Takele Uma Banti is an Ethiopian reformist leader most notably known for his fast-paced success in bold large-scale innovative projects transforming Education, Architecture, Heath, Sports, The Arts, and now the national Mining and Energy sectors. Many of these successes started as the youngest in modern history to serve as the Mayor of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The duties of being the Mayor of Addis Ababa are multidimensional and give decision authority over primary to college education, healthcare, police and security, infrastructure,

In the short two year term in this role he had already built the following accomplishments: Implemented a school uniform, supplies, and lunch program feeding & clothing the total 600k public school grade students for free, created the biggest Mass Sports event in Africa, improved water coverage by over 15%, renovated thousands of schools, elderly, homes and hospitals, and commissioned the works of multiple billion dollar development projects amongst many others successes.

Takele currently serves as a member of the Council of Ministers as the Minister of Mines and Petroleum for the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Takele brings a full spectrum of both professional capacity building to transform and meet growth targets as well as a precise technological expertise to the Ministry. Amongst the many successful reforms Takele has introduced, he most notably cemented the Ministry as a significant sector in the growth of the country’s exports with an over 1000% increase in gold alone when he assumed this office. Takele has been known for his passion for renewable energy and trying to build the country’s capacity in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals around energy. Like any successful organization the culture and environment are of utmost importance in building a productive and sustainable workforce, which is why Takele built a state of the art facility for the Ministry including healthy affordable meals for staff and a Museum that will operate as both a historical database of information and resources to unlock the country’s potential in the sector. In addition to the need to improve facilities, availability of a skilled workforce was a significant opportunity in the sector, therefore Takele forged a strategic alliance with the Colorado School of Mines and Addis Ababa Institute of Technology in partnership to successfully build the first ever tailored dual Masters of Mining & Petroleum Engineering and Executive Training offerings.

Takele earned a Masters of Environmental Engineering and a Bachelors of Chemical Engineering from Addis Ababa University. As a true advocate for lifelong learning, Takele has continued his education by receiving certifications in both Economic Development and Leading Economic Growth at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts. Takele also received a Management Certification in Transportation from Galilee International Management Institute in Israel. As well as recently completed his coursework achieving a Masters of Science in Economics at his alma mater, Addis Ababa University.

Takele has been recognized globally for his quick actions influencing lasting change and effective results. He has fostered partnerships at top universities and institutions as well as been invited to notable events from Heads of State & Ambassadors to large international organizations. In addition, Takele has received multiple awards for his development and partnership work as a leader on the African continent and continues to pursue large innovative projects that can be scaled so that Ethiopia can not only have wins in the global market, but compete.