Public policy advocate and Ghanaian innovator Bright Simons, once described by the Financial Times as “frighteningly clever,” continues to gain international recognition for his influence on governance, development thinking, and civic accountability across Africa.
Best known as the founder of mPedigree, a pioneering platform that enables consumers to verify the authenticity of medicines and other critical goods through mobile authentication, Simons has successfully blended technological innovation with strong public interest advocacy.
While his work in technology has had a significant impact, it is his role as a vocal, evidence-driven policy commentator that has earned him widespread public attention.
Simons has held prestigious fellowships at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Harvard University, and earlier benefited from an astrophysics research scholarship at Durham University. He currently serves as an honorary vice-president of the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, one of Ghana’s leading policy think tanks.
Through this platform, he has become a prominent voice in public policy analysis, known for rigorously interrogating policy failures in Ghana and across the African continent.
His data-driven critiques of popular but often flawed policy proposals have resonated with a growing audience, earning him a devoted social media following and positioning him as a key contributor to public discourse on governance and development.
In late 2024, Simons’ influence was further recognised with his appointment as a Senior Visiting Fellow at ODI, a respected global development think tank. In 2025, he was named co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Development Council, underscoring his rising global stature in development policy circles.
Still in his 40s, Simons is widely regarded as a figure likely to shape conversations around governance and public policy in Africa for years to come.
His coined term, “katanomics,” which describes the disconnect between political rhetoric and sound policy in many African countries, has gained traction and may endure as a lasting contribution to the public policy analysis lexicon.
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