By Andrew Cohen
Over three decades of civil strife in Somalia sparked Hudheifa Aden’s passion to ignite change. The more Getachew Gayzibayso learned about Ethiopia’s failure to alleviate extreme poverty despite its rich natural resources, the more he wanted to rectify that. Seeing environmental consequences ignored in Cameroon’s push to become a developed nation gave Agbor Tabe a stronger voice and greater resolve.
For all three LL.M. students — Berkeley Law’s first Mastercard Foundation Scholars — the decision to travel across the world for their Master of Laws degree was fueled by wanting to bring back key skills that can help them make a greater difference in their home countries.
Run through UC Berkeley’s Center for African Studies, the highly competitive program awards full scholarships to graduate students from sub-Saharan Africa, as well as living expenses, a laptop, and round-trip flights. Hudheifa, Gayzibayso, and Tabe live in the International House on campus with Mastercard Scholars from other Berkeley grad programs.
“This program is not just an opportunity for personal growth, but a tremendous platform for African students to carry forward the aspirations of our continent,” Hudheifa says, citing its emphasis on equipping students to create positive, lasting change. “It represents a commitment to building the future of Africa, and embodies the ideal of transformative leadership — engaging ethically to generate solutions that address societal challenges.”
Each Mastercard Foundation Scholar brings extraordinary achievements and insights to the LL.M. class.
Tying the threads together
Hudheifa, who earned his law degree in Kenya, recently served as a presidential advisor in one of Somalia’s regional states. He advised on multinational transactions and also worked with other clients in various countries to help advance Somalia’s path to progress.
Previously a journalist, he hosted the premier Africa-focused business show “BBC Money Daily,” interviewing presidents, ministers, corporate titans, and other policymakers. Hudheifa says those experiences taught him that no nation operates in isolation, from financial markets to legal standards to business operations, and instilled a strong sense of responsibility to disseminate accurate information — an ethos he sees resonating within the legal profession’s push for justice and transparency.
“As someone deeply engaged in issues of governance, finance, and legal reform, I was particularly drawn to the way Berkeley fosters collaboration across disciplines, providing students with a diverse and intellectually stimulating environment,” he says. “Having the ability to connect with legal professionals, consultants, and experts from different parts of the world is not just a strategic advantage — it’s essential.”
Collaborating daily with international lawyers who possess deep knowledge and experience in different jurisdictions enriches his own practice, Hudheifa adds, helping to solve complex problems more efficiently while opening the door for eventual partnering on multinational transactions and cross-border legal matters.
“We rely on one another’s local expertise to navigate complex regulatory landscapes,” he says. “Together, we can deliver greater value for our clients and the firms we represent.”
Modernizing business laws
Focusing on business and international trade law, Gayzibayso was named his university’s most outstanding student and received the second best result in the National Ethiopian Law Schools’ Exit Exam. He now aims to help his country achieve responsible economic development through legal reforms that have enormous bearing on the continent’s business and trade ecosystem.
A former research assistant for the Ethiopian Lawyers Association and the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, Gayzibayso teaches several undergraduate courses at Addis Ababa University School of Law. Also an associate corporate and financial lawyer at Mehrteab & Getu Advocates, a leading firm in Ethiopia, he advises multinational companies on corporate and investment issues.
“Until very recently, the Ethiopian legal regime required reform to promote investment and enhance business,” he says. “Many laws that governed commerce were old laws of the 1960s which couldn’t respond to the country’s contemporary economic needs. Currently, Ethiopia is making significant legal and policy reforms that need to be bolstered up by well-trained experts. Similarly, with recent developments in the African market, African countries seem to recognize the real urgency to find ways to break down the barriers that separate their economies.”
With Ethiopia finally ratifying and entering into the African Continental Free Trade Agreement in 2019, Gayzibayso sees a parallel between his country’s journey and his own. He describes “suffering a lot” growing up, from traveling a great distance to school to often having just one meal a day in order to maximize his education — which now continues at Berkeley Law.
“I’ve enjoyed the intellectually challenging, stimulating, and engaging nature of the LL.M. program here,” he says, citing discussions with students and faculty from diverse backgrounds. “Every encounter so far, in the classroom or outside, has provoked me to reflect on the role the law could play in shaping the makeup of society and stimulating forces of change. I hope the connection and network I build here will have a lasting impact on my personal and career development.”
Protecting the land
As the youngest member of a low-income family, Tabe thought graduate studies would be out of reach. But when he participated in an advocacy campaign for the protection of biodiversity and indigenous land rights in Cameroon’s Ebo Forest, that quickly changed.
“I learned about Vision 2035, a national development strategy that sought to make Cameroon a developed country by then,” Tabe says. “Protecting the environment was only mentioned in passing, with no clear plan of how to achieve development without mitigating the environmental harm it will cause. This played a major role in my pursuing an LL.M. degree at Berkeley with a concentration in environmental law, which will empower me with the tools I need to be an effective leader and to make an impact on my community.”
As an undergraduate, Tabe served as financial secretary of his university’s faculty of law and Political Science Student Association. In 2020, he began volunteering for Bridge Cameroon — an organization dedicated to promoting sustainable development, conservation, and community health.
That led him to assist local and indigenous communities to halt illegal forest and land allocations with Green Development Advocates, advance biodiversity conservation at the African Wildlife Foundation, and help the NGO Ajesh Cameroon challenge the reclassification of 148,000 forest acres from a protected area to an industrial agricultural production site.
“When I return home, I hope to establish my own environmental law research clinic and work as a consultant for the state to help shape government strategy to realize Vision 2035 — and mitigate the effects of development on indigenous communities and the environment,” Tabe says. “I also intend to take on pro bono cases on behalf of those communities who are continuously being dispossessed of their lands as a result of this plan.”