Marina Diboma Appointed as New 2SCALE Program Director

2SCALE today announced the appointment of Marina Diboma as its new Program Director, effective July 1st, 2021. Marina will take over from the current Program Director, Henk van Duijn, who will transition within the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) as the Chief Operations Officer/Chief Finance Officer. Henk will handover to Marina after an intensive introduction program that will be finalized by October 13th, 2021.

Marina joins 2SCALE from the Netherlands-African Business Council (NABC), where she is currently the Deputy Managing Director. A Dutch national with Cameroonian origin, Marina has extensive experience in private sector and sustainable economic development in Sub–Saharan Africa and has a passion for building bridges between people and organizations. As an expert on Africa and development cooperation, Marina participates in various initiatives. It is in this context that she is a member of the INCLUDE platform, a platform that advises both the Dutch government and selected African states in their inclusive development policies. She is also the Vice Chairwoman of the African Studies Center foundation in The Netherlands and Chairwoman of Africa 2.0 NL. Over the past two years, Marina has been involved in 2SCALE as a member of the external Selection Committee (SC), the body charged with approving inclusive agribusiness ideas for our public-private partnerships.

“With its available arable lands and ambitious young human capital, Africa has the potential to feed the world. Hence, agribusiness offers growth opportunities for sustainable economic development of the continent. Investing in inclusive agribusiness with a focus on private sector development, food and nutrition security, reduced prices for consumers and empowered farmers is therefore one of the most profitable investments for Africa. I am delighted and honored to join 2SCALE in a leadership role and contribute to this investment initiative that I hope to add valuable impact to.

Marina Diboma

Based in Ghana, Marina will oversee the implementation of partnerships initiated in the 2nd phase of 2SCALE (2018 -2023) and the subsequent expansion of the program into two new countries namely, South Sudan and Egypt.

“I can say that we are very happy that Marina agreed to take on the position of Program Director. She has intimate knowledge of Agribusiness in Africa and in the Netherlands, has already been involved in the Program and has inroads into both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Dutch Embassies. Her networking and communication skills will not only support the expansion of 2SCALE, but I also see her as the leader who can further shape 2SCALE as an African Agribusiness incubator for the future.“

Rob Groot, Director of Partnerships at IFDC and Chair of the 2SCALE Supervisory Board

Marina’s extensive experience and linkages will contribute greatly towards the achievement of 2SCALE’s overarching goal of promoting inclusive agribusiness as a tool for sustainable social and economic progress in Africa.

About 2SCALE

2SCALE is an African incubator and accelerator program that manages a portfolio of public-private partnerships for inclusive business in agri-food sectors and industries. It offers a range of support services to its business champions (SMEs and farmer groups) and partners, enabling them to produce, transform and supply quality food products. These products go to local and regional markets, including base of the pyramid consumers. 2SCALE works together with companies (African, Dutch, and other small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs) and producer organizations (POs) to develop business models and partnership models that promote inclusiveness, develop competitive edge, and have potential for scaling.

2SCALE is implemented by a consortium comprising of IFDC, Bopinc, and SNV.