Dr. Bienvenu Agbokponto Soglo

Dr. Bienvenu Agbokponto Soglo is the Vice President for Technology, Policy & Innovation at Blacklin Associates. He is a technology executive, public policy strategist, and deep tech advisor with over 20 years of international experience spanning technology, governance, and sustainable development. At Blacklin, he drives impact at the nexus of policy, technology, and inclusive growth, leveraging AI-driven solutions to tackle complex challenges. In addition to his role at Blacklin, he also serves as a Research & Innovation Associate in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).

Previously, Dr. Soglo was Director of Government Affairs Africa and Principal Engineer at Intel Corporation, where he led policy engagement on AI, 5G/6G, broadband, spectrum, data governance, and digital inclusion. He also spearheaded the Intel Community Reach Program, dedicated to bridging Africa’s digital divide and enabling local AI innovation. His career further includes senior leadership roles at Qualcomm and Huawei, along with influential contributions to international policy through the ITU, WTO, and GSA, where he chaired the ATU Spectrum Team for nearly four years.

A recognized thought leader in deep tech and innovation ecosystems, Dr. Soglo has published technical papers on network control systems and co-authored landmark studies such as Evaluating the African Deep Tech Startups and Spin-Off Ecosystem and A Study on the AI Landscape of Universities in Africa. He currently serves as Thematic Lead for Entrepreneurship & SME Growth at the ITU Innovation & Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development and sits on the board of the Data Economy Policy Hub. He is also a member of South Africa’s National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) Working Group on AI and the B20 Digital Transformation Task Force.

Fluent in English, French, and Chinese, Dr. Soglo holds a Ph.D. in Control Science & Engineering from Beijing Tsinghua University (2005), an M.Sc. in Control Theory & Control Engineering from Dalian University of Technology (2002), and a B.Sc. in Automatic Control from Dalian Maritime University (1999). He recently completed the Wharton Executive Education Program in Corporate Governance.