Dr.Sengeh engages Bill Gateson reducing extreme poverty through innovation
Sierra Leone’s Chief Innovation Officer, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh, Tuesday engaged Bill Gates, the American business magnate and principal founder of Microsoft Corporation, as part of preparations for the second Annual Goalkeepers event in September 2018.
At Goalkeepers, Dr. Sengeh will host a session with Mr. Gates to highlight the challenges of extreme poverty and deliver a presentation of exciting innovations from across the world.
In this preparatory meeting, Dr. Sengeh discussed the opportunities in Sierra Leone where His Excellency, President Julius Maada Bio, recently created an enabling authorising environment for seeding and scaling innovations.
“Coupled with a growing local technical outlook, there is a unique opportunity to direct resources to help Sierra Leone meet its Sustainable Development Goals,” said the distinguished MIT trained Sierra Leonean scientist.
At the end of the meeting, Mr. Gates and Dr. Sengeh agreed to continue working together towards the broader vision of investing in human capacity through education, health and nutrition, and by using innovation to reduce extreme poverty.
Dr. Sengeh will also meet other leaders at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, Washington. He will conclude his visit with a panel discussion to all Foundation staff on Thursday, August 16, 2018.
It could be recalled that on May 17 this year President Bio appointed Dr. Sengeh as the Chief Innovation Officer, Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation for the Government of Sierra Leone.
The Vision of the Directorate is to transform Sierra Leone into a prosperous nation through Science, Technology and Innovation and will facilitate and support a vibrant national innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem for both public and private sectors through: (1) active technical research and development activities; (2) development of innovative solutions that enhance Government service delivery and citizens’ engagement and (3) building a pipeline of talented technologists and innovators.
Credit: State House Media and Communications Unit