2018 Conference

Abbasali is the Founder and Managing Director of East Africa Capital, a firm that advises foreign institutional investors, high net worth individuals and large family businesses active in East Africa. Whilst working across the region, Abbasali has a particular focus in Tanzania where he has long standing relationships. Prior to founding East Africa Capital, Abbasali worked in equity capital markets in London. He has a degree in Economics and Management from the University of Oxford.

Ahmad Chahidi is responsible for Wealth Planning at Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd.

Over the span of his career, he has worked with several prestigious banks advising clients on succession and tax planning. He set-up the Julius Baer Family Office in Geneva, before relocating to Dubai in 2007 with JP Morgan.He has also worked with Emirates NBD Private Bank. He re-joined Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd. in 2017 in Dubai.

Ahmad has a Law Degree from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland

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.

Anna Skubikowski Aguilera is Assistant General Counsel at the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). In this capacity, Ms. Aguilera advises on early-stage energy project development activities in sub-Saharan Africa, including for projects developed through the Power Africa initiative — a partnership among the U.S. government, African governments, bilateral and multilateral development partners, and the private sector to increase access to electricity. Prior to her work at USTDA, Ms. Aguilera was an energy attorney at Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP, Van Ness Feldman, LLP, and the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and was a Junior Professional Associate at the World Bank.

Anne Eriksson is the Former Regional Senior Partner of PwC with overall responsibility for operations in the wider East Africa region, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia and Mauritius employing over 1,500 people. Anne was also a member of the PwC Africa leadership team. Anne retired from PwC in June 2018 after being part of the firm for 40 years, 30 of which as a partner. She has extensive business experience in Kenya and the Africa region, having provided services to support transactions such as acquisitions, privatisations and private sale of companies, as well as audit and advisory services to large banking, insurance, manufacturing, telecommunication, agricultural, energy and distribution companies, in addition to organisations in the public sector.

Anne is a Partner in the Corporate Department and the Co-Head of the firm’s Competition Group. With over ten years of experience as a corporate lawyer, she specialises in mergers & acquisitions, IT & telecommunications law, competition law and intellectual property law. Anne regularly represents multinational corporations, PE Funds and other investors and is a recognised leader in her field. She is ranked as a leading lawyer by Chambers Global, 2017 and has been voted one of Kenya’s best M&A lawyers by Best Lawyers International. In 2015, Anne won the CfC Stanbic Rising Star Award in the Professional Services category. She is an ardent writer on contemporary legal topics and the Editor of Legal Notes, a newsletter published by ALN.

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.

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.

Ayman Osman is the Corporate, External & Legal Affairs Director for Microsoft Emerging Markets (Africa, Levant & Pakistan) in Middle East & Africa. His work is focused on supporting Microsoft’s sales and business operations and on helping customers, governments, policy makers, and influencers in shaping the policies and regulatory frameworks that would help the emerging markets adopt secure, trustworthy and responsible new technologies for them to economically grow and provide better business and citizen services. He joined Microsoft in 2012. Prior to this, he was the Legal & Corporate Affairs Manager for North Africa, East Mediterranean & Pakistan.

Before joining Microsoft, Ayman worked for Nokia Corporation, ExxonMobil and Société General Bank. He has a LLB and an LLM degree in Business and Commercial Law from the University of Sorbonne (Paris I) as well as a LLB from the Faculty of Law of Cairo University. He is currently based in Dubai as part of the Microsoft Middle East & Africa Headquarters.

Barnaby Fletcher is Control Risks’ Senior Analyst for Southern Africa and co-author of the Africa Risk Reward Index. He is a regular contributor to Control Risks’ subscription services, as well as responding to regular ad-hoc sector-specific queries from Control Risks’ clients operating in the wider region. Barnaby also works on bespoke consulting projects for clients.

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.

Claire Wilby is an energy and infrastructure lawyer with experience across multiple jurisdictions, with a focus on the emerging markets. Claire has worked on both renewable and conventional energy transactions in Europe, Africa and the MENA regions. She advised on the Southern Corridor pipelines South Stream and Nabucco and has more recently been involved in project financing power plants in West Africa. Claire has a special interest in Africa and working on power development across the continent. Claire is a solicitor of England and Wales, having studied in Heidelberg and Strasbourg.

David Awuah-Darko manages day-to-day work on strategic initiatives and business development for IC Securities Group. He currently serves as the Chairman of IC Securities (Ghana) Limited. Prior to founding the group, David started his career at Lehman Brothers International (Europe) in London as an European Equities trader. David read Mathematics & Computation at Balliol College, University of Oxford, where he earned an MA (Hons) degree and won two half-blues in polo. David has served on Ghana’s National Bond Market Committee and is a fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network and a member of Young Presidents’ Organization.

Dominic is a Partner in A&K’s Corporate department and co-heads the firm’s Competition Group. He has wide-ranging experience in corporate mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and private equity. Dominic has advised domestic, regional and international private and publicly listed companies on a variety of commercial transactions, including share acquisitions, privatisations, public listings and cross listings. Dominic has extensive experience advising tech start-ups and worked with FSD Africa on examining the regulatory and public landscape that governs crowdfunding in Kenya. He is recognised as a leading lawyer by Chambers Global 2018, recommended by Legal 500 and is ‘highly regarded’ by IFLR1000 for their Financial and Corporate category.

Dr Eduardo López Moreno is the Director of Research and Capacity Development at UN-Habitat. He has over 25 years of experience in housing and urban development policies, institutional analysis, global monitoring, equity and urban poverty issues. He was temporary Chief of the State of the World’s Cities between 2008 and 2012. Prior to this post, he was the Chief of the Global Urban Observatory from 2002 to 2008, Senior Technical Adviser in the Bureau of Africa and the Arab States at UN-Habitat from 1999 to 2001 and Chief Technical Adviser in Angola for UN-Habitat from 1996 to 1999.

He is also a Board Member of the Prague Institute’s Global Urban Development Program and member of the Editorial Board of the International Magazine “Urban Space”, published in Teheran, Iran by IAARA. His qualifications include a Ph.D. in urban geography from the University of Paris III-Sorbonne in France and a master’s degree in urban sociology in the same University. He also has a BA in Architecture from the University of Guadalajara, Mexico.

Firas joined Zain Group in November 2017 as Group Head of Legal. With a career spanning over 18 years, Firas has worked for conglomerate organizations in the Middle East and France. Firas has immense experience in senior in-house roles in the Middle East, having had four roles in the position of either Head of Legal or General Counsel since moving on from his private practice career.

More recently, Firas has been recognized in 2015 and 2017 as one of the GC Powerlist: Middle East (formerly the Corporate Counsel 100) by the publication The Legal 500. The GC Powerlist is a series of publications, highlighting the most influential in-house lawyers in business today in the MENA region and globally. Firas is a Board member and treasurer of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), Middle East Chapter. Firas is a qualified lawyer before the Paris Bar in France and holds a Master degree from the University of Paris in International Business Law.

Foued Bourabiat started his career at the Algiers office of a leading French law firm. His recent experience includes assisting and advising various major investors and credit institutions in respect of investments and financings in the MENA region, including in Algeria. Before establishing Bourabiat Associés, Foued spent almost ten years at top-tier international law firms in Paris, Hogan Lovells LLP and Herbert Smith Freehills LLP.

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.

Gaia Ines Fassò is Head of the Anthemis Institute, the think and do tank by Anthemis Group dedicated to the responsible transition of financial services to the Digital Age. Through the Institute, Gaia leads the research, experimentation and advocacy practice by Anthemis and its partner organisations across different thematic areas including Financial Wellness and the Future of Work. Gaia firmly believes in harnessing the power of financial services for the betterment of society and the environment.

Gaia’s background is in financial services and technology, having served 6 years as strategy consultant for large financial institutions as well as a purpose-driven accelerator programme and start-ups across different tech sectors. She is also the co-founder of an education charity for refugees. Prior to joining the private sector, Gaia worked in research and policy for the United Nations and the not-for-profit sector. Her current area of interest is behavioural science within financial wellness.

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.

Grace Njihia is the VP of Engineering at Africa’s Talking (AT), a pan African mobile technology company, which provides technology infrastructure and support to software developers to enable them to build viable solutions for the African ecosystem. She oversees strategy, innovation and growth within the engineering organization.

She has over 6 years’ experience in the tech-ecosystem and is a firm believer in the use of technology for the betterment of Africa. Prior to joining Africa’s Talking, she worked as a senior software developer at Radix Consulting, an outsourcing company specializing in building software for telcos.

She holds a Bsc. in Computer Science from the University of Nairobi.

Greg Metro is Managing Director for Schulze Global in Ethiopia. He has over 15 years of professional experience in private equity, investment banking, strategy consulting and operations. He worked as a senior investment professional with JP Morgan Private Capital Asia, a $750m private equity fund, where he covered Southeast Asia and China. Mr. Metro also has a background in management consulting, having worked with Monitor Group in the Philippines and Indonesia. He also co-founded and sold a venture capital funded financial technology startup. He holds a Bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from the University of Connecticut.

Dr Greg Mills heads the Johannesburg-based Brenthurst Foundation, established in 2005 by the Oppenheimer family to strengthen African economic performance. He holds degrees from the Universities of Cape Town and Lancaster, and was the National Director of the SA Institute of International Affairs from 1996-2005. He has directed numerous reform projects in African presidencies (including in 2017 with the Ghana President), sat on the Danish Africa Commission and on the African Development Bank’s high-level panel on fragile states, and served four deployments to Afghanistan.

A member of the advisory board of the Royal United Services Institute, he is the author of the best-selling books Why Africa Is Poor and Africa’s Third Liberation, and most recently, together with President Olusegun Obasanjo, Major General Dickie Davis and Dr Jeff Herbst Making Africa Work: A Handbook for Economic Success.

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.

Harjeev Kandhari is the Founder and CEO of global tyre company Zenises, a multinational company headquartered in the UK and currently operating in twenty countries. He also serves as the non-executive chairman of Walpole Capital, a venture capital firm that specializes in investing in disruptive technologies. Mr. Kandhari has extensive experience in the finance, telecommunications and technology sector, and was one of the first people to join in the founding of technology private equity firm New Media Spark in the UK.

Before founding Zenises, Mr. Kandhari was pivotal in reviving his family’s business, enabling it to expand into the global market with a focus on Europe and eventually building one of the world’s most technologically advanced industrial battery plants. He earned a diploma from the London School of Economics and a BA Honors and MA from the University of Oxford. He also has an MBA from INSEAD.

With 16 years of professional experience, Hatim Ben Ahmed started his career as a financial auditor for the accounting firm Arthur Andersen in Paris and later joined Accuracy, a corporate finance advisory firm, where he was exposed to a wide range of financial processes, including due diligence and company valuations, principally for large corporations in various industries. He cofounded Mediterrania Capital Partners where he led 20 transactions, investments and divestments. Today he sits on the board of several portfolio companies managed by the firm, in North Africa and in Côte d’Ivoire. He is also member of the Investment Committee of Mediterrania Capital Partners. Hatim is a GMP graduate from Harvard Business School. He holds a Master of Science from the ESTP Paris (France) and a Bachelor degree in Accounting and Finance (DESCF).

Ife oversees the entire spectrum of Google’s legal work in Sub Saharan Africa. Her work includes advising the regional business, product and engineering teams on relevant legal issues, negotiating and drafting a variety of commercial agreements, dispute resolution and representing Google before legal and regulatory stakeholders.Prior to Google, she was General Counsel for Innovations for Poverty Action, where she was in charge of the organization’s legal and compliance issues in the US, Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Ife has also worked at the International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group, UNHCR and Oxfam America and at the law firm of Mohamed and Muigai in Nairobi, Kenya.
She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Nairobi, a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, Tufts University and a Master of Laws from Columbia University Law School. She is licensed to practice law in the State of New York and Kenya.

Inderjit Bedi is a highly seasoned veteran investment banker with over 29 years of global experience. He co-founded BellHouse Capital as an African focused merchant banking firm in 2010 and has been credited with a number of ‘firsts’ on the African continent. Prior to setting up BellHouse Capital, Mr Bedi was the London Management Board member for UniCredit Group (HVB) responsible for hedge fund activity and earlier was at BNP Paribas and Bankers Trust in the Africa Merchant Banking Group in the 90s. Mr Bedi holds an MA in Engineering Science from St Edmund Hall, Oxford University.

Dr. James Mwangi is the current Chairman of Kenya’s Vision 2030 Delivery Board, which aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrialising, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to its citizens by 2030. He is also the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Equity Group Holdings, one of the leading financial services conglomerates in East Africa. He is also the founding Executive Chairman of Equity Group Foundation, the social impact investment arm of Equity Group.

James has broad experience in the banking industry and in inclusive finance and serves on several international bodies as an advisor including his recent appointment to the Economic Advisory Board of the International Finance Corporation. He also serves as the Chancellor of Meru University College of Science and Technology in Kenya. James has been honoured with various awards, including three Presidential national awards, the World Entrepreneur of the Year award by Ernst & Young in 2012 and the Forbes Africa Person of the Year award in 2012.

Jamie Simmonds was appointed the founding Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director of The Access Bank UK in January 2008. He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School Executive Management Programme. Jamie is also an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, a Certified Financial Adviser and also a member of the Association of Foreign Bankers.

He has a wealth of experience in financial services having held a series of director roles for National Westminster, Coutts, Royal Bank of Scotland, Gerrards and Close Brothers. He has a proven track record in the start-up and turnaround of financial service businesses, delivering sustainable benefits for all stakeholders. He has extensive knowledge of Corporate, Retail and Private Banking services.

Jean-Michel is a Director at KeysFinance Partners, an investment advisory firm based in Côte d’Ivoire and covering francophone Africa. The firm provides both sell side and buy side advisory services to local entrepreneurs, family businesses, international corporate and financial investors with a strong focus on Côte d’Ivoire where it has conducted landmark transactions in FMCG and business services sectors.

Prior to joining KeysFinance in 2014, Jean-Michel started an M&A advisory firm based in Paris and focusing on Africa. He benefits from a cumulate 7 years’ experience in investment banking in West-Africa. Jean-Michel holds a Master’s degree in Finance from Audencia School of Management in France.

Jesse is the General Counsel of M-KOPA Solar. He’s a dual-qualified lawyer admitted in New York and England & Wales. He previously worked in New York and London for Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a leading international law firm and was an Executive Director, Assistant General Counsel at JPMorgan where he counseled market leading businesses operating across the EMEA region. Prior to joining M-KOPA, Jesse worked for the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, one of the two principal financial regulatory authorities in the UK, where he gained significant financial services regulatory experience. Jesse lives in Nairobi, Kenya with his wife Nikhath and two children.

John was appointed Chief Underwriting Officer in late 2016 and has over 14 years of experience in the credit and political risk sphere, as well as prior entrepreneurial experience. During his first year at ATI, the firm underwrote USD 2.4bn of exposure and registered a 52% increase in Gross Written Premium. Prior to joining ATI, John was the Co-Head of Political & Credit Risks at Brit. John helped to establish Brit’s presence in this area and built out Brit’s team to rapidly become one of the most competitively positioned London market participants.

Prior to working at Brit, John established a strong underwriting reputation at AXIS, Chubb and XL Catlin in both London and Bermuda. He also has a diverse range of entrepreneurial experience. John holds a Master of Modern History degree from Oxford University.

Mr. Evans has been General Counsel and Company Secretary of the Company since 2014 leading both the Company’s Legal team and its Compliance team. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Evans was part of Mubadala’s Legal and Compliance Department and was seconded to Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC from 2008 to 2013, where he served as General Counsel. Before joining Mubadala, Mr. Evans specialized in energy and infrastructure projects and the legal and regulatory reform of energy markets at Norton Rose where he worked between 1997 and 2007.

Mr. Evans studied Law at the Polytechnic of Wales and practiced at the Bar in London from 1990 to 1996. He holds a Master’s degree in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University and a Master’s degree in Law from King’s College London.

Julien Garcier is the Founder and Managing Director of Sagaci Research, the leading independent market research, market intelligence firm dedicated to African markets.Prior to launching Sagaci Research in 2012, Julien was a Principal at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) where he was involved on growing the firm activity across the African continent, advising governments and leading multinational companies in their developments efforts. He was based in Cairo, Egypt for BCG from 2008 to 2010. Between 2000 and 2005, Julien was a consultant at A.T. Kearney in France.

Julien has deep industry expertise in retail, consumer goods, real-estate and specific functional expertise in corporate strategy, market entry strategies, growth strategy formulation, financial and economic analysis and market research. He graduated from EM Lyon (France) in 2000 with a Master in Science in Management and has an undergraduate diploma in Economics from the University of Lyon (France). He is a French national and lives in Nairobi, Kenya.

Dr. Kamau Gachigi is the Founding Executive Director of Gearbox, an open platform in Kenya aimed at broadening access to manufacturing. He has also founded two Fab Labs in Kenya, including one at the University of Nairobi, and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Council on the Future of Production, and Chairs the Board of the National Industrial Training Authority. His Ph.D. is in Solid State Science from Pennsylvania State University and he did R&D in Japan for TDK for over two years. He holds a US patent, 10 academic and several non-technical publications.

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.

Kato Arnold Mukuru is the Managing Director, Head of Frontier Research at EFG Hermes. Since joining in June 2017, he has built a team of 12 publishing analysts (in Dubai, London, Nairobi and Pakistan) and one data analyst. Their coverage universe consists of 41 stocks in the consumer, financials, industrials, materials and oil & gas sectors and it ranges from Nigeria in the West to Vietnam in South East Asia.

Prior to joining EFG Hermes, he was a Partner and Head of Equity Research at Exotix Partners. Prior to joining Exotix, he was a Director at Citigroup Global Markets (Citi) and the Middle East & Africa (ex-SA) banks analyst based in Dubai.  He also worked at Renaissance Capital in Lagos, Nigeria as the Head of African Research and as a research analyst in Citi in the London and Madrid offices. Kato holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, summa cum laude from the Morehouse College

Khalil Anjarwalla is Managing Director of African Cotton Industries, a fast-moving consumer goods business manufacturing, distributing and marketing brands in East Africa. He also sits on the Boards of Auric Capital (Kenyan real estate investment fund) and AI Living (Kenyan tech start up). Prior to his role at African Cotton, Khalil worked across US, Europe and the Middle East as a Management Consultant for Oliver Wyman – Financial Services.

Khalil was selected as one of thirty leaders of high impact businesses across East Africa to participate in the Stanford Graduate School of Business inaugural Seed Transformation Program. He holds a Masters in Engineering from University of Oxford.

Kwame Parker is a Partner and Investment Director at Frontier Investment Management, a private equity fund focused on renewable energy opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa that is headquartered in Denmark and Kenya. Kwame previously ran the power & infrastructure business in East Africa for Standard Bank. Prior to Standard Bank, Kwame was a VP at Morgan Stanley and HSH Nordbank in New York City. Kwame has executed more than USD 5 billion in energy and infrastructure financings globally over the course of his career. He holds an MBA from Michigan Business School and a B.Sc. in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from New York University.

Luis G. Franceschi (LL.B, LL.M and LL.D) is Dean at Strathmore University Law School, where he also lectures Constitutional and International Law. He is an active member of over 16 boards of directors in public and private entities and a Governor of the International Association of Law Schools (IALS) based at Cornell Law School, NY. He has been the Legal Advisor to the President of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, where he co-drafted the UN Nairobi Declaration. Dr Franceschi is a weekly columnist with the Daily Nation. He is a Kenyan citizen residing in Nairobi. He speaks English and Spanish, and reads Italian and Portuguese.

Mandeep Nalwa is a wealth advisor with over 20 years of banking experience. He has managed High Net Worth client relationships across Asia with leading private banks like HSBC, Merrill Lynch and Citibank. Prior to setting up Taurus, Mandeep spent most of his career with various private banks in the Asia-Pacific region with specific exposure to Equities, Fixed Income, Currencies, Derivatives and Managed Assets.

As the CEO of Taurus Wealth Advisors in Singapore advising High Net Worth Individuals within the framework of a multi-family office, Mandeep has successfully built up a team of experienced financial advisors, providing unbiased investment advice to the wealthy with total assets under advice currently in excess of USD 1.7 Billion. Mandeep is a member of the founding committee of the Association of Independent Asset Managers in Singapore. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India and the Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi, India.

Markus M. Gabbert is General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer of DEG-Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, one of the major development finance institutions for private companies in developing countries. Markus has more than 20 years of banking and emerging market experience. His principal areas of practice include banking-related regulatory matters, corporate governance, compliance, corporate and commercial law, private equity and project finance transactions. He is a member of the German-South African Lawyers Association and frequently invited to speak at international conferences on financing and emerging markets. Markus earned his law degree from the University of Bonn, Germany and is admitted as Attorney at Law (Germany) to the Cologne Bar Association.

Marvin Coleby is Chief Executive Officer of Raise, a platform for digitizing and trading private securities in frontier markets. He is a regulatory advisor at Agentic Group alongside its partners MIT, IBM and the European Commission, an advisor at the continental African Blockchain Alliance, and previously worked as a technology and securities lawyer in the international venture technology group at Dentons. Marvin previously drafted policies for regional governments under the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization, led international investment treaty research under Professor Armand de Mestral at McGill University’s Faculty of Law, and was a trade finance researcher at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

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.

Michael H. Gera is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of EAV – the leading Venture Capital firm in Africa. Michael has 20 years of venture capital and private equity experience in Africa, the US, Europe and Asia. Before co-founding EAV, Michael was CEO of the Africa Legal Network which followed two earlier CEO roles in Africa. Prior to this, he was a Partner with Pond Venture Partners based in Silicon Valley and Europe. Prior to joining Pond, he was a Vice President in Merrill Lynch’s Investment Banking Division in London. He is on the Board of Solarise, DLight and PayGo. He received his MBA from INSEAD and his PhD and BSc from Imperial College, London.

In 2017, Miguel was appointed Head of Investment Banking for the Middle East, Africa and Portugal. He joined Citigroup in 2010 as Head of Corporate and Investment Banking for Portugal and in 2012 he was appointed Head of Investment Banking for Africa. Prior to working at Citigroup, he was a Senior Country Advisor at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs. He has advised on M&A transactions for clients such as Helios, Actis, Diamond Bank, AMCON, Kansai and TGI/CHI.

In the capital markets space, Miguel has been involved in several transactions in Africa such as bond deals for Liquid Telecom, IHS, Nigerian banks, including Zenith, UBA, AFC and Access, amongst many others. He has also been involved in some of the largest equity deals in Sub-Saharan Africa, such as Atlas Mara, Seplat, Fairfax Africa and Unilever Nigeria.

Mmusi Maimane is the Federal Leader of South Africa’s official opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Parliamentary Leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of South Africa. He was formerly the DA’s Deputy Federal Chairperson, the DA National Spokesperson and the Leader of the DA Caucus in the City of Johannesburg Municipal Council. Mmusi Maimane has worked as a business consultant and trainer with a number of international and South African firms. In addition, he is a philanthropist and has chaired a number of NGO boards.

Mmusi Maimane was one of the recipients of the World Economic Forum Young Global Leader’s award. He currently serves as the Chair for the Southern African Partnership for Democratic Change (SAPDC) for opposition leaders in Africa. Mmusi Maimane is passionate about South Africa and is determined to fight for the improvement of Quality Education, Advancement of Youth Employment and Economic Growth in South Africa.

Mohamed el Roubi is General Counsel at GardaWorld International Protective Services, and leads the Legal, HR, Compliance and Assurance, and Risk and Insurance functions. A specialist in business resilience, M&A and issues management, he has broad international legal, governance, risk and compliance experience across a range of industries. As a senior executive at Orascom Telecom, General Electric, and Amec Foster Wheeler, Mohamed contributed to business strategy over almost twenty years working throughout five continents, with a particular focus in Africa and the Middle East. A bilingual (English/Arabic) Northeastern University School of Law graduate, Mohamed is licensed as an attorney in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

Mohamed Khodeir is a Corporate Commercial Partner at Al Tamimi & Company handling expansion of the corporate commercial practise across the region. Mohamed has been involved in the firm’s regional expansion, previously managing two of Al Tamimi’s largest offices outside the UAE.

Mohamed was the former CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (“GAFI”) in Egypt and has had a diverse legal background in multiple areas of law including; corporate, banking & finance, dispute settlement, government projects, legislation, investment and tax as well as family business. He has worked with government bodies on mega projects such as railways and telecommunication networks as well as being involved on major international transactions acting as local counsel and managing cross-border deals. Mohamed has practiced law in four jurisdictions including Egypt and the UAE. The accumulated deals and projects Mohamed has been involved in, are valued in excess of USD $50 billion.

Mohamed has been continually recognised for his legal work. In 2015, he was recognised by IFLR1000 as one of the leading lawyers. In 2010, 2009 and 2008, Mohamed was selected in the Asian Law Leading Lawyers Survey in recognition of his work in the area of ‘General Corporate Practice’.

He is a qualified lawyer before Egyptian courts and a member of the International Bar Association. He holds an LLM degree in international Business Law from Leiden University, the Netherlands.

Mohamed has presented, moderated and participated in many conferences, seminars and TV/Newspaper interviews in his relevant areas of practice and represented Egypt during his term as GAFI CEO in numerous events. He has also issued articles addressing miscellaneous legal topics.

Nadeem Juma is the Chairman of AIM Group, Mkito and Dar es Salaam International Academy. The tired cliché would be to call him a ‘serial entrepreneur’ but that would be a boilerplate not really doing him justice. What Nadeem thrives at is discovering the whitespaces in industries that provide an equal balance of profit and social impact. His bragging rights include being named one of the 30 under 40 by Forbes, numerous speaking roles, awards for his businesses and even having a University level course featuring him and one of his first businesses. He is 34 and calls himself an old man. He holds a Bachelor degree in Business from Kent University, England.

Nimit Shah is a Partner at Helios Investment Partners. He joined Helios in 2008, and over the last 10 years has invested in credit, growth equity and buyout opportunities across Africa. This includes investments in Vivo Energy, GB Foods Africa, Continental Outdoor Media, OVH Energy and Mall for Africa . Prior to joining Helios, Mr Shah was a Director within the Financial Sponsors Group at Lehman Brothers in London. His experience there spanned M&A advisory, leveraged finance and equity capital markets. Mr Shah started his career as a strategy consultant at Arthur D Little. He holds an MA degree in Economics and Management from Oxford University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Nnamdi Kalu Ezera is a Senior Counsel for the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of the General Counsel. Mr Ezera has worked across much of Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, Eurasia, and with economic communities from ECOWAS, COMESA and SADC. Mr Ezera’s programs have assisted the reform of legal infrastructure such as intellectual property, government procurement, customs, trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, project finance and judicial reform.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr Ezera has worked through initiatives such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act, African Global Competitiveness and Power Africa. Prior to CLDP, he worked as Country Director at the Central and East European Law Initiative of the American Bar Association (CEELI). Mr Ezera was born in Nigeria. He received a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science from Johns Hopkins University and a Juris Doctor from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia.

Ole Ruch is Managing Director, Strategy at WeWork. He joined the company in 2015 and is now working on the company’s strategic direction across the globe. Previous to his role, Ruch was the Managing Director and Head of Asia, starting and running WeWork’s expansion and operations in the Asia and Australia region. Before coming to WeWork, Ruch was investing in and advising growth companies on their international operations and expansion. Ruch also served as Managing Director International at Airbnb, where he led the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to taking on the APAC region for Airbnb, Ruch opened the company’s offices across Europe. Previous to Airbnb, Ruch was based in East-Asia and Russia developing international markets as part of the international leadership team for Groupon.

Oliver Cornock has many years of experience in high-growth emerging markets having worked in both the private and public sectors. From a background in project finance at HSBC Group, he went on to work with the British Ministry of Defence.

He joined Oxford Business Group in 2004, became Managing Editor for the Middle East in 2006 and was appointed Editor-in-Chief in December 2016. In this capacity, Oliver oversees editorial output across all platforms, print and digital. Given his professional and personal specialisation in the Arab Gulf, he maintains his role as Managing Editor for the Middle East alongside his position as Editor-in-Chief. Additionally, Oliver directs OBG Consultancy projects.

Oliver writes frequently on developing economies and appears as a specialist on BBC, CNN, CNBC and other television and radio stations. He is a regular guest on BBC World’s daily Newspaper Review, as well as BBC Radio 4.

Value creation is at the heart of what he does. Having started over a dozen businesses, he loves to hear a story from a start upper or analyze a complex challenge faced by a business. Things he does do not only have to function well, they also have to be visually appealing. He spent a lifetime radically changing his family’s coffee trading company into a chain of high value farms supplying some great coffees from Ethiopia to aficionados around the world. With that he gets the privilege of spending time in the outdoors and contributing towards communities and the environment which is dear to his heart. Business mentoring is his forte.

Omar Abdulaziz Khan is Director of International Offices at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry leading the global development and management of the Chamber’s International Offices. He currently manages eight offices in Africa, CIS and Latin America.

Previously, Omar held consecutively successful leading positions at Dubai Chamber as Membership & Documentation Services Department Director representing Dubai Chamber at the ICC World Chambers Federation on trade facilitation issues and as Customer Service Centers Director during which he helped to transform Dubai Chamber to a customer-centric organization.

Omar has led training sessions in Dubai and the GCC to help implement the ATA Carnet system across the region and regularly participates as a speaker for Dubai Chamber. Previously, Omar worked for HSBC Middle East in the Commercial Banking Sector. Omar holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering and a MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology.

Paul Currie is the Chief Investment Officer of the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Before joining the DBSA, he held several senior management positions at the Nedbank Group, including Head of Risk: Investment Banking, and General Manager: Corporate Banking Credit. During his tenure as the Chief Risk Officer at the DBSA, Paul Currie has been responsible for the Bank’s Credit Risk Monitoring and Governance function. Under his leadership, the Group Risk Assurance Division has re-engineered and rolled-out credit risk rating and project pricing methodologies, ensured alignment with the Bank’s requirements and strategic initiatives, instituted the Enterprise-Wide Risk Management Framework, ensured full regulatory compliance and supported the development of new products.

Paul Currie holds a BSC Degree from the University of Cape Town, a Bcom Degree and a Post Graduate Diploma from the University of Port Elizabeth. He attained his MBA (with distinction) from the Manchester Business School and University of Wales.

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.

Safia Fassi-Fihri is the Managing Partner of BFR & Associés, working alongside two other founding partners of the firm. She qualified as a lawyer (avocat) in Casablanca, Morocco, and specialises in mergers and acquisitions, (including listed and nonlisted companies, and investment funds), joint-ventures, capital markets transactions and financings. She also advises real estate or touristic developers in connection with the structuring of investment funds and takes interest in corporate governance and socially responsible investments.

Safia worked as a lawyer in a renowned international law firm in Paris and London before accepting a position as general counsel for a major insurance company in Morocco. She holds a Masters degree in business law form the University of Paris II – Assas and is a graduate of ESSEC Business School.

Saif has over 18 years of experience working in the banking sector in Africa. He has worked with Barclays Bank in Zambia and Tanzania and has held a number of senior roles since joining Standard Chartered in 2006 and has worked in South Africa, Malaysia, Nigeria, Zambia and Tanzania. Saif is currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa as the Regional Co-Head of Global Banking (Corporate & Institutional Banking) for Africa and the Middle East. Saif leads a diverse team of professionals across 25 markets and is responsible for defining the regional business strategy, managing the client asset portfolio and delivering revenue and operating profit growth. He was born and grew up in Zambia and has an MA in International Business and a BA in Economics.

Sameer Hirji is the Co-Founder and Group Executive Director of Selcom Tanzania. He worked in the telecommunications sector in the Tanzanian market before embarking on a revolutionary journey into the fintech sphere. Under Mr Hirji’s leadership, Selcom is recognised by the Bank of Tanzania as the leading enabler of mobile banking and bill payment services in the country. As a pioneering member of the fintech industry, Selcom is extremely well placed to promote the advancement of cashless solutions through the creation of innovative solutions in collaboration with various stakeholders. Mr Hirji holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering.

Sana Bagersh is CEO of BrandMoxie, a marketing firm based in Abu Dhabi that provides branding strategy and integrated marketing services. Bagersh is currently an innovation and communication strategy advisor for the Abu Dhabi Municipality. Bagersh is also Managing Editor of Tempo, a youth-community magazine that promotes innovation, social enterprise and community engagement and runs Tamakkan, an entrepreneurship and innovation social knowledge sharing platform that offers free guidance to SMEs and startups.

Bagersh is also Executive Producer of a short film platform called The Smovies that encourages emerging filmmakers and has held advisory and consultancy roles as board member to AmCham Abu Dhabi, the Women in Business Committee, the Emirates Foundation in the areas of social entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility, and to the UAE Higher Colleges of Technology. Bagersh started her career in journalism where she later became Bureau Chief of Gulf News in Abu Dhabi, and later on moved to become Marketing Communications Director of Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company.

Shingai is the founder of Masawara Plc and Chief Executive Officer of Masawara Zimbabwe which is a proactive African Investment Company. The Masawara Group’s current focus is investing in Zimbabwe and the Southern African region in the following sectors: insurance and financial services, hotels, agro-chemicals, agriculture, technology and real estate. Shingai has been an entrepreneur for over 30 years and is passionate about Africa. In line with this, he encourages Africans to invest and do business in Africa and participate in programs that advocate for the development of Africa and Zimbabwe’s future. Shingai is married to Karen and they have three children Tinashe, Itai and Mudiwa.

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.

Dr. Susan Mboya leads the Navigators Global International Practice. She previously served as the President of the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation and as the Group Director for Women’s Economic Empowerment for Coca-Cola Eurasia and Africa. She has a substantial background in international politics, including the development and implementation of successful political campaigns in Africa.

Dr. Mboya has also served in an advisory role to high-level government officials, NGOs, C-Suite executives, and local economic and political leaders. She has led numerous multinational sustainability and philanthropic initiatives, including her work with Coca-Cola’s Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN), which has provided access to clean water and sanitation to over 3 million beneficiaries. Additionally, Dr. Mboya specializes in programs that promote entrepreneurship, mentorship, and education to women and young people. She is the founder of the Zawadi Africa Educational Fund, which provides scholarships and leadership training to African girls, and is a member of the African Leadership Network.

Dr. Mboya received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Connecticut and a Master’s and Doctorate agree in Industrial Pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy.

Sydney Domoraud is a dual qualified lawyer, Attorney at Law at the Paris Bar and Licensed Legal Counsel in Cote d’Ivoire. Sydney is a bilingual business lawyer with 12 years of experience in France, UK and Côte d’Ivoire, where he moved back in 2014. After over a decade of practice in international law firms, Sydney Domoraud co-founded EMIRE Partners, a Licensed Legal Counsel Firm based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Sydney’s practice focuses on finance law and corporate law covering various sectors such as energy, mining, infrastructure and real estate – EMIRE. He advises both lenders, borrowers, investment funds and governments.

Tara O’Connor is Founder and Managing Director of Africa Risk Consulting (ARC), a risk consulting firm, and ARC Briefing, an Africa-focused country risk information service. Tara brings 25 years of global risk management. Since 2006, ARC’s team of pan-African experts has carried out over 2,000 projects on 40 African countries providing integrity due diligence, political assessments, market intelligence and anti-bribery and corruption consulting.

Over the past five years Tara has developed the ARC Briefing service to report on 21 of the continent’s main markets. Since September 2018, ARC Briefing’s archive reports have been available on LexisNexis. Tara has spent her career supporting investment across Africa and enabling companies to operate with integrity. It is ARC’s core belief that greater investment is the main accelerator for political, economic and social change that is transforming the continent and the lives of people on the continent. A child of Zambia, Tara is an Africa-optimist!

Tariq Bin Hendi is currently an Executive Vice President and the Head of Wealth Products & Advisory at Emirates NBD Group, having previously served as the CEO of Emirates NBD Asset Management. He has almost two decades of experience, primarily focused on asset management, private equity and investment banking. Prior to his current role, Tariq held various roles at Commercial Bank of Dubai, Mubadala, Citigroup, Dubai Holding, Delta Airlines and UPS. He is currently a board member of the publicly listed entities ENBD REIT (NASDAQ) and AXA Green Crescent (ADX), having previously served on the Board of Aramex. He holds a PhD in Economics from Imperial College London (UK) as well as MBA and bachelor degrees from Columbia University (USA), London Business School (UK), Clayton State University (USA) and is a YPO member.

Timothy Masembe is the Managing Partner of MMAKS Advocates and the head of the firm’s Litigation Department. His practice focuses mainly on commercial litigation and arbitration, as well as corporate and commercial law. He is a Barrister-at-Law and a Member of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, UK. He holds an LLB (Hons.) degree, was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1992, and holds a diploma in Legal Practice of the Law Development Centre in Uganda.

Timothy is one of the leading litigators in Uganda, and has appeared in many ground breaking cases involving banks. He was recently granted a special license to appear in the courts of Tanzania. He has also been consistently ranked as a Band 1 commercial lawyer by Chambers Global. He is an external lead counsel for the Bank of Uganda and has thus been at the centre of the reconstruction and improvement of Uganda’s entire banking sector.

Dr. Tom Marshall currently holds the position of Chief Operating Officer, Africa Division, in Surbana Jurong. He is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He holds an Engineering Doctorate from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa and is a registered professional engineer. Tom has 39 years’ experience in multi-disciplinary engineering in Africa and is currently responsible for all SMEC and SJ Operations on the African Continent. Tom served as Advocacy Director at the Australia Business Chamber of Commerce (Southern Africa) and is also a Board Member for the Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Southern Africa.

Vijay Gidoomal is the Group Managing Director of Car & General, a leading supplier of a wide range of power generation, automotive and engineering products in East Africa with regional representation in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Seychelles, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. In 2017, Car & General entered into a joint venture with Cummins and entered the Fintech business through the acquisition of a stake in Watu Credit. This year, Car & General will launch a vocational training institution in partnership with NIIT from India. Mr Gidoomal serves on various boards, including the Young Presidents Association, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Securex Ltd, Equity Group Holdings, Cannon Assurance, among others. Mr. Gidoomal holds a law degree and practiced at Clifford Chance in the UK.

Willy Ireri is part of the Energy Financial Services at General Electric Capital, the GE capital arm that is responsible for investing and securing finance for GE’s Energy projects. In his role, Willy is involved in the structuring and underwriting for GE investments and arranging financing from the Capital Markets with a focus on the Power and Renewables sectors.

Willy joined GE in 2012 and has held various roles supporting GE industrial customers with financing across renewables, power, oil & gas, healthcare, rail transportation and aviation. Prior to joining GE, Willy worked in the banking and consulting sectors in a number of countries and previously held roles with Barclays in London and Dubai, PwC in China and Citibank in Switzerland. Willy holds an MBA from the London Business School and has Bachelors in Quantity Surveying from the University of Nairobi. He is a Chartered Internal Auditor from the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).