Judges

Margaret brings 30 years of experience building innovation ecosystems and pioneering FinTech solutions across Africa, Asia, and the U.S. to the judging panel. She currently chairs Launch Africa, the continent’s preeminent seed stage Venture Capital fund; the Investment Committee of a gender lens fund, Five35 Ventures, and serves as the board ESG lead for UK listed investment trust (LON: CHRY) that backs pre-IPO disruptive tech companies such as Starling Klarna, and Wise. 

Prior to this, O’Connor was a partner in the Centre for Disruptive Technologies, a Silicon Valley VC-funded entrepreneur with a successful exit, and a founding member of the MasterCard Asia Pacific and Global New Technology management teams. O’Connor holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and communications from Rutgers University, and a master’s degree in international relations from Princeton University.