Mr. Basil Ajuo

Basil Ajuo is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Minnesota Africans United, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization. Originally from the central African nation of Cameroon, Basil Ajuo has decades of experience in education, business development and nonprofit leadership management.

In 2016, Basil Ajuo was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton to serve the 4th largest U.S. Boards of Higher Education, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees. Basil Ajuo’s graduate degree is in public policy and advocacy through Metropolitan State University.

Basil serves as an appointed member of the Minnesota District Export Council (DEC), an organization comprising experienced, international business leaders appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Minnesota DEC is closely affiliated with the U.S. Commerce Department’s Export Assistance Center in Minnesota and the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service. He also serves on Governance Board of Bountifield International, an organization that creates opportunities across Africa for rural entrepreneurs with tools and services to efficiently process, save, and sell more food.

Ajuo has served on many boards, including the Metropolitan Workforce Council, Center for Innovation and the Arts, and the Nellie Johnson Scholarship Foundation, and African Diaspora Development Institute (ADDI). A centerpiece of the MAU program has been serving Minnesota businesses that are interested in exporting and importing goods and services overseas with Africa.

In the course of his efforts, Basil Ajuo has organized and promoted many conferences and webinars to address key issues. Topics covered have been mining, agriculture, healthcare investment, educational exchanges, trade and investment in Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, and other African Countries.

He has promoted trade fairs and helped US companies understand the value of showcasing their products through these channels and advising African businesses who are interested in taking advantage of the US markets through the African Growth and Opportunity Act. These efforts have led to success for African diaspora companies willing to invest in their countries of origin and for midwestern companies as they expand their market into Africa.