2015 Conference

Akinwole Omoboriowo II (AOII) is a 1993 graduate of Economics from University of Jos, Alumni of the London Business School, from where he acquired specialist training in Electricity Pricing & Modeling course in 2006, and a 2011 Post-Graduate Diploma Alumni in Strategy & Innovation from the Prestigious Oxford University’s SAID Business School, U.K.

AOII has over 20 years of experience in the Oil & Gas and Power Sectors in Africa, where he has consistently led other equally distinguished colleagues in pioneering several initiatives including but not limited to Independent Power Producing companies, well-Structured Oil Companies (Oil Trading and Exploration), thriving Utility Companies, amongst others.

Ameel is an Adviser at Helios Investment Partners – the largest Africa focused private equity firm with investments in 40 African countries. Prior to Helios, Ameel worked in investment banking and private equity in New York and Toronto. Ameel holds a dual degree in Chemical Engineering and Economics from Queen’s University (top student) and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Ameel is a director of Wananchi Group Holdings (East African telecommunications platform), and Acorn Holdings (Kenyan youth housing platform). Ameel also serves on the investment committee of AHL Venture Partners, an impact-focused frontier markets investment firm, is a board member of the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board, and is a strategic advisor to Delfina Foundation.

Amyn Mussa is a Partner at ALN Kenya |Anjarwalla & Khanna (A&K). He heads the firm’s Projects and Infrastructure department and co-heads ALN’s Energy and Infrastructure Sector Group. Under Amyn’s leadership, A&K has developed a dynamic projects and energy practice and is regularly engaged on the most significant power and infrastructure projects in Kenya and the region. Amyn is the only lawyer in Kenya ranked in Band 1 in the Projects and Energy category by Chambers Global in 2018. Amyn’s clients include Mota-Engil Engenharia E Construҫao Africa, Globeleq, Orascom Construction, Egis Projects, Quantum Power, General Electric, Ormat, the sponsors of the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, Transcentury, Symbion Power, IFC, AIIM, Mitsui, Toyota Tsusho and Google.

Anne Kirima Muchoki is a leading real estate and property development professional with over twenty years’ experience. An innovator and investor, Anne has been at the forefront of shaping real estate solutions in Kenya.

Beyond her role as a successful entrepreneur, Anne serves as the Board Chairman of Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) where she champions Kenya as a suitable investment destination as the gateway to East Africa and has contributed to increased investment in Kenya. Anne has hosted international delegations in key business forums such as the recent UNCTAD, TICAD VI, and presidential meetings in Nairobi.

Anne participates in the Women Corporate Directors initiative and serves as Board Member for KCB Rwanda, and is Managing Trustee for the Kirima Trust. She holds an MBA in Project Finance, M.Sc. in Commercial Property Management, B.A. in Politics and Economics as well as Executive Certificate from Harvard Business School.

Arshad Dudhia is the Managing Partner of Musa Dudhia and Co, the ALN firm in Zambia. Arshad is ranked in Band One for Business Law and also for Dispute Resolution in Zambia. He is renowned for his expertise in “first in country” transactions and “bet the company” work for Zambia’s domestic champions. He represents private and listed companies, investment and retail banks, financial institutions, private equity players and international development finance institutions. He holds a First Class Law degree from Kings College, London University and is an active member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK.

Mr. Asad Ahmed is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal’s Financial Industry Advisory Services Practice. He brings 35 years of experience in banking, credit management and in formulating and managing strategic and operational changes in financial institutions. Mr. Ahmed holds an MBA; he is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Certified Credit Professional (CCP) and a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers (FICB).

In the past, Mr. Ahmed has served on the Advisory Committee of the Institute of Innovative Research, University of Waterloo, Canada, and sat on the Boards of the Governing Council of the Kenya Bankers Association, and Nairobi Hospice.

Ashish J. Thakkar is the Founder of Mara Group and Mara Foundation. Ashish has driven the growth of the Mara Group from a small IT business in Uganda to the globally recognized multi-sector investment group that exists today. Through its investments, Mara Group now employs over 11,000 people across 25 African countries in sectors spanning technology, banking, real estate and infrastructure.

Asif Abdulla started Primefuels as the sole employee in 1996. After graduation he worked in UK for Deloitte and later for Shell companies. In 1999, he moved with his family to Nairobi to grow Primefuels which currently operates in 5 countries in East & Central Africa with over 600 employees. Since 2006, he has lived in Dubai from where he manages the business.

Assad Abdullatiff is the Managing Director of AXIS Fiduciary Ltd, a leading Mauritius-based independent trust company providing a full spectrum of fiduciary and corporate services to an international client base. Assad holds an LLB (Hons) and an LLM in Business Law and is admitted to the Bar of Mauritius. Assad counts several years of experience in the financial services sector in Mauritius, and prior to joining AXIS was an Assistant Director at the Board of Investment of Mauritius, where he was the Head of the Financial Services Cluster and responsible for the promotion of Mauritius as an International Financial Centre. Assad has been a speaker at various international conferences on the topic of the development of Mauritius as a world class financial centre. He is a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), a member of STEP Council and former Chairman of STEP Mauritius.

Atiq S. Anjarwalla is the Managing Partner of Anjarwalla Collins & Haidermota in Dubai, UAE, and a Senior Partner at ALN Kenya-Anjarwalla and Khanna. Atiq has over 33 years’ experience and his practice focuses on corporate, banking, project finance and capital markets. In addition, Atiq also advises on the creation and management of trusts. He has assisted private businesses and individuals on succession and estate planning matters, including setting up onshore and offshore trusts for both liquid and onshore investments. Atiq is a recognised speaker and has participated in a number of seminars on various aspects of commercial law, banking, capital markets and infrastructure projects and project finance.

Carlo is one of the Founders and Director of Lake Turkana Wind Power Project which aims to provide 310MW of reliable, low cost wind power to the Kenya national grid, equivalent to approximately 15% of the current installed electricity generating capacity. It comprises of 365 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 850kW, and a high voltage substation that will be connected to the national grid through an associated transmission line currently being constructed by the Kenyan Government. Carlo has investments in Kenya in various sectors, including banking, manufacturing, and project management and development.

He has previously worked in various capacities for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Program, and as director for Africa at Fata European Group, an industrial engineering company based in Turin, Italy. He is fluent in English, Italian, Dutch and French.

Christo Els is Webber Wentzel’s Senior Partner and is recognised as one of the leading Corporate/M&A dealmakers in South Africa.

Christo’s experience includes many of the large, transformational and cross-border transactions in South Africa in recent years, including the African aspects of AB InBev’s take-over of SABMiller; Woolworths’ ZAR 23 billion takeover of David Jones in Australia; Walmart’s purchase of a majority stake in Massmart; Vodafone’s acquisition of a majority interest in Vodacom; and Gutsche Family Investments on the multi-billion USD creation of giant Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.

Christo’s Corporate/M&A and Capital Markets expertise has been recognised by various international research organisations including Chambers Global, Legal 500, IFLR1000, Who’s Who Legal and Best Lawyers. He has BLC (cum laude) and LLB (magna cum laude) degrees from the University of Pretoria as well as an LLM (Tax) degree (cum laude) from the University of South Africa. He also attended an executive education programme on Leading Professional Services Firms at Harvard Business School in 2008.

Francis Njogu is the Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer at Gulf Energy. Ranked among the largest importers and distributors of petroleum products in Kenya, Gulf Energy is a leading oil and gas trading company with subsidiaries and trading activities in East Africa and South Africa. Francis oversaw the development of Gulf Power Limited, – an 80MW independent power producer, the first IPP developed by an indigenous Kenyan organization.

Currently, Francis is sponsoring and leading the development of a 1000MW coal‐fired IPP to be located at Manda Bay, Lamu County off the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. This is one of the largest infrastructure projects by a private company in East and Central Africa, and represents 55% of Kenya’s current installed power generating capacity. Francis is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Premier Gas Company. In addition, Francis has promoted the development of Islamic banking in Kenya and is a Co‐Founder of Gulf African Bank.

Mr G. Jayakrishnan directs Enterprise Singapore’s strategy to develop and strengthen Singapore’s trade and investment linkages with the Middle East, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Based in Singapore, he leads the Group’s operations in Singapore, Accra, Dubai, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Mexico City, Moscow, Nairobi, Riyadh and Sao Paulo. Enterprise Singapore is the government agency championing enterprise development and also supports the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups. Jaya serves as member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for African Studies in Singapore.

In 2015, he was awarded the Public Administration Bronze Medal by the Government of Singapore. He holds a Master’s degree in International Public Policy from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours from the National University of Singapore.

Prof. Gbolahan Elias (D.Phil. BCL Oxon.) is a partner at G. Elias & Co. He has been a Senior Advocate of Nigeria since 2005 and was once a Junior Research Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. Prof. Elias has been called to the New York State Bar, the New York Federal Bar and the Nigerian Bar, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He worked for 3 years at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, a leading New York corporate law firm. His practice covers litigation, arbitration and mediation on taxation, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, electric power, oil and gas and telecommunications matters.

Gbolahan is ranked in each of Chambers and the Who’s Who Legal in the top tier of each of four categories: corporate, financial, energy and dispute resolution. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and of the Energy Institute, he teaches commercial law at Babcock University, Ilishan and has published a book and many articles.

Dr. Cheick Modibo Diarra is a leader in the business and civic community on the continent. A former Prime Minister of Mali, he is a distinguished leader in science, education, and public life and has been described as “the pride of Mali and Africa” by the United Nations Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO).

His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan is the Minister of Tolerance in the new Cabinet announced in October 2017.

His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak joined the Federal Government in 1992 and held a number of government portfolios including Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Minister of Education and Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development.

His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak was also Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University from 1983 to 2013; Chancellor of Higher Colleges of Technology from 1988 to 2013; and President of Zayed University from 1998 to 2013.

His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan received his education at the British Millfield School until the high secondary level before joining Magdalen College at Oxford University-UK.

Mr. James M. Mworia is the Chief Executive Officer of Centum Investment Company Limited and its subsidiaries since October 2008. He has over ten years work experience including Investment Management at Trans-century and Centum. He is a CFA Charter holder, Certified Public Accountant, holds a Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of Nairobi and an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.

Jason Harel is the Co-Founding partner of BLC Robert & Associates and boasts substantial experience in corporate M&A, workout transactions as well as taxation. He generally practises in the areas of corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, corporate insolvency, real estate, tax but also advises on litigation matters.

Consistently identified as a ‘leading practitioner’ in his field by legal directories, Jason acts for public and private companies, banks, hotels and real estate on a range of acquisitions and other corporate transactions. He sits on a number of boards of directors including JP Morgan Investments Ltd, ALN and IBL Ltd. He is also the chairman of a family controlled hotel group.

Jendayi E. Frazer is President and CEO of 50 Ventures, a private investment company that seeks to elevate Africa’s global standing by investing in its governance, education, enterprise, and stability sectors. 50 Ventures also offers expertise on internal affairs affecting Africa and African business investments.

Kapil is a Director within Standard Chartered’s Middle East & Africa Real Estate team. He is responsible for driving the banks Real Estate franchise expansion across Africa, having written the strategy post joining the Bank in 2011.

Kapil started his career with KPMG Corporate Finance in London, where he was part of the Real Estate M&A advisory team. He subsequently joined an Abu Dhabi based Private Equity fund, where he was responsible for the structuring and executing Real Estate Funds.

Kapil is a graduate of the Cass Business School, London, where he attained a degree in Banking & International Finance.

Karim S. Anjarwalla is the Managing Partner of ALN Kenya | Anjarwalla & Khanna (A&K) and a member of the firm’s Corporate department. He is consistently involved in the most prominent M&A transactions in the region, and has a wide array of experience advising domestic, regional and international clients on M&A, joint ventures and private equity investments.

Under Karim’s leadership, A&K founded and has been a key driver of ALN. Karim is regularly an invited expert at various international legal and business forums. He is rated as a Leading Lawyer by Chambers Global, IFLR1000 and Legal 500.

Koome Gikunda manages Actis’ East African real estate investments. He has managed a number of transformative developments, including Garden City, the USD 540 million retail, residential and commercial property development in Nairobi. Actis’ strategy and strong fundamentals paired with the opportunity to meet the growing demand for international standard office and retail space across the continent inspired Koome to make the move from investment banking. Prior to Actis, he worked as an investment banker with JP Morgan in New York. Koome graduated from Stanford University where he was a Ford Foundation Scholar. He has an MBA with Distinction from Oxford University where he was awarded the Wafic Said.

Mr. Mesfin Tafesse is the Principal Attorney at Mesfin Tafesse & Associates, one of the leading law offices in Ethiopia and ALN’s Ethiopia member firm. Mesfin has over 25 years of legal experience in the private, public, and civil society sectors in Ethiopia.

As an attorney, Mesfin has substantial experience representing foreign investors, setting up companies, and providing legal due diligence opinions in sectors including, but not limited to, M&A, banking and finance, mining and energy, and oil and gas. He is consistently recognized by Chambers and Partners as a Band 1 legal service provider in Ethiopia. Mesfin is a member of the Ethiopian Lawyers’ Association.

Mohamed Amersi is CEO and co-founder of Emergent Telecom Ventures, a Dubai based Emerging Markets Consulting, Advisory and Asset Management firm specialising in Telecoms, Media & Technology. Prior to co-founding Emergent Telecom Ventures, Mr. Amersi ran Gramercy Communications Partners, a communications merchant bank, based in the United States that he co-founded with Telefonica.

Nabeel has 18 years of banking experience (both conventional and Shari’a compliant) covering corporate banking, project finance, private equity and Investment Banking. Nabeel transacted across many sectors such as utilities, chemicals, oil & gas, retail in the GCC, the Emerging Markets; & Europe.

Nabeel started his career as a process engineer at the BAPCO refinery in Bahrain. Nabeel has Masters of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College, London and ACCA Diploma in Finance & Accounting.

Omar Momin joined the Chemicals business of Godrej Industries Ltd after graduating in Chemical Engineering from the Mumbai University Institute of Chemical Technology at Mumbai. He underwent a cross-functional induction across operations, marketing and supply chain management and then went on to do his Masters in Management from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. He rejoined the Godrej Group and worked as Executive Assistant to the Chairman for about two years. From 2010, Omar has been part of Godrej’s internationalization journey over the course of which, Godrej’s consumer business now has almost half of its revenues coming from outside India. He has been also responsible for overseeing GCPL’s Africa business from 2011. He currently facilitates M&A for Godrej.

Osman Qureshi is the Chief Finance Officer at Mubadala Infrastructure Partners Ltd. He specialises in investment banking and private equity. He also has M&A and financing experience focused on infrastructure, utilities, power and industrials.

Patrick leads the integrity risk and cyber security practice for Control Risks in East Africa, with 10 years’ experience helping clients and businesses across Africa to manage risk complexities in their environment.

Prior to joining Control Risks, Patrick led the fraud risk management function at Standard Chartered Bank’s Retail Clients division in Africa, where he worked with the business, risk and compliance functions to define and implement the fraud risk strategy in Africa. He also worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as a manager in the Forensics and Business Recovery practice.

Patrick holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science & Engineering and is a Member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya.

Paul is the CEO of Catalyst Principal Partners. He has over 20 years of management consulting, entrepreneurial, investment banking and private equity experience. He has managed a significant and diverse regional investment portfolio and led several high profile merger and acquisition transactions across Africa.

Romain is responsible for originating and executing infrastructure investments across the African continent for AIIM’s funds. Romain has an in-depth knowledge of infrastructure sub-sectors and has served on the boards of various infrastructure companies including Noatum, North Queensland Airports and Global Ports Holding and is currently a Non-Executive Director on the Board of AIIM Hydroneo.

Sonal has been a full-time Director with Anjarwalla & Khanna (A&K), a leading corporate law firm in Kenya, for over 21 years. Sonal also provides support to ATZ Law Chambers, A&K’s affiliate firm in Tanzania. She is a Solicitor of the Senior Court of England and Wales with experience in aviation finance, banking, energy, infrastructure projects and project finance, restructuring and capital markets. Sonal is a regular speaker at various seminars and has contributed to publications. She is ranked as a leading lawyer in Kenya in Chambers Global, IFLR 1000, and Legal 500.

Sylvain has more than 20 years’ experience in buy-outs, investments, banking, M&A and corporate restructuring. Over the years, Sylvain lead and participated in over 30 successfully closed transactions of all sizes deploying more than $3 billion of capital in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In addition, Sylvain has personally been involved in the restructuring of many companies as executive, adviser or through senior executive roles. Sylvain is currently lead buy-side advisor for the African strategy of leading multinational, reviewing opportunities throughout the continent.

Tony Soh is the Chief Corporate Officer of The Ascott Limited, the largest international owner and operator of serviced residences. He is responsible for Ascott’s global operations and corporate functions. He also oversees Ascott’s operations and business development activities in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Indochina.