ABOUT Alphonsus Neba

Dr Alphonsus Neba is the Program Director of the Catalyze Impact Initiative at APHRC. He provides strategic leadership in advancing evidence-driven, Africa-centered approaches to research capacity strengthening, institutional development, and systems-level change across the continent.

He brings extensive expertise in research and innovation program design, implementation, and oversight; research leadership capacity building; the design and governance of research and knowledge networks; intellectual property and technology transfer management; gender, equity, diversity, and inclusion (GEDI); and research funding and grants management. His work spans more than a decade of senior leadership roles supporting the growth, resilience, and governance of Africa’s research and higher education ecosystems.

Alphonsus holds a Ph.D. (Science) and an MSc in Environmental Biotechnology from Rhodes University in South Africa, a Master’s degree in Information Science from the University of Ibadan, and a BSc in Microbiology from the University of Lagos. He also holds an MBA from Nexford University, USA, completed in May 2024. In addition, he has obtained specialized training in Innovation Policy from the World Bank Institute, Intellectual Property from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and Innovation Readiness and Converting Technology to Wealth from the University of Texas at Austin.

He has served in several senior roles across the continent, including Deputy Director of Programs and Head of Program (Leadership in African Research Networks and Capacity Development) at the Science for Africa Foundation. Prior to this, he served as Program Manager for the DELTAS Africa initiative and Deputy Director of Programs at the African Academy of Sciences. He also previously held roles as Assistant Director (Technology Transfer and Research Commercialization) and Acting Assistant Director (Funding and Grants Administration) at the University of Botswana.