Sivan Ya’ari

Sivan Ya’ari is the founder and president of Innovation: Africa. Born in Israel and raised in Nice, France, Sivan traces her roots back to Africa where her father was born in Algeria and her mother in Tunisia. After visiting Africa for her work, she was moved by the pervasive poverty she witnessed and began to look for ways to transform and improve the lives of African people. Following a brief stint as a mortgage banker, Sivan joined the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and developed the groundwork for what would become Innovation: Africa, bringing Israeli innovation to African villages. Sivan graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in finance from Pace University and holds a master’s degree in international energy management and policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.