Ibrahima Abé Sylla is a renowned Guinean engineer and businessman, born in 1951 in Kindia. Graduated in mathematics, physics and electrical engineering from the universities of Abidjan, Maryland and Pennsylvania, he first worked for major American companies such as General Electric and AT&T.
But it was as a visionary entrepreneur that he really illustrated himself by founding the companies AIS Engineering and AIS International, high-tech groups operating in telecommunications, energy and mining around the world.
In addition to his economic activities, Abé Sylla has also invested in Guinea's media and politics, being a presidential candidate in 2010, a Member of Parliament in 2020 and briefly Minister of Energy in 2021-2022. Today, in his seventy-year-old age, this multi-faceted man remains a leading figure in the private sector of Guinea and in the successful diaspora.
Introduction
Ibrahima Abé Sylla is a multi-faceted man whose journey is a true epic that has led him from Kindia classrooms to the corridors of the Guinean government through American research laboratories and international construction sites. This trained engineer, wise businessman and committed politician was able to combine his different hats brilliantly, putting his skills at the service of the development of his country and Africa. Return to the rich journey of this man who has marked the key sectors of the Guinean economy.
Education
Born in 1951 in Kindia, Ibrahima Abé Sylla came from a prestigious lineage, being the grandson of Almamy Seny Sylla, the last chief of the city's canton before independence. From an early age, he showed a strong interest in science and mathematics, disciplines in which he excelled. After primary schooling in his hometown, he joined Donka Technical High School in Conakry, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree.
In search of new horizons, the young Abé Sylla flew to Côte d'Ivoire in 1968. He enrolled in the Faculty of Science at the University of Abidjan and obtained a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics in 1970. But his appetite for knowledge doesn't stop there. He then decided to continue his studies in the United States, at the University of Maryland and then in Pennsylvania, where he specialized in electrical engineering.
Parcours professionnel
Recently graduated, Ibrahima Abé Sylla began a brilliant career in the American industry. In 1975, he joined General Electric as Chief Engineer in the Department of Advanced Energy. For eight years, he brought his expertise into the development of cutting-edge technologies for electricity generation.
His talent does not escape the big groups in the telecommunications sector. In 1983, AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph Company) recruited him as a researcher at the famous Bell Laboratories in Whippany, New Jersey. There, it contributes to the advancement of communication technologies in the emerging era of the digital age.
Entrepreneur
However, the entrepreneurial spirit of Ibrahim Abé Sylla was soon to prevail. In 1994, he founded AIS Engineering Inc., an American law firm based in Maryland specializing in telecommunications, mining and energy. Eight years later, he created AIS International (AISI), a subsidiary dedicated to projects internationally.
Under his clever leadership, the two companies win many large-scale contracts. These include the completion of a more than $1 billion key-in-hand project for the construction and operation of power plants, or the provision of a $400 million solar power system for sites in Iraq, Mongolia and South Africa on behalf of the U.S. Air Force.
In Guinea, Ibrahima Abé Sylla also positioned itself as an indispensable economic player by founding SODITEV (Star TV), radio Gangan FM, television Gangan TV and the mining company Balla Mining Development SA.
AIS Engineering Inc
At the heart of Ibrahim Abé Sylla's entrepreneurial empire is AIS Engineering Inc, the flagship company he founded in 1994. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, this high-tech company operates in the fields of telecommunications, energy and mining worldwide.
Under the visionary leadership of its founder, AIS Engineering has quickly become a reference in the design, construction and management of complex infrastructure projects. His expertise ranges from electricity generation to telecommunications networks to offshore oil and gas exploration and production.
Among the emblematic achievements of AIS Engineering is the $50 million project for the integration and complete automation of the power generation, distribution, transportation and commercialization platform for Senelec, Senegal's national electricity company.
With its success in the United States, Ibrahima Abé Sylla decided to expand its activities internationally by establishing AIS International (AISI) in 2002, a subsidiary dedicated to emerging markets. This new entity enables the company to win many high value-added contracts, including the construction of key power plants worth more than $1 billion.
Ministre
In addition to his entrepreneurial activities, Ibrahima Abé Sylla also served in the U.S. administration. He has served as Project Manager in the Department of Electricity Production of the Ministry of Energy, as Director of the Railway Networks Department of the Minister of Transport, and as Head of the Engineering Department at the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
This experience at the heart of the U.S. government machine has enabled him to acquire valuable expertise in managing large infrastructure projects and complex public policies. A major asset for his career in Guinea.
Parcours politique
Returning to his home country, Ibrahima Abé Sylla embarks on the political arena by founding the New Generation for the Republic party (NGR). In the 2010 presidential election, he presented himself as a candidate and collected 3.23% of the vote, ranking sixth out of 24 candidates.
Ten years later, in March 2020, Abé Sylla was elected to the National Assembly. A short term as the institution is dissolved in September 2021 by the transitional regime resulting from the military coup.
It was in this turbulent political context that Ibrahima Abé Sylla gained access to one of the government's most strategic ministerial portfolios. On 4 November 2021, he was appointed Minister of Energy, Hydraulics and Hydrocarbons by the Transitional President, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya.
In this key position, Abé Sylla can rely on his rich technical and managerial baggage to carry out the reforms necessary in these neuralgic sectors for the economic development of Guinea. Unfortunately, his passage to the government will be short-lived as he was replaced on August 20, 2022 by Master Aly Seydouba Soumah.
Conclusion
The journey of Ibrahim Abé Sylla is a model of commitment and determination in the service of progress. From Kindia's classroom to the corridors of the White House to the screenplates of his television channel, this man was able to brilliantly combine his multiple hats as an engineer, entrepreneur, politician and communicator.
His insatiable appetite for knowledge led him to the banks of the top American universities to forge a solid expertise in the fields of high technology. A training of excellence that he learned to leverage in a brilliant industrial career with the energy and telecommunications giants.
But it was by truly embarking on entrepreneurship that Ibrahima Abé Sylla was able to fully express her visionary leadership and her spirit of innovation. Together with AIS Engineering and its subsidiaries, it has built a leading international group, carrying out large-scale projects worldwide in strategic infrastructure sectors.
His unwavering attachment to Guinea has also led him to invest in his country by creating leading media companies such as SODITEV and engaging in the political field. His brief passage to the government in 2021-2022 as Minister of Energy enabled him to bring his vision as an expert to accelerate the development of critical water, electricity and hydrocarbon chains.
At the age of 72, Ibrahima Abé Sylla can be proud of the way he has gone, the challenges he has taken and the achievements he has achieved. His incredible destiny, from son of the land of Kindia to globally respected industry captain, forces admiration and inspires the new generations of Guineans to dream big and work for the progress of their nation.
A man of resilience and vision, Ibrahima Abé Sylla will remain in the annals as an untiring builder, who has marked with his indelible footprint the key sectors of his country’s economic and industrial development. An emblematic figure of Guinea's global success.
