ABOUT US

AKILI is a swahili word for "wisdom" and "knowledge." 

And AKILI stands for the Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative. This is a research and development collaboration co-founded by Issa Baluch and Jon Vandenheuvel.

In 2011, Issa was appointed a fellow of the Advanced Leadership Initiative of Harvard University, where he met Dr. Calestous Juma. AKILI grew out of this fellowship and today represents the hard work and vision of colleagues at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including MIT professors Wesley Harris and Alexander D'Hooghe.

AKILI is organizing two signature initiatives in 2017. One is the MIT Crisis Resilience Labs, and the other is the AKILI Somalia Refugee and IDP Farm Building Project. Both projects involve the application of agribusiness knowledge and innovation to the design and development of resilience systems, applied to the challenges faced in Somalia and the Horn of Africa through war, famine, and terrorism.

Contact Information

Email: info@akili-labs.org

Mail: AKILI | 2657-G Annapolis Road | #466 | Hanover, Maryland | 21076