Benefiting from the long-term project management experience of our senior staff, we have built over the past decade a strong and reliable project implementation capacity. EUCORD currently employs more than 60 full-time staff and has project implementation experience in 15 countries.

Headquarters Staff

Niels Hanssens

Executive Director (Brussels)

Niels Hanssens has over 30 years’ experience in smallholder supply chain development, agricultural technology diffusion and rural development in Africa. He did long-term assignments in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Mali working for VSO, IUCN, the Africa Rice Center and Winrock International. Prior to joining EUCORD, Niels worked as Director Technical Services for a large USAID funded agribusiness development project in Nigeria. In 2009, he joined EUCORD as Deputy Executive Director in Brussels. Niels has a master’s degree in Tropical Crop Science from Wageningen University.

Philippe Gustin

Financial and Administrative Manager (Brussels)

Joining EUCORD in June 2010, Philippe Gustin manages quality financial reporting between projects, the external accounting partner and donors. Before joining EUCORD he worked for ING Bank as relationship manager institutions and later as financial manager and coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Kenya, Malta and Haiti. He obtained a Master’s degree in Science in Business Engineering and a post graduate degree in Statistics, Data management and Data mining at UCL (Université Catholique de Louvain).

Baptiste Forquy

Program Development Coordinator (Brussels)

Baptiste Forquy started his career working four years in West Africa in partnership with local and international NGOs, first with an EU program and then for French development agencies in Mali and Benin. He then spent seven years at a Brussels-based consulting firm specialized in the agricultural sector in Africa, working on business development with multi- and bilateral donors, contract and project management, backstopping and quality control, and carrying out short missions to East and West African countries. Since 2018, he is responsible for developing EUCORD’s project portfolio, creating partnerships and coordinating proposal development. He also supervises EUCORD’s project teams in Guinea, DRC and Senega

Country Representatives

Melisie Tolossa

(Ethiopia)

Melisie Tolossa, with an M.A. in Rural Development Studies and over 12 years of experience in agribusiness, currently serves as the country representative for EUCORD Ethiopia. His diverse background includes roles in NGOs, government agencies, public share companies, and consultancy firms. Prior to joining EUCORD, he worked at Oro-Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Business SC as well as at the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute. Melisie's expertise lies in agro-commodity supply chain management, value chain development, rural entrepreneurship, and livelihood development.

Alpha Diallo

(Guinea)

Alpha Diallo is the EUCORD Project Coordinator based in Guinea and the regional representative of EUCORD in Guinea and Senegal. He has more than 20 years of experience in agricultural development and natural resources management projects in the Republic of Guinea. Diallo has experience in management levels in both the Program for Natural Resources Management (PGRN) and the Expanded Program for Natural Resource Management (PEGRN), he has assisted with the implementation of the Activities to Reinforce Commercial Agriculture project funded by USAID, and he supervised the Potato Value Chain Development in West Africa project implemented by EUCORD.

Karamoko Sako

(Mali)

Trained as agricultural engineer at the Institut Polytechnique Rural de Katibougou, Karamoko Sako has been dedicated to rural development for much of his career. In collaboration with non-governmental and public organizations, he has 30 years of solid experience in agricultural extension, research & development, varietal introduction, micro-finance, capacity building of farmers and management of rural development projects throughout Mali.

Jean-Claude Muhirwa

(Rwanda)

Jean Claude Muhirwa worked for 15 years in the agricultural research sector with public institutions and government projects in Rwanda. He started his career in 2005 as scientist at the Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Rwanda (ISAR), then joined Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Development Board (RAB) in 2011 where he held several research and technology transfer positions in the Land Husbandry, Irrigation and Mechanization Department. His main area of expertise is irrigation project design and management. Jean Claude has a Master’s Degree in Water Resources Engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.

Magatte Ndoye

(Senegal)

Before joining EUCORD, Mr. Magatte Ndoye held several high level positions as civil servant of the Senegalese administration for more than 30 years in the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Mr. Ndoye coordinated large programs around trade promotion in partnership with international development agencies and organizations, including NGO partners. He has represented Senegal in international bodies and organizations in positions like Vice President of the Association of African Trade Promotion Organizations and representing Senegal in work groups and meetings of the sub-committee on trading of agricultural products in the framework of trade policies of member states related to WTO, UEMOA, and CEDEAO. He carried out market studies in a dozen of African countries. He is a graduate in international trade from the Center for Foreign Trade and International Transport Studies in Marseille, France.

Supervisory Board

Jasper Grosskurth

Board Chair (Kenya)

Dr. Jasper Grosskurth serves as Managing Director for Dalberg Research, an impact driven research company nested under the Dalberg umbrella. Jasper and his team of 50 researchers are based in Nairobi and work across Africa with extensions into Asia. Jasper holds a PhD in Integrated Assessment and an MSc in International Economics, both from Maastricht University. Jasper’s key interests are data, development, sustainability and future studies. Jasper is author of ‘Futures of Technology in Africa’ and a TEDx Johannesburg speaker.

Núria Vlonk-Cunha Soares

(Netherlands)

Núria Vlonk-Cunha Soares has joined The Netherlands African Business Council (NABC) in 2021. She is responsible for the NABC Community (over 250 members) and key events. She also oversees the Africa Insight Desk, which provides both Dutch and African companies/organizations with market intelligence services. Núria holds a Bachelor in International Business and Languages from the Rotterdam Business School as well as a Master in International Development Studies from Wageningen University. Núria has held positions in various sectors: the Dutch government, Wageningen University, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. Overall, Núria strongly believes that the local (and international) private sector can be the catalyst for development and economic growth in Africa. People are often able to take care of themselves, however, if given the chance to do so.

Jacco Brink

(Netherlands)

Jacco Brink is the founder and director of The Blue Link BV, managing companies in developing countries that yield commercial return and foster development impact. The Blue Link group owns and operates companies in Pakistan and Kenya, active in dairy processing, animal feeds, dairy supply chain services, agri-business and SME investing. This puts Brink at the epicenter of engagement with a diverse pool of international partners and investors. He has over 20 years of experience in professional consultancy for development projects, entrepreneurship, company leadership, governance and development management.

Mariko Peters

(Netherlands)

Mariko Peters is a Dutch national and currently works in the European External Action Service. She used to be a member of Netherlands’ parliament for Groen Links and worked at the Netherlands Embassy in Ethiopia as regional coordinator for refugee affairs and migration in the Horn of Africa. She received a Master of Laws from Colombia University applying it to her career as a human rights lawyer and a policy officer. Mariko’s areas of expertise are international and European crisis response, fragility and conflict, peace building, migration & refugees, human rights, security, and justice complemented with ten years of leadership experience and having spent eight years in the field of conflict-affected areas.