About Konexio

Our Story

Jean Guo (CEO/Co-founder) and Binta Jammeh (COO/Co-founder) met as Fulbright Scholars in Paris. They were motivated to launch Konexio based on their personal journeys. As children of immigrant families, they saw firsthand the challenges their families faced in navigating the social, cultural, educational, and professional challenges of settling in a new country.

Prior to Konexio, Jean worked as a consultant in Silicon Valley. She was awarded a research grant to come to France in 2015, during which time she researched economic and health issues for marginalized populations, including refugees and migrants. Prior to Konexio, Binta was a teacher in Thailand and the United States. She was awarded a teaching grant to come to France in 2016. As a teacher in an underprivileged suburb of Paris, Binta explored ways to increase access to educational and professional growth opportunities for minority and low-income students.

Aside from Jean and Binta, Konexio works with a well-entrenched and dedicated team of teachers, support staff, and interns, and a community of volunteers, who have varied and unique backgrounds as developers, instructors, digital marketing strategists, consultants, financial experts, and more.

Awards and Prizes

Finalist, Winner of the Quick Pitch Prize

Finalist, 2018 Social Innovation Tournament

Semi-finalist, 2018 Social Innovation Competition

Station F Fighters Program incubation

SINGA (Finkela) incubation program​

The Team

​Team Konexio embodies a fighting spirit of diverse members from all walks of life and nearly every corner of the globe. We’re refugees, migrants, expatriots, locals, men, women, old, and young who are committed to using digital learning to highlight the potential of excluded and disadvantaged publics to be the at the forefront of digital and socio-economic inclusion.

Jean Guo

Co-Founder, CEO

Binta Jammeh

Co-founder, COO

Jénaïc Cambre

Lead Instructor and Curriculum Development, Code

Denis Robert

Lead Instructor and Curriculum Development, Digital

Laure Aimoz

Co-Director of Partnerships

Guillaume Meyer

Co-Director of Partnerships

Frédéric Manceron

Strategy Advisor

Luc Walrafen

Financial Advisor

Our Board

Konexio’s advisory board guides and supports the organization’s growth. Our board members each began their journey with Konexio as mentors and advocates. Their formal appointment to the advisory board is a natural extension of their dedication to empowerment and inclusion through digital learning. The board is comprised of individuals with a variety of professional backgrounds from both France and the USA, reflecting Konexio’s diverse and international mindset. Among other duties, board members will advise on strategy and growth, as well as serve as ambassadors for Konexio.

Marion Abecassis, L.L.M Attorney-At-Law, McDermott, Will & Emery

Marion Abecassis is an attorney-at-law admitted to practice in Paris and New York, focusing her practice in life sciences with a special interest in bioethics. She assists French and international health care stakeholders at the Paris office of McDermott, Will & Emery. In parallel, she follows the works of the INSERM Ethics Committee and has regularly participated in its activities since April 2016. Finally, she has chaired the disciplinary commission for doping for the French Disabled Sports Federation since July 2017. She holds a Master's in Health Law from Université Paris-Descartes and a Master's in Global Health Law from Georgetown University under a Fulbright Grant awarded in 2014. She has also authored papers in several well-known publications, including the Hastings Women’s Law Journal.

Why Konexio?

"Kommitment:  Konexio is fully committed “to making a difference”

Kollaboration: ​I truly appreciate Konexio’s ability to gather and collaborate with very diverse people
​
Kreativity: education is the cornerstone of integration and Konexio uses innovative approaches to integrate refugees through IT learning."

---

Anne-Claire Pache, Ph.D. Chaired Professor in Philanthropy,
​ESSEC Business School

Dr. Anne-Claire Pache is Professor of Social Innovation and Chaired Professor in Philanthropy at ESSEC Business School. Her teaching and research lies at the intersection of organizational theory and social innovation, with a particular emphasis on hybrid organizing and scale up processes in organizations. Dr. Pache's work has been published in books as well as top academic journals. She was Dean for Academic Programs at ESSEC between 2014 and 2017. She is a graduate of ESSEC Business School (1994 - Mi.M.), Harvard Business School (2001 - M.P.A.) and INSEAD (2009 – Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior). Prior to joining the academic world, she was instrumental in the co-founding of Unis-Cité, France’s pioneer youth service nonprofit. ​

Why Konexio?

"I am very happy to join Konexio because I believe in its mission, I like its entrepreneurial culture and I am convinced that empowering youth through digital skills is very powerful!"

Alex Budak, M.P.P. Changemaker in Residence & Professional Faculty,
​UC Berkeley

Alex Budak dedicates his career to advising and activating changemakers around the world.  He's the co-founder (and now advisor) of StartSomeGood.com which has helped 1000+ social innovators in 50+ countries raise over $10 million to launch and scale new social ventures.  At UC Berkeley, he teaches a newly-designed course, "Becoming a Changemaker," and develops programs around leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation. He received a Master's in Public Policy from Georgetown University and a B.A. from UCLA, from which he also received its recent Alumnus of the Year award.  He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Rebecca.  

Why Konexio?

"I'm inspired by the bold vision of Konexio, the drive and empathy of its outstanding team, and the systemic approach it takes to its work."

---

Amrita Sarkar, 
​Investment Director at ALIAD, Air Liquide Venture Capital

Dr. Amrita Sarkar is an Investment Director at ALIAD, the Corporate Venture arm of the Air Liquide Group. She invests primarily in early-stage companies across all the strategically important sectors of the parent enterprise, namely Energy Transition, Healthcare and Digital Transformation.  Dr. Sarkar currently sits on the boards of several international startups in the sectors of Healthcare, Industrial IoT and AgTech. Prior to taking on the VC role, she worked as a Technology Strategist at the i-Lab, Air Liquide’s laboratory for disruptive innovation, in areas as diverse as Robotics, Air Quality and MedTech. Dr. Sarkar holds a Ph.D. in Computational Biology from New York University, an M.B.A. from the Collège des Ingénieurs and a B.A. from Middlebury College where she studied Mathematics and Biochemistry. She is also a Techstars mentor, working with startups in the Techstars accelerator programs in Paris and Oslo.

Why Konexio?

"I first met Binta at Vivatech and was introduced to Jean soon after. I was extremely impressed by the commitment and the dedication shown by these two talented young women, who are working so hard to fight exclusion and establish social justice by upskilling traditionally disadvantaged segments of the population. Konnexio is on the path to becoming an important agent of social change in the exciting world of EdTech startups."

Nathanael Molle, M.A.
​Co-founder, SINGA ​

Migration has always been a part of Nathanael’s life. Born in Brazil to a Franco-Brazilian family, Nathanael traveled the world with his family for the first 20 years of his life. After getting involved in human rights and humanitarian projects at a very young age, he decided to study International Relations in Paris before moving to Morocco for his first professional experience as a legal assistant for refugees. This experience lead him to co-found SINGA in 2012, a leading organization working to connect migrants with their host societies. He was recognized as an Ashoka Fellow in 2014 and a Forbes 30 under 30 social entrepreneur in 2016. He recently left SINGA to start another venture that aims to use artificial intelligence and technology to change the way newcomers access information, services and products in their host countries.

Why Konexio?

"Konexio is one of the most promising startups working on migration and refugees that I’ve seen in recent years. I look forward to seeing them grow and scale."

---

Tracy Young, M.B.A.
​Data Research and Data Products, Yodlee

Tracy is Manager for Data Research with the Data Products Group at Yodlee where she is working on new product development. She has been with Yodlee since 2017. Prior to her current role, Tracy worked with the finance team at Uphold, a cloud-based digital money platform to transact currencies, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.  Tracy has over 15 years of experience in corporate finance and equity research. She graduated from Stanford undergrad with a dual major in International Relations and History and earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia Business School. She was co-Chair of the Stanford Community Service in New York, recently became President of the Stanford Association in New York, and was awarded the Governor's Award in 2017. Tracy also serves as an adviser for startups in the Yodlee Incubator and the ERA. Outside of her activities with the Community Service Group, she serves as a volunteer at Ronald McDonald House in New York and was a volunteer for the NY Philharmonic for many years. ​

Why Konexio?

"I appreciate the skill building that Konexio offers to motivated individuals. I appreciate the fact that it is a global initiative."