Niama El Bassunie

Niama El Bassunie is a Managing Partner at The Baobab Network, an accelerator and investment firm in Africa focused on early stage startups. Prior to that, Niama was the CEO and founder of WaystoCap, the first online B2B marketplace focused on African businesses. The business was backed by international investors including Battery Ventures and Y Combinator. WaystoCap was also the first North African startup to be named a technology pioneer in 2018 by the World Economic Forum. WaystoCap was acquired in 2021.

Prior to WaystoCap, Niama worked in PWC in London, UK, in their energy markets and valuation team. While there she advised oil, gas and infrastructure companies including South Africa’s largest energy company. Following this, Niama set up a renewables trading firm before moving to Conakry, Republic of Guinea where she worked on a recycling project; and was part of the advisory team for the government of Togo in a project led by Sir Paul Judge.

Niama holds a BA in Economics and Politics from the University of Sheffield and was awarded the Rensburg prize for Macroeconomics. Niama is also a Chartered Financial Analyst and obtained two master's degrees from the London School of Economics: one in Decision Sciences and one in International Relations.