Joseph Okpaku

Bio

Dr Okpaku is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Telecom Africa International Corporation, a company based in New York and dedicated to building a globally competitive indigenous African technological and industrial capacity in information and telecommunications technologies. A senior founding member of the Billion Minds Foundation, he also consults for Governments and international organizations in the fields of strategic development and governance. Dr Okpaku is highly regarded as a leading expert in global and African telecommunications development (especially in the areas of affordable access), industrialization, strategic policy, competitive capacity-building in a globalised economy, and 21st Century Issues As a founding member of the African Advisory Group on ICT to the African Ministers of Communications of the African Connection, Dr Okpaku has contributed valuable confidential input into the development of telecommunications policy and strategy in the SADC region and throughout the African continent. A renowned scholar, publisher and globally recognized expert in Long-Term Strategic Planning, Futures Studies and Innovation, Dr Okpaku, who consults in these fields for international organisations, including the United Nations, UNDP, the World Bank, the International Telecommunication Union and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), has written and lectured extensively worldwide on strategic development, telecommunications and ICT. His book, Information and Communications Technologies for African Development, published by the United Nations ICT Task Force, is considered to be the leading edge on the subject. He served on the Digital Divide Task Force of the World Economic Forum, and also as an adviser to the United Nations ICT Task Force. Dr Okpaku holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Northwestern University, a Master of Science degree in Structural Engineering from Stanford University, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Dramatic Literature and Theatre History, also from Stanford University.