Rachel Sibande

Technology Enthusiast and Social Entrepreneur

I am a digital development specialist with over 20 years of experience in academia, technology, and social enterprise. I have managed technology projects in 22 low- and middle-income countries and have worked at the intersection of Digital, Big Data, AI, and various sectors including health and agriculture. I received the Anita Borg Scholarship from Google in 2015 and have been recognized twice by Forbes as a 30 under 30 young entrepreneur. In 2018, I won the Next Einstein Forum’s Climate smart track challenge for my invention generating electricity from maize cobs. I established Malawi’s first technology hub, mHub, and have led technology solutions for elections monitoring in multiple African countries.

Resume

 

Experience

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Senior Program Officer, Global Development

2022–Present

mHub Malawi

Founder & Director

2013–Present

Earth Energy

Founder & Director

Mar 2017–Present

Digital Impact Alliance
(United Nations Foundation)

Senior Director, Country Outreach – Africa
Director, Data for Development

2017–2022

Palladium

Deputy Chief of Party

Nov 2016–Nov 2017

Agribusiness Systems International

Country Director

Dec 2013–Dec 2015

Kamuzu Academy

Teacher

Dec 2005–Apr 2007

ACDI VOCA

Country Director

Nov 2009–Dec 2013

Mzuzu University

Lecturer

Apr 2007–Nov 2009

Education

 
 

B.S. Computer Science
and Statistics

University of Malawi

2006

Certificate in Financial
Accounting

Public Accountants Examination Council

2006

Certificate in Wireless
Networking

ICTP, Italy

2008

MSc. Information Theory,
Coding & Cryptography

Mzuzu University, Malawi

2009

Certificate in Entrepreneurship
for Scientists & Engineers

ICTP, Italy

2016

Ph.D. Computer Science

Rhodes University, South Africa

2021

Executive MBA

University of Oxford, UK

2025
 
 

Board Member & Strategic Adviser

Awards & Recognitions

2025: Women Led ICT Firm, ICT Association of Malawi

2022: Zikomo Excellence Awards, President of the Republic of Malawi

2019: Named as New Wealth Creator, Forbes Woman Africa

2018: Winner of Innovation to Invention Challenge, Climate Smart track –Next Einstein Forum, Rwanda

2017: Young Visionary Leader of the World, World Youth Forum, Egypt

2017: Award of Excellence in contribution to ICT Skills development, Commonwealth Association of Technical Universities and Polytechnics in Africa

2016: First Local to hold TEDx Lilongwe license, TED Global, USA

2016: Next Einstein Fellow; African Institute for Mathematical Sciences - Next Einstein Fellows Forum, Senegal

2016: One of 30 under 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa –Forbes, Africa

2015: Google Anita Borg Scholarship Awardee- Google, United Kingdom

2012: Alumni of the Young African Leaders Initiative- President of the USA, Barack Obama

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