Day 1
From strength to strength: Investing in Ethiopia’s growth prospects
The second most populous nation in Africa, Ethiopia looks set to see considerable economic growth over the coming years. Through
government implementation of its Growth & Transformation Project, the industrial sector alone is hoped to grow by 20%. We are joined by HE
Sufian Ahmed, the architect responsible for Ethiopia’s successful economic development since 1994, to discuss how the government plans for
the nation to reach lower-middle-income status by 2025.
HE Sufian Ahmed, Former Minister of Finance & Economic Development, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Separating fact from fiction: Geopolitical risk across Africa
Understand which countries on the continent should be on your radar for investment, and which require more careful scrutiny; get the latest
on policy reforms, presidential elections, and political unrest.
Dr. Robert Besseling, Executive Director, EXX AFRICA
DFI & bank collaboration: Pre-agreed templates Vs. Re-inventing the wheel
DFIs are often critical to doing business in the region, but are they too active in spaces where we might expect commercial banks to be more
dominant? Or are there enough investment opportunities for everyone to work together?
John Lentaigne, Chief Underwriting Officer, ATI
Henrique de Azevedo Avila, Senior Advisor to the Executive Director, BNDES
Antonio Sala, Executive Director, Global Agency & Export Finance, Grupo Santander
Paolo Munini, Head of Corporate Lending for Asia, Latin America, Africa, Caribbean and Pacific, European Investment Bank (EIB)
Moderator: Mark Norris, Partner, Sullivan & Worcester
Exporter & Borrower perspective: Requirements, regions
and future forecasts
Hear from leading exporters and borrowers/sponsors active on the continent on their current financing requirements. Which sectors are
providing the most opportunities, and which regions are they looking to next?
Ed Harkins, Managing Director, GKB Ventures Ltd
Ángela Pérez, Head of Finance, Elecnor
Tassadit Hanaizi, Regional Head of Export & Trade Finance Eastern Europe, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank
Birgitta Lindström Kruk, Senior Manager Export & Project Finance, Scania
Mining, metals and… missed opportunities?
With many commodity prices stabilising or indeed on the rise, new flows of investment entering the sector, and Africa's stronghold in
some key metals production, who is poised to capitalise on this? Which markets are ripe for investment? Or can we look at
lost opportunities in some countries?
Angelica Adamski, Director and Senior Advisor to the CEO, Eltel Networks
Pushpender Singla, CFO, Vedanta Zinc International
Moderator: Tina Nduta, Founder, East Africa Extractives Network
ECAs and PRIs: Cover policies compared
Hear from leading ECAs and private insurers in the market, who have similarly increased their cover policies in African markets, and learn where they are
looking to next.
Kutoane Kutoane, CEO, ECIC
Karl-Oskar Olming, Head of CSR and International Relations, EKN
Jens Heitmann, Head of Division - International Relations, Euler Hermes
Michael Creighton, Head: Export Credit Finance, Nedbank
Agribusiness: Harvesting growth
Agribusiness looks to be a very promising sector, accounting for 25% of Africa's GDP. however with an ever increasing population,
how can we continue to support growth in this sector productively?
Sunesh Bhoola, Co-founder and CEO, uLima Limited
Atsuko Toda, Director for Agriculture Finance and Rural Development, African Development Bank (AfDB)
Dinesh Sharma, VP & Regional CFO, South & East Africa, Olam International
Mary Joseph, Director of Partnerships and External Relations, FarmDrive
Leah Kasera, Country Management East and Southern Africa, Grow Africa
Leveraging the promise of China’s Belt and Road initiative
Chinese investment in Africa remains resilient, the key to this is the Belt and Road initiative, which is stepping up a gear with projects
estimated to be worth $350bn over the next five years.
Hanting Li, Representative, South Africa Office, Sinosure
Trends in Asian investment appetite across Africa
Asian investment still remains significant on the continent, with a bigger risk appetite and much lower limites, this panel explores how
Asian ECA and development backed lending is transforming Africa and how exporters are competing with their Western
counterparts in cost and technology.
Yoshinori Utaka, CEO - Middle East & Africa Projects, Mitsui & Co
Bruce Gau, Director - Sales Financing Solutions, Huawei
Flavour of the continent: Ethiopia’s growth prospects
Ethiopia is currently on the international communities’ radar as a nation with huge potential and opportunity, but so far financing is largely coming from
DFIs - how can other financiers succesfully tap into this?
Kyriakos Armenakis, Principal, Coskal Ethiopia
Mekuria Lemma, Head of Strategy and Investment, Ethiopian Electric Power
Abebe Tadessse, Deputy Director General; PPP Directorate General, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Case study: Mozambique’s rising energy
The energy sector in Mozambique continues to attract substantial international investors' interest and project financing despite the loan scandal of 2016 which
has shaken Maputo. At the end of 2017, the country closed a $4.7bn, multi-sourced ECA backed facility, financed by a combination of 18 international
banks and 5 ECAs. We are joined by those who worked on the dealto examine the elements that led to a successful financial close.
Emilie Fontanel, Legal Counsel, Bpifrance
Anne Crepin, Deputy Head of Export Credit, SFIL
Private equity: The shapeshifters of the finance industry?
Is the growth in alternative financing due to traditional commercial banks not being ambitious enough, often hampered by regulation, or do they offer a genuinely
more attractive and flexible proposition? What impact will any interest rises in the financial markets have on their enthusiasm for export and project finance
assets? We examine who these alternative players are and what they can offer to the African market.
Cynthia Omondi, Head of Corporate Finance, Genghis Capital Ltd
Electrifying Africa: Can the market meet the need?
There are still around 600 million people living in Africa without access to electricity, presenting a huge opportunity for power investment. this panel asks how governments,
project sponsors, investors and developers plan to take this sector forward? What are the innovations to tackle transmission challenges?
Erik Granskog, Managing Director, Deal Execution Leader Sub-Saharan Africa, GE EFS Global Markets
Agnés Tauty-Giraldy, Head of Export Finance - Europe Africa & Structured Trade Finance, Société Générale
Moderator: Koen Ceyssens, Senior Vice President Export Finance Middle East & Africa, BNP Paribas
Day 2
Going green and getting off the ground: renewables financing
DFIs and commercial banks are investing in the renewables sector, the funds and the appetite are available, but are we seeing enough projects
materialising to reflect this? What is holding up large-scale developments in renewables?
Johan Van Kerrebroeck, Regional Manager Eastern Africa, Engie
Snehar Shah, General Manager, East Africa, Azuri Technologies
Jasandra Nyker, Chief Executive Officer, BioTherm
Tony Nyagah, CEO, Strauss Energy
Investing in West Africa: Looking beyond Nigeria’s mega oil and gas projects
With its huge pool of natural resources, Nigeria has attracted the attention of many international investors. We investigate the exciting
opportunities arising from the West African nation including, amongst others, mega projects coming on-stream both upstream and
downstream, and the potentials surrounding the Dangote refinery, petrochemicals and fertiliser complex.
Dr Layi Fatona, Managing Director, NG Delta
Dr Robert Besselling, Executive Director, EXX Africa
Mansur Ahmed, Director - Corporate Communications, Dangote Group
Moderator: Victor Eromosele, Chairman & CEO, ME Consulting Limited
Going local - the drive for African ownership
African countries are striving for inclusive development, however scarcity of government resources has led countries to impose localization requirements on
foreign investments. Whilst they initially proved popular, these requirements are not having the desired effects.
Joseph Mbuyi, Director, KfW IPEX Bank
Rob Withagen, Co-founder and Managing Director, Asoko Insight
Rail, roads, and regional development
Transportation infrastructure is essential for the development on theb continent and trade between nations. We assess where the new projects are taking place, where there
is a vital need, and who are currently the most active players in this market?
Paul Sullivan, Senior Vice President – International, Acrow Bridge
Water you waiting for? Overcoming obstacles to financing African water and sanitation projects
Countries are trying to extend the water, sanitation and healthcare services that they provide to their populations, but are these projects bankable?
Oscar Kang’Oro, Non-Executive Director, Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund
André Kruger, Head, Africa Investment and Integration Desk, NEPAD Business Foundation
William Mboya, Water Services Management Specialist, Africa Water Watch Ltd