Jean Claude Bastos de Morais

Greetings, I’m Jean Claude Bastos de Morais

I am an entrepreneur and innovation influencer with a deep interest in African socio-economic development. In 2003, I founded Quantum Global Group, an international group of companies focused on African development, particularly in the fields of corporate finance advisory, asset and private wealth management, real estate and investment consulting.

As the Group’s Chairman of the Advisory Board, I provide advice on financial markets, especially across Africa and other emerging markets. More recently in 2014, I established Quantum Global Research Lab, which aims to provide bottom up econometric models for inclusive development in Africa.

In 2008, I founded Banco Kwanza Invest, Angola’s first investment bank. I am a Member of the Board, advising on the bank’s strategic direction.

At the heart of my innovation-related work is the African Innovation Foundation (AIF), an organization I founded in 2009 to drive African-led development through fostering innovation. The AIF hosts the annual Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA), which was launched in 2011 in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

In 2017, I was elected as International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is the hub of Harvard Kennedy School's research, teaching, and training in international security and diplomacy, environmental and resource issues, and science and technology policy.

I am also on the advisory board of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) and the University of Capetown Graduate School of Business, as well as a member of the international Board of Foundation for Globethics.net, a leading global network that advocates ethical corporate and social practices.

I began my career as management consultant and hold a Master of Arts in Management from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.