Meet Doffou Marc Elisee Monsoh, 2022 Mandela Washington Fellow
Doffou Marc Elisee Monsoh
What motivates you?
About Doffou Marc Elisee Monsoh
As a young African, what motivates me is my passion to work for Africa's development and the improvement of people's living conditions, especially in Cote d'Ivoire, my country. In the energy sector, some households do not have access to electricity yet. This community is waiting for leaders to take action and close the gap to improve the access to electricity at an affordable cost for them. I want to be that leader or one of them.
What drew you to your professional field?
I spent time working in trade aspects at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and in industrial development at the African Development Bank (AfDB), and I learned from these experiences that power generation and sustaining supply are key to enabling trade and all economic sector’s development. Furthermore, power is essential for people in a society as it can improve their living conditions in security aspects, children’s education, home commodities and health, while offering them opportunities to develop their (small) business. The better the light, the better the life, I believe.
What is something from your country that you would like to share with the UC Davis community?
The first thing I would share with the UC Davis Community would be my country's story and cultural diversities as well as opportunities of doing business there. My country stands in the first place of cocoa production in the world, so one over two cocoa nuts involved in the chocolate process come from my country. Secondly, Cote d'Ivoire is a country of hospitality. The country has more than 25% of foreign people. People give support to each other in the daily challenges from the bottom of their hearts. We could define ourselves as the happiest people in the world because despite being in military and political trouble over the last two decades, people keep smiling and turn anything into a moment of joy. We are resilient. Finally, you will also find a quiet place there to live, good sites for tourism, and still live as in America with rich and diversified food.
How would you like to engage with UC Davis and the community here?
I would like to be an ambassador of UC Davis and the community in my country when back home, keep networking and be involved in any exchange program in the future, even beyond the Mandela Washington Fellowship.