Dr Segenet Kelemu is the Executive Director of Pan African Programs at the Master Card Foundation. Prior to her current position, she was the Director General & CEO, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) (2013-2023), Nairobi, Kenya. She was the fourth Director General & Chief Executive Officer, and the first woman to lead icipe.
A citizen of Ethiopia of humble beginnings and educated in Ethiopia and in the United States of America, she has dedicated her life to the achievement of poverty reduction and sustainable development. She has experienced the challenges and successes associated with African agriculture first-hand, from tending the field as a child in Ethiopia to directing international research centres. Following her post-doctoral work at Cornell University, USA, Dr. Kelemu joined the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) based in Cali, Colombia, as a Senior Scientist in 1992. She was later appointed Leader of Crop and Agroecosystem Health Management at CIAT until her departure in 2007. In 2007, she became the Director of the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub at the International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.
Prior to becoming the Director General of icipe, Dr Kelemu was the Vice President for Programs at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
She is a 2014 L’Oréal-UNESCO Laureate for Women in Science Awards, and one of the top 100 most influential African women featured in the May 2014 Edition of Forbes Africa. Dr. Kelemu was listed among the 10 most influential African women in agriculture by the Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security. In April 2018, the Women Economic Forum awarded Dr. Kelemu their highest award “Woman of the Decade in Natural and Sustainable Ecosystems” for outstanding leadership.
She has received other awards and recognitions including recognition by Bill Gates, as one of five ‘heroes in the field’ who are using their talents to fight poverty, hunger, and disease, and providing opportunities for the next generation (2018); the TWAS Prize for Agricultural Sciences (2011); the 2019 College of Agriculture Alumni Fellow of Kansas State University, USA (2019); Science Honoree of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St Louis, Missouri, USA (2019), the TWAS Regional award for leadership and building vibrant scientific institutions (2020); in 2020, she was recognized and featured by UN Women as one of seven women “Devoted to discovery: seven women scientists who have shaped our world” (2020); by The International Climate Change Development Initiative as one of “five African women scientists to celebrate” (2020); The Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry International Fellow (2020); The Ellis Island Medal of Honor, New York (2022) and decorated with the second highest award of France; the title of Officier de L’Ordre national du Mérite (Officer in the National Order of Merit) (2023).
She has been featured in The CEO Magazine, Australia, as one of the six exceptional leaders from around the world, breaking ground and shattering the glass ceiling; in “the Mind of the Universe”, Time Magazine, the BBC, the CNN’s African Voices, the East African, Selamta Magazine (an inflight magazine), Le Monde among others. She serves in various Boards, science advisory panels in major global initiatives and has served in international juries of key science awards.
Professional position
- Executive Director, Pan Africa Programs, MasterCard Foundation
