Quick Facts
Biography
Mariéme Jamme is a Senegalese businesswoman, blogger, technologist and social entrepreneur based in London.
Mariéme was honoured as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum for her activism work in empowering and investing in young girls and women in Africa, Middle East and Asia through creative learning, entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics and Design (STEAMD). She also recently joined forces with a group of African leaders to create Accur8Africa, a new platform aiming at enabling governments, businesses, entrepreneurs and the civil society in Africa at measuring the success of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 with Accurate Data. Marieme’s latest venture includes the launch of IAMTHECODE a new movement aiming at mobilising governments, businesses and investors to support girls and young women in STEAMD (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, and Design).
Mariéme Jamme is also a regular international speaker, a tech entrepreneur and the co-founder of Africa Gathering, a global platform that brings together entrepreneurs and experts to exchange ideas about Africa's development—all part of her efforts to keep the African narrative relevant and positive. "We are witnessing great progress in the continent and this needs to be highlighted," she wrote in 2012.
She is currently the CEO of SpotOne Global Solutions as well as founder of iConscience. She was referred to as being 'at the forefront of the technology revolution that is slowly transforming Africa' by CNN. She is also well known for helping to organize the annual Apps4Africa competition. Jamme also mentors founders and managers of some of Africa's technology and innovation hubs, and is the Co-founder of HiveColab.
Her Early Life
Mariéme grew up in rural Senegal, from an oligarch mother who gave her away at an early-age and later was raised in various foster houses including in an orphanage and then trafficked as a young prostitute to Paris. She experienced considerable hardship during her childhood and did not have a formative education until the age of 16 years old, when she taught herself how to read and write.