André de Carvalho
Chevening Scholar & Mandela Washington Fellow
Chevening Scholar and Mandela Washington Fellow with nearly 5 years of experience advancing digital trust, financial inclusion, and ICT leadership across Angola, the UK, and the US. Passionate about responsible AI and e-government, my mission is to build secure, inclusive, and scalable digital economies in Africa.
Summary
Chevening Scholar and Mandela Washington Fellow with nearly 5 years of experience advancing digital trust, financial inclusion, and ICT leadership across Angola, the UK, and the US. Having experienced the barriers of digital inclusion in my own community, I went on to lead ICT infrastructure improvements for MSF humanitarian operations, support UNICEF's digital inclusion programs, and deliver talks on digital trust at the U.S. Embassy in Angola and the Chevening Conference in the UK.
I am now developing a fintech startup to extend secure, cashless payments to Angola's informal economy. Passionate about responsible AI and e-government, my mission is to build secure, inclusive, and scalable digital economies in Africa.
Featured Projects
Tapy
Founder & Builder
2025–Present
Founding and conducting economic landscape analysis of Angola's informal economy (13M users, 40%+ GDP), mapping barriers to digital payment adoption, platform market dynamics, and regulatory frameworks. Engineering and piloting a secure hardware prototype, enabling cashless payments for low-income communities and targeting reduction of daily cash handling risks worth thousands of USD across informal trade.
RBAC for LLMs (Responsible AI for secure e-gov chatbots)
Master's Thesis
2025
Developed role-based access control middleware for large language models in public sector, analysing governance frameworks and ethical considerations for AI in government services. Includes demo and video presentation.
Digital Payment Systems for Informal Economies
Research
Forthcoming
Policy Recommendations - Analysis of Angola's informal economy digital payment landscape, examining market structure, regulatory barriers, and financial inclusion pathways for 13M underbanked users.
Professional Experience
Tapy - Founder & Builder
- Founding and conducting economic landscape analysis of Angola's informal economy (13M users, 40%+ GDP), mapping barriers to digital payment adoption, platform market dynamics, and regulatory frameworks
- Engineering and piloting a secure hardware prototype, enabling cashless payments for low-income communities and targeting reduction of daily cash handling risks worth thousands of USD across informal trade
UNICEF - Digital Inclusion Consultant
- Implemented and advanced UNICEF programs to advance digital inclusion strategies, focusing on digital literacy and e-learning adoption barriers in transport sector
- Delivered and coached 10 professional drivers to complete online certification courses, increasing course completion rates from 30% to 90% with measurable impact on employability and income stability
North Carolina State University - MWF Professional Development Experience
- Conducted market and economic landscape analysis for cybersecurity sector in Angola, including SWOT assessment of regulatory frameworks and platform market dynamics
- Secured Voice of Customer studies with Angolan financial institutions, leading to 2 partnerships
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) - ICT Supervisor
- Directed and managed ICT operations across 3 offices, resulting in uninterrupted digital service delivery for 40+ staff in humanitarian health programs, analyzing system vulnerabilities and operational dependencies; produced technical documentation informing infrastructure investment decisions
- Informed $100,000 investment decisions in network infrastructure upgrades, directed migration to secure IT environment, improving resilience of critical health operations and reducing downtime incidents by 25%; optimized network infrastructure, boosting operational reliability by 20%
Organizações Chana - IT Specialist
- Managed and optimized Windows/Linux systems and Active Directory, improving governance and security for digital platforms
- Designed and delivered digital skills training across 5 departments (100+ employees), achieving 15% reduction in operational errors and measurable increases in digital tool adoption rates
Education & Recognition
Education
MSc, Cybersecurity and Machine Learning
University of Aberdeen
Aberdeen, UK
MWF Leadership in Business
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
B.S., Computer Science
Lusíada University of Angola
Luanda, Angola
Awards
Chevening Scholarship (UK)
2024
Awarded for leadership and academic excellence (selected from 69,000 applicants, 2024)
Mandela Washington Fellowship (US)
2023
Selected among 50,000 applicants across Africa for digital innovation and leadership (2023)