INNOVATION FACTORY

Dr. Morgan DeFoort has a background in technology development and entrepreneurship with over two decades of experience working in emerging markets – predominantly India and East Africa. Before starting Factor E, Morgan was a Co-Director of the Energy Institute at Colorado State University, supporting over 200 interdisciplinary faculty, teaching, and leading R&D programs in a wide range of technology areas including engine systems, biofuels, and cookstoves. In addition, Morgan was a director at CSU STRATA, supporting university cleantech spinouts during formation and launch. Morgan holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University and a BA in Physics from Hastings College.

Tenbite Ermias has over 20 years of development finance and management consulting experience, during which he has invested, established international practices, built high-performing teams, and advised business and public sector leaders across Africa, the Middle East and the US. He is from Ethiopia and is passionate about the role of technology in economic development, impact investing in emerging markets and mentoring African entrepreneurs. Previously, Tenbite was the Head of Africa at British International Investment (BII) where he was a member of the Executive and Investment Committees, and led a team responsible for deal origination, due diligence support and stakeholder management across Africa. Prior to that, he was a Partner with the Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey & Company for 17 years, most recently based in Nairobi, Kenya. Tenbite holds MSc and BSc degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University where he had a dual focus on Mechatronics and Management Science.

Kiette has built teams and led operations in Africa for 15 years, working across different sectors including healthcare, education and agriculture. Most of that time was spent as the CEO of One Acre Fund Kenya, where Kiette led the team through its formative scaling years, growing their agricultural input loan program from 100,000 clients to half a million. More recently, Kiette has worked in a regional leadership capacity managing One Acre Fund programs in expansion markets including Burundi, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Prior to joining One Acre Fund, Kiette was Director of Operations at Abaarso Tech, a secondary boarding school in Somaliland, and worked to build the school from inception to reality. Kiette has a Bachelor of Science in International Business from Northeastern University.

Jamie Doyen has been working in finance for over a decade. Before joining Factor E, Jamie was the Director of Finance for a technology startup, was the Associate Director of Finance for a communications conglomerate, and an Audit Associate at Deloitte & Touche. Jamie holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Accounting from the University of Southern California as well as an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. She is also a Certified Public Accountant in California.

Akta is an experienced investor with over 15 years in the start-up and venture capital space. She founded Enhabit Ltd, a company dedicated to reducing carbon emissions in the built environment. Under her leadership, Enhabit achieved the first retrofit of an existing building to Passivhaus standards and won multiple awards for its impact. She made a partial exit in 2013 and fully exited the business in 2020. She founded three platform businesses in serviced apartments, building compliance, and dental labs, while also leading acquisitions for portfolio companies. With deep expertise in energy efficiency and renewable energy, Akta has expanded her focus to healthcare and healthtech. She is also an active investor, deploying personal funds and advising start-ups. Beyond investing, Akta serves as a non-executive director for NHS organizations, specializing in financial performance and digital innovation. She is also on the board of a charity supporting young entrepreneurs in London. Akta began her career as a solicitor at Slaughter and May before transitioning to investment banking at HSBC, where she worked on public and private M&A and capital raises. She holds a law degree from the University of Cambridge.

Michael Emmerson was a product manager in the Solar Home System sector, validating new products and taking them to market across East and West Africa prior to joining the Factor E team. He holds a First Class Honours BEng degree in Mechanical Engineering from Southampton University and an MEng degree in Geological Engineering from the University of British Columbia.

Shiro brings 8+ years of experience as an operator in social impact businesses primarily across sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining the team at Factor E, Shiro was an early-stage founder and operations’ consultant in the agri-food sector. Before exploring entrepreneurship, she supported strategic operations and C-level priorities with sector-leading impact organizations, GiveDirectly and One Acre Fund. Shiro also serves as the Portfolio Services Senior Manager for our sister-fund, Equator VC. Shiro holds an MA in environmental policy from Stanford University, and a BA in philosophy with Phi Beta Kappa honors from the University of Chicago.

Jayson Rai brings 5 years of experience in technology startups and venture capital in Africa. Prior to joining Factor E Ventures, Jayson worked as an Investment Analyst at Bankable Frontier Associates (BFA) Global where he supported the Catalyst Fund and Jobtech Alliance teams in the investment of 22 early-stage climate-tech and jobtech startups across Africa. During that time, he also worked with the broader BFA Global venture building team to support BFA’s portfolio companies in financial modelling, market research and fundraising. He also worked at Enza Capital as a Venture Fellow where he co-led the investment in 2 early-stage startups in the education and construction sectors. Jayson holds a First Class Honors BEng degree in Electrical and Power Systems from the Glasgow Caledonian University offered at the African Leadership University.”

Sam Schiff brings three years of experience supporting early-stage entrepreneurs. As a Technical Analyst, Sam bolsters process implementation and improvements. Prior to joining Factor E, Sam was a program development analyst for the Boulder Small Business Development Center's Tech Venture Accelerator and supported entrepreneurial programming for scientists and engineers with Venture Partners at CU Boulder and Rockies Venture Club. Sam holds a BA in Neuroscience and Philosophy from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Tyrone brings a strong background in operations, partnerships, and venture support across Africa’s innovation ecosystem. He has worked with startups through his time at Pariti, where he drove hiring operations and supported growth-stage companies across key markets. Prior to that, he was part of the consulting team at Boston Consulting Group, contributing to strategic projects in climate, healthcare, and mobility. Most recently, Tyrone worked at Bolt, supporting growth and city expansion. He holds a First-Class Honours degree in Informatics and Computer Science from Strathmore University.

​​Jonathan Berman is the CEO of Shell Foundation. Formerly, he was the Managing Partner of AIP, a private investment partnership that invests in early-stage technology companies focused on emerging markets. He serves on several boards of directors including Asoko Insight, an information services company delivering superior data and analysis on emerging market corporations to customers worldwide, and Technovation, an NGO empowering young women through entrepreneurship and technology training. He previously served as partner and director of the global corporate practice at Dalberg, a mission-driven advisory firm focused on frontier markets with twenty-one offices worldwide. Jonathan holds a BA in East Asian Studies from Yale and an MA in Political Economy from UC Berkeley.

Mark Loch has nearly four decades of experience launching and building new businesses and social enterprises in North America, Latin America, Africa, and Asia, including 26 years of growing international practice groups as a Senior Partner at McKinsey and Company. Mark is also an operating partner at Blackhorn Ventures and a Director in Residence at Redstone Strategy Group. Mark holds both a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Seth Silverman has cultivated leadership experience in climate change policy and as an international development practitioner and impact investor in energy access and agriculture development in East Africa, South Asia, and Central America, such as managing Kenya operations for the One Acre Fund. Seth has a J.D. from NYU School of Law, an M.Sc. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University, and a B.A. from Stanford University.