Israel Olatunji Tijani is a visionary ICT4D expert with over a decade of experience at the forefront of technology for social good. He’s a driving force in Africa’s civic tech landscape, having launched his impactful career with Code for Africa (CfA) in 2017, where he contributed to the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism lab.

As the founder and data scientist at ChatVE, Tijani leads the charge in building and deploying bespoke AI-powered solutions that tackle pressing social challenges. His expertise is globally recognised through professional certifications from Microsoft as a Cloud Developer, SAP in Text and Sentiment Analysis, Cisco in Cybersecurity, and Codered by EC Council in Computer Forensics, demonstrating a robust foundation in digital innovation and information security.

A distinguished alumnus of the School of Media and Communications, Pan Atlantic University and the West Africa School on Internet Governance (WASIG), Tijani’s commitment extends to fostering a collaborative civic tech ecosystem and blending cutting-edge innovation with a passion for community empowerment.

He is an active member of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) in the U.S, Data Scientist Network (DSNai), the MERL Tech Initiative AI+Africa Working Group’s Natural Language Processing Community of Practice (NLP-CoP), American Corner Hub, Civic Tech Innovation Network (CTIN), and Co Creation Hub (CC-Hub) STEM Club. His diverse portfolio reflects a mastery of his craft and a consistent track record of delivering results.