Joseph Ssentongo 2025 Speaker

Joseph is the CEO of the Global Innovation Fund (GIF), a hybrid investment vehicle backed by leading bilateral aid agencies. He holds the overarching responsibility for GIF’s mission: identifying and funding innovations capable of transforming the lives of people living on less than $5 a day. Prior to being appointed CEO, Joseph served as GIF’s Chief Operating Officer, overseeing strategic alignment to GIF’s mission across all GIF teams and functions. He was previously Senior Vice President for Impact, managing the work of the Grants, Analytics, and Environmental, Social Responsibility and Governance (ESG) teams. In his various roles, he has been instrumental in positioning the organisation as a global leader in development innovation. Prior to GIF, Joseph worked at the nexus of public-private sector collaboration with the Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF), where he led the evaluation of over 30 e-government initiatives across 15 African countries. He has also worked in the Gender division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Joseph holds a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Oxford and serves as co-Chair of the Orchid Project, an international NGO at the forefront of global efforts to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).