Samaila Zubairu is AFC’s 3rd President and Chief Executive Officer. With over 30 years of professional experience, his entrepreneurial leadership propelled the development and implementation of a new five-year corporate strategy. This resulted in a doubling of the balance sheet, an increase in membership, diversification of financial resources, and positioning of AFC as the key player in addressing the urgent mandate of developing and financing infrastructure, natural resources, and industrial assets on the continent.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Zubairu was the CEO of Africapital Management Limited and Chief Financial Officer for Dangote Cement Plc.

Mr. Zubairu also led the arrangement and negotiation of Africa’s largest project finance deal in 2005 - project finance debt for US$1.2B Obajana Cement Plc Project (OCP) Nigeria had no credit rating and was still heavily indebted to the Paris and London Club of Creditors. This notable transaction involved a 7-year project finance debt of US$480m provided by top African Banks, and the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) including IFC/World Bank, EIB, EKF Danish export credit fund) FMO, DEG, Finnfund, Swedfund and IDC represented by Clifford Chance (Year).

He is an Eisenhower Fellow and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Nigeria (FCA).

Ayaan Adam brings 27 years of visionary leadership and a strong track record in emerging markets investment, asset management, private equity, infrastructure and climate change-related financing products, with a particular focus on African and Asian Markets.

Most recently, she headed the private sector arm of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), established within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Based in South Korea, she played a key role in building the mandate of the GCF Private Sector Facility and rapidly scaling its portfolio to US$2.1 billion in three years across Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Previously she was CDC Group’s Managing Director of Africa Funds and had a 17-year career with the International Finance Corporation, serving as a Chief Investment Officer among other roles. US-born and raised in Somalia and Tanzania, Ms. Adam holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management, and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, Summa cum laude from Clark University.

Kirstine Damkjaer is the immediate past Chief Executive Officer of EKF Denmark’s Export Credit Agency. Kirstine has a vast global experience having worked for several years at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank in various senior capacities, including as the Global Industry Head of Equity and Chief Investment Officer, Global Infrastructure and Natural Resources, and Global Administrative Manager.

She joined the AFC Board with significant experience sitting on global boards. She currently sits on the boards of Pension Denmark, Danish – Chinese Business Forum, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners New Markets Fund. She is a qualified Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and is expected to assume the role of the Chairperson of AFC Audit and Compliance Committee.

Ania Grobicki is Deputy Director of External Affairs at the Green Climate Fund. She is a South African chemical engineer who has worked for a major oil company. For the past 30 years she has worked in academia, in consulting, and in international organizations on water, environment and development issues.

From 2009 to 2015 she headed the Global Water Partnership as its Executive Secretary, based in Sweden, and then served as the Deputy Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, based in Switzerland.

She holds a PhD from Imperial College, London, in Biochemical Engineering as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Applied Economics.

She has written many papers, reports and publications on science and technology policy, water resources, and earth systems, most recently as a Coordinating Lead Author of the 6th Global Environmental Outlook.

Sanjeev Gupta is AFC’s Executive Director and Head of the Financial Services Division, responsible for treasury, trade finance & syndications, country relations and the corporate advisory lines of business within AFC.

Mr. Gupta has over 30 years' experience in investment management, private equity and corporate finance. His forte has been to blend together global and indigenous corporates, financial investors, and governments to develop commercially viable businesses and development models that leave a sustainable impact on emerging economies.

Prior to joining AFC, Mr. Gupta was the Managing Partner of Emerging Markets Mergers and Acquisitions Centre of Excellence at Ernst & Young. He has also been the Chief Executive Officer of Sanlam Investment Management Emerging Markets operations.

Ayotunde Anjorin is an AFC Director and the Chief Financial Officer. He has 20+ years’ experience, with 8 of those years at AFC.

He was previously Senior Vice President and Head of Finance & Operations at the African Finance Corporation.

Before joining AFC, Ayotunde worked at Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, where he held a number of positions within the Finance group and Internal Audit at national and regional levels. He was the regional Head of Wholesale Banking Finance at Standard Chartered Bank, responsible for managing wholesale banking finance activities across West Africa. He has also worked as a senior consultant for KPMG.

Ayotunde is a chartered accountant with more than 20 years post-qualification experience encompassing financial accounting, reporting and control, management accounting, financial risk management, process re-engineering and reviews.

Andrew Johnstone is one of the co-founders of Climate Fund Managers (CFM). Prior to CFM, Andrew was the CEO of African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), a joint venture of infrastructure investors Macquarie and Old Mutual, and the Chairman of Macquarie Africa. Andrew is an experienced professional in the African infrastructure sector and has been involved in the structuring, raising and deployment of five unlisted infrastructure fund vehicles in Africa, prior to his involvement in CFM.

Andrew’s background spans 20 years of infrastructure investing and private equity fund management in Africa and Asia. An engineer by training, Andrew is a project finance specialist with senior executive experience in raising capital and establishing and managing fund management companies and infrastructure asset owning companies.

Andrew is also the founder of Sanlam Infraworks, a business focused on developing and investing infrastructure projects and assets in Africa. Prior to 2014, Andrew was the Chief Executive Officer of Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers and the Chairman of Macquarie Africa over the period 2000-2014. Prior to this Andrew was involved in the structuring and operations of toll road concessions in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Ayaan Adam brings 27 years of visionary leadership and a strong track record in emerging markets investment, asset management, private equity, infrastructure and climate change-related financing products, with a particular focus on African and Asian Markets.

Most recently, she headed the private sector arm of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), established within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Based in South Korea, she played a key role in building the mandate of the GCF Private Sector Facility and rapidly scaling its portfolio to US$2.1 billion in three years across Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Previously she was CDC Group’s Managing Director of Africa Funds and had a 17-year career with the International Finance Corporation, serving as a Chief Investment Officer among other roles. US-born and raised in Somalia and Tanzania, Ms. Adam holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management, and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, Summa cum laude from Clark University.

With over 15 years of transactional and investment experience, Amadou Soumano provides legal oversight of the Fund’s operations and investments, as well as assisting with compliance and regulatory matters.

He has extensive experience in transaction structuring and negotiation and in resolving investment legal issues. Prior to joining the AFC team in 2019, Amadou gained substantial Africa market and private equity experience while at Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), where he worked in Abidjan, Tunis and Paris as a Principal Legal Counsel.

He is a lawyer admitted to the Bar of Paris. He previously practised corporate, banking, project and project finance laws at Linklaters (Paris) and White & Case (Paris).

Amadou speaks English and French.

Chika is a distinctive chartered accountant with over 14 years’ experience in accounting, financial reporting, financial statement analysis, audit and assurance services; with emphasis in the Financial Services Industry which include Banks, Mortgage Securitisations, Insurance Companies, Asset management companies and Unit Trusts.

Prior to this Chika was Head of Investment at Quantum Capital Partners (Sep 2019 – Oct 2021) where she worked with a team to oversee the investment portfolio and coordinate investment activities for 11 portfolio companies.

She also held successive positions at PwC Nigeria & PwC UK respectively (March 2008 – Sept. 2019) where she commenced her career as an audit associate and rose to Senior Manager role within the Financial Services Audit practice. Her major audit client experience involved the audits of United Bank for Africa Plc; Zenith General Insurance Company Limited, Nigeria; Prudential Zenith Life Insurance Limited, Nigeria; Lloyds Banking Group UK, Lloyds Mortgage Securitisations UK, Wincanton Pensions Scheme, UK; Allied Zurich Holdings, UK.

Chika holds a BSc degree in Industrial & Labour Relations from the Olabisi Onabanjo University. She is an Associate Member of both the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN).

Elie Aloko brings more than a decade of investment experience in Africa and Emerging Markets, with a strong deal track record of over US$1 billion in Development Finance, Asset Management and Climate Finance.

Most recently, he was the Director of Environmental and Climate Finance at the West African Development Bank (BOAD). Prior to BOAD, Elie was a Climate Investment Specialist at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) where he executed private sector investments in green and climate resilient infrastructure, and structured innovative co-investment solutions for institutional investors.

Previously, Elie was an Investment Professional in the Emerging Markets Equities team at Robeco Institutional Asset Management based in Rotterdam, where he covered equity investments in Financial Institutions, Industrials, Energy and Telecom sectors. He also worked at the Netherlands Development Bank (FMO) after starting his career as an Analyst at BlackRock Investment Management (UK).

Elie holds a Master of Science in Money, Banking, and Finance from the University of St Andrews in Scotland and a Bachelor of Business Administration with First Class Honors from Valley View University in Ghana.

Afolake Olawuyi is legal counsel of AFC Capital Partners. In this role, she handles legal matters and provides oversight on governance matters. Afolake also handles legal matters for Africa Finance Corporation.

Prior to her current role, Afolake served as Company Secretary and Senior Counsel to subsidiaries of Asset & Resource Management Holding Company (ARM) Limited.

Afolake is a Nigerian trained lawyer with over 14 years of experience spanning across different sectors in Africa, including, private equity, corporate finance, real estate, corporate governance, and compliance.

Reuel joined AFC in 2012 – leading investment activities which have grown a portfolio of over US$1 billion.

Prior to joining AFC: over 25 years of structured finance, infrastructure financing and investment management experience, including as Director at Fitch Ratings – Global Infrastructure and Project Finance, Vice President at GE Capital.

He holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Economics from the University of Sierra Leone, and a Master’s degree specialising in economics and finance from the University of Michigan.

Ziyanda Mpakama is a seasoned Infrastructure Finance Specialist with 15 years’ experience in Public-Private-Partnerships and Project Finance in the African renewable energy and water industries. She has been involved in the full project development cycle, from project preparation and development to implementation, both from the private and public sector sides.

Her career in development finance started at the Public Investment Corporation (“PIC”), South Africa’s largest Asset Manager which manages the Government Employees Pension Fund and finances projects in the Renewable Energy Sector. Post her time in the energy sector, Ziyanda moved into funding water infrastructure projects while working for the Stockholm International Water Institute and the Industrial Development Corporation.

She holds a Master’s degree in Development Finance from the University of Stellenbosch and is currently enrolled for a MSc in Climate Change & Development with the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.

Musa Salah has 18 years’ experience implementing ESG frameworks and climate change nexus issues in the private and public sectors, including the United Nations.

Prior to AFC, he was the Head of Environmental and Sustainability (E&S) Unit at Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Lomé-Togo with responsibility covering 36 countries in Africa, Europe and Asia.

Musa was previously the Chair of Bank of Ghana Sustainable Banking Steering Committee, Ghana. He was also a member of the Global Steering Committee of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEPFI) and served on the Ghana National Climate Change Committee. Mr. Salah was also a fellow at the UNEP Rise Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development, Copenhagen (2011).

He holds an MSc degree in Environmental Management, Sustainable Development option, from University of Surrey, UK and he is a member of the International Association of Impact Assessment (IAIA) as well as the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA).

Adonye is an investment professional with over 10 years’ cross-functional experience in corporate and project finance.

He joined AFC in 2019 as a member of the New Business, Research and Strategy function within the Office of the CEO. During his time at AFC, Adonye has been actively involved in identifying, developing and executing new initiatives for the corporation in line with its long-term strategic objectives.

Prior to joining the AFC, he was an investment professional at Chapelhill Denham Limited where he was a pioneer investment team member in the Nigerian Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF) – Nigeria’s first local currency listed infrastructure fund. During his time at the NIDF, Adonye’s responsibilities included support for capital raising activities of the fund, as well as deal origination, execution and monitoring.

Adonye holds a BSc in Banking and Finance from the University of Lagos, Nigeria and is a CFA Charter holder.

Timoni Akindolie is an investment professional with years of experience deploying and mobilizing capital in high-growth and underserved markets. Over the course of her career, she has contributed to the deployment of over $300M in capital into consumer goods, renewable energy, technology, healthcare, agriculture, and financial services across Africa.

Prior to AFC, Timoni served as a Transaction Advisor at CrossBoundary, providing strategic and transaction advisory services to capital seekers, capital providers and governments to unlock capital for sustainable growth and strong returns across West Africa. She also worked at the Abraaj Group where she supported the full spectrum of the firm’s multisector investment activities in the Middle East and Africa, developing expertise in fund management, deal origination, execution and portfolio management.

Timoni graduated from Wellesley College, Massachusetts with a degree in Economics while cross-registered at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She is an Africa-Asia Impact Investing Fellow, reflecting her commitment to effective impact investing principles that ultimately increases the flow of capital into underserved markets.

Hemen holds a Bachelors’ degree in Zoology from the University of Jos, Nigeria, a Masters’ degree in Environmental Management and Policy from Yeungnam University, Korea and a PhD in Climate Change Adaptation from Kyungpook National University, Korea.

Prior to joining AFC, Hemen was a Senior Research Fellow & Project Manager at the Institute for Global Climate Change and Energy (IGCCE), Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea (Mar 2018 – Dec 2022). Preceding his employment at the IGCCE, Hemen worked as a Research Assistant & Associate Lecturer at the Department of Climate Change, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea (Sep 2017 – Feb 2018) and a Consultant and Implementation Officer at Intelgenes DSG Ltd., Benue State, Nigeria.

Hemen is a Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Specialist with expertise in Climate Risk Modelling, Scenario Analysis, Financial Analysis, GHG Accounting, Vulnerability Assessment, Policy Analysis, Energy Planning, Environmental, Social and Gender Assessment and Data Analysis.

Awwal joined AFC in September 2021 as an Intern in AFC Capital Partners division. He was tasked with coordinating all aspects of concessional funding for the Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund with a key focus on the Green Climate Fund.

In March 2022, he was promoted as a Funds Management Analyst in AFC Capital Partners, where he continues to play a key role in supporting the CEO on various work streams and all aspects of concessional funding with regards to the Green Climate Fund. He was also charged with developing AFC Capital Partners’ climate desk research.

Prior to AFC, Awwal worked in Jaiz Bank, in their corporate banking department before moving on to work for Crown Flour Mills in their sales and strategy department. He is a graduate of Richmond American International University in London where he earned a BA in International Business. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Energy Policy from the University of Sussex.

Akinlolu Fagbamiye is HRBP for AFC Capital Partners. In his role as Senior Associate & Head, Culture & Change Management, he provides strategic HR support to Legal & Corporate Secretariat and Corporate Services. Prior to this role, he served as Manager Total Rewards & Performance Management, and Regional HRBP for Lagos and South West Region at Airtel Networks Ltd. His work experience spans over a period of nineteen (19) years typically sixteen (16) of these has been spent in the Human Resource space across Telecommunication and Financial Services. The application of his knowledge has core focus in Rewards Management, Recruitment & Selection, Talent Management, Performance Management, Shared Services, Business Partnering and HR Admin. A graduate of BSc. Economics from University of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State and MSc. Global HR Management in progress from the University of Liverpool. He is equally a full member of Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) and a member of Society of Human Resource Management, USA.

Emmanuel Ubido joined AFC in 2022 as Team Assistant in AFC Capital Partners Partners Division. Emmanuel holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Geology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is an Affiliate Member of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society and an Associate Member of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. Emmanuel’s most recent role was that of a Senior Executive Assistant to the Chairman, Alternative Capital Partners, Ikoyi (Sept 2019 to Feb 2022). Prior to this, he was an Administrative Assistant /Executive Assistant to the Head of Audit at KPMG Nigeria (Mar 2019 to Sept 2019), Executive Assistant/Administrative Officer to the Managing Director, Meadow Hall Group (Aug 2015 to Feb 2019) and the Personal Assistant to the Head of School, Hope Group of Schools (Oct 2013 to Aug 2015). Emmanuel is a technical professional with proven subsurface, administrative, customer service, event and strategic planning, research and documentation skills garnered in the financial services, consulting and education sectors.