Bisila Bokoko, born in Valencia in 1974, is a Spanish businesswoman who has lived in New York for more than two decades. Of Equatorial heritage, she served seven years as the executive director of the Spanish-American Chamber of Commerce and now leads BBES, a consulting firm that helps brands enter international markets. Her passion extends to Africa, where she aims to establish libraries through the African Literacy Project and speaks around the world to share her vision.
In describing herself publicly, Bokoko is often labeled as a businesswoman, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and lecturer. When asked how she would define herself, she emphasizes a life defined by constant evolution. She sees herself first as a person—son, wife, sister, friend—before any title, someone who strives to use business as a vehicle for good.
Asked whether philanthropy is the key to her success, Bokoko notes that doing good should not be confined to a single word. She believes leadership is a practice that goes beyond holding formal titles; it is about showing up with purpose and inspiring others to join in that mission. In her view, leadership is a human act: it centers on the cause and the people who rally around it. She envisions a form of leadership that is humanistic and participatory, where the company is built by the people who make it run, not the other way around.
When the question turns to what leadership means to her, Bokoko explains that it involves clear communication of purpose and a willingness to share responsibility. She argues that great leaders are not just bosses but custodians of a shared mission, someone who invites others to contribute and feel ownership. She describes this approach as the leadership of the twenty-first century, the leadership of the people, by the people, for the people. This perspective anchors her philosophy of business as a collective endeavor.
Reflecting on her career, she characterizes success as a personal journey rather than a destination measured by accolades alone. She recalls the obstacle course of her ascent and acknowledges the ego-driven missteps that accompanied early triumphs. She learned that true success is a form of freedom—the liberty to pursue what she truly loves, rather than a trophy on a shelf. In her view, reaching numbers or collecting high-profile contacts was never the ultimate aim; freedom to follow one’s calling defines genuine achievement. [Citation: Interview with Bisila Bokoko]
She notes that while some of her early triumphs arrived in youth, the path was not easy for a Black woman growing up in Valencia during the 1970s. The environment was not very diverse, and she faced the weight of being both a woman and Black. There were moments when others doubted her abilities simply by appearance, yet she chose not to become a victim of circumstances. Instead, she leveraged her multicultural background as a strength, believing that different perspectives could advance a company. Her guiding choice was to become the creator of her own destiny rather than a product of society’s limits. [Citation: Interview with Bisila Bokoko]
Education holds a central place in Bokoko’s narrative. She credits her parents with a deep commitment to learning across generations and notes that her upbringing included exposure to ideas about slavery, colonization, pan-Africanism, and Black identity. Her family valued learning in a way that went beyond conventional schooling, encouraging a broader understanding of history and culture. This unconventional education shaped her path and informed her efforts to empower others through knowledge.
Her passion for literacy in Africa grew from a personal awakening. Although she had not traveled to the continent until her mid-thirties, her experiences visiting African communities she met through her work revealed a stark lack of access to education. She saw firsthand how a library could unlock opportunity and decided to support a literacy project in Africa, a cause she continues to nurture. She recalls her privileged upbringing and contrasts it with the lives of many who had never touched a book. [Citation: Interview with Bisila Bokoko]
How did the literacy project evolve? The initiative began around 2010 with a library in Ghana and later expanded to Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, where libraries now serve communities directly. Support also extended to Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, and Cameroon, among others. Notably, Spain contributed by shipping 20,000 books to Equatorial Guinea last year, a testament to cross-border collaboration in education. The project remains modest in scale but has gained visibility as it grows, underscoring the ongoing exchange of knowledge across continents. [Citation: Interview with Bisila Bokoko]
African optimism is central to Bokoko’s outlook. She describes herself as an afrothymist, rejecting the stereotype of Africa as a hopeless region. Instead, she highlights a vibrant, creative, youthful population with an entrepreneurial spirit across Africa’s 54 countries. While she cautions against generalizations, she sees promising progress in several nations that are laying strong foundations for the future.
On Europe’s migration dynamics, Bokoko argues for a shift from viewing Africa as a threat to seeing it as a potential partner. She emphasizes the need for more collaborative approaches that recognize the geopolitical and resource realities shaping Europe today. A more open, cooperative stance could transform Africa into a valuable economic partner rather than a source of fear. Responsibility for this shift, she contends, lies with the business community as much as with policymakers and the public. [Citation: Interview with Bisila Bokoko]
Regarding the Spanish brand, Bokoko has long observed that Spanish companies carry strong potential on the global stage. The challenge lies in overcoming doubts about the brand and embracing the belief that Spain can lead in international markets. Entrepreneurship in Spain remains robust, even if the cultural pace around risk can be slow at times. She notes that brave, sometimes risk-tolerant entrepreneurs still emerge, even if the fear of failure often slows progress. The key is to learn from missteps and to keep moving forward.
On overcoming fear, Bokoko offers a simple prescription: befriend fear rather than letting it freeze forward motion. When dreams outsize fears, progress follows. The underlying message is clear: ambition paired with courage, not perfection, drives lasting achievement. [Citation: Interview with Bisila Bokoko]