We are your co-founders, strategists and advocates

Our Build Team

A woman with a short natural hairstyle, smiling with arms crossed, wearing a dark blazer and white shirt in an office setting.

FOUNDER & HEAD OF VENTURE BUILDING

Barikisu Muntari-Sumara, MBA

For over a decade, Barry has been breaking barriers: first, as a key architect in scaling one of Ghana’s leading healthcare brands into new markets and the digital age, and now as a champion for women building the future of tech in West Africa.

At Sumara Venture Studio, Barry merges hard-won business growth/scale expertise with unwavering belief in female founders. Having advised startups from Accra to Silicon Valley, Barry’s true calling is hands-on partnership: equipping women-led ventures with the strategy, guidance, networks, and funding to transform health tech, fintech and agritech across the region. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Barry’s scrappy determination means her founders always have a partner ready to roll up her sleeves and build, whatever it takes!

"Women founders don’t just build businesses. They rebuild systems. My life’s work is ensuring they have the keys.”

Professional woman with dark hair, wearing a navy blazer and white shirt, smiling in an office setting.

HEAD OF OPERATIONS/PLATFORM

Valentina Thompson

Valentina architects the systems that ensure Sumara Venture Studio’s health tech ventures don’t just launch, they endure. With over a decade of experience designing and auditing quality assurance frameworks for Ghana’s most complex industries, she equips founders with the operational backbone to navigate healthcare’s high-stakes landscape.

Trained as a quality expert, she merges operational discipline with a deep understanding of regulatory compliance, patient safety protocols, and impact measurement. At Sumara Venture Studio, she is the force behind ventures that scale safely, transforming bold ideas into trusted, sustainable solutions for West African communities.

“In healthcare, quality isn’t a checkbox; it’s the foundation of every life you touch.”