Tidiani (Jeff) Tall
Tidiani “Jeff” Tall (born May 25, 1969) is a West African business leader, public speaker, entrepreneur, and author of Fixing Africa: Once and for All. He is a great-grandson of King Agibu Tall and the son of Umar Tall of the Toucouleur Empire.
He was born in Bamako, Mali, and lived there until age seven when his father, Maki Tall, became Mali’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The family later lived in Washington, D.C., where Jeff attended the Rochambeau French International School in Bethesda, Maryland. He developed an interest in American football and became a Washington Redskins fan. Through his father’s diplomatic work, he met U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
Jeff Tall’s education included Prytanée national militaire in France, then the elite Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, followed by the French Institute of Petroleum. He earned two master’s degrees: in Economics & Management from the French Institute of Petroleum and in Engineering in applied mathematics from Ecole Polytechnique.
His career began with Morgan Stanley in London as a high-potential analyst in the Fixed Income division. After about 18 months he returned to Mali to start Timbuktu Trading & Transport (3T), the country’s first trucking company to meet international safety and employment standards.
After three years leading 3T, Tall founded a New York City–based dot-com startup called eSpirituality. The site gained attention from New Age publications, was named a Yahoo Site of the Day, and was featured on MSN, including an interactive “Dr. Dream” feature. The dot-com bubble later burst, ending the venture.
In 2001 he joined Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in Paris and New York as a Senior Consultant. Two years later he co-founded Expansion USA, a New York–based consulting firm helping European companies enter the U.S. market. Four years afterward he moved to Dubai and started the marketing agency A+ Marketing.
In 2010, he joined Lafarge as Vice President of Supply Chain & Distribution for Sub-Saharan Africa. He has worked with major global companies and organizations, and is a member of the African Leadership Network and Africa 2.0. He is currently the CEO of Lidera Green Power, a renewable energy company in Madagascar.
Fixing Africa: Once and for All, published in 2009, argues for major reforms to move Africa forward. The book envisions Africa’s 54 countries joining into three “Super Federations” by 2030, guided by youth and powered by information technology. Tall was inspired by the celebration of independence anniversaries in Africa, especially Guinea’s 2008 milestone, which he felt did not reflect the continent’s real progress. The book aims to inspire a new generation of Africans to lead change and reduce poverty, disease, war, and insecurity. It references ideas from other thinkers who critique aid and offer views on Africa’s path to development.
Tall splits his time between Paris and Addis Ababa, traveling to share his ideas and work.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 09:32 (CET).