Event contact: Eivind Fjeldstad
As previous years, we will start the NABA year by looking into the future: what will happen on the continent in 2021?
This webinar is co-hosted with Norfund.
Speakers:
H.E. Wamkele Mene
Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat
Wamkele Mene was elected by the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of States & Government of the African Union, to the position of Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.
Prior to being elected Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, he served as Chief Director: Africa Economic Relations, at the Department of Trade & Industry of South Africa. In this role, he was South Africa’s chief trade negotiator in the AfCFTA and Tripartite FTA negotiations. During his tenure as chief negotiator, South Africa ratified both the AfCFTA and Tripartite FTAs agreements, providing new export markets in fast growing and dynamic markets in East and West Africa.
Prior to assuming this position, Wamkele was Director: International Trade Law & Investment Law at the Department of Trade & Industry, a role in which he was principal legal counsel on international trade law and international investment law.
From 2010 until 2015, Wamkele represented South Africa at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland. During his posting to the WTO, Wamkele was elected by over 130 governments to the position of Chairman of the Committee on International Trade in Financial Services, a committee comprising trade negotiators, financial regulators and financial policy makers from over 160 countries.
Prior to joining the government, Wamkele worked for the law firms Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in London and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP in Hong Kong.
Wamkele has written and lectured internationally on international trade law, international investment law and international business law. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Law) degree from Rhodes University in South Africa, a Master of Arts in International Studies & Diplomacy (with specialization in International Economics) from the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London and a LL.M. (Master of Laws) in Banking Law & Financial Regulation from the Law Department of the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE).
Dr. Jackie Chimhanzi
CEO of the African Leadership Institute
Jackie Chimhanzi is the CEO of the African Leadership Institute which works with Oxford University to develop a new generation of African leaders. She is a seasoned strategist with some 20 years’ experience in strategy – as both an academic and a practitioner. She was, previously, the Senior Strategist of the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) and played a key role in a major strategic review exercise that sought to enhance the Corporation’s impact by redefining how and where it invests. Before that, as a Strategy Lead at Deloitte Consulting, she led project teams on diverse client engagements, interrogating and informing the strategies of major entities in the power, oil and gas, steel, and brewery industries. Whilst at Deloitte, she was instrumental in setting up the Deloitte Africa Desk and advised clients on accessing opportunities on the African continent. Prior to Deloitte, she worked with branding agencies, Added Value, and HKLM.
She was recognized by Forbes Africa magazine as one of the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa in 2012 – women under 45 shaping the narrative of Africa’s rising. She is a keen Africa-watcher and has authored several Africa-focused thought leadership pieces. She has spoken/chaired panel discussions at eminent Africa-focused fora convened by the African Development Bank, the World Economic Forum Africa, the Rockefeller Foundation, AGRA, Brand Africa, and the New York Forum on Africa. She has also addressed the European Parliament on trade and economic development in Africa.
She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Africa Regional Strategy Group and is an independent non-executive board member of the JSE-listed ADvTECH Group – Africa’s largest private education provider – and sits on the Audit, Nomination and Risk committees. She also serves as an independent non-executive board member of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, is a member of the Remuneration Committee, and as Chair of the Social & Ethics Committee. She is a member of ONE’s Africa Policy Advisory Board (https://www.one.org/us/about/leadership/) and serves on the International Board of Trustees of AFS, headquartered in New York.
She holds a BSc (Hons), MBA (with Distinction) and a Ph.D. (Strategic Marketing) - all from Cardiff Business School, UK. As an academic, she lectured Marketing as well as Strategy and authored and co-authored papers in peer-reviewed leading academic journals such as the European Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Marketing Management (UK), the Journal of Business Research (US) and presented her work at various international fora. Her Ph.D. research focused on enhancing companies’ capabilities in executing their marketing strategies.
Dr. Aloysius Uche Ordu
Director, Africa Growth Initiative, Brookings Institution
Aloysius Uche Ordu is a senior fellow and director of the Africa Growth Initiative in the Global Economy and Development program. Prior to taking up his appointment at Brookings, he was managing partner at Omapu Associates LLC, a boutique advisory services and consulting firm.
Ordu was previously vice president at the African Development Bank. Before his appointment as vice president, he was regional director for Eastern Africa (covering Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, and Uganda).
He worked at the World Bank for over 22 years and served in various leadership and managerial capacities, including director of operations policy and country services; operations director for the Latin America and the Caribbean region; country manager (Manila, Philippines); manager, development effectiveness, Middle East and North Africa region; and manager, Young Professionals Program—the World Bank Group’s source of talent. He led the design of investment projects in diverse sectors, including urban water and sanitation, agriculture, irrigation and rural development, energy, and transport infrastructure.
Prior to joining the World Bank Group, Ordu worked as an international economist at the Midland Bank Group, London, covering emerging markets. Before that he worked at The Economist Intelligence Unit, London, covering sovereign risks.
Ordu is a member of the board of directors of the Partnership for Transparency Fund, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Accra-based African Center for Economic Transformation. He served as senior consultant to the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Environmental Program, the African Development Bank, and the World Bank.
His research interests include trade theory and policy, regional economic integration, public health economics, governance, infrastructure, development policy, Asia-Africa economic relations and resource economics. He has published numerous commentaries on African affairs through the Brookings Africa in Focus blog and through the Nairobi-based East African Newspaper.
Ordu holds a Ph.D. in economics from Sussex University, M.Sc. in quantitative economics from Bristol University, and B.Sc. in economics and law from University College, Cardiff, Wales, U.K.
Ms. Jean Devlin
Partner, Control Risks
Jean manages Control Risks’ client engagement and business development in the United Kingdom and Ireland. She coordinates across Control Risks’ dedicated account management function and subject matter experts, to ensure solutions are best aligned to clients’ needs in the market. She is responsible for managing client relationships, business development and managing consulting engagements for a range of clients.
She has extensive experience advising clients on investment decisions, ethics and compliance issues, operational analysis and complex problem solving. She has particular expertise in the field of business and human rights, including investment in post-conflict environments, as well as in extractives, power and infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.
Examples of project experience:
Leading or overseeing upwards of 100 market entry assessments for clients across EMEA in the past five years.
Providing ongoing analysis on geopolitical risk to a major international bank.
Developing strategic risk scenarios of changing political, social and regulatory attitudes to a leading UK-based institution.
Methodology assessment and development of responsible sourcing strategy for EU-headquartered manufacturing multinational.
Numerous engagements advising clients on security and human rights risk management.
Jean has regional expertise in sub-Saharan Africa developed over ten years and is a regular media commentator and public speaker on business implications of political and security dynamics on the continent. Prior to joining Control Risks, Jean worked at the UN as part of the Young Professionals’ Programme of the UN Industrial Development Organization, where her work focused on developing innovative financing mechanisms for agribusiness in sub-Saharan Africa, with frequent travel to the region. She previously worked as part of the UN advocacy team of International Crisis Group in New York and in the Financial Institutions Group of Goldman Sachs in London, covering banking, insurance and private-equity clients.
Jean holds a Master of Philosophy in International Relations from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from Trinity College Dublin, both first-class. She holds a certificate in risk management from the Institute of Risk Management. She has lived and studied in Paris and Vienna and has travelled widely in Africa. She has authored and contributed to several peer-reviewed publications on topics in development finance. In addition to her native English, Jean speaks Irish and proficient French.
Mr. Lanre Akinola
Editor, Nurmara
Lanre Akinola is the Editor of Nurmura, focused on analysis of the policy and the business environment across the African continent. He was previously the editor of African Business and This is Africa, a Financial Times Ltd publication focused on analysis of the policy and business environment. Akinola has worked with the World Economic Forum, Rockefeller Foundation, OECD, Bloomberg TV and BBC. Akinola is a member of the NABA Advisory Board.
Mr. Tellef Thorleifsson
CEO, Norfund
Mr. Tellef Thorleifsson is the CEO of Norfund. He co-founded Northzone in 1996, and has over the years invested in companies such as Spotify and Kahoot. Prior to Northzone, Mr. Thorleifsson took part in the founding of Western Bulk Shipping, a global shipping company, which he then took public as a CFO. Before this, he held the position as board secretary of I.M. Skaugen. Mr. Thorleifsson also a co-founder of The Voxtra Foundation, which is making targeted investments and grants in developing countries.