Photo by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation
Photo by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation

Helen Hai

CEO

Made in Africa Initiative

POSITION

CEO

COMPANY

Made in Africa Initiative

COUNTRY

China

Website

Made in Africa Initiative

SCENE

Social

SOCIAL

LinkedIn

Twitter

What makes Helen Hai a Global Shaker?

Helen Hai is playing a pivotal role in promoting industrialisation and manufacturing in developing nations. She is the CEO and founder of the Made in Africa Initiative, the head of the Binance Charity Foundation—an organisation that follows the mandate to use blockchain for social good, and a Goodwill Ambassador for United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), and a co-founder of C&H Garments, a Pan-African clothing manufacturer. Helen also serves as an adviser to the Ethiopian, Rwandan and Senegalese governments for investment promotion and industrialisation.

Her previous experience includes work with the Huajain Group, Zurich Insurance,  JLT Group and XL Catlin. Originally from China, her international career has taken throughout the world. Helen has a bachelor’s in actuarial science and a master’s in actuarial management from CASS Business School in London and an executive MBA from INSEAD and Tsinghua University; she has also completed fellowships at University of California-Berkeley and Harvard University.

In 2015, Helen was named a Global Young Leader by the World Economic Forum and received the African Business Icon Award. The following year, she was awarded the National Order of Lion of Senegal.

She is co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Consumption and is on the committee of the Global Commission on Business and Sustainable Development. As a Goodwill Ambassador for UNIDO, she focuses on the industrialisation of Africa.

Tags: Africa, industrialisation, philanthropy

Last updated: July 10, 2019