Salif put his PhD studies at Purdue University on hold in 2011 to launch Malô. Malô is a Mali-based social enterprise that enhances food security by milling, fortifying, and selling rice grown by smallholder farmers in West Africa under the brand name Supermalô. His vision is to turn Supermalô into the Uncle Ben’s of Africa—providing everyone with access to affordable and nutritious rice.

Salif believes strongly in the power of entrepreneurship and technology to solve development challenges and his other entrepreneurial endeavors include Tambaroua Business Farming, a solar-powered, precision farm in Mali and helping to launch Matternet Inc., a Silicon Valley startup developing drone technology to enhance last-mile distribution in the developing world.

Salif is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative and has received fellowships from the Aspen Institute, Echoing Green, and Singularity University. In his spare time, he works on his dissertation focused on how demographic dynamics influences national power, civil war, political institutions, and economic development. He holds undergraduate degrees in political science and French with a minor in economics as well as a Master’s degree in international relations from Purdue. He is an Italian-born citizen of Mali but grew up primarily in Ethiopia.