Ali El Husseini, Ph.D., is the CEO of Medici Land Governance (MLG), a company established in 2018. MLG’s mission is focused on applying emerging technologies, including blockchain, to empower developing countries’ governments at the local and national levels to verify and validate land rights for their citizens and to develop interactive transparent, secure platforms and mobile applications that provide new economic opportunities for landowners. Under Dr. Husseini’s leadership, MLG has expanded its presence on the African continent by helping governments establish land management and administrative systems using 21st century technology, notably with gender equity as a priority.

In the Republic of Zambia, MLG is providing systematic land titling, land administration and payment software to enable the issuance of 4 million Certificates of Titles (COTs) on state land over a period of seven years. This represents the largest systematic land titling project ever embarked upon in the nation. MLG is the first external company to invest resources upfront for guaranteeing security of tenure by issuing titles to Zambians. This national undertaking follows on the success of the pilot project to collect data for 50,000 title eligible properties using their proprietary systematic land titling technology in Lusaka City. The project also achieved the goal of providing 45% of those titles issued to women either as sole or joint property owners. In the current program, the goal is set to achieve gender parity, with 50% of titles being issued to women. MLG’s efforts in Zambia extend to another significant area. In collaboration with the Governments of the Republic of Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the German development organization, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), MLG is conducting a detailed aerial imagery survey campaign to capture and demarcate in detail the contested border line between Zambia and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Dr. Husseini also has directed efforts to expand and diversify uses of MLG’s technology and services in projects serving African nations, most notably in line with the Sustainable Development Goals framework, as adopted by the United Nations. This includes working with the Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa (SDGC/A) to enable the ideal multifunctional conditions of governance with digital technologies, gender synergies, secured land tenure, investment and economic markets. In Liberia, for example, MLG’s efforts are directed toward formally recognizing and recording the rights of Liberian landowners. The demographic breakdown of this data allows for MLG to evaluate the impact of and to improve upon sensitization efforts to reach underrepresented landowners, including women. In Rwanda, MLG is implementing a land transaction system, Ubutaka, an efficient platform service which also assures protection of security of identity for citizens as well as facilitate cost-effective service delivery by the government.

MLG has made many functions of digital governance not only paperless but also streamlined for access without compromising the most rigorous expectations for efficiency, security and immutability. MLG also has pilot programs and signed MOUs with Liberia Carbon and Teton WY as well as in Tulum, Mexico. MLG also signed an agreement with the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis to establish a cadaster system for St. Kitts. In the U.S., in 2021, MLG signed a pilot project agreement with the New York City Department of Finance to implement and assess the use of blockchain to enhance proof of ownership, mitigate risks of deed fraud and improve business processes associated with condominium declarations throughout the city’s five boroughs. In 2020, MLG completed partnerships with Teton County in Wyoming and that state’s Carbon County to move its current registry of property titles to a blockchain-based land and property management platform. MLG also raised sufficient capital to operate as a self-sufficient, independent company. MLG had previously operated under the aegis of its corporate parent of Medici Ventures.

A native of Lebanon, he previously was with Overstock, serving in a variety of positions including vice-president of the company’s global division. An expert in Lebanese constitutional politics, he received his doctorate in political science and government from The University of Utah. He also is a board director with Bitt, a financial technology company utilizing blockchain and distributed ledger digital applications to facilitate secure peer-to-peer transactions with seamless mobile money.

Dr. Husseini is fluent in English, Arabic and French and has studied German, Spanish and Turkish. He periodically contributes invited commentaries on contemporary Middle East politics and Lebanon’s presence in the region as well as on the broader applications and benefits of blockchain technology for e-governance. He also is a collector of paintings from artists, especially those in developing countries. He lives in Salt Lake City.