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Speaker

Dr. Ola Bello, a Cambridge-educated mineral sector governance expert with a First Class degree, MPhil, and PhD, has served globally from the Kofi Annan Strategic Policy Unit at UNHQ to Management Systems International in DC, and SAIIA in South Africa. Formerly director of SAIIA’s Cape Town office, Ola led the Governance of Africa’s Resources Programme, focusing on governance, sustainability, and risk analysis in Africa’s extractive sector. Fluent in six languages, he has directed EU-Africa development projects and advised on the Africa Mining Vision. With a career spanning the UK, Spain, Turkey and the US among others, Ola remains a key voice in African governance and international development. He continues to be actively involved in shaping Africa’s agency in the global political economy through initiatives for which he has served as focal point, including the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. He has been consultant at different times on commodities including diamond and gold for entities including the Dubai Diamond Exchange, the Government of Angola and the USAID among others. He speaks regularly on global networks such as Al Jazeera and CGTN and also frequently writes policy pieces and opinions in the international print media. He has been visiting lecturer in several European universities including in Spain, the UK, France, Austria, Switzerland and Turkey, and has often supervised Master and PhD theses in his diverse fields of interest.