Mrs. Ndeye Maimouna Diop graduated from Cheikh Anta Diop University Computer Science Department with a post master degree in engineering as the valedictorian.
She has been working for SONATEL, the biggest telecommunications company in Senegal since 1998, and is in charge of the Public Relations Department.
Prior to that, Maimouna was seconded at the Ministry of ICT as Director of ICT. In this position, she coordinated Senegal ICT Public Policies Strategic Plan for Digital Economy. She also built African Experts Networks at several forums like UNICT Task Force, G8 Dot Force, MAG, ICANN, etc. and trained newcomers.
In 2011, she initiated, organized and coordinated the first high level meeting of the Government Advisory Committee (GAC) to address African participation to ICANN constituencies. This first ministerial round table helped improve African governments joining the GAC and reinforced a common position of the African community on various ICANN issues and Internet policy development. The meeting was chaired by the Senegalese Head of State and Maimouna, as vice chair of the GAC, shared activities of the (GAC) and emphasized why Africa should participate in GAC activities to ensure all relevant voices are heard.
Maimouna helped the Ministry of ICT to set up 37 multimedia centers to connect the rural areas to the world. The most important delivery of this project is that even illiterate people are able to connect to the Internet using radio stations and local languages. The program is still being used by the Senegal Ministry of ICT as one of the key important tools to bridge the digital divide and connect rural and suburban communities.
As Manager of the Public Relations Department of Sonatel, Maimouna built a communication plan and set up a school of coding named Sonatel Academy to train young people for free. By doing that, Sonatel developed a strong relationship with ICT stakeholders (government; consumer associations, startups, etc). who used to complain about not having any relationships with the company.
Maimouna has more than 20 years of experience within the Senegalese Government in ICT Public Policy and Projects Implementation.
She is a senior engineer and a builder, and she defines herself as a solution maker and keeper.
She has vast experience in IP Network Architecture, Critical Internet Resources Management by administrating SONATEL’s first IP backbone network and providing technical support to key accounts like banks and electricity companies.
Maimouna is co-founder of the SN ISOC Chapter, in 1996, with 25 pioneers to provide leadership in Internet-related standards, education, access, and policy.
She was elected as Chair of the Senegal ISOC Chapter (ISOC-SN) in 2017. With her leadership, the ISOC-SN chapter is very active at the national and regional level through several mutlistakeholder workshops with the Personal Data Commission, the Telecom Regulatory Authority, the Ministry of ICT, UNESCO, private companies, etc. to improve Internet policies, personal data protection, Internet access and security.
In 2018, Maimouna published a Senegalese scorecard of Women and ICT to address gender issues in ICT.
Maimouna is the focal point for Internet Governance Forum and training the trainers for Prida (Africa Union).
Maimouna is a key Internet player and a reference in the Senegalese ICT ecosystem.
