Dr. Ralph Oyini Mbouna is an accomplished electrical engineer with a Ph.D. from Temple University in Philadelphia, USA, where he also served as an associate professor in the College of Engineering. His academic and research work focused on advanced technologies in signal processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer vision, and intelligent systems.

In 2015, he returned to Africa to join ARCEP Gabon, the national regulatory authority for electronic and postal communications, as Director of the Universal Service Access Fund. In this role, he led the design and implementation of nationwide connectivity initiatives aimed at expanding internet and mobile access to underserved rural populations.

Dr. Ralph Oyini Mbouna currently serves as Director of Digital Transformation and Services at Smart Africa, based in Kigali, Rwanda. He leads two flagship continental programs: the Technology-Driven Entrepreneurship Program and the Digital Services Enablers Program, both central to Smart Africa’s mission of building Africa’s Single Digital Market. Through these initiatives, he is helping to shape a pan-African environment where young people can innovate, launch, and scale digital businesses across borders.