Risk Analyst Visits 67 Countries to Bridge Global Divides

Maya Hautefeuille spent her first decade in Japan at a school built to heal wounds from World War II, learning that being a good global citizen mattered more than borders. Today, she's visited 67 countries and works as a senior analyst helping businesses understand Africa's tech and economic landscape through real human connections.

Born to an American-Japanese mother and French father, Hautefeuille grew up everywhere and nowhere at once. She moved from Japan to the United States at 10, then France, Australia, and across Asia. Each move taught her something universities couldn't: that the best way to understand a place is to live in it.

Her journey took an unexpected turn in 2007 when she studied African studies at Columbia University under professor Mahmood Mamdani. His multicultural background and fresh take on power and history resonated deeply. She learned Swahili and Arabic, hitchhiked from France to Senegal without public transport, and lived with families whose daily rhythms revolved around mosque rituals and shared meals.

Between 2013 and 2018, Hautefeuille documented the Syrian revolution and Arab Spring aftermath as a freelance photojournalist. She photographed for Al Jazeera while based on the Turkish-Syrian border, capturing stories of migration and conflict. The work was intense, but it sharpened her understanding of how politics, economics, and human lives intersect.

Now she works for 14 NORTH, a company providing business intelligence for Africa's emerging markets. Her job means typing reports in the back seat while driving through the Egyptian desert, because three hours offline isn't an option for risk analysis. It also means discovering that Kizomba, a dance she learned in Dakar's vibrant streets, exists in different forms across the continent and opens doors to new communities.

The Ripple Effect

Hautefeuille's work challenges the narratives that keep investors and businesses at arm's length from African markets. By staying close to communities and understanding their realities, she helps people make better decisions about places often misunderstood from the outside. Her insights bridge the gap between boardrooms and ground truth, showing that Africa's tech and business landscape is far more nuanced than headlines suggest.

Her multicultural upbringing taught her that understanding comes from presence, not distance. Whether learning dance moves in Senegal or analyzing market risks in Egypt, she builds connections that transform how people see unfamiliar places. Those childhood lessons about being a good global citizen found their purpose.

Every country she visits adds another thread to the bridge she's building between perception and reality.