Dr. Wilmot Allen is an entrepreneur, investor and political economist focused on market-driven development in Africa.

Wilmot is the Founder of VentureLift Africa (VLA), a holding company facilitating investment and trade. VLA catalyzes African diaspora engagement beyond remittances through the Diaspora Angel Investor Network, the International Writer’s Lab for film and television creatives and Commerce Hubs for legacy AGOA and AfCFTA trade. He has led diaspora FDI initiatives for Africa in genomics and renewable energy.

In life science, Wilmot works to advance solutions related to red blood cell technology as Chief Strategy Officer for Functional Fluidics. He has been a Managing Partner with the RH Managers Africa Fund for investments in healthcare infrastructure with a climate lens. Wilmot led strategic planning to strengthen healthcare systems across Africa for the African Public Health Foundation of the Africa CDC

In financial services, Wilmot worked with private equity funds, financial institutions and infrastructure groups at the International Finance Corporation. He was also Global Project Manager to CEO Lars Thunell on youth and women-led entrepreneurship. Wilmot was a technology venture capital investor (Commonwealth Enterprise Fund), an M&A investment banker (JPMorgan), and a private placement and IPO investment banker (Merrill Lynch). He previously led the transaction team for the East Africa Trade and Investment Hub (CrossBoundary LLC).

In entertainment, Wilmot is a minority owner of a Basketball Africa League team. Prior, he was responsible for financial and strategic management of ABC Entertainment at the Walt Disney Company and was Executive in Charge of Production of the award-winning Tavis Smiley Show at PBS-KCET.

Wilmot is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. His research focuses on the role of African sovereign wealth funds in advancing greater shared prosperity and economic development. Prior, he was selected as a Steward at the Council for Inclusive Capitalism and a Fellow for the China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins-SAIS.

He has a PhD in comparative political economy from Georgetown University, an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA from Yale University. He is a co-author of the forthcoming book, African Sovereign Wealth Funds and New Directions in State Capitalism (Palgrave MacMillan).