Sougrynoma Zaïnatou Soré (Zaïna) is from Burkina Faso. She is Head of Capacity Development Office based in Ibadan, Nigeria. She holds a Master of Science in Agricultural and Food Economics with a specialization in Agribusiness from the University of Bonn, Germany, since 2017. She also completed a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Studies at Macalester College in Minnesota, USA, in 2010.

Prior to joining IITA, Zaina worked as a Student and then Research Assistant at the Center for Development Research ZEF in Bonn from 2016 to 2018. There, she did research work in agricultural innovation, technical and vocational education and training, food and non-food biomass production, bioeconomy and value chain analysis in twelve African countries. Her professional experience also includes positions as a Procurement Officer for the USAID funded project West Africa Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Program, and as a Bilingual Administrative Assistant for High River Gold in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Zaïna has a high interest in Agricultural development and agribusiness, particularly in Africa, and is passionate about human empowerment.