Ghislain Irakoze

Ghislain joins the Master's in International Policy at FSI after completing a Master of Public Policy at the University of Oxford, where he was a Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholar.  Ghislain founded Wastezon, an East African clean-tech social enterprise that leverages AI to repurpose electronic materials into low-cost devices for consumers or secondary raw materials for manufacturers. Along with his team, he has facilitated the acquisition of low-cost, refurbished devices for over 15,000 low-income households while simultaneously diverting more than 800 tons of e-waste from landfills. 

Before that, Ghislain co-led Africa-EU Circular Economy Cooperation policy frameworks. As a Data Value Advocate at Global Partnerships for Sustainable Development Data, he led five grassroots East African organizations in developing a participatory AI Design Toolkit. Ghislain also contributed to various policy instruments in digital inclusion, e-mobility, and circular economy at the Wide Web Foundation, Subak, and Planet Reimagined. He currently sits on the Global Greengrants Fund’s Next Gen Climate Board and previously served on the EU Commission's International Partnerships Youth Sounding Board. Ghislain aspires to initiate transformative policy initiatives on emerging technologies across developing nations.