Runa has 29 years of investment banking, emerging market entrepreneurship and private equity experience. Before founding Development Partners International in 2007, Runa was CEO of KZAM, a joint venture between Zephyr Management of New York and Kingdom Holding Company, which managed PAIP-PCAP, sponsored by the International Finance Corporation and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

René has worked in Pan-African banking for over 20 years. He recently joined the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), as Director, Client Relations in 2016. In his role, he leads the design and implementation of Afreximbank’s client-focused business strategies, including managing the delivery of all Bank products to the clientele and managing the operation of Afreximbank branch offices.

Frank N. J. Braeken specialises in finance and in general management. From 1996 to 2013, he held various management functions in different countries for Unilever, including a position as President of Unilever China (Shanghai), President of ­Unilever Namca (Dubai), and President of Unilever Africa (Dubai / Durban). Subsequent to leaving Unilever, Frank N. J. Braeken has acted as investment advisor and investor for large scale agro and food enterprises on the African continent. He is also a non-executive board member of Buhler, the Swiss engineering group, Marie Stopes International. In 2016 he was elected Chairman of the Board of Feronia Inc, a Toronto listed palm oil producer on the African continent.

Kari Gahiga is an entrepreneur, investor and a senior executive in asset management, mining and technology. He is currently Chairman of ROKA mining, vice chairman MobiCash holding Ltd (Hong Kong) and partner of Sallfort partners.

Paul Hinks is the Chairman of our affiliated company Invest Africa US as well as a board member and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Symbion Power, LLC.

As the driving force behind Symbion, he has spent his life in the power industry where he has been responsible for the construction of power plants, transmission lines and substations. His career spans 30 years and in that period, he has worked in the USA, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Among her many professional roles, Koosum has worked as Chief Economist at Shell Southern Africa, General Manager of Corporate/Downstream, and then as Shell’s Senior Business Development Executive for Oil & Gas Exploration in Africa responsible for new country entry to Libya, Angola, Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Chad and Mozambique.

Dr Carlos Lopes is Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town, Visiting Professor or Science Po Paris, Visiting Fellow at Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford and Associate Fellow of Chatham House. He is a member of a dozen Boards, including the African Climate Foundation that he Chairs. He served the United Nations in several prominent roles, the latest being the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, based in Addis Ababa (2012-2016). He has designated more than 20 times in the Most Influential Africans lists of Pan-African main media outlets.

Zemedeneh is widely recognised as one of Africa’s top business leaders and has received numerous global awards and recognitions.

An American of Ethiopian origin, Zemedeneh has worked in the U.S., Brazil, Argentina, the Middle East and throughout Africa. He has advised Wall Street investment banks, Governments, Sovereign Wealth Funds and multinational corporations in various sectors including financial services, airlines and consumer products. His high profile clients have included Diageo, British American Tobacco (BAT), Blackstone (the American private equity firm) and Ethiopian Airlines.

Rob Hersov is a South African entrepreneur, senior executive and private investor based in Cape Town. He serves as Chairman of Invest Africa, Chairman of African Capital Investments, deputy Chairman of VistaJet, Chairman of Adoreum Partners, and Chairman of AON South Africa. In 2013, Rob saw an opportunity to create a platform for the growing number of individuals becoming involved in pan-African investments and founded Invest Africa.

Patricia Zoundi Yao first learned about entrepreneurship from her mother, who worked in the informal sector. After obtaining a Master’s degree in Business Law, she set out to help rural populations gain more access to financial services.

Emmanuel is an Economist on the Africa Research team at Standard Chartered, based in London. He is responsible for providing macroeconomic coverage on key markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on Francophone Africa, Botswana, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.

Charlie Cox is a senior associate in our sub-Saharan Africa team. Over the past four years Charlie has specialised in advising multinationals on their risk management and communications strategies in numerous African markets, with a focus on Francophone Africa.

Douty Fadiga is the Deals Coordinator for Francophone Africa. He is moreover the Assurance and Advisory Leader of PwC Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad and Central African Republic.

Kojo Boakye is Facebook’s Director of Public Policy for Africa. He’s an experienced ICT for Development Practitioner, with 15+ years’ experience working with governments.

Hannah Gilkes leads Risk Advisory’s Business Intelligence and Investigations Africa practice, managing the company’s investigations across the continent.

Farha began her professional career in the investment banking industry in London for top tier banks, HSBC and Barclays, where she ran the Corporate e-FX Sales business for many years. She is now an independent Business Development Consultant, focusing on connecting investors and entrepreneurs with identified investment opportunities and strategic business partnerships, across UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa and in providing business development consultancy services.

Wayne Hennessy-Barrett is Founder and CEO of 4G Capital, an award-winning African fintech delivering microloans and enterprise training to power MSME growth.

Titi Odunfa Adeoye is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Sankore, an investment firm that offers investment strategy, products, advice and technology to individuals and institutions.

Eran Feinstein is the CEO and co-founder of DPO Group, a leading African payment service provider (PSP) operating in 19 countries across the continent. DPO has developed the technology to enable over 100,000 businesses to securely make and receive payments online with all currencies and payment methods.