Meet
Benjamin Fernandes
CEO & Founder at Nala
keynote
Benjamin Fernandes is an award-winning Tanzanian speaker and entrepreneur.Benjamin grew up in Tanzania, then earned scholarships that took him to America for
the first time at the age of 17. At age 21, Benjamin was the youngest African in history to ever be accepted into Stanford Graduate School of Business. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and an Exec Ed from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, being the first Tanzanian to attend both institutions. Fernandes was previously a national television personality in Tanzania. After that, he worked at The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the United States. In 2018, Fernandes founded Nala, a fintech startup that is on a mission to increase economic opportunity for Africans globally. NALA recently raised $10m backed by
leading US investors. In 2020, he was listed as the 15th most influential Tanzanian. In 2022, he was listed in the inaugural ROW100 most influential technology leaders in the world
Panels involved in
Panels involved in
Ideathon Chat: From Inception to Impact
Breakout session 1
Fireside chat
Sat
12:10 pm
Jon M. Huntsman Hall
This session focuses on Benjamin Fernandes's inspiring journey, to motivate attendees to recognize and act on issues they deeply care about in the continent.
Speakers
Moderator
Noel Daniel