Ghanaian public policy advocate and innovator, Mr Bright Simons, continues to attract glowing international recognition for his influence on governance, development thinking and civic accountability across Africa.
Mr Simons, the founder of mPedigree which innovation pioneered a mobile authentication platform that enables consumers to verify the authenticity of medicines and other essential products, helping to combat counterfeiting and protect public health.
Beyond his technological achievements, Mr Simons has distinguished himself as a vocal and evidence-based policy commentator, earning widespread attention for his rigorous analysis of public policy issues.
He has held prestigious fellowships at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Harvard University, and earlier benefited from an astrophysics research scholarship at Durham University.
He currently serves as an Honorary Vice-President of the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, one of Ghana’s leading policy think tanks.
Through IMANI and other platforms, Mr Simons has become a prominent figure in policy analysis, noted for his critical examination of governance challenges and policy failures in Ghana and across the African continent.
His data-driven critiques of popular, but often flawed, policy proposals have resonated with a broad audience, earning him a strong social media following and positioning him as an influential voice in public discourse on development and governance.
In late 2024, his growing influence was further acknowledged with his appointment as a Senior Visiting Fellow at ODI, a globally respected development think tank.
In 2025, Mr Simons was also named Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Development Council, a role that underscored his rising stature within international development policy circles.
Still in his 40s, Mr Simons is widely regarded as a thought leader likely to shape debates on governance and public policy in Africa for many years.
His coined term, “katanomics,” which highlights the gap between political rhetoric and sound policy, has gained traction and is emerging as a notable contribution to policy analysis discourse.
