Speaker
N. Absa Gningue
Founder, JEADER
Ndeye Absa Gningue from Senegal calls herself "a serial entrepreneur born to bring change." Her participation in the 2014 Young African Leaders Fellowship Program helped further her mission. She is founder of a clothing company, Love Africa.Wear Africa, and of a youth think tank that encourages entrepreneurship: the Young African Entrepreneurs working for Regional Economic Development, or J.E.A.D.E.R. Ndeye was chosen in 2014 to be a Mandela Washington Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to that, at age 27 she was an IBM Software Group marketing leader in charge of generating leads for IBM in North and West Africa. She also worked at Samsung as a marketing and communication coordinator and as a product manager at Procter & Gamble. In 2011 she started a company named Desi'Gning/ABC, designing Africa-inspired outfits and accessories under the Love Africa.Wear Africa label. The ABC stands for "Aduuna Bul Comprendre" - in French, "life goes on." Ms. Gningue is fluent in English, French, and Spanish. The Young African Leader Initiative gave her a chance to visit the U.S. for the first time, meet President Obama, and further her business studies.