Marius-Melaine Gnalis-Rafai

Marius-Melaine Gnalis-Rafai has over 10 years of experience in various fields including research, microfinance, banking, habitat, public health and entrepreneurship. Currently, Marius-Melaine Gnalis-Rafai is the CEO of Be Africa Innovation Lab (Bailab), a startup he founded to provide financial management consultancy and training for businesses in order to address the issues they face when attempting to access capital. Sociologist and financial analyst, Marius also earned an MBA in project management. His experience as a Credit Analyst in the banking sector and as a Financial Officer in different governmental agencies has raised his awareness about how the reliance on poor financial literacy and management can hamper the development of young companies and organizations in Central African Republic. Therefore, Marius is passionate about spurring aspiring and young entrepreneurs to implement reliable financial management. So, when he is not working on Bailab’s business development, you will find him out teaching entrepreneurship or inspiring other young people with his fellow change makers. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Marius plans to move Bailab to the next level by designing meaningful entrepreneurial and financial literacy workshops and harnessing a public private partnership to foster innovation and transparency in the Central African Republic business ecosystem.