Bahiyah Yasmeen Robinson

Bahiyah Yasmeen Robinson is a recognized innovator of new avenues for VC and Impact investment. Her expertise in leading technology, investment, and social impact initiatives since the early 2000s culminated in creating VC Include in 2018 to build platforms and programs for diverse emerging managers globally. With just 1% of the $70 trillion of assets in the U.S. managed by diverse asset managers, VC Include meets this market opportunity by building an ecosystem of women, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ fund managers in alternative investments.

Born in Palo Alto, California, and raised between New York City and California’s Central Valley, Robinson’s expertise is enriched by real-life and professional practice and demonstrates an aptitude for building and managing a matrix of high-level partnerships. She expanded the first online technology competitions and conferences in Africa as the Executive Director of Appfrica, partnering with the U.S. Department of State, World Bank, Microsoft, Mozilla, and Nokia. She also managed the Appfrica Fund to provide early-stage capital to the first wave of technology entrepreneurs throughout the continent and built a robust tech ecosystem to support startups in East and West Africa.

Robinson is a Bloomberg News New Voices Fellow, served as Co-chair of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis. Her work has been recognized by the Knight Foundation, SOCAP, Toniic, Crunchbase, Impact Alpha, Echoing Green, Entrepreneur, CNN, and Forbes.