Born in Ethiopia, Yoseph Ayele was kicked out of the United States because his Harvard degree and entrepreneurial work did not satisfy US immigration requirements. He moved to New Zealand to design the Global Impact Visa - the first immigration policy in the world to select people on their potential to create a positive impact in society. This visa is run by the Edmund Hillary Fellowship (www.ehf.org) in a new model for taking a human-centric and entrepreneurial approach to doing immigration in the 21st century. Yoseph is co-founder and CEO of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship, a community of exceptional entrepreneurs and investors who are solving complex global problems from New Zealand. EHF is implementing the Global Impact Visa – the most entrepreneur-friendly visa in the world and the first to focus on impact.
Born in Ethiopia, Yoseph has lived in six countries across four continents. Before moving to New Zealand, he helped grow Inflection, a successful technology startup in Silicon Valley. He studied entrepreneurship, leadership and social change at Harvard, Cambridge, and Victoria University of Wellington. He is passionate about regenerative agriculture, building cultural bridges, and community.
