Known as The Digital Diplomat™, W.E. Da’Cruz believes eCommerce and exports help drive economic development. Awarded the 2021 Minority eCommerce Firm of the Year by the U.S. Department of Commerce MBDA, she is the cofounder of the Virtual Global Consultant (VGC) Group, a global digital consultancy that designs and develops eCommerce systems and mobile applications that help generate revenue online for entrepreneurs, companies and organizations.

Through the use of digital tools and technologies, she and her partner Naomi Cook are responsible for helping to generate millions of dollars a year in at-will donations and business sales for VGC clients, with a special focus on African-based companies and faith-based organizations. As an internationally recognized tech expert and thought leader in her field, she’s been invited to speak at high level events, such as the US-Africa Business Summit (Maputo, Mozambique), World Export Development Forum (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), Africa Fintech Summit 2019 (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), and DHL eCommerce Conference (Accra, Ghana).

Appointed by the White House’s US Secretary of Commercial Services to the District Export Council in eastern Michigan and At-Large Board Member for the national association, she continues to promote global entrepreneurship worldwide. She’s previously secured more than $30K in grant funds to travel to countries such as Malawi, Uganda and Ghana to teach digital technology to entrepreneurs.

W.E. has also served as an International Consultant for the development and delivery of an online training course on technology and innovation for African businesses in addressing the impact of Covid-19 for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

As The Digital Diplomat, her current research topics and interests include the impact of Web 3.0, NFTs, metaverse, virtual reality and blockchain on digital disparities across underserved communities in the U.S. and Africa. Her mission is to help governments and institutions develop policies that strengthen the positive impact of digitalization globally.

Most recently, she launched a plant-based burger patty made from mushrooms with her husband called Cruz Burgers. Within months of launching online, Cruz Burgers has expanded to 5 stores in the metro-Detroit area. She plans to use her new experiences in the food industry to support agribusinesses and consumer goods products in the US & Africa.

The Ghanaian-American New Jersey native is a wife and mother of three currently residing in Detroit, Michigan.