Bunmi Akinyemiju is a globally recognized serial entrepreneur, innovator, and investor with over 25 years of experience driving technological advancement across diverse industries. As the visionary behind Venture Garden Group (VGG), Bunmi has led groundbreaking innovations in mobility, education, energy, social development, SME enablement, and financial services. His leadership has positioned VGG as a pivotal force in shaping Africa’s tech landscape, emphasizing an ethos of innovation and impact.
As Managing Partner of GreenHouse Capital, Bunmi has guided investments in over 60 industry-defining tech startups, including Flutterwave, Helium Health, and MAX, further establishing his reputation for identifying and nurturing disruptive ventures. His influence extends beyond entrepreneurship—he has forged strategic partnerships with global organizations like the Texas International Education Consortium and the US Consulate in Nigeria, promoting innovative technology, indigenous solutions and talent development across the continent.
In addition to leading major tech initiatives, Bunmi serves as a leader and member of think tanks like the Digital Economic Policy Commission (DEPC) under the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, where he helps shape policies to accelerate economic growth through technology in emerging economies. A respected speaker and advisor to governments, industry leaders and financial institutions, Bunmi remains dedicated to driving innovation and transformative change across Africa and the global stage.
As Bedrock’s first Chief Community Growth and Development Officer, Nadia Sesay leads a team focused on facilitating public-private partnerships while identifying and implementing new public financing initiatives to develop strategic, meaningful connections within Detroit and Cleveland’s growing communities.
Nadia and her team have initiated some of Bedrock’s most significant partnerships, including Afro Nation and The Black Food and Wine Experience. In 2022, Nadia was named one of Michigan Chronicle’s Women of Excellence.
Prior to joining Bedrock in 2020, Nadia served as Executive Director of San Francisco’s Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, where she was responsible for the economic development of the new Transbay, Mission Bay, and Hunters Point Shipyard neighborhoods.
Earlier in her career, Nadia was Director of the San Francisco Controller’s Office of Public Finance. Before joining the city, Nadia worked in the Corporate Trust Department for Union Bank of California. In 2015, Nadia served on the State Treasurer’s Task Force on Bond Accountability, which prompted the state of California to adopt several of its recommended reforms. Nadia also received San Francisco’s Public Managerial Excellence Award in 2010 for exemplary leadership, fiscal ingenuity and vision.
Olaoluwa Samuel-Biyi is a Co-founder at Busha, a leading regulated digital asset exchange in Africa. Previously, He was an Investment Principal at Blockchain.com Ventures and Co-founder of SureGifts, Nigeria’s premier digital voucher aggregator.
He holds a degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of the West Indies, Barbados, and began his career at Jumia as Head of Business Intelligence before joining Venture Garden Group as Senior Manager for Pricing and Commercialization. A Forbes 30 under 30 honoree, he has been investing in African tech ventures since 2013 as a Venture Partner at Greenhouse Capital. As a British Chevening Scholar, he earned a Master’s in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the London School of Economics (LSE) and is completing a Doctorate in Cryptoeconomics at IE Business School, Madrid. Olaoluwa has published research as an Industry Associate at UCL’s Centre for Blockchain Technologies, tutors on the digital asset executive programs at Cambridge University, and lectured courses on Blockchain, Alternative Investments, and Social Innovation at Hult International Business School, London.
Ted London is the Ford Motor Company Clinical Professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and a senior research fellow at the William Davidson Institute. He also served as the Area Chair for Business Administration for five years.
An internationally recognized expert on the intersection of business strategy and poverty alleviation, London’s research focuses on business strategies for achieving sustainable, scalable growth and impact in Base of the pyramid (low-income) markets. He has published numerous articles, reports, and teaching cases, served on several advisory boards, and shared his research in venues across the globe. He has also advised dozens of leadership teams in the corporate, non-profit, and development sectors. His multi-award-winning book, The Base of the Pyramid Promise: Building Businesses with Impact and Scale, translates over 25 years of research and experience into actionable strategies, frameworks, and tools for managers seeking inclusive growth.
Dr. London was honored to be recognized as an Aspen Institute Faculty Pioneer. He has also received the Page Prize for his course development, the Victor Bernard Teaching Award for his contributions to teaching at the Ross School of Business, and the J. Frank Yates Diversity and Inclusion Teaching Excellence Award for his commitment to addressing the poverty, inequity, and exclusion faced by the global poor.
Before coming to Michigan, London was on the faculty at the University of North Carolina, where he also received his PhD in strategic management. Prior to that, he held senior management positions in three continents.
Wendy Taylor is President and CEO of the William Davidson Institute, a non-profit affiliated with the University of Michigan dedicated to supporting businesses, entrepreneurship and market-based solutions in low- and middle-income countries. She is charged with leading the development of WDI’s strategy and steering the organization toward its next phase of growth.
Taylor is an innovation leader and entrepreneur with over two decades of experience building and leading high-impact teams. Working at the intersection of public, private and not-for-profit sectors, she has founded multiple enterprises, catalyzed innovations to tackle some of the world’s toughest health challenges and leveraged market-based solutions for transformational impact. As Vice President for Technical Leadership and Innovation at Jhpiego, Taylor led a large, multidisciplinary team focused on driving accelerated impact across women’s health, infectious disease, primary health care, global health security and climate-health. As a Rockefeller Foundation fellow, she identified ways to leverage advances in artificial intelligence, digital health and data technologies to transform global health. And at the US Agency for International Development, she founded and led the Center for Innovation and Impact, which applies innovative, business-minded approaches to accelerate the development, introduction and scale-up of priority global health solutions. Previously, she held senior positions with several global health nonprofits, including Bio Ventures for Global Health, which she founded, and served in both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. Government, including the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means. She received a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University.
With over eighteen years of experience at the intersection of financial services, technology innovation, and corporate strategy, Zeynab is a leader and seasoned strategist. Currently overseeing product and commercialization strategy for Mastercard Corporate Solutions across the Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EEMEA) region, she has played a pivotal role in driving the digitization of B2B payments and shaping the future of multi-rail ecosystems in key markets.
A native of West Africa, Zeynab’s leadership approach is grounded in her commitment to creating locally relevant solutions for a global market, especially for the African continent, where economic transformation demands uniquely tailored strategies. Her career, marked by its non-linear path, has taken her from Wall Street to Dubai, allowing her to enjoy a rich and diverse professional journey in the USA, Europe, and now the Middle East.
A proud Bison and Wolverine, Zeynab received her undergraduate degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C. and her MBA from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.