product management across Europe and emerging markets.

Pierre-Alain Masson studied at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, where he started his first company at age 20. He has worked as a serial entrepreneur, advised on multiple $100m+ M&A deals and exits, and served as CFO of an international insurance company. He co-founded Seedstars, an organisation focused on investing in and supporting entrepreneurs across more than 85 developing economies.

Luis Rodrigues is Product and Technology Regional Head for the Middle East at Lab49, where he advises financial services and telecommunications organizations on deploying production-grade AI systems. Previously, he served as CPTO at QuickCheck, a Nigerian fintech that scaled to over 4 million downloads, and as Partner and CTO at Seedstars, where he supported the organization's expansion across emerging markets. His experience spans building technology infrastructure in challenging environments and translating AI applications into measurable business outcomes.

Michael Weber studied business at HEC in Lausanne, Switzerland, and worked in M&A focused on medium-sized transactions in Europe. He later launched his own company and sold it a few years afterward, then co-founded Seedstars to support technology and entrepreneurship in emerging markets.

Archie Moberly is a disability inclusion consultant with over ten years of experience across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the US. As Programme Lead for SEED Inclusivity at Seedstars, he directed a three-year initiative supporting 45 AI and assistive technology ventures across Asia-Pacific, which reached over 750,000 people with disabilities and created 1,400 jobs. He holds an MBA from the University of Cape Town and has published research on disabled founder leadership in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Seedstars; authored a TechCrunch article titled 'Capital is a commodity'.

Daniela Moreno is Head of Capital Platform Marketing at Seedstars, where she focuses on fund positioning, storytelling, and ecosystem engagement across emerging markets. She brings international experience in Europe and Latin America, with expertise in marketing strategy, digital projects, and campaign development at local and global scales.

Daniella Charles is a Program Manager at Seedstars with over four years of experience designing and managing entrepreneurship and innovation programs across Africa and the Middle East. She has led multi-country initiatives funded by organizations including GIZ and the FDFA's Peace and Human Rights Division, with budget responsibility up to $400,000 and oversight of cross-functional teams. Her work focuses on program strategy, stakeholder management, and impact delivery for women-led and youth-led enterprises.

Elsa AR Yanni is an Associate Director at Endeavor with over ten years of experience in program design, entrepreneurship development, and partner relationship management. She designs and implements innovation programs in collaboration with governments, corporates, and development agencies to support startup ecosystems in emerging markets. Her work includes leading acceleration, incubation, and investment readiness initiatives for entrepreneurs.

Harald Federspiel is founder and CEO of NeoInvests, an AI-assisted research platform for investors evaluating stocks, ETFs, crypto, and private-market opportunities. With over 10 years of experience in venture capital, startup ecosystems, and corporate innovation across 45+ countries, he previously served as Managing Director at Seedstars, where he oversaw accelerator programs and investment-readiness initiatives that supported 3,000+ startups and facilitated $14M+ in financing. He has also led innovation consulting projects for major corporations including Visa, Deutsche Telekom, Daimler, and Airbus, and works with investment funds, family offices, and institutions on AI-powered market intelligence and due diligence processes.

Iman Khalil is a Corporate PR Executive and Executive Assistant to the PR Director at Chanel. With background in client management, partnerships, sales, and marketing, Khalil focuses on public relations, strategic partnerships, and business development.

Author of the article, working as Portfolio & Platform Manager at Seedstars.

Maria Camila Albornoz is a Marketing Manager for the LATAM region at WTW, where she oversees integrated marketing, account-based marketing, digital campaigns, and sales enablement. She previously spent seven years at Seedstars developing marketing strategies and campaigns across Latin America, Asia, Africa, and MENA, and worked in internal communications at Zalando in Berlin. Her background spans marketing, communications, social media, and events across fashion-tech and startup sectors.

Paula García serves as Programs & Partnerships Lead at Seedstars, overseeing initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean. She holds a master's degree in International Development with specialization in impact monitoring and evaluation, and has designed and implemented over 21 capacity-strengthening programs benefiting approximately 190 entrepreneurs and startups alongside 140 investors across the region. Her background includes expertise in small and medium enterprise finance, venture business models, and economic research.

Paulina López Zibara is a Global Program Manager at Seedstars, a Swiss venture capital and accelerator firm, where she oversees program design and execution. She brings more than six years of experience in project management and strategy implementation, with a focus on supporting entrepreneurial development in Latin America and women-led ventures in the region.

Pauline Ambala has over 13 years of experience in social impact strategy, with expertise in programme development, partnerships, and resource mobilization across Africa. She has managed multi-country initiatives ranging from $50K to $20M and works with nonprofits, social enterprises, and government agencies on funding, organizational systems, and impact scaling. Her focus areas include entrepreneurship, women-led enterprises, and livelihoods programs in emerging economies.

Rolake Rosiji is Director of Business Development & Corporate Affairs for West Africa at AAK, where she works on strengthening sustainable shea supply chains and supporting processing investments across the region. With 15 years of experience in agriculture, fintech, renewable energy, and venture investing, she has held leadership roles including strategy director at Arla Foods West Africa, CEO of Jobberman Nigeria, and regional partnerships lead at Seedstars. She serves on the Investment and Steering Committees of Jobtech Alliance and is completing the INSEAD Global Executive MBA as a Forté Fellow.

Sabrina Salama serves as Co-Head of Global Partnerships and Head of MENA at Seedstars, where she focuses on the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa region. Her work encompasses social impact, women's economic empowerment, and mentorship activities.

Sheilla Otieno is a Senior Program Manager at Seedstars focused on women and youth economic empowerment, entrepreneurship, and SME development in Africa. She has experience managing project lifecycles from inception through completion, with expertise in financial analysis and business strategy development. Her background includes data collection and monitoring to support organizational decision-making.

Tom Sebastian is Global Partnerships Director at Impact Hub Network, where he works on blended finance and capital access across APAC and Africa. He designs financing structures and market-based interventions in collaboration with development finance institutions, official development agencies, philanthropic foundations, UN agencies, and government partners, with focus areas including climate solutions, women-led enterprises, digital MSMEs, and youth-focused businesses. Sebastian advises government ministries and ecosystem bodies on strengthening capital access systems and enterprise support infrastructure, and leads multi-country initiatives combining technical assistance, investment readiness programming, and private sector engagement.