Poncelet Ileleji

Biography

Poncelet Ileleji is a highly experienced ICT and institutional development expert with a comprehensive 25-year tenure in the field. His professional engagement has been centered around leveraging Information and Communication Technology as a pivotal tool for sustainable development. Throughout his career, he has actively participated in various ICT initiatives, research endeavors, and capacity-building programs.

Additionally, Mr Ileleji has served as the Lead and CEO of Jokkolabs Banjul in The Gambia, contributing significantly to the organization’s leadership and strategic direction as its founder.

Mr Ileleji has demonstrated his expertise as a consultant across diverse projects in Africa, focusing on ICT for Development, Learning Technologies, Education, Internet Governance, and Health Informatics. In 2021, he assumed the role of National Education Consultant for Digital Skills in The Gambia, contributing to the World Bank’s Digital Diagnostics Report. Concurrently, he conducted the ICT Investment Profile for the ICT Sector in The Gambia, Burkina Faso, and Guinea Conakry on behalf of the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the West African Competitive Programme (WACOMP). Moreover, Mr Ileleji served as the Country Coordinator for the World Links program in The Gambia from 2001 to 2005, a World Bank-funded initiative, showcasing his sustained commitment to advancing ICT initiatives.

Mr Ileleji is an active member of the Association for Progressive Communication, as well as a founding member of the Information Technology Association of The Gambia and served as its president from March 2010 to April 2014. He is the national resource person for the West African Internet Governance Forum and a former board member of the Africa ICT Alliance. He also served on the Working Group for WG 3 – Privacy and Transparency Online for the Freedom Coalition, and represents his organization in the Open Data Charter as a Steward on the implementation committee. Mr Poncelet Ileleji leads the organizational partnership of Jokkolabs with the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data and was a Board member of the U.S.-based Technology non-profit organization Net Freedom Pioneers (2018 to 2021). He serves as the lead for his organization on the pan-African network of hubs in Africa and is active within the global entrepreneurship network. He also leads his organization in the Open Knowledge Foundation Network and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data.

Mr Ileleji currently sits on the Board of the Association of Progressive Communications (www.apc.org). He was Lead Researcher for the just-concluded Internet Universal Indicator for UNESCO for The Gambia and serves as a Consultant for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa on Digital Transformation, where he was one of the consultants who developed the National Digital Transformation Strategy for The Gambia. He also served as a Consultant Director for the UNDP Innovation Pod at the University of Juba, South Sudan.

Mr Ileleji is the focal point for the Internet Governance Forum on the Global Internet Governance Forum, National and Regional Initiatives (NRI). He is on the Policy Network of Artificial Intelligence, where he is involved as part of the writers on the publication of PNAI. He lectures Digital Technologies in the Spring at BEM University in Senegal. He is an Immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Kotu, The Gambia, where he still volunteers on various Rotary initiatives locally and under his District 9101.