David Moinina Sengeh
David Moinina Sengeh | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 25, 1986 Sierra Leone |
| Occupation(s) | Politician, innovator, musician |
| Known for | Chief Minister of Sierra Leone, former Minister of Education, TED Senior Fellow |
David Moinina Sengeh (born February 25, 1986) is a Sierra Leonean political figure who has been serving as the chief minister of Sierra Leone since 2023, following his appointment by President Julius Maada Bio. Prior to this role, he was the minister responsible for basic and senior secondary education and also served as the chief innovation officer at the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation. He holds the distinction of being a TED Senior Fellow.
Education and early life
In 2004, Sengeh was awarded a scholarship to attend UWC Red Cross Nordic College in Norway. His family background includes an uncle who worked as a surgeon. He completed his undergraduate studies in biomedical engineering at Harvard University in 2010, focusing his research on aerosolized tuberculosis vaccines. During his time at Harvard, he co-established Lebone Solutions, a startup dedicated to creating affordable microbial fuel cell batteries.
Sengeh was recognized in the 2013 Wired Smart List and continued his graduate education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was mentored by Hugh Herr. Influenced by his upbringing amid civil war injuries, he developed innovative prosthetic socket designs utilizing MRI technology and 3D printing to alleviate pressure points. These prosthetics were evaluated by both military veterans and survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing. In 2014, he was named a TED fellow and delivered a presentation titled The sore problem of prosthetic limbs. That same year, he received the Lemelson–MIT Prize for his healthcare-related inventions and was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. He finalized his doctoral studies at MIT in 2016.
While pursuing his PhD, Sengeh founded Global Minimum Inc., an NGO that supports the Innovate Salone program aimed at fostering entrepreneurship across Sierra Leone, Kenya, and Cape Town. This initiative, developed in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab and Public Service Center, engages secondary school students in innovation competitions designed to address local issues. Teams that excel have showcased their solutions at events such as Maker Faire. Sengeh also mentored Kelvin Doe, a young Sierra Leonean inventor who participated in MIT’s Visiting Practitioner's Program. His expertise has been shared at prominent platforms including TED and the NextEinstein Forum.
Career
Sengeh began his professional journey with IBM in Africa, concentrating on leveraging data to improve healthcare outcomes. His work with IBM Research spanned Nairobi and Johannesburg, where he focused on creating healthcare solutions specifically designed for the African context. Given the continent’s limited medical workforce—fewer than 50 physicians per 100,000 people—he investigated the potential of artificial intelligence to enhance healthcare delivery. In collaboration with Waheeda Banu Saib from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, he teamed up with the Port Loko Health Management Team to develop a web-based platform aimed at tracking Ebola virus outbreaks. He also authored several pieces for HuffPost.
In May 2018, Sengeh was appointed as chief innovation officer within the Office of the President of Sierra Leone. By 2019, he advanced to the role of Minister of Education, where he prioritized providing laptops to every child in the Pujehun District. His expertise earned him an invitation to speak at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he was recognized as an influential innovator. Beyond his technological and political achievements, he is also a skilled musician.
On 10 July 2023, President Julius Maada Bio named Sengeh as the Chief Minister of Sierra Leone, assigning him the responsibility to drive forward the administration’s strategic objectives and development initiatives.
Other activities
- Serves as Chair of the Advisory Board for the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report at UNESCO.