Yoseph Ayele

Growing up across Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria, Yoseph experienced firsthand how the internet can transcend borders and expand access to knowledge and opportunity. That experience took him to Harvard University on a full scholarship and to the University of Cambridge as a Harvard-Cambridge Scholar.

Yoseph began his tech career in Silicon Valley, working at Inflection. After facing immigration hurdles in the United States, he moved to New Zealand, where he co-founded and served as CEO of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship and Global Impact Visa, a pioneering immigration program created in partnership with the New Zealand government. The program generated a 111x return for the country's economy and attracted founders and leaders from AngelList, Coinbase, Paradigm, WordPress, Figma, Asana, the Ethereum Foundation, Mobike, Signal, Andela, and hundreds more.

Yoseph entered crypto in 2016, which eventually led him back to Africa, where he saw an unprecedented product-market fit for mass adoption. He founded Borderless Africa to connect local builders with global crypto leaders, facilitating pivotal visits from Vitalik Buterin, L2 leaders, core researchers, and major protocols. He also founded magma, a founder program that nurtures and coordinates exceptional builders shaping Africa's onchain economy.

In 2024, he launched LAVA to propel generational innovation and connect investors with Africa's best opportunities.

X

LinkedIn