Early career Koelbl began her career in international development, working with organizations including
UNICEF and the
German development agency (GIZ) in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, and
ENDA Third World in
Senegal. Between 2000 and 2005, she worked as a senior case manager at
Jewish Family Service in
Arizona. She later worked as a program's assistant at the
University of Arizona until 2007. In 2009, she was a
Fulbright Fellow at
UNESCO in
Paris,
France, and later served as a technical officer at the
World Health Organization in
Geneva until 2010.
African Innovation Foundation In 2011, Koelbl joined the African Innovation Foundation as director of the Innovation Prize for Africa, a program created to identify and support African innovators. She led the program from 2011 to 2018, overseeing multiple editions of the prize and working with partners to strengthen innovation ecosystems across the continent. In 2018, Koelbl was appointed managing director of the African Innovation Foundation, where she was responsible for its overall management and strategic direction.
Entrepreneurship, investment and Ecosystems engagement In 2018, Koelbl co-founded the Professional Women of African Heritage (PROWAH), a network based in
Switzerland. In 2020, she founded AfriProspect, a
Swiss-based company focused on connecting African startups and innovators with international partners and investors. In 2021, ShEquity, in partnership with MBC Africa launched the ShEquity Business Accelerator (SHEBA) which focused on de-risking women-led. Koelbl is a speaker at various forums on innovation, entrepreneurship, impact investing, gender-lens investing, and women’s economic empowerment, serving as a keynote speaker, panelist, moderator, and guest lecturer at different universities. In 2026, she participated in multiple panels at the
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in
Davos, including the one titled ''“She Builds, She Leads, She Scales: Women Shaping Africa's Economic Future”''. == Publication ==