Founder and CEO - Small Farm Cities Africa
Jon is founder of Small Farm Cities Africa, a developer of agribusiness enterprises, municipal infrastructure, and applied technology systems. Previously, he was executive director of E-Commerce Africa at Dubai Ports World and executive director of the Republican Conference (majority) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Jon has organized infrastructure, agribusiness, and e-commerce initiatives in Ghana, Nigeria, Somalia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Malawi. Jon has co-authored a book with Dubai multimodal transport pioneer, Issa Baluch, entitled, Africa Risk Dashboard (www.riskdashboard.org), and has been a visiting scholar for African urbanism at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, 2014-15).
The demand for well-planned, economically vibrant, and scalable new cities has never been greater. Yet too often, visionary projects struggle to move from concept to reality. The Cities Catapult, an initiative of the Charter Cities Institute and the Africa Infrastructure Development Association is designed to change that. This initiative is a launchpad for the next generation of urban developments"”bringing together developers, investors, and policymakers to fast-track the creation of thriving new cities. With a focus on scalable models, innovative financing, and real-world execution, Cities Catapult will connect high-potential city projects with the resources and expertise they need to succeed.