Archives: Speakers

Laura Foschi is currently Deputy Director at ADA a Luxembourg non-governmental organization that promotes inclusive finance worldwide. She is also Senior Investment Manager and responsible for all investment services to Luxembourg Microfinance Development Fund (LMDF). Prior to this position she has been the general director of the microfinance investment vehicle Consorzio Etimos for 5 years…. Read more »

Jean, founding partner of Barak, manager to Africa’s largest structured commodity trade finance fund, has two decades of experience in building and managing commodity trading businesses at leading South African financial institutions. His tenure at Barak has seen steady growth in demand for such funding, yielding niche strategies, which has recently seen the AUM double… Read more »

Dan is the Executive Director of ISF Advisors at the Global Development Incubator and has a passion for bringing inclusive agriculture and supply chain financing solutions to market. Based in New York, Dan directs ISF’s portfolio of projects related to investment advisory, financial inclusion, and enterprise strategy in the rural finance sector. This includes managing… Read more »

Yemi Lalude is a Managing Partner at TPG based in London, where he leads TPG Growth’s investments in Africa and is a leader in emerging market investment activities in the TMT sector. Prior to joining TPG in 2015, Yemi was Founder and Managing Partner of Adlevo Capital, a technology-focused investment firm in Africa. Yemi holds… Read more »

Jyrki Koskelo;  Senior Advisor, professional Board Member and entreprenour, retired from a position of Global Vice President in IFC after a 20 plus year successful career.  He is most noted at IFC for his relentless drive for de-centralisation of activities to be located closer to clients, management and growth of financial markets activities, and large… Read more »

Nicholas is a Partner at Fincon Africa, a Professional Services firm that advises on Corporate Finance, Knowledge and Social Impact, with focus on African markets. He is responsible for the firm’s Debt and Knowledge portfolios. Prior to joining Fincon he delivered over 14 years of Commercial, Corporate and Private Banking impact, pioneering enterprise and risk… Read more »

Lord St John of Bletso is a Crossbench/Independent Member of the House of Lords. He was brought up in South Africa, where he qualified as a solicitor before completing his Masters in Shipping Law at London University. He worked for 15 years in the City with Merrill Lynch before becoming Managing director of Globix Europe,… Read more »

Joseph is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of Adventis, which is an Africa focussed investment firm. He is currently a portfolio manager of the Adventis Africa equity portfolios. He has twenty years of investment experience and previously managed the Africa public equity portfolios of Investec, Investec Investment Forum and the Investec Africa Macroeconomic Forum. Portfolio… Read more »

Graham is the Head of Strategy of Ethiopia Investments Limited. He is responsible for the Company’s performance on the ground and is actively involved in sourcing, executing and managing investments. Prior to running Ethiopia Investments Limited, he was an Investment Professional for Ascent Capital Africa, an $80m private equity fund focused on Eastern Africa. He… Read more »

A management accountant by profession I studied with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and have worked with small & medium enterprise in different capacities for over 20 years. I have worked in a wide variety of industries at different levels. This has helped me to develop the ability and confidence to communicate with individuals… Read more »