Speaker Group: Business Leader

Howard Montagu is a qualified Chartered Accountant, with over 25 years’ experience gained in the fiduciary services, share registration, share plans, loan servicing, treasury management and IT industries across Europe. Howard Montagu has extensive experience acting in the roles of Finance Director, Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director and Regional Managing Director.

Engineer by trade, Thierry Vallet brings 20 years of experience to the Banking and Finance Industry since he is specialized in International Finance during his MBA at the prestigious School HEC. Thierry Vallet joined AfrAsia Bank as Founding Executive and Head of Strategic Development in 2007 and has been instrumental in shaping the Bank from… Read more »

Nkem Onwuamaegbu is Africa Regional Head for the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of the World Bank Group. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, Nkem Onwuamaegbu’s mandate is to expand MIGA’s business opportunities across all sectors in line with MIGA’s commitment to climate, low income and fragile and post-conflict… Read more »

I’m a founder and principal of Mekdes Mezgebu Law Office, a boutique law office that specializes in foreign investment, energy, infrastructure, project finance, PPPs and M& A in Ethiopia. I have vast experience practicing law in Ethiopia, working on several transactions involving large-scale foreign investment and private sector development of projects. In 2019, I was… Read more »

Dr. Tony Okpanachi is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Development Bank of Nigeria Plc. Mr. Tony Okpanachi is a seasoned banker with over 30 years’ experience. Before he was appointed Managing Director/CEO of the Bank, he was the Deputy Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria Limited, a position he held since April 2013. Before that,… Read more »

Margaret O’Connor chairs Launch Africa Ventures, the preeminent seed stage VC fund in African tech. The listed company governance and risk management experience she’s gained as a NED for Chrysalis Investments Ltd (LON:CHRY), a pre-IPO investment trust backing disruptive innovation in the UK and Europe and as a MasterCard International executive in Singapore and New… Read more »

Luz Leyva is the Portfolio Manager of REGMIFA, the Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa, a finance blended fund that is managed by Symbiotics. The Fund invests in financial intermediaries offering financial services to micro, small and medium enterprises and/or providing access to primary goods of low and middle-income households. The Fund has a… Read more »

Tsakani Kona’s areas of expertise relate to mergers and acquisitions, corporate structuring, restructuring and reorganisation, legal due diligence and general commercial transactions, with extensive experience in drafting and reviewing complex legal agreements on a wide-range of corporate and commercial transactions. Further to her legal expertise, Tsakani Kona has over eight years’ experience as a senior… Read more »

David Harper is the Head of Property Services for Hotel Partners Africa (HPA), advising on all aspects of hotel properties, including valuation, operator selection and acquisitions & disposals. HPA is the coming together of some of the most experienced consultants working in sub-Saharan Africa to provide a one-stop-shop for hoteliers and developers, and HPA have… Read more »

Preeti Gokulsing is the managing partner of John W Ffooks & Co’s Mauritius office. She graduated from King’s College University in London and qualified as a barrister in Mauritius. Preeti Gokulsing was previously Head of Legal for Barclays Bank (Mauritius) and Senior Counsel for Barclays’ regional team. She was responsible for the preparation of the… Read more »