Mr. Hermann Aplogan

Hermann aims to contribute to harness the digital revolution in Benin and to take up the challenge of high-speed Internet and content, both in the areas of infrastructure and skills.

Hermann Aplogan is recognized as a solid business development professional, a global activist and catalyst leader for IT entrepreneurship and youth employment, has over ten years of experience working in those areas at national, regional and international scope, and is highly respected as a thoughtful and intelligent individual who looks for the win-win and comes highly recommended.

He is passionate about Africa, design thinking and technology in a global and localized African context, and the potential smartly designed technologies have to solve African challenges.

Hermann serves as an Eminent National Expert for WSA-World Summit Award, a global flagship initiative within the United Nations to identify the high quality Internet and Mobile content products and applications, and to promote the most outstanding achievements of creatives worldwide in order to develop the Information Society, bridge digital divides and close the content gap. With this in mind, he is tirelessly working with the International Center for New Media to empower Creators and Educators of high quality Internet and Mobile content products and applications from his country. To date and as one of the WSA Experts, Hermann has contributed to identify at a worldwide level several thousand e-content and mobile applications and to promote around 240 e-content and 80 mobile apps.

In partnership with Afrikanet Oxford Consultech NST&T Universal Phone UK Limited, he is currently applying to become one of the leading Internet Access Provider (IAP) in Benin, and is already providing his great support to foster the digital ecosystem in Benin through the MTN Benin Apps Challenge. As the first mobile applications event in Benin launched by MTN, the pan-African leading mobile telecommunications operator, the MTN Benin Apps Challenge showcases the mobile applications industry in Benin. The MTN Benin Apps Challenge is a competition for Benin's mobile application developers, also aiming to open a new booster era of mobile economy in Benin. Benin's mobile application developers are invited to join with innovative ideas and participate in the MTN Benin Apps Challenge to seize the many opportunities for self-employment in the digital economy.

On behalf of MobileTech Consulting, a mobile applications startup and school, his current focus is also on the establishment of the first high end IT Education and Infrastructure Management Services Training Center and Innovation Hub in Cotonou-BENIN for the technology community as an open space for the technologists, investors and tech companies in the area. This space is a tech community facility with a focus on young entrepreneurs, web and mobile phone programmers, designers and researchers. It is part rigorous entrepreneurial IT training center, part open community workspace (co-working), part vector for investors and Venture Capitalists (VCs) and part incubator.

He is also working with Interim Global Solutions (Oxford-UK) as Senior Associate Partner and Country Manager to offer to the talented and experienced African entrepreneurs and startups, a global business services including investment search services involving 100,000+ investors and to provide them with seed funding from the five private equity & business angels conferences that Starlight Capital Inc. and MJSegalAssociates host each year in the Grand Ballroom of the Yale Club New York (United States).

Throughout the years, Hermann has gained experience in information technology, new media, entrepreneurship, lobbying and is also skilled in product design, market entry strategies, innovative business models inception, business collaborations (concept to implementation) across all sectors and U.S/E.U funding related projects.

Hermann is a graduate as Sales Manager, holds a Certificate in Leadership from the Cambridge College and EDC-Education Development Center (Massachusetts-U.S), a Certificate in Business Planning from Laval University (Quebec-Canada) and ITIN School of Management (Paris-France), and won the United Nations International Telecommunication Union’s Youth Education Scheme (YES) scholarship made possible by a generous contribution from Vodafone Group Services Limited (UK) for his Beninese university Master Degree in Marketing and Communication.