LITTLE ROCK, AR — April 20, 2026 — Heifer International announced today the appointment of Safia Boly as senior vice president for Africa of the global development organization, effective immediately. Boly, a former government minister in her native Mali, will lead Heifer’s work in the region in support of smallholder farming communities as active participants in sustainable food and agricultural systems.
Boly brings to the position her valuable professional experience and deep understanding of the African development landscape. She joins Heifer after serving as Executive Director of the Nairobi-based African Agricultural Transformation Initiative (AATI), where she partnered with multiple national governments to help them develop inclusive and sustainable transformation pathways for their agricultural sectors.
Boly previously held two senior governmental posts in Mali – as Minister for Reform and Transparency of Public Life and Minister for Promotion of Investments – and spent 20 years with various United Nations organizations in Africa and in the U.S. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Mali’s Ecole Nationale d’Administration and an MBA from Florida State University.
“We are extremely pleased that Safia is joining the Heifer team as we activate our strategy to increase the scale and impact of our work with smallholder farmers,” said Surita Sandosham, President and CEO of Heifer International. “We will benefit immensely from her experience driving locally led and globally connected strategies alongside African farmers, and forging productive partnerships with governments, donors, businesses and other key stakeholders across agricultural development.”
Said Safia: “Agriculture is one of the key drivers of economic growth in Africa and a critical path to poverty alleviation. I am humbled to join Heifer International in its mission to alleviate poverty, one smallholder farmer at a time, and I am looking forward to applying my learnings in co-creation with Heifer’s talented community.”
As senior vice president for Africa, Safia will guide the overall vision and strategy for Heifer’s programs across 12 countries in Africa, where Heifer engaged nearly 860,000 farming households in 2025. Heifer partners with African farmers on sustainable locally led strategies in several agricultural value chains, including dairy, poultry, horticulture and staple crops, while also supporting innovation through initiatives such as AYuTe NextGen, which invests in young African entrepreneurs developing technology driven solutions for smallholder farmers.
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Heifer International
Since 1944, Heifer International has partnered with nearly 60 million smallholder farming households in Africa, Asia and the Americas to help them end hunger and poverty in a sustainable way. Heifer has been present in Africa since 1974, supporting farmers and local food producers to strengthen local economies and build secure livelihoods that provide a living income. For information, visit https://www.heifer.org.
Media Contact
Peter Goldstein, Vice President of Communications
Peter.Goldstein@heifer.org
+1 202-341-0042