Meet the Team

Dr. Rania Ibrahim is currently the founder and Executive Director of Innova Healthcare Consultancy, a pioneer in consultancy services in the Ethiopian Healthcare Sector. She has over ten years of experience in the healthcare sector of Ethiopia from a medical and public health perspective ranging from working as Senior Technical Advisor for the Federal Ministry of Health to introducing breakthrough structural and functional integrations to the Existing healthcare practices, a notable mention being the establishment of the Innovative Strategies and Operations office at St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC). In her endeavors, she is more drawn to public health and strategic planning-related projects due to her passion for dynamic, demanding, and high-impact work. In 2010, she co-founded Telemed-Hellodoctor Ethiopia, a technology startup that increased healthcare access by providing medical telephone consultations to vulnerable populations. Hello-doctor is the first home-based general medical advisory service in Ethiopia. Following Hellodoctor and the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) program, Dr. Rania built upon these experiences to develop balanced strategic decision-making skills and resolve systemic issues. Dr. Rania is excited about the opportunity to use her unique experiences and skills to strengthen the emerging concept of public-private partnership in Ethiopia’s healthcare system. She is also interested in providing a human-centered approach to healthcare solutions, as evident in her current role as a product development lead in ChePharma, a tech startup company that aims to bring seminal changes in the digitalization of the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Chain.
She received her medical degree in 2010 from Addis Ababa University Medical Faculty. In 2018, she completed an entrepreneurship master’s program at the University of Notre Dame.

Dr. Solomon Desalegn received his medical degree from St. Paul's hospital Millennium Medical College in 2017. He served as General Secretary of EMSA-St. Paul's (Ethiopian Medical Students Association) for two years, with significant contribution to the establishment and strengthening of the association in the college. He also successfully completed his responsibility as President of the Graduation Committee of his class by raising half a million ETB and hosted several events. As Project Coordinator, Dr. Solomon has led many initiatives, most notably the Cervical and Breast Cancer screenings, which served over 800 women. Dr. Solomon, along with two colleagues, started a mobile health clinic, Lifeline Medical Services. The clinic exists to bridge the gap between the healthcare provider and the health care recipient.

Dr. Yonas G. Hagos is a medical doctor by profession and currently working as a project coordinator at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC). In his carrier, he has been leading vast arrays of projects ranging from coordinating community outreach programs to playing an advisory role in implementing the SPHMMC’s 5-yearstrategic plan. In his healthcare-oriented endeavor, he aims to attain practicable 'knowledge and skill' areas in Healthcare leadership, Healthcare policymaking, and Health economics that will enable him to apply a generalist approach in solving health-related problems by nipping in the bud. He is also an associate at INNOVA, where he has been leading numerous project-oriented businesses. Dr. Yonas is currently attending his graduate-level study in Master of Business administration at International Leadership Institute and Master of Arts in project management at Addis Ababa University.

Meki previously served as an Organization Strategy Implementation Fellow at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College. She was responsible for applying human-centered design thinking to increase patient care and assist in the implementation of the hospital's five year strategic plan. She helped organize programs and events including the launch of the Five-Year National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) for Ethiopia’s Federal Ministry of Health. She is passionate about refugee and immigrant health and served as an AmeriCorps Member at Carolina Refugee Resettlement Agency. She is also passionate about education and co-founded Tesfa Ethiopia, a nonprofit that supports children's education in Ethiopia. In addition to working as an Associate for Innova, she currently serves as a Project Manager for Partners in Health United States.
She received her BA in Media and Journalism and her Master's in Public Health with a concentration in Health Equity, Social Justice and Human Rights at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Hellina Kassahun currently holds the titles of a medical doctor, MSc holder, and project coordinator. She received her medical degree from St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College and finished her master's in Public Health for Development from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Working at the Innovative Strategies and Operations Office (ISO), she has embarked on an innovative path that led her to work on various mega projects that touched the lives of many marginalized communities such as the Mind project, the first bio accelerator program in Africa and The Breast Milk Bank in collaboration with international partners.
She is the founder of St. Paul's Alumni Association and co-founder of Mekrez. a feminist organization.  Apart from this, she is one of the core creative writers for the first African superhero animation series titled Tibeb Girls focusing on three young girls who use their superpowers to fight injustice and harmful practices toward girls in Africa. Hellina wants to make an impact in the healthcare system of Ethiopia through her time at Innova.

Dr. Alazar Bekele is a recent graduate from St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College with a Degree in Medicine. He has previously worked as an advisor in Pharmaceutical Company and gained lots of experience in the Marketing and Sales sector. His outstanding skill in Graphic Design is instrumental for him to communicate in health related issues to the general public. Dr. Alazar is the Founder and Executive Director of a new Start-Up company which aims to improve Ethiopian Health Professionals’ working environment.  Dr. Alazar is currently serving at INNOVA as an Office Manager; ensuring that all business functions are operating smoothly. He is passionate about healthcare business models and enjoys reading self-development books.

Dr. Jihan Kahssay is a jurist with an extensive background in legal research, writing and teaching, focused on social law, human rights law, migration and refugee law, and constitutional law. Dr. Kahssay is a curious person who is driven by a love of learning and finding connections between ideas and phenomena. Her experience is broad and ranges from coaching and direct client work, to research and case management. She has worked within a variety of organizational contexts, including the United Nations, local non-profits, international NGOs, and research institutes. She also consults private enterprises on how to plan and manage change toward value-driven business models.
Dr. Kahssay holds a Bachelor of Science in Managerial Economics and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of California Davis, as well as a Doktor der Rechte (Dr. ius.) from the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. She is a licensed member of the State Bar of California.

Adey received her Master of Laws in Public International Law at the Universiteit van Amsterdam in 2011. She is currently earning her master's degree in Health Economics, Policy and Law at Erasmus University Rotterdam.  As a project manager she is currently establishing a 350 bed Oncology Center of Excellence and an enterprising state-of-the-art Pathology Lab in Addis Ababa. Adey has standardized policies of hospital departments, as well as establishing partnerships with organizations and SPHMMC.

Lillian Kidane is a global executive who has worked in various organizations. She has held global leadership roles in Fortune 500 technology firms, NGOs and global consulting firms for over 15 years. Lillian is recognized as a healthcare pioneer due to her leadership in leveraging innovation and technology in the evaluation and structuring of disruptive solutions for inclusive growth. She recently advised the Ethiopia Ministry of Health and other key stakeholders on an innovative public-private partnership that would bring to the continent and to Ethiopia its first industrial-scale manufacturing for essential technologies around maternal and child health. During her leadership of General Electric's $4B endowment- Healthyimagination© Africa sub-portfolio, she led a team of researchers tasked to advance the company's innovation-related investments in Africa for Africa.  She completed her post-graduate studies at Yale University School of Medicine, holds a Master's in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Dr. Mahlet Kifle Habtemariam is a Principal Program Officer at the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). With over 10 years of experience as a public health expert and leader, her experience ranges from running national disease prevention and control programs, to supporting executive leadership with strategic and program management. During her tenure at  the Ethiopia Ministry of Health, she led the development of the first NCDs strategic plan, cancer control plan and cervical cancer screening program. Dr. Mahlet is also a researcher with a broad interest in health policy. She co-chaired the Ethiopian National NCDI Poverty Commission in the development of a national investment case for pro-poor policies and integrated health service delivery platforms for NCDs and injuries. Currently, she is a member of the Global Lancet Commission on Synergistic Approaches to Universal Health Coverage, Health Security and Health Promotion.  
Dr. Mahlet earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from Addis Ababa University, and her Master's in Public Health from University College Dublin. She was a Takemi Fellow at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and a Mandela Washington Fellow for Young African Leaders.

Elias Schulze serves co-founder and Managing Director of Kana Television; he has spent the last 9 years focused on Africa across various strategy, finance, and operational roles or projects in over 15 countries. Kana Television is the leading Ethiopia focused TV channel with a commitment to bring Ethiopian audiences high quality entertainment. Kana Television is a joint-venture between Moby Group and a group of Ethiopian based entrepreneurs. Previously Elias worked as the Africa CEO for Kaymu (relabeled Jumia Market), an online marketplace that held operations across 17 African countries. Prior to joining Kaymu, Elias worked as an Engagement Manager for McKinsey & Company where he was based in Nigeria and worked throughout Africa. He also worked as an Investment Analyst at Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), a leading Africa-focused private equity firm. Elias also serves as the Managing Partner and co-founder of The Africa Group LLC, a boutique advisory and venture capital firm, which has stakes in several early stage ventures across Nigeria, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Elias holds a BS and a MS from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.