Born in Côte d’Ivoire, Dr Doulaye Koné holds a PhD in sanitary and environmental engineering, a certificate in environmental communication and has studied Physics and Chemistry. He currently works as Senior Program Officer, on the Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Program (Global Development) at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His portfolio focuses on innovation to « Reinvent the Toilet » and its associated business models for sustainable sanitation service delivery.
Dr. Koné has also worked as Program Coordinator for Africa Water Operators Partnerships’ (WOP-Africa), for the African Water Association (AfWA), an initiative of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB) under the Global WOPs alliance framework coordinated by UN-Habitat. He was engaged in fund raising activities and project management to promote partnership for systematic knowledge exchange and capacity building among water and sanitation professionals to speed up progress towards the MDGs. He has also lectured and done research in Switzerland, Burkina Faso and Belgium.