Quick Fire 🔥 with Helina Bischoff

Helina Bischoffis Deputy Managing Partner at Africa Collective, where she leads engagement across the organisation’s platforms and oversees partnership development, flagship convenings in Davos and Geneva, and core activities including network management and B2B facilitation. 

She works at the intersection of business, policy, and international cooperation, convening senior leaders from the public and private sectors. Her work focuses on priority areas structured through Africa Collective’s thematic “Circles,” including healthcare, infrastructure, ventures, commodities, and the arts. She also oversees the Swiss-African Business Circle, an independent association fostering commercial exchange between Switzerland and African markets.

Before joining Africa Collective, Helina held roles at Novartis across Global Diversity & Inclusion, the Malaria Initiative, and the Africa Cluster, specialising in communications and public affairs. She holds a BA in International Relations and French from Rhodes University and an MA in African Studies from the University of Basel.

• Explain your job to a five-year-old.

I bring people together so that they can find ways to work together.

• What’s the most contrarian bet you’ve made professionally that paid off?

My role at Africa Collective can be considered contrarian by definition; we create platforms and convenings within global events that give greater visibility to African topics and perspectives, especially in spaces where they are underrepresented or absent altogether. That is not always easy, but it has paid off. Through Africa Collective and the Swiss-African Business Circle, the business association we manage, we have built trusted platforms that bring people together, create space for concrete discussions, and facilitate meaningful collaborations. 

• Your path went from Novartis, working across Global Diversity & Inclusion, the Malaria Initiative, and the Africa Cluster, to Deputy Managing Partner at Africa Collective. What’s the thread connecting those roles?

Most of my roles have had a strong focus on the African continent. The thread connecting them—from Diversity & Inclusion to the Malaria Initiative and now Africa Collective—is that they have all involved bringing together people from different parts of the world and creating opportunities through those relationships. 

• Africa Collective works through healthcare, infrastructure, ventures, commodities, and the arts. Which one gets the least attention but deserves the most?

The most interesting part of approaching these sectoral topics is often where ecosystems and thematic areas intersect. For instance, bringing together large pharmaceutical companies, tech companies, and venture capital funds to exchange perspectives on global health. This way of looking beyond existing networks and ecosystems is often overlooked. Africa Collective provides a platform through its “Africa Collective Circles,” thematic communities where members can discuss topics within a specific area while also taking conversations beyond a narrow sector focus. This creates even more space for novel and innovative partnerships and collaboration. 

• What’s a belief about Africa-Switzerland trade that most people get wrong?

The depth of the ties between Switzerland and the African continent is often underestimated, as are the opportunities to leverage them. Switzerland is a global hub for many key sectors, including commodities, banking, tech, and life sciences. It is also home to large pools of capital and major impact investors with an interest in Africa. Several Swiss multinationals are active across the African continent, but there are also many Swiss SMEs and startups operating in African markets. On the flip side, African companies and organisations are looking to establish and strengthen ties with Swiss counterparts as technical or knowledge partners and, in some cases, to set up entities or subsidiaries in Switzerland. 

• What’s something you believed strongly about African tech five years ago that you’ve since changed your mind about?

Five years ago, I would have thought about African tech solutions mainly in their own right. Since then, I have also come to appreciate the role of African tech as an enabler of lower-tech businesses that are critical to the global economy. African tech solutions are not only being developed for local markets, but for the world, too. 

• What’s one career win you’re most proud of and why?

Being part of the rapid growth of the Africa Collective platform has been a highlight. We started with one lunch in Davos in 2023, and the size of the convening more than doubled the following year. It has been incredible to be part of something that has grown so quickly in such a short period. Making it happen with limited relearning experiences

• What would you do differently if you were starting your career over?

In hindsight, I would have approached my roles and responsibilities in my early career with more confidence, to get even more out of the experience. I am grateful for every opportunity I have been given and for the people who have supported me along the way. I wouldn’t change a thing.