Hamse Warfa Email Address

Senior Advisor

BanQu, the FinTech company focusing on economic identities and extreme poverty

Hamse warfa is the Senior Advisor to the U.S. State Department advancing President Biden’s democracy strengthening agenda at home and abroad. Hamse was the Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development at the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Appointed in April 2019, Deputy Commissioner Warfa was the highest ranking African immigrant official in Minnesota government. In his role at DEED, Hamse oversaw Minnesota State’s Employment and Training programs, the Office of Economic Opportunity, Minnesota’s 50 CareerForce locations (job centers), the Governor’s Workforce Development Board and the Immigrant and Refugee Affairs office. Prior to joining Minnesota State government, Hamse accumulated more than 20 years of experience in economic development, community building, philanthropy, public policy and entrepreneurship. He is the co-founder and the executive vice president at BanQu Inc., an economic identity software company selected for an Innovation Award by the Obama Administration and by MIT. Hamse also founded Tayo Consulting Group, which assists philanthropic clients refine their goals and identify program activities to fund. Hamse was a senior program officer at the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation leading the foundation’s domestic and international grantmaking programs. Hamse holds a Masters in Organizational Management and Leadership from Springfield College in Massachusetts, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from San Diego University. Hamse is a 2016 Bush Foundation Fellow, recipient of 2017 Minnesota Statewide Facing Race Award recipient and Ashoka Global Fellow for his social entrepreneurship work. Hamse is the author “America Here I Come: A Somali Refugee’s Quest for Hope.”