PIDA Week 2018 Speakers
Xiao Weiming is Director-General of Belt & Road Steering Committee of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). A lawyer by Education and Economist by profession, Mr. Xiao Weimin occupied senior government positions in a career that has spanned over 20 years in NDRC and its predecessor State Planning Commission (SPC).
Mr. Xiao Weimin has accumulated rich and diverse practical experiences as a decision maker in multiple important positions at the national level. He headed the divisions on policy and regulation in SPC, chaired the Strategic Planning Group on Western Region Development Office of the State Council and took charge of THE 21ST CENTURY MARITIME SILK ROAD INITIATIVE as Deputy Director-General of Western Region Development Department in NDRC.
As a holder of PhD in Law, he has been an influential academic by lecturing in International Conferences and publishing articles in leading periodicals. He has a great reputation as a policy-maker in China in a career that has placed a central focus on macro-economic policy-making, regional economic development and international cooperation under Belt and Road Initiative. As Director-General of Belt & Road Steering Committee of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), he is in charge of General Administration Group of Belt & Road Steering Committee and directly responsible to Mr. He Lifeng, the Chairman of National Development and Reform Commission for the discharge of his duties.
Carla Montesi is currently Director at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Development and Cooperation. She has been responsible for the Directorate “Planet and Prosperity” since September 2018.
Before that (2014-2018) she was Director for Western and Central Africa.
Prior to 2014, she was Director at the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Initially responsible for fisheries conservation, control and structural actions for the Mediterranean and Black Sea, she has piloted maritime policy as well as fisheries and funding for the Baltic Sea, North Sea and Landlocked Member States.
Formerly a lawyer in Italy who specialised in European affairs at the College of Europe in Bruges, Mrs Montesi’s earlier career encompassed diverse responsibilities in the field of EU external policy for development and cooperation both at Headquarters and in EU Delegations in Africa, as well as experience in the Cabinet of EU Commissioner Emma Bonino for External Policy and Humanitarian Affairs.
Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid is the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union Commission (AUC). She is in charge of sectors covering Energy, Transport, Tourism and ICT. Prior to joining the AUC, Dr. Abou-Zeid has served for more than 30 years in leadership roles at top-tier international organisations, such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), UNDP and USAID, with a focus on infrastructure and energy programmes.
Over her career, Dr. Abou-Zeid has amassed a rare mix of experience from across Africa, France, UK and Canada. She has managed large and complex development programmes, including the largest operations portfolio of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
An Egyptian national, Dr. Abou-Zeid speaks French, English, Arabic and Spanish. She is a trained telecommunications engineer with an MBA in project management from the French University for African Development (Université Senghor), a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Social and Economic Development from University of Manchester, UK. She also has a degree in Arts from Université Sorbonne-Paris IV.
Dr. Abou-Zeid has received numerous international awards and recognition for her leadership and excellence, including the medal of Wissam Alaouite de l’Ordre Officier from His Majesty King Mohamed VI of Morocco and being recognised as a World Young Leader by the European Union.
Symerre-Grey Johnson join NEPAD Agency in 2014 and since then he has held a number of senior positions. He is currently the Head of Regional Integration, Infrastructure and Trade. Prior to joining the NEPAD Agency, he worked for the German Development Agency (GIZ). His work focused on assisting African Institutions implement their mandates and was initially seconded to the African Forum for Utility Regulators (AFUR). Thereafter, he served as Technical Advisor under the GIZ programme to support the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI) and later worked as Component Manager under the GIZ programme to Support Pan-African Institutions (SPAI).
In his home country of The Gambia, he worked at Gambia Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA) as the Director in charge of Policy, Strategy and Consumer Affairs. Symerre holds a Bachelor’s degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax Canada and a Masters of Arts degree in International Economics from the University of Colorado, Denver USA.
Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki was professor of Public Administration and Management in Niger and Venezuela where he served during the periods 1978-1982 and 1985-1987. He also worked for ten years in the mining sector in Niger. From the period 2000 to 2004, Dr. Mayaki was Visiting Professor at the University of Parix XI where he taught international affairs and international organisations.
He also led researches at the Centre for Research on Europe and the Contemporary World in the same university. In January 1997, under the presidency of Ibrahim Bare Ma’inassara, Dr. Mayaki joined the cabinet as Minister in charge for African Integration and Cooperation, before holding the position of Foreign Minister.
He was appointed Prime Minister of the country in November 1997. He remained in charge until January 2000. As Prime Minister of Niger, Dr. Mayaki played a catalyst role in enhancing the social dialogue in the country. He initiated the creation of relevant technical committees in charge of the negotiations with social partners.
In 1998, Dr. Mayaki, with the collaboration of the International Confederation of Free Trade Union, organised a national forum on social dialogue, and lead necessary consultations and measures which resulted in the creation of the first ‘National Commission for social dialogue’ (Commission Nationale sur le Dialogue Social) in 2000. This commission was the first created in Africa.
In August 2000, he created the Public Policy Analysis Circle (Cercle d’analyse des politiques publiques), a think-tank focusing on health and education policy. In 2004, he became Executive Director of The Platform supporting rural development stakeholders in Western and Central Africa (The Rural Hub), located in Dakar in Senegal.
Since 2009, Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, is the CEO of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid is the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union Commission (AUC). She is in charge of sectors covering Energy, Transport, Tourism and ICT. Prior to joining the AUC, Dr. Abou-Zeid has served for more than 30 years in leadership roles at top-tier international organisations, such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), UNDP and USAID, with a focus on infrastructure and energy programmes.
Over her career, Dr. Abou-Zeid has amassed a rare mix of experience from across Africa, France, UK and Canada. She has managed large and complex development programmes, including the largest operations portfolio of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
An Egyptian national, Dr. Abou-Zeid speaks French, English, Arabic and Spanish. She is a trained telecommunications engineer with an MBA in project management from the French University for African Development (Université Senghor), a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Social and Economic Development from University of Manchester, UK. She also has a degree in Arts from Université Sorbonne-Paris IV.
Dr. Abou-Zeid has received numerous international awards and recognition for her leadership and excellence, including the medal of Wissam Alaouite de l’Ordre Officier from His Majesty King Mohamed VI of Morocco and being recognised as a World Young Leader by the European Union.
Moono Mupotola holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bennington College, Vermont, United States of America, and a Master of Philosophy degree from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. She also has post-graduate qualifications in Leadership from the Wharton Business School, United States of America, and in Strategic Management from Cranfield Business School, United Kingdom. She has over 20 years of in-depth experience in trade and regional integration across Africa. She joined the African Development Bank in 2009 as Division Manager, Regional Integration and Trade, and has provided strategic oversight and leadership for the Bank’s trade and regional integration agenda by supporting research, infrastructure projects, capacity-building programmes and the reform of regulations and policies.
Mupotola earlier worked as Regional Policy Consultant for the Food Agriculture Organization Regional Office in Zimbabwe between 2006 and 2009; Trade Specialist at the SADC Trade Hub in Botswana and Zimbabwe between 2002 and 2004; as a Development Consultant in Zimbabwe from 2004 to 2006; and as Division Head and Chief Agricultural Economist at the Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Planning and Policy in Namibia from 1997 to 2002.
Hubert Danso holds a LLB Business Law from London Guildhall and an LLM Int. Commercial Law from University of Sussex. Hubert is the CEO and vice chair of Africa Investor (Ai) Group. He discusses the challenges of heading an investment holding company that advises institutional investors, governments, and financial institutions on infrastructure investments in Africa. He relates his growing awareness of the critical need to attract international investment to Africa as stemming from his early experience working at the International Chamber of Commerce. He recounts his strategies for encouraging investment in different African countries, his relations with potentially powerful Chinese investors, and the essential role that private-sector investment has played in developing Africa’s infrastructure. He further discusses his efforts to build offices in Ghana and Nigeria, as well as in South Africa, in order to secure deep knowledge of these regional markets.
Professor Narnia Bohler-Muller holds the degrees of BJuris LLB LLM (UPE) LLD (UP). Previously she was Professor of Law at Vista University and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) before joining Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA) as research director of social sciences in February 2011. Currently she is Executive Director of the Democracy Governance and Service Delivery research programme at the Human Sciences Research Council and an adjunct Professor of the Nelson R Mandela School of Law at the University of Fort Hare.Prof. Bohler-Muller has over 100 peer reviewed journal publications and book chapters, and has co-edited five books. She is an admitted Advocate of the High Court of the Republic of South Africa and served as presiding officer for the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) in Port Elizabeth for 7 years.
Amongst others she has completed research consultancy work for the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on HIV/AIDS, human rights and access to justice; and the Institute for Child Witness Research and Training on gender-based violence. She has completed research fellowships at Griffith University’s law faculty in Brisbane, Australia; Birkbeck School of Law in London, UK; and the BRICS Policy Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Prof Bohler-Muller has represented South Africa in multilateral fora such as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and is leading the Blue Economy Core Group of IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association) appointed by the Minister of Higher Education and the Minister of International Relations respectively. Prof Bohler-Muller was recently appointed as a member of the SAHRC section 11 Commission on Water and Sanitation, is a co-editor of a Politikon special edition on the 2019 elections and has made a contribution to the UN SDG encyclopaedia on human rights and equality. Her research interests include international and constitutional law, human rights, democracy, governance and social justice. Her largest project with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Constitutional Justice Project, has been positively received. In 2016 she was shortlisted as one of 14 candidates for the position of Public Protector.
Carla Montesi is currently Director at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Development and Cooperation. She has been responsible for the Directorate “Planet and Prosperity” since September 2018.
Before that (2014-2018) she was Director for Western and Central Africa.
Prior to 2014, she was Director at the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Initially responsible for fisheries conservation, control and structural actions for the Mediterranean and Black Sea, she has piloted maritime policy as well as fisheries and funding for the Baltic Sea, North Sea and Landlocked Member States.
Formerly a lawyer in Italy who specialised in European affairs at the College of Europe in Bruges, Mrs Montesi’s earlier career encompassed diverse responsibilities in the field of EU external policy for development and cooperation both at Headquarters and in EU Delegations in Africa, as well as experience in the Cabinet of EU Commissioner Emma Bonino for External Policy and Humanitarian Affairs.
Symerre-Grey Johnson join NEPAD Agency in 2014 and since then he has held a number of senior positions. He is currently the Head of Regional Integration, Infrastructure and Trade. Prior to joining the NEPAD Agency, he worked for the German Development Agency (GIZ). His work focused on assisting African Institutions implement their mandates and was initially seconded to the African Forum for Utility Regulators (AFUR). Thereafter, he served as Technical Advisor under the GIZ programme to support the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI) and later worked as Component Manager under the GIZ programme to Support Pan-African Institutions (SPAI).
In his home country of The Gambia, he worked at Gambia Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA) as the Director in charge of Policy, Strategy and Consumer Affairs. Symerre holds a Bachelor’s degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax Canada and a Masters of Arts degree in International Economics from the University of Colorado, Denver USA.
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Dr. Joni Musabayana has a Doctorate in Business Leadership from UNISA School of Business leadership, Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and a BSc Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Zimbabwe. He also has a Diploma in Training Management, Diploma in Computer Programming plus numerous Certificates in Management, Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurship training.
He has worked for the Zimbabwe Ministry of Higher Education 1989 – 1990, Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe 1990 – 1992 and then for International Labour Organization 1992 to date.
His professional focus has been in the field of entrepreneurship and management and has run his own business. He has worked for the ILO based in Harare (1992 – 2002)as project staff and as Chief Technical Adviser, Geneva (2002 – 2004)as Global Coordinator of Start and Improve Your Business programme, Addis Ababa (2004 – 2009) as Enterprise Specialist and Pretoria (2009 – early 2016)as Deputy Director of the ILO Pretoria Decent Work Team and Country office.
Currently, he is the Director of the ILO Decent Work Team for Eastern and Southern Africa based in Pretoria covering 18 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa technically and five countries politically and administratively. His global work assignments have taken him to South East Asia, China, Africa, Eastern and Western Europe and Central America.
He is a music lover, avid reader and a keen sportsman who played basketball for the Zimbabwe national team for 15 years. He enjoys running and going to the gym. He is married to Wynne and they have two boys and two girls.
Dr. Inge Baumgarten is Director of the GIZ AU office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia since October 2017. The GIZ collaboration with the African Union and its specialized agencies and organs comprises programmes of continental scope in five key areas: regional economic integration, agriculture & land governance, education/youth/employment, peace & security as well as governance & migration. Currently active in over 30 countries and a staff presence in more than 18 countries, GIZ AU operates at the continental, regional and national, AU member states, level. With more than 25 years of experience in international cooperation Dr. Baumgarten has been serving in various technical advisory and leadership positions in Germany, at the global level, as well as in countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Europe – with GIZ, the German Federal Ministry BMZ, the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as the University of Heidelberg.
Her educational background: a Social and Behavioural Scientist (Dr Phil), Medical Anthropologist (MA) and Public Health professional (MSc Public Health). For more information feel free to visit her profile on LinkedIn.
Edward M. Kabwe is a Finance & Accounting, Strategic Management and Corporate Governance Specialist. He is currently the Director – Finance at Zambezi River Authority where he also manages the Transaction Advisory interface between the Zambezi River Authority and Ernst and Young (the Project Transaction Advisor) on the Development of the 2400MW Batoka Gorge Hydro-Electric Scheme.
He has as previously worked in Internal Audit, External Audit and Business Advisory Units with experience at senior level in PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC). Has worked as Director of Finance (including Director of Finance and Administration/Board Secretary) for Medical Stores Limited, Rural Electrification Authority and currently at the Zambezi River Authority. In all these, he has built finance/accounting, corporate governance, projects and internal control systems as well as spearheading successful corporate turn-arounds. He is a Chartered Certified Accountant, Fellow of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants – United Kingdom (FCCA) and Fellow of the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountant (FZICA). He holds a Bachelor of Accountancy Degree (Copperbelt University – Zambia) and Degree of Master of Business Administration – MBA (University of Bradford – United Kingdom). Mr. Kabwe has also served as President of the Zambia Chapter of the ACCA and sat on the ACCA – UK International Assembly. He is a Member of the Institute of Directors of Zambia (IODZ) and is an IODZ Professionally Trained Trainer in Corporate Governance. Currently serves on the Audit Committee of the Engineering Institution of Zambia. He also served as a Board Member on the Board of Directors of the IODZ, including serving on other Boards.
Zhu Zhongliang has been working as Counselor in the Chinese Mission to the African Union since February 2018. His mission is on China-Africa Belt and Road Cooperation. Mr. Zhu brings 24 years working experiences in Chinese national government including National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) as chief negotiator of competition issues in Free Trade Agreements and Sino-US Strategic and Economic Dialogues (2014-2017), as a case handler on competition law in Ministry of Commerce (2007-2014), and as a legislative lawyer in National People’s Congress (1994-2007).
Mr Zhu is a professional lawyer with complete legal education domestic and abroad. He studied in China University of Political Science and Law (1990-1994) for a Bachelor Degree of Law; Master of Law in Cambridge University (2000-2001); PhD in Law in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2002-2006).
Hildabertha Kundu is a Senior Deal Originator with the client coverage unit at the Development Bank of Southern Africa and holds a Masters in Development Finance degree from the University of Stellenbosch. Hildabertha deals in the structuring of project finance deals in bulk infrastructure, structured trade finance and project preparation. She has been instrumental in the shaping and structuring of regional programs and corridors. With a background in Economics, Project management Hildabertha is equipped to advice clients on the financing of large infrastructure deals. Key in the projects Hildabertha is involved in is the LAPSSET Transport Corridor in East Africa.
Jacque Moulot is Chief Energy Specialist in the Department of Power Sector Development of the African Development Bank. His main activities include planning, preparation and investment in multinational energy projects; providing Technical Assistance, policy and strategic advisory services to key regional and national African Energy Stakeholders. He is also active in the design and implementation of programmes related to power utility turn-around. He previously held the position of Sub-Sahara Africa Senior Programme Specialist for Science and Technology in UNESCO, was the coordinator of the secretariat of UN-Energy/Africa and focal point of UN Interagency Energy Coordination Group, while in the UN-Economic Commission for Africa.
Zhu Zhongliang has been working as Counselor in the Chinese Mission to the African Union since February 2018. His mission is on China-Africa Belt and Road Cooperation. Mr. Zhu brings 24 years working experiences in Chinese national government including National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) as chief negotiator of competition issues in Free Trade Agreements and Sino-US Strategic and Economic Dialogues (2014-2017), as a case handler on competition law in Ministry of Commerce (2007-2014), and as a legislative lawyer in National People’s Congress (1994-2007).
Mr Zhu is a professional lawyer with complete legal education domestic and abroad. He studied in China University of Political Science and Law (1990-1994) for a Bachelor Degree of Law; Master of Law in Cambridge University (2000-2001); PhD in Law in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2002-2006).
Charles Vumbi is the General Manager of EGL (CEPGL) from September 2017 and has previously worked as Director and Assistant Director of Administration and Finance. Charles holds a Graduate Diploma in Management in Banks, Financial Institutions and Financial Systems from the University of Paris Ipantheon Sorbonne. He is affiliated to various professional bodies including the International Association of Alumni of the 47th CEFEB and the Economic Forum (FOREC).
Ahid Maeresera has a Bachelor of Engineering Honours Degree Electronics- National University of Science and Technology Zimbabwe 1996, Master’s in Business Administration (MBA)-National University of Science and Technology Zimbabwe 2007 and Master’s in Finance majoring in Economic Policy-University of London 2015.
He has worked with the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority: From trainee engineer in 1997 to Section Engineer Process control 2007, ESKOM South Africa: Project Manager Online Condition Monitoring and Online Real-time Performance Monitoring Systems 2007-2016. He has also worked on NEPAD/SADC: Infrastructure Technical Expert seconded to SADC by NEPAD to facilitate the development of Regional PIDA Infrastructure Projects from preparation to financial close in the areas of Energy, Transport, Water and ICT 2016 to date.
Alvino Wildschutt-Prins is an International Investment Partnership Specialist at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and also act as the Relationship Manager for the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership (SDIP) Africa Hub, hosted by the DBSA. The SDIP is a collaborative initiative coordinated by the World Economic Forum with support from the OECD, comprised of public, private and philanthropic institutions from around the world. Alvino has over ten years’ experience in Policy and Research analysis, infrastructure Project and Programme Management. Alvino previously occupied the Infrastructure Programme Specialist position within the International Finance Division of the DBSA. During this period he developed a repository of knowledge around all matters related to infrastructure corridor development in Africa. Furthermore, he is responsible for building effective stakeholder relations with key players in the local and international market, strategic planning and works closely with project preparation and investment officers of the DBSA. Alvino managed the packaging of the Central Corridor shortlisted phase 1 projects for the DBSA in partnership with the Business Working Group of the WEF and the CCTTFA in preparation for the first High Level Industry and Investor’s Summit in Tanzania. The Central Corridor was selected as the pilot corridor for the then Africa Strategic Infrastructure Initiative (ASII) which was led by the World Economic Forum in partnership with the African Development Bank, and supported and guided by the African Union Commission and the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency. Alvino further also project managed the value proposition initiative around the North-South Corridor which was presented to the SADC regional community.
Alvino holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa and is currently completing his Master’s degree in Commerce, specialising in Development Finance, at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Lydie Ehouman is an experienced Transport Economist at the African Development Bank. She is in charge of several regional flagship projects including the Abidjan-Lagos corridor and the Praia-Dakar-Abidjan development projects. Prior to joining the Bank, she worked as a strategy consultant with a US private consulting firm.
Lydie Ehouman earned a Master Degree in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) at Harvard University. She also has a Master and Bachelor in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA).
Symerre-Grey Johnson join NEPAD Agency in 2014 and since then he has held a number of senior positions. He is currently the Head of Regional Integration, Infrastructure and Trade. Prior to joining the NEPAD Agency, he worked for the German Development Agency (GIZ). His work focused on assisting African Institutions implement their mandates and was initially seconded to the African Forum for Utility Regulators (AFUR). Thereafter, he served as Technical Advisor under the GIZ programme to support the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI) and later worked as Component Manager under the GIZ programme to Support Pan-African Institutions (SPAI).
In his home country of The Gambia, he worked at Gambia Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA) as the Director in charge of Policy, Strategy and Consumer Affairs. Symerre holds a Bachelor’s degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax Canada and a Masters of Arts degree in International Economics from the University of Colorado, Denver USA
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Boris Böttcher is a qualified Transport Engineer with specialization in Telematics and Intelligent Transport System (ITS). In addition, he holds Master Degree in Political Science and another one in International Relations.
He was working in the construction sector and as engineer in the transport sector, both road and rail infrastructure, and for telecommunication companies before he joined the public sector. As such, he worked for many years for the European Commission on co-financing large rail, road and ITS projects in Europe, such as major railway high speed lines in France, Germany and Sweden as well as road projects in Finland. This included the first EU co-financed Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects and ITS projects for Smart Corridor Solutions.
After founding a new Engineering and Consultancy company, and serving up to today as CEO for it he was engaged first with the Road Fund Administration (RFA) of Namibia as Senior Technical Advisor. Later he joined the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) as the new Manager Projects & Funding. With experience in construction, engineering and financing of major transport and infrastructure projects, Mr. Böttcher brings with him a new dimension to the group’s workforce.
Mamady Souare is a civil engineer by profession coupled with advanced training in transport economics. He holds a wealth of experience in the public transport and regional integration sectors where he worked for more than 28 years, first as a project manager and then as deputy managing director at the Ministry of Transport in Cote d’Ivoire. He then moved on to the World Bank serving the missions in Abidjan and in Burkina Faso.
Mr Souare is currently Manager for the Regional Integration Operations Division within the Regional Development and Regional Integration Department at the African Development Bank. Before his appointment as manager, he was Officer-in-Charge for Transport Division at the African Development Bank covering transport projects/ programs in countries located in central, western, northern, eastern and southern Africa regions. His experience covers public and private sectors, economic development projects, economic policies, planning and designing of road, railway, air and maritime projects.
Alvino Wildschutt-Prins is an International Investment Partnership Specialist at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and also act as the Relationship Manager for the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership (SDIP) Africa Hub, hosted by the DBSA. The SDIP is a collaborative initiative coordinated by the World Economic Forum with support from the OECD, comprised of public, private and philanthropic institutions from around the world. Alvino has over ten years’ experience in Policy and Research analysis, infrastructure Project and Programme Management. Alvino previously occupied the Infrastructure Programme Specialist position within the International Finance Division of the DBSA. During this period he developed a repository of knowledge around all matters related to infrastructure corridor development in Africa. Furthermore, he is responsible for building effective stakeholder relations with key players in the local and international market, strategic planning and works closely with project preparation and investment officers of the DBSA. Alvino managed the packaging of the Central Corridor shortlisted phase 1 projects for the DBSA in partnership with the Business Working Group of the WEF and the CCTTFA in preparation for the first High Level Industry and Investor’s Summit in Tanzania. The Central Corridor was selected as the pilot corridor for the then Africa Strategic Infrastructure Initiative (ASII) which was led by the World Economic Forum in partnership with the African Development Bank, and supported and guided by the African Union Commission and the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency. Alvino further also project managed the value proposition initiative around the North-South Corridor which was presented to the SADC regional community.
Alvino holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa and is currently completing his Master’s degree in Commerce, specialising in Development Finance, at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Oliver Lorenz is a GIZ advisor to the German Ministry of Development and Cooperation’s Multilateral Development Bank divisions, specializing in private sector operational policy. He previously worked as an Investment Climate Specialist with the Global Indicators and Analysis Group at World Bank and IFC, as well as its Reform Advisory department, in charge of legal and regulatory indicators. His private sector experience includes dealing with corporate and regulatory matters in an ICT company. Oliver read law and economics in Berlin (Humboldt) and Paris (Pantheon-Sorbonne, IEP) and is a German attorney-at-law by training.
Eston Sakala is a Logistics & ICT Professional. Currently the Secretary of the ZCFAA (Zambia Customs & Forwarding Agents Association) and is a CILT (Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport) professional with 15 years’ experience in the Clearing & Forwarding Industry. In the past he has held senior positions with International Logistics & Freight companies and is also currently the Managing Director & Proprietor of Evolution Logistics & Solutions Ltd in Zambia. He further represents the ZCFAA on the NTFC (National Trade Facilitation Committee), Technical Committee between Industry & Customs Services and Clearing Agents licensing & Appels Committee among others.
Francisco Carreras is a EU official almost for the last three decades. He has always worked in development cooperation in Brussels HQs and in two main geographical areas, Latin America/Caribbean (Dominican Republic, Jamaica and in the DEVCO Latin-America Directorate) and in Africa, where he has been responsible for the two largest cooperation programmes in the ACP group as Head of Cooperation in Ethiopia and in Mozambique. Since 2017, he is Senior Expert and EU Head of Cooperation with the African Union based in Addis Ababa.
Prior to joining the European Commission, Mr Carreras worked for the UNDP in Luanda (Angola) and as a junior investment banker in Zurich, Madrid and the USA.
Chibaya Chibaya holds an Honours Degree in Business Studies & MBA from University of Zimbabwe. He has 30 yrs experience in Customs & Trade Facilitation and is currently working for the African Union Commission, Addis Ababa (12yrs) as a Senior Customs & Trade Facilitation Expert.
Norman Zana has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Germany and an MBA Degree in Renewable Energy from Beuth University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, and has over 30 years working in the renewable energy sector and mainly in Africa.
Since April 2018 he is working as Interim Head of the Secretariat of the Africa–EU Energy Partnership based in Bonn, Germany. Before that, he worked as a Senior Energy Advisor to the Infrastructure and Energy Department (IED) of the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Mr. Zana has worked previously in various development programmes mainly under GIZ, in Southern Africa (Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique) dealing with rural infrastructure development with emphasis on decentralized and household energy, food storage and processing, rural social infrastructure, water and sanitation.
The Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP) is a long-term framework for structured political dialogue and co-operation between Africa and the EU on energy issues. Through the Partnership, Africa and Europe work together, to develop a shared vision and common policy to stimulate specific actions and investments that address the energy challenges.
Jordan Stephanou holds a Bachelor Degree in Health Science and a Master in Management of Innovation and Technology. He worked fulltime at Investec in the Private Banking division. After working in the private banking sector for 3 years, he founded TastePal, a pre-ordering App for the office staff restaurant environment, with the social mission of eradicating hunger in South Africa through meal contribution to NGOs: the App has partnered with FoodForward SA to strive towards the first two of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The App received multiple recognitions and nominations to international summits and competitions concerning innovative and tech startups. Jordan was chosen to attend the One Young World 2016 conference in Ottawa, in which young leaders from 196 countries aggregated together to discuss solutions to international social justice issues. Currently he is one of the young experts selected to participate in the business cluster of the AU-EU Youth Cooperation hub.
Dr. Sanusi Ohiare is the Executive Director of the Rural Electrification Fund (REF) Directorate at the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) of Nigeria. He oversees the mobilization and operationalization of the Rural Electrification Fund, with an objective of providing, promoting and supporting access to reliable electric power supply for rural dwellers all over the country. His role is to enable and foster investments in Rural Electrification, connecting private developers with access to finance from both public and private sectors. He was part of the team that developed the Rural Electrification Strategy and Implementation Plan (RESIP) of Nigeria and the Mini-grid Regulations of Nigeria, as well as a member of the team that implemented GIZ’s 5 pilot mini-grid projects.
He received a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Jos in Nigeria, an M.Sc. in Energy Finance from the University of Dundee in Scotland and his Ph.D. in Rural Energy Development from De Montfort University, Leicester, in the UK.
The REA is a Federal Government Agency mandated under Section 88 (1), of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) 2005, to provide access to reliable electric power supply for rural dwellers irrespective of where they live and what they do, in a way that would allow for reasonable return on investment through appropriate tariff that is economically responsive and supportive of the average rural dweller.
2012 – 2018 © Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa.
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