"A day is very unpredictable for us, we are trying to have a blank slate to come up with a crafty way to better understand solutions, to better scale solutions or to see where we can improve our learnings as an organisation and network."
Omar's work life is marked by unpredictability and uncertainty, as he is Team Lead and Head of Experimentation at the Accelerator Lab at UNDP in The Gambia. For the GDL Coffee Break Podcast, host and GDL member Khaldun Al Saadi, sat down with fellow member Omar Jagne to discuss his work in the context of informal markets. He talks about unconventional UNDP partners such as start-ups and scale-ups and elaborates on their challenges of digitally transforming informal markets in The Gambia. Omar sums up his own point of view briefly: "It has to be a co-creation and co-learning process to have any kind of meaningful intervention that would tackle business continuity for market traders." Omar also lets us in on his most treasued sources of inspiration.
You can find an article on "Experimentation into Informalities – Digitally Transforming Informal Markets in The Gambia" here. Further information on the work of the Accelerator Lab can be found on their blog.
New episodes of the podcast are realeased every three weeks. Host Khaldun seeks to get an inside look at the perspectives of young diplomats, experts and activists on the vast array of global challenges we face today by sitting down with them for a virtual cup of coffee.
Curious? Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the conversation! Listen in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or by downloading the episode here.
Further Articles
Khaldun Al Saadi is of Yemeni and German descent. He lived in Yemen from 1993 to 1995, as a child during the Civil War. His memories from that time still motivate him to seek reconciliation through dialogue as a means of restoring peace. From 2012 to 2016 he studied Arabic language and culture at the University of Leipzig. He holds a scholarship from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and graduated from King’s College London with an MA in “Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies”.
Since 2013 he has been a member of the Junge Islam Konferenz (JIK / Young Islam Conference), the flagship project of Mercator Foundation in immigration and integration. He worked for the Democracy-Centre and the Advice Center on Counter Radicalisation in the Department on Social Cohesion at the Saxon State Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. In 2023 he returned to the JIK as Head of Programme at Schwarzkopf Foundation.
......................................................................................................................................................
Read more about Khaldun in his blog article.
Khaldun is also the host of the GDL Coffee Break podcast. Every three weeks, he guests a member and talks to them about their profession, inspirations and urgent global issues, to name just a few topics. The podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Summaries of the episodes are also posted on the blog.
Kebba-Omar Jagne is the founder and CEO of the Making Our Visions and Aspirations Reality (MOVAAR) Group, an educational technology scale-up and a CIVICUS member. He was Accelerator Lab Lead and Head of Experimentation in the United Nations Development Program in Gambia and also managed Gateways boutique consultancy.
Omar served in US government as the Economic/Commercial Specialist at the US Embassy in Banjul, the Gambia and during that time helped to set up the first private think tank in the Gambia, known as the Forum for the Exchange of Ideas for Development (FOREID). Omar served as the inaugural Next Einstein Forum Country Ambassador for Science and Technology for the Gambia (2016) and was previously a Young Fellow for the World Islamic Economic Forum (2015) and the Global Economic Symposium (2015).
Omar holds an MSc in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies from the University of Sussex, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Hofstra University, USA. He aspires to create platforms that communities can use to uplift voices from within.
Omar also chatted with GDL Coffee Break podcast host Khaldun Al Saadi about informal markets. A summary and the links to the episode can be found here.
Khaldun Al Saadi is of Yemeni and German descent. He lived in Yemen from 1993 to 1995, as a child during the Civil War. His memories from that time still motivate him to seek reconciliation through dialogue as a means of restoring peace. From 2012 to 2016 he studied Arabic language and culture at the University of Leipzig. He holds a scholarship from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and graduated from King’s College London with an MA in “Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies”.
Since 2013 he has been a member of the Junge Islam Konferenz (JIK / Young Islam Conference), the flagship project of Mercator Foundation in immigration and integration. He worked for the Democracy-Centre and the Advice Center on Counter Radicalisation in the Department on Social Cohesion at the Saxon State Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. In 2023 he returned to the JIK as Head of Programme at Schwarzkopf Foundation.
......................................................................................................................................................
Read more about Khaldun in his blog article.
Khaldun is also the host of the GDL Coffee Break podcast. Every three weeks, he guests a member and talks to them about their profession, inspirations and urgent global issues, to name just a few topics. The podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Summaries of the episodes are also posted on the blog.
Kebba-Omar Jagne is the founder and CEO of the Making Our Visions and Aspirations Reality (MOVAAR) Group, an educational technology scale-up and a CIVICUS member. He was Accelerator Lab Lead and Head of Experimentation in the United Nations Development Program in Gambia and also managed Gateways boutique consultancy.
Omar served in US government as the Economic/Commercial Specialist at the US Embassy in Banjul, the Gambia and during that time helped to set up the first private think tank in the Gambia, known as the Forum for the Exchange of Ideas for Development (FOREID). Omar served as the inaugural Next Einstein Forum Country Ambassador for Science and Technology for the Gambia (2016) and was previously a Young Fellow for the World Islamic Economic Forum (2015) and the Global Economic Symposium (2015).
Omar holds an MSc in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies from the University of Sussex, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Hofstra University, USA. He aspires to create platforms that communities can use to uplift voices from within.
Omar also chatted with GDL Coffee Break podcast host Khaldun Al Saadi about informal markets. A summary and the links to the episode can be found here.
Khaldun Al Saadi is of Yemeni and German descent. He lived in Yemen from 1993 to 1995, as a child during the Civil War. His memories from that time still motivate him to seek reconciliation through dialogue as a means of restoring peace. From 2012 to 2016 he studied Arabic language and culture at the University of Leipzig. He holds a scholarship from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and graduated from King’s College London with an MA in “Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies”.
Since 2013 he has been a member of the Junge Islam Konferenz (JIK / Young Islam Conference), the flagship project of Mercator Foundation in immigration and integration. He worked for the Democracy-Centre and the Advice Center on Counter Radicalisation in the Department on Social Cohesion at the Saxon State Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. In 2023 he returned to the JIK as Head of Programme at Schwarzkopf Foundation.
......................................................................................................................................................
Read more about Khaldun in his blog article.
Khaldun is also the host of the GDL Coffee Break podcast. Every three weeks, he guests a member and talks to them about their profession, inspirations and urgent global issues, to name just a few topics. The podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Summaries of the episodes are also posted on the blog.
Kebba-Omar Jagne is the founder and CEO of the Making Our Visions and Aspirations Reality (MOVAAR) Group, an educational technology scale-up and a CIVICUS member. He was Accelerator Lab Lead and Head of Experimentation in the United Nations Development Program in Gambia and also managed Gateways boutique consultancy.
Omar served in US government as the Economic/Commercial Specialist at the US Embassy in Banjul, the Gambia and during that time helped to set up the first private think tank in the Gambia, known as the Forum for the Exchange of Ideas for Development (FOREID). Omar served as the inaugural Next Einstein Forum Country Ambassador for Science and Technology for the Gambia (2016) and was previously a Young Fellow for the World Islamic Economic Forum (2015) and the Global Economic Symposium (2015).
Omar holds an MSc in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies from the University of Sussex, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Hofstra University, USA. He aspires to create platforms that communities can use to uplift voices from within.
Omar also chatted with GDL Coffee Break podcast host Khaldun Al Saadi about informal markets. A summary and the links to the episode can be found here.
Khaldun Al Saadi is of Yemeni and German descent. He lived in Yemen from 1993 to 1995, as a child during the Civil War. His memories from that time still motivate him to seek reconciliation through dialogue as a means of restoring peace. From 2012 to 2016 he studied Arabic language and culture at the University of Leipzig. He holds a scholarship from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and graduated from King’s College London with an MA in “Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies”.
Since 2013 he has been a member of the Junge Islam Konferenz (JIK / Young Islam Conference), the flagship project of Mercator Foundation in immigration and integration. He worked for the Democracy-Centre and the Advice Center on Counter Radicalisation in the Department on Social Cohesion at the Saxon State Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. In 2023 he returned to the JIK as Head of Programme at Schwarzkopf Foundation.
......................................................................................................................................................
Read more about Khaldun in his blog article.
Khaldun is also the host of the GDL Coffee Break podcast. Every three weeks, he guests a member and talks to them about their profession, inspirations and urgent global issues, to name just a few topics. The podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Summaries of the episodes are also posted on the blog.
Kebba-Omar Jagne is the founder and CEO of the Making Our Visions and Aspirations Reality (MOVAAR) Group, an educational technology scale-up and a CIVICUS member. He was Accelerator Lab Lead and Head of Experimentation in the United Nations Development Program in Gambia and also managed Gateways boutique consultancy.
Omar served in US government as the Economic/Commercial Specialist at the US Embassy in Banjul, the Gambia and during that time helped to set up the first private think tank in the Gambia, known as the Forum for the Exchange of Ideas for Development (FOREID). Omar served as the inaugural Next Einstein Forum Country Ambassador for Science and Technology for the Gambia (2016) and was previously a Young Fellow for the World Islamic Economic Forum (2015) and the Global Economic Symposium (2015).
Omar holds an MSc in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies from the University of Sussex, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Hofstra University, USA. He aspires to create platforms that communities can use to uplift voices from within.
Omar also chatted with GDL Coffee Break podcast host Khaldun Al Saadi about informal markets. A summary and the links to the episode can be found here.
Khaldun Al Saadi is of Yemeni and German descent. He lived in Yemen from 1993 to 1995, as a child during the Civil War. His memories from that time still motivate him to seek reconciliation through dialogue as a means of restoring peace. From 2012 to 2016 he studied Arabic language and culture at the University of Leipzig. He holds a scholarship from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and graduated from King’s College London with an MA in “Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies”.
Since 2013 he has been a member of the Junge Islam Konferenz (JIK / Young Islam Conference), the flagship project of Mercator Foundation in immigration and integration. He worked for the Democracy-Centre and the Advice Center on Counter Radicalisation in the Department on Social Cohesion at the Saxon State Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. In 2023 he returned to the JIK as Head of Programme at Schwarzkopf Foundation.
......................................................................................................................................................
Read more about Khaldun in his blog article.
Khaldun is also the host of the GDL Coffee Break podcast. Every three weeks, he guests a member and talks to them about their profession, inspirations and urgent global issues, to name just a few topics. The podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Summaries of the episodes are also posted on the blog.
Kebba-Omar Jagne is the founder and CEO of the Making Our Visions and Aspirations Reality (MOVAAR) Group, an educational technology scale-up and a CIVICUS member. He was Accelerator Lab Lead and Head of Experimentation in the United Nations Development Program in Gambia and also managed Gateways boutique consultancy.
Omar served in US government as the Economic/Commercial Specialist at the US Embassy in Banjul, the Gambia and during that time helped to set up the first private think tank in the Gambia, known as the Forum for the Exchange of Ideas for Development (FOREID). Omar served as the inaugural Next Einstein Forum Country Ambassador for Science and Technology for the Gambia (2016) and was previously a Young Fellow for the World Islamic Economic Forum (2015) and the Global Economic Symposium (2015).
Omar holds an MSc in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies from the University of Sussex, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Hofstra University, USA. He aspires to create platforms that communities can use to uplift voices from within.
Omar also chatted with GDL Coffee Break podcast host Khaldun Al Saadi about informal markets. A summary and the links to the episode can be found here.
Khaldun Al Saadi is of Yemeni and German descent. He lived in Yemen from 1993 to 1995, as a child during the Civil War. His memories from that time still motivate him to seek reconciliation through dialogue as a means of restoring peace. From 2012 to 2016 he studied Arabic language and culture at the University of Leipzig. He holds a scholarship from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and graduated from King’s College London with an MA in “Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies”.
Since 2013 he has been a member of the Junge Islam Konferenz (JIK / Young Islam Conference), the flagship project of Mercator Foundation in immigration and integration. He worked for the Democracy-Centre and the Advice Center on Counter Radicalisation in the Department on Social Cohesion at the Saxon State Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. In 2023 he returned to the JIK as Head of Programme at Schwarzkopf Foundation.
......................................................................................................................................................
Read more about Khaldun in his blog article.
Khaldun is also the host of the GDL Coffee Break podcast. Every three weeks, he guests a member and talks to them about their profession, inspirations and urgent global issues, to name just a few topics. The podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Summaries of the episodes are also posted on the blog.
Kebba-Omar Jagne is the founder and CEO of the Making Our Visions and Aspirations Reality (MOVAAR) Group, an educational technology scale-up and a CIVICUS member. He was Accelerator Lab Lead and Head of Experimentation in the United Nations Development Program in Gambia and also managed Gateways boutique consultancy.
Omar served in US government as the Economic/Commercial Specialist at the US Embassy in Banjul, the Gambia and during that time helped to set up the first private think tank in the Gambia, known as the Forum for the Exchange of Ideas for Development (FOREID). Omar served as the inaugural Next Einstein Forum Country Ambassador for Science and Technology for the Gambia (2016) and was previously a Young Fellow for the World Islamic Economic Forum (2015) and the Global Economic Symposium (2015).
Omar holds an MSc in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies from the University of Sussex, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Hofstra University, USA. He aspires to create platforms that communities can use to uplift voices from within.
Omar also chatted with GDL Coffee Break podcast host Khaldun Al Saadi about informal markets. A summary and the links to the episode can be found here.
Khaldun Al Saadi is of Yemeni and German descent. He lived in Yemen from 1993 to 1995, as a child during the Civil War. His memories from that time still motivate him to seek reconciliation through dialogue as a means of restoring peace. From 2012 to 2016 he studied Arabic language and culture at the University of Leipzig. He holds a scholarship from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and graduated from King’s College London with an MA in “Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies”.
Since 2013 he has been a member of the Junge Islam Konferenz (JIK / Young Islam Conference), the flagship project of Mercator Foundation in immigration and integration. He worked for the Democracy-Centre and the Advice Center on Counter Radicalisation in the Department on Social Cohesion at the Saxon State Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. In 2023 he returned to the JIK as Head of Programme at Schwarzkopf Foundation.
......................................................................................................................................................
Read more about Khaldun in his blog article.
Khaldun is also the host of the GDL Coffee Break podcast. Every three weeks, he guests a member and talks to them about their profession, inspirations and urgent global issues, to name just a few topics. The podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Summaries of the episodes are also posted on the blog.
Kebba-Omar Jagne is the founder and CEO of the Making Our Visions and Aspirations Reality (MOVAAR) Group, an educational technology scale-up and a CIVICUS member. He was Accelerator Lab Lead and Head of Experimentation in the United Nations Development Program in Gambia and also managed Gateways boutique consultancy.
Omar served in US government as the Economic/Commercial Specialist at the US Embassy in Banjul, the Gambia and during that time helped to set up the first private think tank in the Gambia, known as the Forum for the Exchange of Ideas for Development (FOREID). Omar served as the inaugural Next Einstein Forum Country Ambassador for Science and Technology for the Gambia (2016) and was previously a Young Fellow for the World Islamic Economic Forum (2015) and the Global Economic Symposium (2015).
Omar holds an MSc in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies from the University of Sussex, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Hofstra University, USA. He aspires to create platforms that communities can use to uplift voices from within.
Omar also chatted with GDL Coffee Break podcast host Khaldun Al Saadi about informal markets. A summary and the links to the episode can be found here.
Khaldun Al Saadi is of Yemeni and German descent. He lived in Yemen from 1993 to 1995, as a child during the Civil War. His memories from that time still motivate him to seek reconciliation through dialogue as a means of restoring peace. From 2012 to 2016 he studied Arabic language and culture at the University of Leipzig. He holds a scholarship from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and graduated from King’s College London with an MA in “Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies”.
Since 2013 he has been a member of the Junge Islam Konferenz (JIK / Young Islam Conference), the flagship project of Mercator Foundation in immigration and integration. He worked for the Democracy-Centre and the Advice Center on Counter Radicalisation in the Department on Social Cohesion at the Saxon State Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. In 2023 he returned to the JIK as Head of Programme at Schwarzkopf Foundation.
......................................................................................................................................................
Read more about Khaldun in his blog article.
Khaldun is also the host of the GDL Coffee Break podcast. Every three weeks, he guests a member and talks to them about their profession, inspirations and urgent global issues, to name just a few topics. The podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Summaries of the episodes are also posted on the blog.
Kebba-Omar Jagne is the founder and CEO of the Making Our Visions and Aspirations Reality (MOVAAR) Group, an educational technology scale-up and a CIVICUS member. He was Accelerator Lab Lead and Head of Experimentation in the United Nations Development Program in Gambia and also managed Gateways boutique consultancy.
Omar served in US government as the Economic/Commercial Specialist at the US Embassy in Banjul, the Gambia and during that time helped to set up the first private think tank in the Gambia, known as the Forum for the Exchange of Ideas for Development (FOREID). Omar served as the inaugural Next Einstein Forum Country Ambassador for Science and Technology for the Gambia (2016) and was previously a Young Fellow for the World Islamic Economic Forum (2015) and the Global Economic Symposium (2015).
Omar holds an MSc in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies from the University of Sussex, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Hofstra University, USA. He aspires to create platforms that communities can use to uplift voices from within.
Omar also chatted with GDL Coffee Break podcast host Khaldun Al Saadi about informal markets. A summary and the links to the episode can be found here.
Khaldun Al Saadi is of Yemeni and German descent. He lived in Yemen from 1993 to 1995, as a child during the Civil War. His memories from that time still motivate him to seek reconciliation through dialogue as a means of restoring peace. From 2012 to 2016 he studied Arabic language and culture at the University of Leipzig. He holds a scholarship from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and graduated from King’s College London with an MA in “Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies”.
Since 2013 he has been a member of the Junge Islam Konferenz (JIK / Young Islam Conference), the flagship project of Mercator Foundation in immigration and integration. He worked for the Democracy-Centre and the Advice Center on Counter Radicalisation in the Department on Social Cohesion at the Saxon State Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. In 2023 he returned to the JIK as Head of Programme at Schwarzkopf Foundation.
......................................................................................................................................................
Read more about Khaldun in his blog article.
Khaldun is also the host of the GDL Coffee Break podcast. Every three weeks, he guests a member and talks to them about their profession, inspirations and urgent global issues, to name just a few topics. The podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Summaries of the episodes are also posted on the blog.
Kebba-Omar Jagne is the founder and CEO of the Making Our Visions and Aspirations Reality (MOVAAR) Group, an educational technology scale-up and a CIVICUS member. He was Accelerator Lab Lead and Head of Experimentation in the United Nations Development Program in Gambia and also managed Gateways boutique consultancy.
Omar served in US government as the Economic/Commercial Specialist at the US Embassy in Banjul, the Gambia and during that time helped to set up the first private think tank in the Gambia, known as the Forum for the Exchange of Ideas for Development (FOREID). Omar served as the inaugural Next Einstein Forum Country Ambassador for Science and Technology for the Gambia (2016) and was previously a Young Fellow for the World Islamic Economic Forum (2015) and the Global Economic Symposium (2015).
Omar holds an MSc in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies from the University of Sussex, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Hofstra University, USA. He aspires to create platforms that communities can use to uplift voices from within.
Omar also chatted with GDL Coffee Break podcast host Khaldun Al Saadi about informal markets. A summary and the links to the episode can be found here.
Khaldun Al Saadi is of Yemeni and German descent. He lived in Yemen from 1993 to 1995, as a child during the Civil War. His memories from that time still motivate him to seek reconciliation through dialogue as a means of restoring peace. From 2012 to 2016 he studied Arabic language and culture at the University of Leipzig. He holds a scholarship from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and graduated from King’s College London with an MA in “Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies”.
Since 2013 he has been a member of the Junge Islam Konferenz (JIK / Young Islam Conference), the flagship project of Mercator Foundation in immigration and integration. He worked for the Democracy-Centre and the Advice Center on Counter Radicalisation in the Department on Social Cohesion at the Saxon State Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. In 2023 he returned to the JIK as Head of Programme at Schwarzkopf Foundation.
......................................................................................................................................................
Read more about Khaldun in his blog article.
Khaldun is also the host of the GDL Coffee Break podcast. Every three weeks, he guests a member and talks to them about their profession, inspirations and urgent global issues, to name just a few topics. The podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Summaries of the episodes are also posted on the blog.
Kebba-Omar Jagne is the founder and CEO of the Making Our Visions and Aspirations Reality (MOVAAR) Group, an educational technology scale-up and a CIVICUS member. He was Accelerator Lab Lead and Head of Experimentation in the United Nations Development Program in Gambia and also managed Gateways boutique consultancy.
Omar served in US government as the Economic/Commercial Specialist at the US Embassy in Banjul, the Gambia and during that time helped to set up the first private think tank in the Gambia, known as the Forum for the Exchange of Ideas for Development (FOREID). Omar served as the inaugural Next Einstein Forum Country Ambassador for Science and Technology for the Gambia (2016) and was previously a Young Fellow for the World Islamic Economic Forum (2015) and the Global Economic Symposium (2015).
Omar holds an MSc in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies from the University of Sussex, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Hofstra University, USA. He aspires to create platforms that communities can use to uplift voices from within.
Omar also chatted with GDL Coffee Break podcast host Khaldun Al Saadi about informal markets. A summary and the links to the episode can be found here.
Khaldun Al Saadi is of Yemeni and German descent. He lived in Yemen from 1993 to 1995, as a child during the Civil War. His memories from that time still motivate him to seek reconciliation through dialogue as a means of restoring peace. From 2012 to 2016 he studied Arabic language and culture at the University of Leipzig. He holds a scholarship from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and graduated from King’s College London with an MA in “Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies”.
Since 2013 he has been a member of the Junge Islam Konferenz (JIK / Young Islam Conference), the flagship project of Mercator Foundation in immigration and integration. He worked for the Democracy-Centre and the Advice Center on Counter Radicalisation in the Department on Social Cohesion at the Saxon State Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. In 2023 he returned to the JIK as Head of Programme at Schwarzkopf Foundation.
......................................................................................................................................................
Read more about Khaldun in his blog article.
Khaldun is also the host of the GDL Coffee Break podcast. Every three weeks, he guests a member and talks to them about their profession, inspirations and urgent global issues, to name just a few topics. The podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Summaries of the episodes are also posted on the blog.
Kebba-Omar Jagne is the founder and CEO of the Making Our Visions and Aspirations Reality (MOVAAR) Group, an educational technology scale-up and a CIVICUS member. He was Accelerator Lab Lead and Head of Experimentation in the United Nations Development Program in Gambia and also managed Gateways boutique consultancy.
Omar served in US government as the Economic/Commercial Specialist at the US Embassy in Banjul, the Gambia and during that time helped to set up the first private think tank in the Gambia, known as the Forum for the Exchange of Ideas for Development (FOREID). Omar served as the inaugural Next Einstein Forum Country Ambassador for Science and Technology for the Gambia (2016) and was previously a Young Fellow for the World Islamic Economic Forum (2015) and the Global Economic Symposium (2015).
Omar holds an MSc in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies from the University of Sussex, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Hofstra University, USA. He aspires to create platforms that communities can use to uplift voices from within.
Omar also chatted with GDL Coffee Break podcast host Khaldun Al Saadi about informal markets. A summary and the links to the episode can be found here.
