Speakers
H.E. Honorable Raila Odinga is a Kenyan businessman and politician who served as prime minister of Kenya (2008–13) following the contentious presidential election of December 2007.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, appointed Honourable Raila Odinga of Kenya as High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa on 20 October 2018. This decision is part of the African Union’s drive to expedite the integration of the continent through infrastructure, in order to promote economic growth and sustainable development.
As High Representative for Infrastructure, Hon. Odinga will work to support and strengthen the efforts of the Commission’s relevant Departments and those of the NEPAD Agency, within the framework of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), which was endorsed by the Assembly of the Union in January 2012. In this respect, his mandate includes mobilising further political support and development assistance from Member States and Regional Economic Communities, as well as facilitating greater ownership by all concerned stakeholders on the continent. He will also support the NEPAD Agency initiatives to encourage increased commitment from development partners.Oulimata Sarr is current Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation of Senegal. From 2019 to 2022, she served as Regional Director for UN Women, the United Nations entity mandated for gender equality and empowerment of women, in 24 countries in West and Central Africa.
Hon Ken Ofori-Atta, assumed office as Ghana’s Finance Minister on January 27, 2017. He brings to the Ministry over 30 years’ experience in Ghanaian and international financial sector.
He was a Co-Founder and former Chairman of the Databank Group (an investment banking firm) in Ghana. He was the Executive Chairman from 1990 until his retirement on February 14, 2012.
Prior to co-founding Databank in 1990, the Hon Minister was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and Salomon Brothers on Wall Street in New York. He has other business interests in Insurance, Retail Banking, Private Equity, Micro finance, Pharmaceuticals and Real Estate.
Hon. Ofori-Atta was the first African to be honoured as a Donaldson Fellow at Yale University in 2010, a John Jay Fellow at Columbia University in 2011 and also a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. He is a Co-Founder of the Aspen African Leadership Initiative.
He was also the first African to testify at the US Congress Ways and Means Committee to support the AGOA law. He was twice honoured by PriceWaterHouse Ghana as one of the Top 5 Most Respected CEOs in Ghana.
He went to Achimota School in Accra, Ghana; received a BA in Economics from Columbia University in New York and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.
Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki of the Republic of Niger is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).
A former Prime Minister of Niger, from 1997 to 2000, Dr. Mayaki has a Master’s Degree from the National School of Public Administration (Enap), Quebec, Canada and a PhD in Administrative Sciences from University of Paris I, France. He worked as a Professor of Public Administration in Niger and Venezuela. Between 1996 and 1997 he was successively appointed Minister in charge of the African Integration and Cooperation and Minister of Foreign Affairs. In August 2000, he set up the Analysis Centre for Public Policy. From 2000 to 2004, Dr Mayaki was a guest Professor at the University of Paris XI, where he lectured on international relations and organizations; he also led research at the Research Centre on Europe and the Contemporary World within that University. In 2004, he served as Executive Director of the Platform in support of Rural Development in West and Central Africa, the Rural Hub, based in Dakar, Senegal, from where he was appointed NEPAD Chief Executive Officer in January 2009.Dr. Sidi Ould TAH is a Mauritanian national, born in "Mederdra" in 1964. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Nice-Sophia-Antipolis University and a D.E.A (Master degree) in Economics, from Paris VII University. He has a post-graduate degree in Economics and a B.A degree in Economics from “Nouakchott” University. Dr. Ould TAH has excellent command of Arabic, French and English languages.
Dr. Ould TAH participated in a number of training sessions conducted by top ranking academic institutions such as Harvard Institute for International Development (USA), London Business School (UK) and Swiss Finance Institute (Switzerland), in the field of Investment, Leadership, Asset Management and Financial Engineering.
He started his career as expert at the Mauritanian Bank for Development and Commerce (BMDC) (1984-1986), then as financial analyst at the Food Security Commission (1986). He held the position of Administration and Finance Manager of the Municipality of “Nouakchott” (1987). During the period 1988-1996, he was assigned the job of Advisor to the Director General and Director of Internal Auditing Department in “Nouakchott” Port Authority. He worked as Financial Analyst at the Khartoum-based Arab Authority for Agriculture, Investment and Development (AAAID) (1996-1999). During the period 1999-2006, Dr. OULD TAH served as Investment Promotion Officer then as Technical Assistant to the President of the Islamic Development Bank.
Dr. Sidi OULD TAH, held a number of other senior posts in his country; He held the position of advisor to both the President and the Prime Minister respectively (2006-2008). In July 2008, he has been nominated as Minister of Economy and Finance. Since August 2008, Dr. Ould TAH, held the position of Minister of Economic Affairs and Development till his appointment as Director General of BADEA.
In his Ministerial capacity, he headed the National Statistics Council. He represented his country in the IBRD Board of Governors as well as in other ten Regional and International Development Finance Institutions (IFC, MIGA IFAD, IsDB, DHMAN, ICIEC, ICD, ITFC, AfDB, AFESD, AAAID, ACBF). He also chaired the 37th BADEA’s Board of Governors Meeting (Marrakech, April 2012), and the 93rd session of the Economic and Social Council of the League of Arab States (2014). He also chaired the Council of Ministers of the G5-Sahel during 2014-2015.Dr. Peter Mathuki is the Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC). He serves as the Principal Executive Officer of the Community and also as the Secretary to the Summit of the EAC Heads of State. He coordinates the EAC Council of Ministers meetings and also oversees all the Institutions of the EAC.
Dr. Mathuki is an ardent champion of the EAC regional integration. Since his assumption to office, he has provided strategic leadership and facilitation for new dimensions in the EAC Secretariat; through deepening and the expansion of the Community, with the recent admission of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and pursuing peace and security efforts in some troubled parts of the region.
He served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the East African Business Council (EABC), (2018-2021). He was instrumental in driving and articulating the Private Sector priorities in EAC decision-making processes. Herein, he spearheaded many regional, continental and international high-level public-private dialogues which resulted in the resolution of bottlenecks hindering the growth of intra-EAC trade and investment.
Dr. Mathuki served as a Member of Parliament of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), (2012-2017) where he chaired the EALA Committee responsible for Good Governance, and served in the Committees of Accounts and Trade & Investment.
He worked at the European Union (EU) programs for Africa based in Asmara, Eritrea (2010-2012) and prior to that, he served as Director in charge of International Labour Standards (ILO) at the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU-Africa now ITUC-Africa) (2004-2008).
Dr. Mathuki has actively played a pivotal role in overseeing the coming into effect of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and championed the formation of the African Business Council, in a bid to reposition the EAC bloc to reap the benefits availed by the continental market. He was also instrumental in creating several regional platforms critical in the negotiation of the EAC Common Market Protocol and Regional economic issues since 2004 such as the East African Employers Association (EAEA) and the East African Trade Union Confederation (EATUC).
He sits on various boards across the region, including all boards of EAC Institutions. His career in global leadership has seen him establish strong global and private-sector networks including the diaspora community across the world.
Dr. Mathuki holds an MBA and PhD in Strategic Management & Regional Integration from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.A civil servant within the European institutions, he worked for more than ten years at the European Commission on major EU policies - internal market, research, agro-food and pharmaceutical/biotechnology industries, trade, energy and climate. He then became deputy head of unit for multilateral relations, covering the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
From 2010, he specializes, at the European External Action Service, in countries in political and economic transition and in the common European external security and defense policy. In 2012, in charge of the crisis response division, he worked for four years on the Arab spring, the conflicts in the Sahel, and the Syrian refugee crisis. Between 2016 and 2020, Jean-Marc Pisani heads the division responsible for the conduct of EU civilian operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. From 2020, he became head of division in the Africa department, in charge of the Horn of Africa and East Africa.
Of French and Maltese nationality, Jean-Marc Pisani is a lawyer by training. He is also a graduate of the Institute of Political Studies in Paris. Jean-Marc Pisani succeeds Ms Irène Mingasson, EU Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal from 2018 to 2022.Lionel Zinsou is an economist and former Prime Minister of the Republic of Benin. (2015-2016). Born in 1954, he holds a Beninese and a French citizenship.
From 2008 to 2015, he served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of PAI Partners, a French private equity firm with more than € 11 billion in assets under management.
Prior to joining PAI, Mr Zinsou worked for 11 years at Rothschild & Cie, where he was General Partner from 1997. In this capacity he served as Head of Global Consumer Goods and Head of Africa Middle East until 2008.
Previously, Mr Zinsou had worked at world leading food company Danone, which he joined in 1986 as Financial Controller. He then went on to serve as its Corporate Development Director, Head of Grocery UK-USA operations, CEO of the Grocery Division and Executive Committee member.
His professional career began in public service as an academic. As a graduate from the Ecole Normale Supérieure (Agrégation in Social Sciences and Economic History – 1978) the premier French institute for higher education and research, as well as of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences –Po) and the Paris IV and VII Universities. He worked as a Research Student at the London School of Economics. In 1978 he went on to work, first as Associate Professor and then as Lecturer in Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Paris XIII. He remained Director of the Centre for Social Sciences of the Ecole Normale Supérieure from 1983 to 1986.
During that time he also worked as a consultant to the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. In addition, he was involved in two long-term missions for the French Government, first as a researcher in the “Research and Prospective” division within the Ministry of Industry (1980-1984) and then as a member of the office of Prime Minister Laurent Fabius (1983-1986).
Mr Zinsou is currently on the board of several companies including the PAI supervisory Board (Vice-chair), the Danone group Board of Directors and the Americana Board (UAE).
He is also actively involved in community work, serving as President of the Foundation de l’École Normale Supérieure, of the Foundation Terra Nova and of the Société des Amis du Musée Branly-Jacques Chirac, as well as Director of the Ashinaga Foundation (Tokyo), the Foundation Sanofi, and the Foundation Zinsou, the latter of which he also founded.Birgit Pickel is Director-General for Africa in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). She has more than 20 years of experience in development policy and cooperation, including 11 years in management positions. Her regional focus is on West‐ and Southern Africa, thematic focus is on global health, governance, and sustainable economic development, including skills development, civil society, civic engagement, and international volunteering. Mrs. Pickel has lived and worked in the USA, South Africa, Zambia, and Yemen, and short‐term missions to Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Cameroon, and Bangladesh. She holds an MA in Political Science and a postgraduate certificate in Development Studies.
Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir has been the Director of OECD Development Centre since 16 August 2021.
Ms. Árnadóttir served as Minister of Industry and Commerce in Iceland from 2013-2017 and was an elected Member of Parliament for the Independence Party from 2007-2016.
Before being elected to Parliament, she was successively a political advisor to the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister. She also worked for the Trade Council of Iceland both in New York and in Reykjavík. A nonreside nt Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Centre, she was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Duty Free Iceland, and a member of the Board of Directors of Landsvirkjun (national power company).
Ms. Árnadóttir has a Master’s Degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Sciences from the University of Iceland. She attended the Georgetown Leadership Seminar in 2007, by invitation.Mike is the Head of Infrastructure Partnerships at the African Development Bank and also function as the advisor to the Vice President and Secretary General (Corporate Strategy). His insight at AfDB is to advise the Board on efficiency and effectiveness issues as well as providing operational, strategic support and advise the Board on institutional, shareholder, policy and strategic issues. Before joining the Bank, Mie worked as a corporate credit analyst at Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking.
Dr. Adzogenu is an accomplished investment facilitation, government affairs and international crisis management specialist for global investors and businesses across Africa, Europe and Asia. His global experience ranges from advising African Heads of State, Fortune 100 companies, G7 countries and African regional institutions, to helping resolve disputes over multi-billion-dollar concessions in war-threatened regions. Dr Adzogenu has been at the forefront of ground-breaking initiatives to promote the role of the African private sector in regional and continental integration In particular he is a cofounder and Executive Committee chair of the Afro Champions Initiative, a regional public private partnership organization. The mission of Afro Champions is to galvanize policy frameworks and innovative corporate alliances supporting the emergence and success of African private sector champions in the regional and global spheres. • Under his leadership, Afro Champions has signed a partnership agreement with the African Union Commission to serve as the AU’s lead private sector partner in the AfCFTA process. Jointly with the AU Department of Trade and Industry, Dr Adzogenu led a regional sensitization campaign co-organised with multiple business associations and chambers of trade and commerce in Senegal, Guinea, Ghana, Togo, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cote D’Ivoire.
He championed the landmark “Trillion Dollar Investment & Financing Framework in support of AfCFTA Implementation” and led a multi-country advocacy effort of AU leadership that resulted in the Framework being officially endorsed and adopted by African Heads of State in their Summit Decision at the February 2020 Summit in Addis Ababa. He is currently leading the Afro Champions team to operationalise the Framework which aims to facilitate one trillion dollars’ worth of investments into AfCFTA-accelerated cross border projects in Africa by 2030.
Dr Adzogenu is a member of the Afreximbank’s Advisory Council for the Intra-Africa Trade Fair, member of the Minerals Africa Development Institution (MADI) Advisory Council and the Policy Center for the New South.
He is also Chairman of the Board of the Djondo Fellowship, a pan-African business initiative, set up to facilitate cross- border expansions for African companies and groom the next generation of African multinational leaders. Dr Adzogenu is Co-Chairperson of the Task Force leading the Africa Covid 19 Response Fund, a joint initiative of the African Union, Africa CDC and Afro Champions to mobilize $400m for a coordinated Africa response to the Covid 19 pandemic. As co-founder of the Pan-African Fashion Initiative (PAFI) in collaboration with AFDB, TDB, Afreximbank, Africa 50 and the African Union, Edem Adzogenu has forged a network of champions from the Cotton, Textiles to Fashion Value Chains with the view to galvanizing policy and financing for Creative Industries and game-changing & mass job creating projects in Africa.
H.E. Dr Sidi OULD TAH, Director General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) Dr. Sidi Ould TAH is a Mauritanian national, born in "Mederdra" in 1964. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Nice-Sophia-Antipolis University and a D.E.A (Master degree) in Economics, from Paris VII University. He has a post-graduate degree in Economics and a B.A degree in Economics from “Nouakchott” University. Dr. Ould TAH has excellent command of Arabic, French and English languages.
Dr. Ould TAH participated in a number of training sessions conducted by top ranking academic institutions such as Harvard Institute for International Development (USA), London Business School (UK) and Swiss Finance Institute (Switzerland), in the field of Investment, Leadership, Asset Management and Financial Engineering.
He started his career as expert at the Mauritanian Bank for Development and Commerce (BMDC) (1984-1986), then as financial analyst at the Food Security Commission (1986). He held the position of Administration and Finance Manager of the Municipality of “Nouakchott” (1987). During the period 1988-1996, he was assigned the job of Advisor to the Director General and Director of Internal Auditing Department in “Nouakchott” Port Authority. He worked as Financial Analyst at the Khartoum-based Arab Authority for Agriculture, Investment and Development (AAAID) (1996-1999). During the period 1999-2006, Dr. OULD TAH served as Investment Promotion Officer then as Technical Assistant to the President of the Islamic Development Bank.
Dr. Sidi OULD TAH, held a number of other senior posts in his country; He held the position of advisor to both the President and the Prime Minister respectively (2006-2008). In July 2008, he has been nominated as Minister of Economy and Finance. Since August 2008, Dr. Ould TAH, held the position of Minister of Economic Affairs and Development till his appointment as Director General of BADEA.In his Ministerial capacity, he headed the National Statistics Council. He represented his country in the IBRD Board of Governors as well as in other ten Regional and International Development Finance Institutions (IFC, MIGA IFAD, IsDB, DHMAN, ICIEC, ICD, ITFC, AfDB, AFESD, AAAID, ACBF). He also chaired the 37th BADEA’s Board of Governors Meeting (Marrakech, April 2012), and the 93rd session of the Economic and Social Council of the League of Arab States (2014).
He also chaired the Council of Ministers of the G5-Sahel during 2014-2015.
Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir has been the Director of OECD Development Centre since 16 August 2021. Ms. Árnadóttir served as Minister of Industry and Commerce in Iceland from 2013-2017 and was an elected Member of Parliament for the Independence Party from 2007-2016.
Before being elected to Parliament, she was successively a political advisor to the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister. She also worked for the Trade Council of Iceland both in New York and in Reykjavík. A nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Centre, she was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Duty Free Iceland, and a member of the Board of Directors of Landsvirkjun (national power company).
Ms. Árnadóttir has a Master’s Degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Sciences from the University of Iceland. She attended the Georgetown Leadership Seminar in 2007, by invitation.
Christel Alvergne, a French national, joined UNCDF in 2008, and is now the Regional coordinator for West and central Africa.
She has worked for 20 years on local development and fiscal decentralization issues. In the 1990s, she worked for the agency of the French Prime Minister (DATAR) to develop innovative approaches to decentralization such as time management offices, local sport policies and innovative rural development plans.
She worked for the Municipal Development Programme for West Africa providing advice and guidance to local governments associations during the 90’s.
Christel holds a PhD in Economics (Geographical economics) and she is a Graduate in Political Science from the University of Aix-en-Provence (France). She has spent many years as a researcher and professor on Urban and Regional Planning in academic institutions throughout France, Canada, Senegal and Egypt.
Mr, Jules Ngankam as the new Group Chief Executive Officer of the African Guarantee Fund was appointed confirmed by AGF Board of Directors on 22nd September 2020. Mr. Ngankam’s appointment follows his recent nomination as acting Group CEO at the beginning of July 2020, when the founding CEO transitioned to Board Chairman.
Mr. Ngankam joined AGF in 2013 as the Chief Finance Officer after which he served as Deputy CEO since April 2017. He is a Cameroonian national and a graduate of ENSAE Paris in statistics and economics and of ESSEC Business School in Paris. He also holds a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Paris Dauphine in France.
His appointment comes at a time when lenders across the continent are in dire need of cushioning to support them as they lend to SMEs.
“I am grateful and humbled to take up in this position. AGF has succeeded over the years to make a difference in our continent’s economy by unlocking financing for SMEs, and I look forward to even greater results” he said.
AGF Board of Directors also approved the implementation of the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA). AFAWA is an initiative being undertaken jointly with the African Development Bank which aims to address all critical elements of the entrepreneurship ecosystem of women in business in Africa, in particular finance, to support their economic empowerment, reduce vulnerability, and unleash unused potential for more sustainable and equitable growth.
Speaking at the Board Meeting, the new chairman, Felix Bikpo congratulated Mr. Ngankam and wished him success in his new role. He also thanked the Board of Directors for the continued support to the Group citing AFAWA’s approval which will be a game-changer for African women entrepreneurs.
Dr Amany Asfour is a medical doctor and entrepreneur who has contributed immensely to the empowerment of women in business during her career. She is the president of the Egyptian Business Women Association.
She established the organisation in 1995 with an aim of promoting young women entrepreneurs and giving guidance to women business owners in the small and medium enterprises sector. The organisation also supports mainstream women in the global market.
Dr Asfour graduated from Cairo University’s Faculty of Medicine with a Master’s degree and MD in paediatrics. She joined the private sector while she was still a student, establishing a medical equipment company. She was a lecturer of paediatrics at the National Research Centre in Egypt. She is active in organisations in Africa, Asia and Europe.
Dr Asfour is the president of Egypt’s Business and Professional Women, the African Alliance for Women Empowerment and the Afro-Arab Network for Women Empowerment.
She is also the chairperson of the Human Resources, Sciences and Technology Cluster of the AU’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council.
Dr Danso is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Africa investor (Ai) Group, a pan-African infrastructure investment holding company for institutional investors. He also serves as the Chairman of the CFA New York Society Global Asset Owners’ Council, the Chairman of the African Sovereign Wealth & Pension Fund Leaders Forum, is the current Chair of The African Union Development Agency’s (AUDA) Continental Business Network (CBN) and is the Chair of the African Green Infrastructure Investment Bank Advisory Board (AfGIIB).
Dr Danso also serves on HRH The Prince of Wales Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) Advisory Council, the World Benchmarking Alliance Just Transition Advisory Group, and the UNDP High-Level Project Steering Committee, advising on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Investor Map. He was instrumental in establishing the African Union’s 5% Institutional Infrastructure Investment Agenda Initiative for Pension and Sovereign Wealth Fund infrastructure investors and is a member of the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre Just Transition investor group.
Mr. Danso a recognised institutional investment leader, was honoured with a special ‘Professional Doctoral Certificate in Global Leadership & Management’ from the European International University (EIU), a top-ranked European university in Paris.
Dr Danso holds an LLB in Business Law and an LLM Masters in International Commercial Law from the University of Sussex in England.
