The new board members are Mamadou Biteye, Abbé Alphonse Seck and Joel Aristide Oulai.

The agency says that they will join Zeina Ndong as independent non-executive members of its board of advisors effective immediately.

Valerie Traore, founder and executive director of Niyel, says, "The board of advisors is an imperative part of our team. Their contributions to strengthening our governance and operations are essential to our growth. The board will provide strategic guidance to the executive management team of Niyel on the development and improvement of the firm."

Mamadou Biteye, executive secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
According to the agency, Biteye is a seasoned agricultural economist and development expert. The ACBF is the African Union's specialised agency for capacity development.

Biteye joined ACBF from VISA, where he served as vice-president, global head of inclusive growth and before that as regional head of social impact for the Central and Eastern Europe and MEA Regions.

Alphonse Seck, priest of the Archdiocese of Dakar
Seck also holds the position as the following:
  • executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace
  • the secretary-general of Caritas Senegal, and
  • president of the board of directors of Caurie Microfinance.

Joel Oulai, head of product marketing Africa Hub-MFS Africa

According to the agency, Oulai has over 16 years of experience across a diverse range of industries including:
  • Ogilvy
  • Scanad
  • Airtel Sierra Leone
  • Airtel Ghana
  • Comium
  • DStv
  • Nestle
  • Emirates
  • Vodafone
  • Cal Bank, and
  • Old Mutual.

The three new members will be joining Zeina Ndong, who continues her tenure on the board. Ndong is the founder and CEO of Myria Consulting, a strategic and financial advisory firm dedicated to the development of:
  • SMEs through strategic planning
  • organisation and change management
  • operational support, and
  • resource mobilisation.
Ndong says that she places a strong emphasis on promoting development among the public, private and NGO sectors.

Niyel adds that it has simultaneously boosted its operational capability with a number of new staff members. These include the appointments of:
  • Abdoul Zeba, advocacy assistant from Dakar
  • Yasmina Zongo, senior advocacy officer from Burkina Faso
  • Mamadou Goudiaby, advocacy officer from Dakar, and
  • Obinna Ebirim, senior advocacy officer from Nigeria.
"We are proud to welcome such a diverse group of individuals, each with exceptional experience and unique identities from the continent. With their invaluable contributions, we look forward to our ever-growing reach across advocacy and public affairs internationally," concludes Traore.

For more information, visit www.niyel.net.You can also follow Niyel on FacebookTwitter or on Instagram.