Toulu Akerele

Global Data Protection Officer, ISMS Manager, Paystack

Toulu is a multilingual data privacy professional, cybersecurity strategist, and security consultant who has worked in Paris, London, Tel Aviv and Lagos, across diverse cultures, languages and environments, including government agencies, security think tanks and consultancy firms. Toulu is a Sorbonne graduate and holds an MA in Government Cum Laude at Israel’s Interdisciplinary Centre, specialising in counter-terrorism, homeland security and cybersecurity. As a CIPP/E and CIPM holder, certified as an ISO 22301, 27001, and 27701 lead implementer, Toulu has conducted Data Protection Compliance Audits for over ten globally renowned companies and led the Data Privacy enterprise at KPMG Nigeria, training both internal analysts and external clients. Her wealth of knowledge in data privacy and information security led her to become the global Data Protection Officer and ISMS Manager at Paystack, a leading fintech company acquired by U.S. payment company Stripe. Toulu is also a published researcher on African Cyber Threats (International Institute for Counter Terrorism) and West African jihad (Hudson Institute), with ad hoc security briefs and data protection compliance interviews for CGTN news Africa and TRT news. She was invited to deliver presentations on destabilisation and insurgencies across the Sahel, counter violent extremism, deradicalisation strategies, and participate as a panelist at NATO’s Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism (COE-DAT), and Rwanda’s National Security Symposium. Toulu also sits on SON’s (Standards Organisation of Nigeria) National Mirror/Technical Committee for Financial Services, in addition to SON’s National Technical/Mirror Committee on Digitally Delivered Services/Trade.

Ikechukwu Ibeawuchi

Lead, Government Affairs, Cisco

Ikechukwu Ibeawuchi leads Government Affairs at Cisco Nigeria.
He has served on committees on trade, digital inclusion and Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria, including NASSBER and MAN. Called to the Nigerian Bar in 2014, he has a bachelor’s degree in law from Madonna University, Nigeria and a master’s degree in international law from Coventry University, United Kingdom. He was also part of the 2019 cohort participating in the Adaptive Leadership Executive Education Course at the Harvard Kennedy School of Governance in collaboration with the Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya.

Adamma Isamade

Legal Officer, NDPC

Adamma Isamade, a legal practitioner turned Managing Principal of Ninth Inning Practice in Abuja, Nigeria, specializes in data protection, privacy, digital sovereignty and cybersecurity. Active within the Nigerian Bar Association and affiliated with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, she has played key roles in shaping the Nigeria legal landscape. Notably, she consulted for the then Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) contributing to the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023. Currently, as the Head of Legal Unit of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, she oversees compliance across sectors, influencing national and international policies through inter-ministerial committees. Adamma also offers advisory services on compliance and capacity building in data protection and privacy, supporting both organisations and start-ups in Nigeria’s evolving regulatory environment. Her dedication contributes significantly to the advancement of data protection practices nationwide.

Mercy King’ori

Policy Manager for Africa, FPF

Mercy King’ori serves as a Policy Manager for the Global Privacy team at the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF). She is based in Nairobi, Kenya.

As a Policy Manager for FPF, she follows and analyzes privacy and data protection developments of laws and policies, case law, decisions by national data protection bodies and implementation of data protection and privacy laws in key African jurisdictions. She has spent a significant amount of time working on areas of digital finance and digital identification systems and their impact on data protection and privacy. Mercy obtained her law degree from Strathmore University, Nairobi in 2019 where her final thesis discussed the state of privacy laws within Kenya’s internet banking industry.

Publications, contributions and relevant activity

How the Kenyan High Court (temporarily) struck down the national digital ID Card: Context and Analysis

Data Protection in the Kenyan Banking Sector: A study of Publicly Available Data Policies of Commercial Banks operating in Kenya in Relation to a Set Data Protection Standard

Privacy and Data Protection Practices of Digital Lending Apps in Kenya

A Data Protection Guide for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Kenya 

The Data Protection Act as a tool for permitting innovation and consumer safety in Kenya’s digital finance market

The impact of Kenya’s Finance Act, 2019 on online services with regard to digital tax

Conference Presentation on preliminary research findings on developing a consent framework for the use of facial recognition systems among refugees (TILTing Perspectives 2021)

Ari Ness

Data Policy Officer - Cyberspace and Digital Policy Bureau, U.S. Department of State

Ari Ness is a Data Policy Officer at the U.S. Department of State, focusing on data policy and digital economy issues as part of the Data, Digital Trade, and AI Team. Prior to joining State in 2025, Ari led data policy engagement across Africa and the Middle East for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, spearheading initiatives on data privacy, cross-border data flows, and global health data.

Previously, Ari served as an International Trade Specialist for the U.S.-EU Data Privacy Framework Team, where he gained in-depth expertise in GDPR compliance, earning his CIPP/E certification for comprehensive GDPR knowledge.

Ridwan Oloyede

AI Governance & Tech Policy Lead, Tech Hive Advisory

Alison Tilley

Member, Information Regulator of South Africa

Alison Tilley is an attorney, specialising in transparency and accountability issues. She has litigated on transparency and whistleblowing issues in a number of High Court matters, the Labour Court, the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal. She was formerly the director of the Open Democracy Advice Centre.

She is the coordinator of the Judges Matter campaign, which is a project of the Democratic Governance and Rights Unit at the University of Cape Town. They have an extensive campaign on judicial appointments and conduct processes.

Her publications include “The Right to Know, The Right to Live”, edited by Richard Calland and herself, and she contributes to the Daily Maverick. She works on issues surrounding gender-based violence, and particularly the rollout of sexual offences courts with the Rape Survivor Justice Campaign.