EDITORIAL By Salif Romano Niang Bamako — In Mali, the votes of the run-off have been cast. And in sharp contrast to elections in Africa or even Western democracies, the defeated candidate conceded not by press release or defiant speech but by visiting the winner in his living room, surrounded by their families. With the …
In 1977, our father earned a USAID scholarship to leave Mali and pursue graduate studies at Purdue University. As one of the first Africans to benefit from an effort to identify and train the next generation of agriculture experts, he earned his doctorate and went on to work for the United Nations for the next …
MALI’S ELECTION BRINGS THE PROMISE OF DEMOCRACY TO A POPULATION EAGER TO MOVE ON FROM THE PAST 20 MONTHS OF STRIFE. Bamako, Mali – Mali’s crucial presidential election on Sunday will take place in an atmosphere of hope but shaded by uncertainty. Uncertainty because since the end of military rule, Mali has held five elections. …
By Salif Romano Niang, Co-Founder & Chief Impact Officer, Malo Traders and New Voices Fellow, The Aspen Institute When I was growing up in Ethiopia, Cameroon and Mali in the 90s, my friends and I talked about creating companies that addressed problems in our communities. However, we always thought that first we’d have to become …
INTERVIEW By Julie Strupp Aspen Institute 2013 New Voices Fellow Salif Romano Niang is the co-founder and chief impact officer of Malo, a company working to revolutionize the rice industry in Niang’s home country of Mali. Niang created a new model of rice production and marketing across the entire rice value chain that supports small-scale …