Global Business to Business or GBB, is a vision that has been transformed into an organization. We are a human-centered, business-driven, value-focused organization, whose aim is to be the global leaders and facilitators in inter-business and inter-market professional solutions.
E-mail: marcus@ahisummit.com
Phone: +44 20 3868 2202
Address: 23/2, 1st floor, Haudin Road, Ulsoor, Bangalore.
© Copyright AHIS 2019
© Copyright AHIS 2019
Associate Professor - Urban and Regional Planning
Technical University, Kenya
Professional Experience and Career – Is an Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the Technical University, Kenya. – Also Consults as Architect and Planner & Development Management Specialist internationally. – Retired from the African Development Bank in 2017 where I served as Chief Architect and Development Funding and Management Specialist in more than 12 countries in Africa. – Till 2002, served as Senior Lecturer in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. – Served as Consultant Architect and Urban and Regional Planner in Private Practice for more than 12 years. – Has consulted widely with the United Nations Agencies (UN-Habitat, UN-Environment, UNDP) and various bilateral development Agencies; International NGOs, Government agen- cies, and the Private sector.
Education and Training: – Holds Doctorate Degree in Urban Planning Policy from University of Cambridge, UK. – Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Nairobi, Kenya – Bachelor in Architecture (Honors) of the University of Nairobi, Kenya.
Certifications Also hold certifications; – Public Financial Management of the Harvard Kennedy School of Management, USA; – Prince 2 Project Management of UK, – Project Management by HEC, Montreal, Canada. – Advanced Procurement Procedures for Multilateral Agencies provided through African Development Bank. – ICT for Development Management, Korea Ministry of ICT, Seoul, Korea. – Gender in Development, through African Development Bank, Tunis, Tunisia.
Professional Registrations – Fellow of the Town and Country Planning Association of Kenya (TCPACK) – Registered Architect in Kenya – Registered Physical Planner in Kenya. – Fellow of the Cambridge Commonwealth Society, UK.
CEO, Kenya Mortgage
Refinance Company
Johnstone Oltetia is the Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Mortgage
Refinance Company (KMRC). KMRC was established with the objective to provide
secure long-term funds to financial institutions in order to address the long-term
funding constraints hindering the growth of the primary mortgage market and
reducing the funding cost of residential mortgages and availability of housing
finance to Kenyans. KMRC is one of the key enablers of the Affordable Housing
Pillar of the Government of Kenya’s BIG 4 Agenda.
Mr. Oltetia also holds the position of Senior Adviser, Financial Sector at the
National Treasury, advising on policy matters relating to banking, capital markets,
pensions, insurance and other financial services.
Prior to this, Mr. Oltetia was the Manager Market Supervision at the Capital
Markets Authority-Kenya for over fifteen years, responsible for oversight of Listed
firms, Exchanges(s), CSDs, Asset Managers, Investment Banks, Stock Brokers and
Investment Advisers among others.
A Certified Investment and Financial Analyst and holder of MBA and B. Com
degrees. Member of Institute of Certified Investment and Financial Analysts
(ICIFA), Institute of Directors of Kenya (IOD) and Association of Certified Fraud
Examiners (ACFE). Mr. Oltetia is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School.
Managing Director, CPS Live Limited
Sebastian studied civil engineering in England and Germany and specialised on real estate investment. During his time in Germany, Sebastian worked for real estate departments of major companies such as Deutsche Bank, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and KPMG. His vision is to set up reliable and professional real estate services in Zanzibar and Tanzania and to develop modern housing concepts for the growing and dynamic Africa mid class.
CPS is a privately-owned, Africa-experienced Development Consultancy. CPS have carefully built strong relationships with public and private sectors, community and equity partners to create progressive, sustainable projects that fulfil the needs of the market, a broad portfolio of social housing schemes, upscale residences, luxury hotels and commercial retail outlets, each a landmark development that has set new standards in the region.
The wide spectrum of CPS core competencies are most evident in Fumba Town, their flagship, mixed-use, residential town development spread along a kilometre of sunset-facing Indian Ocean coastline, a short drive from the historic Stone Town World Heritage Site.
Masterplanned from the outset with meticulous detail, to guarantee best-in- class, global standards of municipal infrastructure to its residents and buyers, Fumba Town has enjoyed robust sales for each release of its innovative portfolio of efficient, cost-accessible apartments and villas.
Government-backed 99 year leases, granted to foreign buyers of Zanzibari real estate for the first time in a unique investment-friendly scheme, have made their design-led apartments, townhouses and villas the best-selling properties in East Africa. The rental potential of affordable living spaces that foster social well-being and cohabitation in a growing tourism destination and business hub like Zanzibar has not gone unnoticed.
Fumba Town’s buyers, residents and investors are particularly drawn to a unique offering of infrastructures; the sustainable urban planning necessary of market-leading developments, a green infrastructure of lush tropica gardens and forested walkways that weave between the neighbourhood communities and a social infrastructure of modern education, healthcare and retail facilities, creating the very best of modern tropical living, besides the shimmering backdrop of the Indian Ocean.
Founder & Managing Director,
Real Estate Investor Magazine
Neale Petersen is a real estate entrepreneur, investor, and mentor. He is the visionary behind Real Estate Investor Magazine (REIM) and REImag platform www.reimag.co.za as founder, editor-in chief since 2007.
Neale has had the unique privilege of meeting and interviewing many local and international investors, millionaires, billionaires, entrepreneurs, businessman, sport stars and entertainers to learn and share their unique secrets to their extraordinary challenges and success. His highlights include meeting and interviewing real estate mogul and current US President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia in September 2011. Neale has also interviewed local and property and business celebrities such as Robert Kiyosaki, Dr. Christo Wiese, Dr Dolf de Roos, Mark Wainer, Des de Beer, Sol Kerzner, John Smit, Johann Rupert, Kim Kiyosaki, Ryk Neethling, and Sisa Ngebulana amongst others.
Neale is one of the authors of an inspirational book called ‘Dance until its Rains’ an accomplished public speaker, real estate influencer and mentor. Neale champions the message of calculated and responsible real estate investment, success, hope and abundant opportunity for all through various digital channels including nealepetersen.com, webinars, podcasts, video and with live audiences with entrepreneurs across the globe. Neale distills the best of real estate information and strategies available, mixing in his own streetmtested and proven principles of investment success.
Neale’s purpose is to inspire, educate and empower people to become successful entrepreneurs in building personal wealth through real estate. Neale is passionate about both the creativity and psychology when investing in real estate. He mentors many high-performing investors, entrepreneurs, businessman and is a highly sought-after seminar leader and keynote speaker.
To find out more go to www.nealepetersen.com
Principal Secretary, State Department of Housing and Urban Development, Kenya
Mr Charles Hinga Mwaura is the current Principal Secretary, State Department for Housing, Urban Development, and Public Works within the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development. Motivated by the prospects of public service, Mr Mwaura is focused on leading initiatives related to human settlement and mobility under his office including the ambitious 500,000 Affordable Housing Programme, Kenya Urban Support Program, Kenya Slum Upgrading Project, among others. With over 15 years’ work experience in finance and management consulting, Mr Mwaura looks forward to lending his expertise to these programs and other national initiatives in his home country.
Previously, Mr Mwaura worked successfully with public sector clients in South Africa to deliver projects in the property, energy, transport, and communications sectors that are aimed at improving service provision to citizens. Serving as a senior advisor, Mr. Mwaura has worked on such projects as: formulating a detailed Property Structure Strategy for The City of Jo’burg Property Company (JPC); the City of Johannesburg and the City of Tshwane (Pretoria) Bus Rapid Transport Programmes; the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) of the Johannesburg Broadband Network; the Gauteng Green Agenda Programme feasibility studies on behalf of the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID) and Gauteng Infrastructure Financing Agency (GIFA); establishment of City of Johannesburg as the preferred BPO location for local and global operators; upgrading of the City of Johannesburg’s Fresh Produce Market to a market of the future; among others.
Mr Mwaura is at heart an entrepreneur, and was most recently the Founding Chairman and CEO of Pamoja Financial Consultants and Bright Wave Technologies, respectively, both of which have been successful in undertaking seminal projects in Kenya and South Africa.
For his contributions to public service as a leading management consultant, Mr Mwaura was recognized as the Management Consulting Professional of the Year in 2016 by the South African Professional Services Awards. He is a Chartered Accountant (CA) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) degree from Kenyatta University as well as a Bachelor of Accounting Science (Honors) degree from University of South Africa (UNISA).
Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, Kenya
Mr. James Macharia is the Cabinet Secretary for Transport & Infrastructure in Kenya. His mandate is to provide strategic leadership to ensure that the Ministry develops operates and sustains world class transport infrastructure and services in line with the Government’s vision.
The transport sector in Kenya encompasses road, rail, air and maritime. The sector is crucial in the promotion of socio-economic activities and development since an efficient and effective, transport system is a mainspring for rapid and sustained development in terms of national, regional and international integration, trade facilitation, poverty
reduction and improvement of welfare of the citizen.
Key projects under his stewardship: – SGR project, Mombasa Port and the Airport Expansion, Roads and the LAPSET development.
Prior to this appointment Mr. Macharia was Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Health where he oversaw implementation of key strategic interventions including the introduction of free maternity services, universal health coverage and innovative health financing structure e.g. the upgrading of 98 health facilities under the Managed Equipment Services concept.
Prior to joining government, Mr. Macharia had undertaken various leadership roles in the financial and banking industries, including the appointment as Group Managing Director of a listed banking institution. He has a diverse and illustrious career covering all major tenets of corporate management. This includes, inter alia, corporate finance, audit and tax consultancy in London (6 years), corporate and merchant banking, financial management, strategic planning and development, personnel and general administration.
Mr. Macharia is also a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Certified Public Accountant with Institute of Certified Public Accountants; he holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and an MBA from Henley Management College, UK.
Executive Chairman
Resorts and Cities
Lee Karuri is a leading Architect, business leader and an entrepreneur in the real estate and hospitality sectors in Kenya. He has great passion for transformative economic and socio development where he invests time and resources.
He ventured into business career in 1994 as a co-founder and Director of Dimensions Architects and Interior Designers, a leading firm of architects in East Africa. In 2005 he diversified to real estate developments, and served as Co-Founder and Chairman of Home Afrika from 2008 upto June 2016, a leading Real Estate Development Company in Kenya listed in the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
He is currently the Executive Chairman of Resorts and Cities, a leading real estate and hospitality company developing Golf Resort Cities in Kenya which include Longonot gate and Makuyu ridge currently under construction.
Lee has participated actively in the last 15 years as a member of key national organizations that champion Kenya’s Economic Development Agenda. These include the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), the umbrella body of the business community where he served as Chairman. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of KEPSA Foundation. In addition he serves as the East African Region chair of the Africa Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA). Lee also is serving as the co-chair of the Multisectoral Initiative against corruption which is a major anticorruption movement in Kenya.
Lee served during 2006-2008 as a member of the National Steering Committee of Kenya’s Vision 2030, the policy governing Kenya’s economic and socio development agenda. In addition, he served as a member of the the Economic Recovery Strategy (ERS) committee that was the basis of Kenya’s growth between 2003 and 2007.
He has been honored with the title of the Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW) award by H.E Mwai Kibaki the former President for distinguished national service and also served as a senior advisor to the same former president.
On community service, he continues to champion the socio transformation and empowerment agenda in Kenya. To this end, he chairs the governing council of the Africa International University based in Nairobi. Regarding his faith, Lee is a devout born again Christian and a trustee of Parklands Baptist Church where he attends with his family.
Lee believes in good stewardship of skills and resources that each one is blessed with. It is for this reason that together with his wife Consolata and their children Diana and William founded Mwangaza Trust in 2011 as a family foundation which supports vulnerable individuals and families in education, food security, economic empowerment and spiritual growth.
Founder, Director,
Centre for Housing Excellence
Geoffrey Kilonzo has Over 10 years collective Experience; Real Estate, Mortgage Banking and Co-operatives Sectors. He has great experience in developing products for affordable housing and
housing microfinance. He has traveled and consulted widely in Africa on Housing and Housing microfinance.
He served as the Head of Mortgage & Asset Finance, Rafiki Microfinance Bank, Head of Affordable Housing products, The Mortgage Company, Director of Kenya Overseas Business Alliance (UK), Current General Manager, Urithi Housing Co-operative Society and Founder and Director of Centre for Housing Excellence.
He is a masters Student of Arts in Business Leadership from PAC University. And a Published Author by West bow publishers, a Division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan – UK.
President, Zimbabwe National Association of Housing Cooperatives (ZINAHCO)
Mr Duru is the president of the Zimbabwe National Association of Housing Cooperatives (ZINAHCO), leading 12 124 members in housing delivery. He is also the President of the Zimbabwe National Federation of Cooperatives, the umbrella body of all cooperative sectors in the country, with a total membership of 3 million cooperators. He is a member of Brickforce Housing Cooperative, with 300 members. Since joining the cooperative movement in 1996, Mike held different leadership positions fromprimary society to Federation. In 2018, he was elected Vice President of the International Cooperative Alliance, and is the Southern African Development Committee chairperson for cooperatives. He sits on several other boards like the Provincial Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, Sectorial Technical Committee on Poverty Alleviation, Non State Actors’ Forum, and Housing Directors Forum.
Mike successfully brought visibility to the cooperative movement in Zimbabwe and abroad. A number of achievements and propoor policies have been witnessed like parallel land development; 30% state land allocation to cooperatives; construction of 8 000 houses for ZINAHCO members, and ZINAHCO affiliation to ICA.
Mr Duru has a teaching background and holds a diploma in education, a BSc degree in Sport Management (Research), and is currently pursuing a BSc in Development Studies. He travelled extensively on cooperative business to countries like Canada, Mexico, Uruguay, Kenya, Rwanda, Botswana, Nigeria, DRC, Morocco etc. He attended EU training workshops on finance and project management in Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria, and the Urban Local Authority–Africans Summit in South Africa. He worked closely with organisations like ILO, WE-EFFECT, Rooftops-Canada, NORAD, UN Habitat, SIDA, and Slum Dwellers. Association with these organisations greatly enhanced his understanding of cooperatives.
He is passionate about empowerment of the less privileged and aspires to see a Zimbabwean society where everyone is afforded an opportunity to cooperatively develop themselves and their communities.
Executive Director-
Centre for
Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF)
Kecia Rust is the Executive Director and founder of the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF), a not for profit think tank that promotes investment in affordable housing across Africa. She is a housing policy specialist and has provided strategic support to governments in South Africa in the development of national, provincial and local housing policy for the past 20 years. She was the Housing Finance Coordinator at the FinMark Trust from 2003-2014, from where CAHF was established. Under her direction, CAHF was appointed as the Secretariat to the African Union for Housing Finance, an association of about 56 mortgage banks, building societies, housing corporations and other organisations involved in the mobilisation of funds for shelter and housing across Africa. CAHF’s work is represented on its website: www.housingfinanceafrica.org
Civil & Structural Engineer/Town Planner/EIA Lead Expert
Mairura Omwenga is a civil/structural engineer, town planner and EIA expert with 33-year work experience. He holds BSc (civil engineering) and MA (Urban and Regional Planning) from the University of Nairobi. He is currently pursuing PhD research in transportation planning in Nairobi. He is a transport/infrastructure lecturer at the University of Nairobi, College of Architecture and Engineering. He has working experience in the public and private sectors, academia/research and runs a consultancy firm. He has handled several multi disciplinary and multi-agency projects funded by the private sector, World Bank and African Development Bank.
Mairura is Chairman of Town and County Planners Association of Kenya (TCPAK) and member of Architectural Association of Kenya (Town Planners Chapter). He is a member of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) and coordinator ISOCARP Africa Region/Nairobi Liaison Office. He is also International Associate of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI/UK). He is a member of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya and registered by the Engineers Board of Kenya. As EIA lead expert, he is registered by the National Environment Management Authority.
Chairman & CEO of Labacorp Group of Companies, and ATIGS Group, Inc.
Bako Ambianda is an International Development Expect. He is the Chairman and CEO of ATIGS Group, Inc (Africa Trade & Investment Global Services), a trade promotion, project facilitation, and development company, that provides a full spectrum of consulting and business development services to companies looking to expand or establish their operations in African markets. He is also the President & CEO of Labacorp Power Company, an independent power producer and renewable energy development company that specializes in the facilitation, development, and operating of sustainable power generation projects in Africa, with a growing portfolio of projects. He also serves as the Chairman of Labacorp Group of Companies, a holding company with a diversified portfolio of businesses and strategic investments in five key economic sectors namely, manufacturing, power, construction, agribusiness, and exhibition with operations in four countries.
Chairperson, Kenya
Green Building Society
Elizabeth Wangeci Chege the chairperson of the Kenya Green Building Society and the Vice Chairperson of World Green Building Council Africa Regional Network. She is also the CEO and co-founder of WEB Limited, a sustainable construction consultancy.19 years ago, Elizabeth made it her core business to be part of the solution to climate change in sustainable construction solutions and lives by the motto “What we build today will form the Africa of tomorrow.”
Through her volunteer role at Kenya Green Building Society, Elizabeth has collaboratively led the transformation of the built environment in Kenya by embedding green building practices into the industry and extending it to green schools thus mitigating greenhouse gas emission, human health enhancement and boldly stimulating the green jobs agenda. Beyond technical leadership, Elizabeth believes it is our noble responsibility, as a human community, to enhance the environment in our economic pursuits.
Elizabeth holds a dual Masters in Sustainable Design Science and Building Services from the University of Sydney Australia. She has a BTEC Higher National Diploma in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from Reading College of Arts & Technology, UK. She is a green building champion with impeccable credentials and experience with various international green building rating systems.
She has a wealth of experience in highly integrated macro and micro level sustainable cities design. Her successful track record in senior management and lead consultant roles on a number of major projects including Airports notably Terminal 5 Heathrow UK, Brisbane Airport Cooperation Convention Centre in Australia, Residential, Retail & Commercial Developments in Australian & Oman. The wealth of sustainable engineering expertise is drawn from the Middle East, UK, USA, Australia, Nigeria and East Africa.
Elizabeth continues to strive for contextualization of the basis of design and believes we need to re-think cities for the African context.
Senior Manager, Regional Manager, Cyton Real Estate
Johnson Denge is the Senior Manager, Regional Markets at Cytonn Real Estate
He is a full member of the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK), a registered and
practicing valuation surveyor and estate agent. He has a post graduate diploma in real
estate from ISK and a holder of bachelors of Land Economics degree.
A seasoned realtor, Johnson has previously worked at Ryden International in real estate
advisory, property appraisal, real estate structuring and management and at Acorn
Group as a team leader in research, real estate acquisition, structuring and facilities and
property management.
Johnson Denge is also a master of development planning and execution and attributes
this to his work experience. His years at his previous workplaces have earned him
experience in development planning, real estate structuring, research, real estate
portfolio planning and real estate market analysis. He has also acquired skills in
leadership and people management
Director
Pumapa Capital Limited
Cameron is a development manager with experience in real estate and investments, with over 15 years international exposure across Australia, Europe and Africa. Recently Cameron has been involved in emerging markets specifically across East Africa. Real-estate projects have focused on mixed-use developments, infrastructure, residential, retail, hospitality and education
Senior Investment Officer
IFC ,Nairobi, Kenya.
Godfrey Tapela is a Senior Investment Officer at IFC based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is responsible for investments in the commercial property including affordable housing, retail and tourism sectors across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Godfrey joined IFC in 2001 and previously worked for ABSA Bank, Eskom as a Projects Engineer and for DLV Consulting Engineers and Stewart Scott Consulting Engineers as a Consulting Engineer. He holds a Master in Business Leadership from UNISA, a BSc Electrical Engineering(Hons) from the University of Zimbabwe, a Graduate Diploma in Marketing from the Institute of Marketing Management and is a registered Professional Engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa.
Founder/CEO Of
Eximia Realty Co Ltd
Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran is the Founder/CEO of Eximia Realty Co Ltd , developers of the MaestroVille, and Fiona Lawton Apartments , Lekki, and joint promoters of Lake City, LAGOS. His company is also the exclusive franchise of Plovercrest Capital Property for the West African territory.
He recently retired from UAC of NIGERIA Plc having served as the Managing Director of UACN Property Development Co Plc(Updc) from 2010 – 2018 and Managing Director of MDS Logistics (Division of UAC of Nigeria PLC)between 2000 -2010. Prior to 2000, he was at various times a Law Lecturer, Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, Sales/Marketing Manager and Corporate Planning Manager.
Mr Ogunniran holds LL.B (Hons) LL.M and MBA degrees from the University of LAGOS. A former Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the Yale Law School, USA, he has attended several high level management training programmes including the Unilever (IMS), U.K, General Management Programme (GMP) of Ashridge Management College, U.K., Strategic Leadership Programme of Cranfield University, U.K., REAL Estate Management Program of Harvard Business School, USA and Senior Financial Management program of the London Business School.
Mr Ogunniran is also a past President and Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Arbitrators of Nigeria, Council and EXCO Member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry and frequent speaker at international conferences.
In the past 8 years, Mr Ogunniran has changed the narrative of the real estate industry, leading
his team to deliver landmark and iconic projects in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and birthing projects in other cities including Asaba and Calabar. In the area of project funding, he led his company to float bonds, CPs and a DOT based Real Estate Investment Trust in 2013.
He is a recipient of many awards including the Federal Government’s Scholarship for High
Academic Standing (1981 – 1984), Kwame Nkrumah Award For Corporate Governance Excellence 2009, Global Home Nigeria Property Award’s Property CEO of the Year 2011 and named one of the top 20 CEOs of the Listed Companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange for
2013.
MD & CEO
Global PFI Limited
MKO is the MD/CEO Global Property & Facilities International Ltd, and was MD of WSP FMC Nigeria, a position he took after the merger of Domme FM Ltd with WSP FMC Nigeria Ltd in 2012. As MD/CEO, MKO has grown the business from a local Nigerian company a company spreading across Africa with operations across 5 African Countries, he has also grown and stabilise the business since taking over in 2012 taking the company through mergers and rebranding. He is a member of the board of directors of Premier Paints Plc and the Chairman of the strategy committee of the board.
MKO is a recipient of many awards including Nigerian Top Leaders International Magazine 2013 Global Lifetime Achievement International Gold; Corporate & Media Africa Communications 2012 Meritorious Diamond Award for National Development; Time News 2013 Excellence Gold Award for Economic Development of Nigeria and many.
As a facilities manager, and popularly called Mr. Facilities, MKO holds the prestigious Certified Facilities Manager CFM qualification, of IFMA, he has been a lecturer at University of Lagos, since 2009 in the Masters in FM degree program, the founder of the African Facilities Management Institute, major speaker at various international FM and Building Industry programs in Nigeria, Ghana, Dubai, SA, attended various international FM conferences in US, Dubai, Ghana, Nigeria. His area of focus in recent times is Sustainability & Smart City
Development.
Investment Manager
Global Property Advice
Seeta Shah has 20+ years of international experience in housing and real estate finance and urban development. She has contributed extensively to policy debate and research on delivering affordable housing in Kenya. Drawing on her experience as a construction lender for affordable housing in the USA, and practical experience in Kenya, she is an advocate for the provision of construction financing in African markets and how the risk can be mitigated. She is effective at facilitating engagement between government, private sector, DFIs, NGOs and the wider public, having hosted large stakeholder workshops.
She has an MBA from The Wharton School and a BA from University of Cambridge, and is a qualified surveyor under Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Institution of Surveyors of Kenya. She promotes keeping green spaces in Nairobi green and accessible, and finding value from rubbish, through her voluntary board positions with Friends of City Park and Community Cooker Foundation.
Founder and Managing Director of
Sycum Solutions Company Ltd
Sylvia Kasanga is a practicing Architect and Arbitrator. She holds an Undergraduate Degree in Architecture from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology
(JKUAT) and Master’s Degree in Business Administration from United States International University – Africa (USIU-A). She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators both in United Kingdom (UK) and Kenya, vibrantly serving in the Kenyan Branch Committee. She is a RIBA Chartered Architect.
Sylvia Kasanga has been in the construction industry for 16 years. She is the Founder and Managing Director of Sycum Solutions Company Ltd, an Architectural firm based in Nairobi. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Lukenya Group of Schools and is a Trustee for the Lukenya University in Makueni County.
Currently, Sylvia is a Member of the 12th Parliament of Kenya in the capacity of Senator. Duly, she serves as a Member in the Parliamentary Committee on “Land, Environment and National Resources”, as well as the one on “Road and Transport”.
As Senator, she aspires to utilize her professional passion and expertise on; Affordable Housing, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Education matters to advocate for formulation of SMART policies, regulations and laws on these areas. She looks forward to working together with public servants, private practitioners, communities, and interested stakeholders to drive Kenya into Sustainable Development.
Chief Actuary & MD
Kenbright Holdings Limited
Ezekiel Macharia is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (UK) and a Fellow of the Actuarial Society of Kenya. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Nairobi.
Ezekiel joined Kenbright Holdings Ltd in January 2016 as Managing Director and Chief Actuary in charge of the subsidiaries – Kenbright Insurance Brokers and Kenbright Actuarial & Financial Services.
Prior to joining Kenbright, Ezekiel worked as the Group Actuary of Jubilee Holdings. Ezekiel has over eight years’ experience in East African market specializing in Life, General and Health insurance.
He also sits in the Council of The Actuarial Society of Kenya (TASK) which is supporting development of insurance and risk-based supervision.
Ezekiel volunteers at a local Kenyan university, Strathmore University, as a visiting lecturer and Executive Fellow to the Risk Management Centre.
Ezekiel is the Consulting Actuary for various insurers in the East African Market.
Managing Director
Mont Hill Consultancy
Futuristic thinker, entrepreneur and senior executive with substantial experience of Real Estate, large scale master-planned projects, cities planning and economics, shopping malls design, development, construction and operation, digital disruption, Innovation labs, property development and management, with over 20 years of development and planning experience in Europe and the Middle East
Active senior player in the Real Estate Portfolios and Retail industry, Hussam is international speaker and advisor on the topics of Mega Development, Cities planning, shopping malls and new Retail Trends, Disruptive Innovation, Data Analytics and the cognitive business models, Mixed-Use real estate development, affordable housing and smart cities
Designing and managing FUTURE THINKING LABS to bring Innovative Schemes and Futuristic Vision for businesses
In his various roles, Hussam has been pivotal in creating value across conglomerate and private groups by improving their Design Thinking strategies, governance systems, implementing innovative and international best practices in the planning, development, and management to bring superior performance and returns
Hussam Raouf is the former head of the Retail Real Estate portfolio of Emaar Properties, holding various senior roles, including Executive Director Real Estate Development, Head of Shopping Malls business unit. Senior advisor to the Group, member of various committees
In addition to Real Estate planning, development and construction, Hussam researches focus on: data analytics, affordable housing, post conflict transformation and cities reconstruction, and smart cities planning
Hussam completed his executive education at HARVARD University in Real Estate Development, Design and Financing, and he holds a bachelor’s degree of Architecture and Urban Planning
Lecturer and regular speaker at real estate conferences and institutes
MD & CEO
NISH Affordable Housing Ltd
Mr Adelakun is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NISH Affordable Housing Ltd, Executive Chairman, Nigeria Integrated Social Housing Cooperative Society Ltd, Managing Consultant, Skytech Institute Ltd, President, Housing Finance and Investment Network, and the Convener of the Nigeria Housing Finance Conference and Affordable Housing Fair.
He is a Chartered Manager, and a Fellow of Chartered Management Institute, United Kingdom, Fellow of Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, and Fellow of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria. He earned BSc and MBA Degrees from Florida Atlantic University, USA (1988-1990)
He recently retired from the Federal Civil Service of Nigeria as Permanent Secretary
(Common Services Office) in the Office of Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. He also served as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Aviation, and Federal Civil Service Commission.
He was Chairman, Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board, Chairman, Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) Programme and Board Member, Pension Commission of Nigeria.
He supervised implementation of Group Life Insurance for Federal Civil Servants, Federal Digital Service Centre, IPPIS Human Resource Module, and Digital Identification and Database for federal civil servants In the Office of Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Nigeria.
He served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1983 -2007) including Diplomatic Missions of Nigeria in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Singapore, Singapore. He also served as Head of Internal Audit Unit in the Office of Surveyor General of the Federation (2007-2013) and as Director Treasury Inspectorate in the office of Accountant General of the Federation (2012-2013).
CEO, TAF Africa Global
MUSTAPHA NJIE (TAF), is the man behind the success story called TAF AFRICA GLOBAL LIMITED. Born in The Gambia, he has over 40 years of hands on experience across all levels of the construction and real estate business. TAF AFRICA GLOBAL, which is registered in 8 African countries with dominance in The Gambia and Nigeria, was birthed in 1990. Its success can be attributed to TAF’s vision for the company which is to develop 1 Million homes over the next 20 years. TAF’s expertise, vision and passion have seen him traverse continents sharing his vast experiences as a renowned developer on various platforms as a presenter, a keynote speaker and a panellist. Some of such platforms include the Annual Africa Business Conference at the Harvard Business School in 2003 and 2019 as a panellist; and the Annual Africa Business Conference at The Wharton Business School in 2004 also as a panellist.
Recent Projects:
1. Designed, built and furnished the 52 A.U Presidential villas in The Gambia in a record time of 4 months.
2. Constructed 210-units low income housing estate in Yundum, The Gambia.
3. Constructed 600 units of middle & high income earners in Brufut Gardens.
4. Designed and built the RIVTAF Golf Estate, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. 1,000 Residential Units & Shopping Mall.
5. Developing GIETAF Special Economic Zone, Gambia – 160 Hectares.
Recent Awards:
• GBB Best Affordable Housing of the Year 2018.
• CNBC/AABLA Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 (West Africa).
• European Council for Global Business Award for Quality 1998.
• ECOWAS Honourable Businessman of the Year 2011.
• Gambia Chamber of Commerce & Industry – Businessman of the Year 1993, 2004 & 2006.
Affiliations:
Served as Chair and Member of many Boards including Trust Bank Gambia Limited,
National Training Authority, Gambia Telecommunications Co., Gambia Ports
Authority etc.
Independent Consultant
Dr. James Mutero has worked as an international consultant for more than 25 years, advising governments in Africa and other regions on housing finance, housing policy, and the economic analysis of urban development and infrastructure programs. This work has covered Bahrain, Botswana, Egypt, Eritrea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Swaziland, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zanzibar. He has extensive managerial and research experience and has been the team leader in many housing and urban development assignments. Dr Mutero obtained his doctorate and master’s degrees from the University of Cambridge (Institutional and Housing Economics focus) and his bachelor’s degree in Building Economics from the University of Nairobi.
Director of & MD
iJenga Ventures Ltd.
Muddy is a Director of iJenga Ventures Ltd, since March 2018, an integrated real estate developer of housing, healthcare, hospitality & industrial real estate. He also serves as Managing Director of Urban Nirvana Property Solutions Ltd., a family office, and two other property holding companies since 2014. Among his philanthropic causes, Muddy is Board Treasurer of the Kenya Green Building Society, Board Member of Sanergy, and Board Chair of Africa Yoga Project.
His professional career between 1990 and 2013 spanned four years of audit & advisory practice at Price Waterhouse in Toronto, Canada. Following this, he did 11 different roles over 19 years at the global investment bank J.P. Morgan in Canada, the UK, the US, Russia, Central & Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
He earned his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation through the California Board of Accountancy in San Diego, CA, USA in 1996, prior to which he earned his Bachelor of Commerce at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1990 with a concentration in Finance & Accountancy. In the property sector, he earned a Greenstar SA Accredited Professional – New Buildings.
Managing Director of
Shelter Afrique
Mr Andrew Chimphondah is the Managing Director of Shelter Afrique, the Pan-African Housing organisation dealing exclusively with affordable housing in Africa.
Mr Chimphondah, a Zimbabwean national holds an MBA with a focus on International Finance from the Durham University Business School (UK). He is a Chartered Accountant and is currently writing a dissertation for a PhD.
Mr Chimphondah has more than 20 years Finance and Business executive leadership experience spanning real estate finance, banking, and FMCG. He joins Shelter Afrique from Housing Investment Partners (PTY) Limited, South Africa where he was serving as Chief Executive Officer. He has also worked as Managing Executive for National Housing Finance Corporation, South Africa; Managing Executive for Home Front Finance; General Manager for ABSA Home loans, South Africa; Chief Operating Officer, Standard Insurance Limited, South Africa; Director Home Loans, South Africa; Managing Director of Innscore – Zambia and Kenya. On the Finance side, he has worked as Group Financial Controller for Innscore, Africa; and Financial Manager for Unilever South East Africa;
He has led the successful business turnaround and fundraising initiatives in the various housing finance corporations he has worked for.
The new Managing Director joins Shelter Afrique at a crucial time and will be responsible for executing the 2018-2023 strategy. Speaking on his appointment, he noted “I am very keen to begin the work of returning Shelter Afrique to the centre of the affordable housing debate; we have undergone a period of transition, but we believe we are better placed now, to assist our shareholders and partners deliver their affordable housing plans. The Board has approved an effective strategy, which takes us back to our original mandate of large-scale affordable housing projects.
I look forward to joining forces to bring all these plans to fruition“.
Founder & Managing Director
Karibu Homes. Kenya
Ravi is a founder and Managing Director of Karibu Homes. Karibu Homes is amongst the first enterprises to deliver a truly affordable housing solution for Kenyans. Karibu Homes produces housing for Kenyan families as far down the income ladder as is commercially viable. They currently have over 1,000 homes under construction in Athi River, a booming industrial town on the outskirts of Nairobi. They have homes starting at Ksh 1.8M (USD 18,000) to Ksh 6M (USD 60,000) providing an opportunity for families, currently underserved, to join the Kenyan property ladder. A second project in on-line in urban Nairobi for a further 1,400 homes at the same price points.
Ravi is a 4 th generation Kenyan and he returned home in 2005. Previously, he studied Economics and Human resource management at the University of Keele in the UK. He then proceeded to complete his accountancy training in London before starting a career in Property Development. Ravi completed 5 developments in the UK with Ansgate Hampton Homes PLC, between 2002 and 2005, before returning home to Kenya. Karibu Homes was founded in 2012 with the specific mandate to provide affordable housing at scale. Ravi is on the board The Kenya Property Developers Association, Horizon Contact Centers and Elephant Soap Industries Ltd. He has also just completed the Stanford Graduate School of Businesses SEED Program.
Senior Housing Finance Regional Lead for the Sub-Saharan Africa
Thierno Habib Hann (Habib) is the Senior Housing Finance Regional Lead for the Sub-Saharan Africa region, at the International Finance Corporation, IFC, based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Habib has an extensive background in housing finance, structured finance, financial institutions, and in the World Bank’s work on the legal and regulatory environment for private sector investment. Habib spent eleven years working in New York, leading and participating in Investment Banking teams issuing Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (RMBS), Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (CMOs), Credit Derivatives (CDS), and CDOs at J.P. Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, as a Vice-President. He started his career at Arthur Andersen as a Consultant in financial services and derivatives products. At the World Bank Group, Habib served as Country Lead for the Trade & Competitiveness Global Practice based in Guinea, advising public authorities on strategic sectors of the economy with the objective of improving the competitiveness and investment climate.
Habib is a native of Guinea. He graduated Cum Laude from the University of Paris-IX-Dauphine in France, with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Finance and Accounting and holds an MBA from the Bernard Baruch School of Business at the City University of New York, focusing on investments. He is a member of the NYSSA (New York Society of Securities Analysts), the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He also passed the NASD (National Association of Securities Dealers) Series 7 and 63 trading licenses in New York. Habib is the Co-founder of AngelAfrica. He is a native French speaker; and enjoys music, sports and cultural discovery travel.
Managing Director, Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest)
Dr. Moses Ikiara is the Managing Director of the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest), a position he took on 11 th February 2013. KenInvest is the state agency charged with responsibility of promoting both foreign and domestic investment in Kenya, facilitating investors, and policy advocacy with respect to investment in the country.
Previously, Dr. Ikiara was the Executive Director of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) (December 2005 to May 2012), and Policy Analyst at the same Institute (July 2000 to December 2005). KIPPRA is an independent public think tank with the mandate of supporting public policy process in Kenya by conducting objective research and analysis, offering technical and advisory services, and by building human and institutional capacity in the area of public policy research and analysis. Prior to joining KIPPRA, Dr. Ikiara was a lecturer in the School of Environmental Studies (SES) of Moi University.
Dr. Ikiara holds a PhD in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. His previous academic qualifications include Bsc. (Agriculture, First Class Honours) and MA (Economics), both from the University of Nairobi.
Dr. Ikiara has substantial experience in public policy research, having published about 38 papers and book chapters in various journals and other outlets. His research experience and interest includes sustainable management of environmental and natural resources and the link between economics and
ecological issues; tourism policy; trade issues, particularly with respect to services; fisheries; the trade-environment nexus; agricultural and industry policy issues, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Dr. Ikiara has been involved in the development of key policy documents for Kenya. These include the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERS) 2003-2007 and the Kenya Vision 2030.
Founder, I AM HOME and Chairman
SAGEF
Karim Diop is a affordable housing specialist with 2400 homes built through his precast housing factory in Senegal and on going project developments portfolio of 10 000 units with well known large real estate developers across Africa. He has recently been chosen among the 350 world experts of the Lafarge Holcim on construction sustainability for his new concept I AM HOME 1.618 which is creating an all in one affordable housing value chain solution of Africa most affordable home starting at 5000 dollar. The I am home 1.618 provides an one stop solution for architectural, construction automation, BIM and land titling digitalization through blockchain and GSM technologies. With finance major from Bentley university and certificate from Wharton real estate center on housing finance in sub-Saharan Africa, Karim is currently secretary in charge of relationship with financial institutions of the West Africa housing association.
Group Managing Director
Bomakazi Systems
On graduating from university, became a Government Assistant Architect leaving in 1988 for private practice. Focused on affordable construction, seeking synthesized eco-tech community development principles, used in 2004 on desolate site of Nyumbani Village, Kitui. It houses 1,200 HIV-AIDS orphans & elders in a self-sustaining system containing residential, industrial, social, health, managerial & farm buildings. Sustainability is via agroforestry, food & livestock farms, agro-processing & marketing systems ran by villagers & neighbors. Water is from sand dams & wells.
Chief Transformation Officer,
Powertalks Limited
Wale Akinyemi is a passionate African with the vision of Transforming Africa one at a time. He is the Lead Consultant/Trainer/Facilitator at Powertalks Limited. He is a graduate of Demography and Social Statistics, and has over twenty years’ experience working with companies and individuals in different parts of the world. He has worked and influenced change and transformation in some of the biggest organizations worldwide and individuals in leadership positions. He had the honor of driving culture change and Transformation for United Nations “Delivering as one” program for 3 years to help the UN be more effective and efficient in executing its objectives and obligations in serving the people of Kenya. Wale is also an internationally respected and most sought-after conference speaker and business strategy advisor, continuously ranked by his clients as being one of the most “inspiring and creative thought leaders”.
Wale Akinyemi continuously works with the Kenya School of Government in training the crème de la crème of Kenyan government leadership with his focus area being in Transformational Leadership. He is also known to challenge individuals through mentoring sessions and inspired them to transform their
lives and that of their community. Some of his innovation include: HR-Index, Y-generation alignment, Polar Bear and recently Pit-stop Index.
As a leading newspaper columnist and weekly media personality with a weekly TV show, Wale Akinyemi has been involved in various media and communication strategies and has built a vast and deep network in the media circles where he is very well respected.
He is a prolific writer and has authored a number of publications and books. Some of his best sellers are:
• Creative Thinking for Phenomenally Effective People.
• Mental Independence
• Drive – It has to be intentional
• Billionaire within
• Stress Management for Phenomenally Effective People.
• Onboarding Strategies for Phenomenally Effective Organizations.
Advisor for Academic Cooperation, Strengthening Capacities for Land
Gover- nance in Africa (SLGA)
GIZ African Union Office
Dr. Patrick Opoku is also the Faculty of Built Environment, College of Art and Built Environ- ment at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He is also a key mem- ber and a representative of the GIZ at Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA), that was established by Africa Land Policy to implement the Africa Union’s Agen- da on Land to help address weak land governance and insecure land rights. This initiative is aimed to promote demand driven research on land policy issues and connect scholars and researchers across Africa through academic networks.
Head of Consulting
B.T. innovation GmbH
Mr. Klaus Schneiders is the Head of Consulting at B.T. innovation GmbH and has over 15 years of experience in the field. B.T. innovation GmbH is a leading international technology provider in precast concrete industry. The German company was established in 1991 and since then it has constantly introduced innovative products and systems to construction industry. BT’s trend-setting products are used in more than 100 countries and include +50 patents and registered trademarks.
Regional Sales Manager, SADC & EAC
VitrA
Aman has passionately been involved I the bathroom industry for over 15 years. Aman has an array of experience from Retail, Projects, OEM and Wholesales. Covering global markets across UK, Europe, Middle East Africa, Asia and stretching to Australia and New Zealand.
Business Head
Safal Building Systems Ltd
Mr. Manish Garg is presently the Business Head at Safal Building Systems Ltd, the specialized building solutions subsidiary of Mabati Rolling Mills Ltd (MRM). MRM is the flagship of the SAFAL Group, Africa’s largest steel roofing organization that operates in 11 countries across Eastern, Southern Africa and Great Lakes. Mr. Garg holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from G B Pant Institute of Technology, New Delhi and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Busi- ness School, Boston USA. He has worked at senior levels at various world-class organizations, earning a wealth of knowledge and experience of over 20 years in the building and construction in- dustry. Before his current role in the Safal Group, Mr. Garg was the CEO for the steel building business at the giant Everest Industries, India.
Head of Marketing
Apex Steel LTD
Charles Gichane earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Syracuse University in 2010 and a Master’s in New Media Management from the same institu- tion in 2016. In between, he has worked for some of the biggest media companies in the US and in Kenya as a TV/radio news producer, editor, reporter and anchor with experience in local, national and international coverage. Since 2017, he has worked as the head of marketing at Apex Steel. As a self-proclaimed “positive thinking” activist, he believes that the quality of our thoughts directly influence the quality of our lives.”
President
African Association of Quantity Surveyors
David Gaitho is a Kenya based Quantity Surveyor and Project Manager. He received his training at the University of Nairobi in the late eighties graduating with a degree in Buildings Economics. He later enrolled for a Master’s Degree in construction Project Management at the University of Liverpool. With 27 years of experience, David is a professional of repute in Kenya where he was instrumental in transforming the professional association – IQSK. He served in the board for a period of 11 years capping it with Chairmanship between 2012 and 2014. For his many achievements in the growing the institute and the profession he was awarded fellowship in 2015, and is the convenor of College of Fellows. David has also been a council member of the African Association of Quantity Surveyors (AAQS) since the year 2008. He has travelled to many African countries advancing the objectives of AAQS. He was elected Vice President for Eastern Region in 2014 and three years later the President. He is currently serving this position with diligence until 2020. David is also a professional member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Institute of Construction Project Managers in Kenya (ICPMK). In his professional life he worked for the government and private sector before teaming up with colleagues to establish a consultancy firm of Chartered Quantity Surveyors in 1997. Over the years he has executed construction projects across all sectors of the economy gaining invaluable experience. He is a Director of the National Construction Authority (NCA) whose mandate is the development and regulation of the construction industry in Kenya. His vision of the industry is improved development control, safer construction, capacity building and improved ethical practices across the value chain. David is married to Esther and they have grown up children. He enjoys a round of golf weekly and loves golf tourism across continents when time allows
HF Group
Investment Officer
Triple Jump
Lorraine Vuguza is an Investment Officer who works with Triple Jump. As an impact-focused investment manager, Triple Jump aims to provides meaningful and responsible investment opportunities in developing countries. Triple Jump’s current investment portfolio in Africa consists of both private equity funds and financial institutions focusing on Microfinance, SME finance, leasing, and housing finance, while actively looking into expansion in the field of sustainable energy and digital finance.
As an investment officer in Triple Jump, Lorraine is responsible for debt investments in financial institutions in East Africa, Southern Africa and Liberia. Previously, she worked in private equity with experience in acquisitions and exits in various sectors such as financial institutions, FMCG, real estate and insurance. Lorraine majored in Finance at the University of Nairobi and Accountancy at Strathmore University and received her certification from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). She is currently pursuing the Certified Financial Analyst Charter. Lorraine is passionate about poverty reduction in Africa.
CEO- African Mortgage Platform Limited -AMP
Director - The Robert Rosenthall Group Kenya
International Housing Solutions
Head Mortgage Business
Kcb Bank Limited
Ag. General Manager, Investor Services, KenInvest
Mr. Guracha Adi currently is a General Manager Investor Services at Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest). He Joined KenInvest predecessor, the Investment Promotion Centre in 1999 as a Research and Information officer. KenInvest is the state agency charged with responsibility of promoting both
foreign and domestic investment in Kenya, facilitating investors, and policy advocacy with respect to investment in the country.
Mr. Guracha was seconded to the County Government of Marsabit from 2013 to 2017 as County Executive in charge of Finance and Planning where he laid firm foundation for the devolved governance structure. He prepared the first County Integrated Development Plan in compliance with County Government Act among other achievements.
Mr. Guracha holds Master of Business Administration (International Business management) from University of Nairobi. He also holds B.A (Business studies and Mathematic) from Kenyatta University. Mr. Guracha has been involved in the development of key policy documents for Kenya. These include the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Economic Recovery strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERS) 2003-2007 and the Kenya Vision 2030.
Director Project Management
MML Turner & Townsend, Kenya
Robert is the Director in charge of Project delivery at MML Turner & Townsend. Robert also acts in the capacity of Key Account Manager for a number of MML Turner & Townsend’s Key clients, most notably in the real estate sector, a sector that he has regional responsibility for across MML Turner & Townsend’s business. Specific client relationships for which Robert is responsible are: ACTIS, Mitchell Cotts, KCB (Kenya Commercial Bank)
These clients and others in various sectors of industry have benefited from Roberts’ dedicated, loyal, intellectual and innovative approach for a number of years. Roberts’ core strength is in improving project outcomes for clients through insightful team leadership, risk mitigation and unique value addition. Robert does not only save client’s money, but helps them achieve a performance step-change that they can own and sustain over the long-term. Robert is a highly motivated individual, with specific skills in leadership, quality assurance and conflict resolution, among others.
Gerente Geral - Africa,
Renovatio Capital
Role: VIP Interviewer
Naaman Geda begun his work career in the banking sector in Kenya. He then pursued architecture and practiced at the Symbion Group, before moving on to DSA where he rose to become senior associate and head of office.
Naaman subsequently transitioned to private equity, combining the banking, research, civil society and building industry experience to become African Executive for Renovatio Capital.
He currently handles deal origination and investment management on the continent, as well as Renovatio’s most recent structured finance consultancy work which has seen the organization advise pension funds, parastatals, multinationals and HNIs in the East African region on asset strategy. He also handles distribution internationally.
Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank
Caroline Cerruti is a Senior Financial Sector Specialist in the World Bank. She works primarily on financial sector restructuring and long-term finance such as housing and infrastructure finance. She has been involved in various financial sector assessments (FSAP) jointly with the IMF.
On housing finance, Caroline has worked on various mortgage refinance companies and has been supporting the establishment of the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC). Her housing finance project in West Africa has won the World Bank’s President Award for Excellence this year.
Before joining the World Bank, Caroline worked for the French Treasury on trade and financial regulation issues, and for three years as a banker in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Caroline was educated at the Institute of Political Science in Paris (Sciences-Po), the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) in Paris, and is a CFA Charterholder.
Managing Director,
Avarts Housing Limited
Mr. Vincent Agaba is the Managing Director of Avarts Housing Ltd. He is also the Resident Technical Advisor for Uganda for the International Housing Coalition – IHC Global. He is one of the founding members of the Association of Real Estate Agents of Uganda (AREA-Uganda) and is the past CEO & Past President of AREA-Uganda. He is also a Member of the Governing Council of the Real Estate Institute of East Africa (REIEA). He is the Chairperson of the Board of Rena Foundation Uganda, an NGO providing Education Services, health services and promoting tourism around Lake George. And he is a past Member of the Audit Committee of PSFU, the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda.
He holds a Degree in Business Administration and Management attained at Uganda Martyrs University and a Degree in International Business and Management from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He also attained a Professional Certificate in Real Estate Management by IREM, USA; Professional Certificate in Real Estate Brokerage and Management offered by the International Real Property Foundation in cooperation with World Bank-IFC and AREA-Uganda; Professional Certificate in Trainer of Trainers and in Housing Finance, both offered by Frankfurt School of Finance & Management – Germany in cooperation with World Bank-IFC and Mortgage Association of Uganda (MAU). He is also a Member of Rotary International.
Director, Green Arch
David Matole is an architect, environmental design consultant and an Accredited Green Star SA Professional with the Green Building Council of South Africa and the Kenya Green Building Society. He has practiced as a registered architect for 20 years and is a co-operate member of the Architectural Association of Kenya’s Architects and Environmental Design Consultants Chapters. He is also a founding director and former secretary of the Kenya Green Building Society.
He is a Director of Green Arch Ltd, an architecture and sustainability firm. He is also a lecturer in Architecture and Environmental Design at the Technical University of Kenya where he teaches architectural studio, architectural acoustics and building sustainable design.
Independent Consultant
During his professional career, David has worked as a policy researcher, policy analyst / manager, account manager, project manager, training developer, operations / general manager, business analyst, strategic consultant and facilitator. David has deep experience of human settlement and development issues across Africa, having worked for over twenty five years in developing strategy and policy, conceptualizing and implementing programmes and projects, undertaking market demand studies and financial modelling, evaluating and reviewing policy, and creating institutional and financial capacity to implement development policy, strategy and regulations. David has undertaken contracts for private sector, government (national, regional and local), development finance institutions (at country, continental and international level) and NPOs.
David has extensive experience of urban planning frameworks integrated and sustainable development, infrastructure and social facilities; housing, infrastructure and land issues in a developing world context; housing implementation typologies including mortgage market development, incremental housing, in-situ upgrading of informal settlements and integrated human settlements development; Institutional development and capacitation; green buildings, green building technology and green finance products; rural development and agribusiness analysis and development; landscape analysis, restoration and productivity improvements; development finance and housing finance (capital markets, finance market making and end-user financing instrument design); Economic Value Chain analysis building sustainable value chains and supply chains; Inner city rejuvenation and development; Private rental market policy and development (formal and informal sectors) including ‘Backyard Rental’ and tenement Development; finance frameworks for human settlements development, including national subsidy and finance programmes, wholesale and retail housing finance markets and unsecured finance and employer housing policy and housing strategy for primary industries.
Country Director
AFD Kenya
Ghislain de VALON is the current AFD Country Director in Kenya. He was previously posted in Asia, as AFD Country Director in Indonesia. As such, he has been dealing with significant sovereign development funding in energy, urban development, transport and water sectors as well as in the banking industry. He worked for ten years in PROPARCO, the private dedicated arm of the AFD Group, in Regional Representative Offices in Eastern Africa and in Paris Headquarters as Deputy CEO. He holds a master’s degree in international Finance and has been working in the International Development Banking for more than 20 years.
Founder and Managing Director,
Tech Home East Africa Limited
Mr Patrick Kirugara Mwiandi is an entrepreneur at heart being the Founder and Managing Director of Tech Home East Africa Limited; a SMART Home Technology pioneer in Kenya. Motivated by the prospects of emerging technology in the Building Technology sector, Mr Mwiandi has for the last three years been advocating for Efficient Energy usage through technology as well as reducing the cost of construction through adoption of SMART building technology. Mr Mwiandi is also the Co-Founder and Commercial Director of PWK Packaging East Africa Limited, a biodegradable packaging materials promoter in East Africa. PWK Packaging works to deliver environmentally friendly packaging materials to businesses and individuals. Mr Mwiandi is focused in promoting technology in construction to ensure that Kenya and Africa at large can affordably build and sustain their homes and enterprises. With over 20 years’ work experience in Information and Communications Technology, Mr Mwiandi looks forward to lending his expertise to these programs and other national initiatives in his home country.
Previously, Mr Mwiandi worked successfully with private sector in Israel, USA, United Kingdom, Holland, Indonesia and Kenya in the Agricultural, Transport, Banking, Manufacturing and Health sectors in developing ICT solutions for and improving business processes through automation of existing and introduction of new improved process that are efficient in use and cost. Mr Mwiandi has worked in developing ICT solutions for Socfin Group, the world’s Largest Palm Oil producer and manufacturer in Indonesia, St. Rehovot Israeli 1,000 Kibbuttz in agricultural monitoring through technology for safe food production, Mavuno Group – Africa’s largest Fresh Flowers producer and exporter, where he worked as the Group ICT Manager responsible for the group’s ICT projects and Enterprise resource systems (ERP) by developing a seamless continental ERP system to manage the group’s Production, Processing, Logistics and Sales system that has changed the agriculture management in the world.
For his contributions to public service Mr Mwiandi has been mobilising over 4,000 farmers in Tharaka Nithi county into a business approach to environmentally friendly farming methods that raised cotton production from 20 to 70 tonnes. He is a certified ICT Project Manager from KPMG and Microsoft, holds a Masters in Information Technology and Business Management from the University of Wales, a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from Africa Nazarene University and currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in International Business Management
(Entrepreneurship) from United States International University (USIU) – Africa.
Managing Director /
CEO Urban Shelter Ltd
Saadiya is an executive management professional, who is results focused, driven and dynamic with over 15 years of progressive leadership experience. She has a passion for surpassing operational, financial and operational objectives by delivering world class real estate developments and solutions.
She has lead Urban Shelter through change management in 2015 and repositioned the company to be an industry leader in real estate sector. As the MD/CEO she has the vision, talent and strong drive to develop and execute winning strategies, projects and inspire teams to adopt change and accomplish preset goals. Deriving genuine pleasure from transforming high- potential staff into outstanding leaders demonstrating the creativity critical to operational and financial success.
In past roles Saadiya has been effective in prominent decision-making roles within government and private sector leading policy dialogue & legislative advocacy; while providing leadership and strategic direction required to influence through creative innovation and nurturing talent.
Saadiya heads the Thematic Group for Housing and Urban Development of NESG. She provides governance as a board director in a number of companies including Shelter Suites & Hotels Ltd, Urban Shelter Infrastructure Ltd and North South Power. She is passionate about gender equality and lends her voice to a number of NGOs as part of her civic duties. She is an alumnus of Brunel University and School and Oriental & African Studies, University of London.
Co-Founder & CEO
Buildher & Orkidstudio
Visionary architect James Mitchell founded Orkidstudio in 2008, which creates healthy, safe and dignified buildings, through an exceptional end-to-end design and construction process, which use local materials and promote opportunities for women.
Celebrated in Impact Design Hub’s 40-under-40 in 2017, James has also led Orkidstudio to international recognition, including the Royal Scottish Academy Medal for Architecture in 2013, honoured as a Curry Stone Design Prize Social Design Circle member in 2017 and being shortlisted for the Swiss Architectural Award 2018. In 2017, James was selected for the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship GSBI program and in 2018 as an Aspen Institute Spotlight Health Scholar. Most recently, Orkidstudio was listed in the London Stock Exchange Asoko Insight Companies to Inspire Africa 2019.
In 2018, James co-founded Buildher which equips disadvantaged young women in Kenya with accredited construction skills, leading to greater financial prosperity, changing male attitudes and promoting gender equality within the construction industry.
CEO, B.T. innovation GmbH
Felix von Limburg is the founder, owner and managing director of B.T. innovation GmbH, a leading international technology provider in precast concrete industry. The German company was established in 1991 and since then it has constantly introduced innovative products and systems to construction industry. BT’s trend-setting products are used in more than 100 countries and include +50 patents and registered trademarks.
Having traveled through the world, Felix realized the enormous need in field of affordable housing and started to deploy precast technology in this way. Together with his creative and hardworking team, he introduced his “low cost house” concept as a stable, safe and affordable housing to be assembled in only two hours. His initial achievement drew immense national and international attention. His concept was afterwards partially funded by state government, through which a comprehensive solution to address the housing challenge in developing countries was developed.
he revolutionary Butterfly Battery mold technology, tested and approved by market leaders in Europe is finding its way into developing countries very fast.
In contrary to many other methods, Felix von Limburg believes that the value chain of building industry must be kept inside the country as much as possible. Know-how and technology are the tools in hands of local human resources in order to use the local material and address the demand of their own society. High quality and affordable houses in large number are not the only outcome in this way, where numerous jobs are created for the youth, and local suppliers and real estate face a boom in construction.
As a solution provider, Felix and his colleagues are excited to meet and collaborate with other stakeholders and leading professionals in field of affordable housing during this summit.
Head, East Africa, EIB
Head of EIB Regional Representation for East Africa, covering EIB’s lending activities in the infrastructure and financial sectors in the region, which are carried out under the Cotonou Partnership Agreement between the EU and the ACP countries.
Experience:
Over 30 years’ experience in the financial sector, acquired in commercial banks both in Europe and South Africa. Joined the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg in 1995, covering development finance and institutional activities mainly, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. In depth knowledge of the EU institutional set up, EU external policies and instruments (including blending).
Education:
Masters in Business Engineering
1986 – HEC – Ulg, Liège (Belgium)
Advanced European Studies Auditor (CHEE)
2014 – ENA – Paris
Head of Department, Department of Land Economy, KNUST
Dr. Gyamfi-Yeboah is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Land Economy, KNUST and currently serves as the Head of Department. He has been a lecturer in Real Estate Finance and Investment at the Department of Land Economy, KNUST since 2003. He has also taught undergraduate and graduate level real estate and finance courses at the University of Florida and Georgia State University, both in the USA. He has published several articles in leading real estate journals such the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Journal of Property Research, Journal of International Money and Finance etc. He recently co-authored a technical report commissioned by UN- HABIT on the Financing for Resilient and Green Urban Global Solutions for Accra and Tema, Ghana.
Dr. Frank Gyamfi-Yeboah holds a doctorate degree in Real Estate from Georgia State University,
USA, a masters degree in Real Estate Finance from the University of Cambridge, England and a Bachelors Degree in Land Economy from KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana. He is a member of the Valuation and Estate Surveyors division of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (Gh.I.S) and served on the Institution’s Governing Council during 2012/2013 session.
In addition to being an academic, Dr. Gyamfi-Yeboah works as a consultant in different areas of the
real estate and finance industries and has consulted for leading Ghanaian firms in the areas of transaction advisory, valuation, market and feasibility studies. He is a co-founder of Pacific Real Estate Advisors, a firm specializing in providing real estate advisory services. He is married with two daughters.
Member of Distributed Ledgers and AI TaskForce, Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology, Kenya
Michael’s works has always been and continues to be about empowering Africa’s Forgotten Bottom Millions. Leads and works around emerging technologies – economic empowerment, serving in varying sectors across platforms amongst interdisciplinary sectors within governments, NGO’s and the private sector, in Africa and globally. Member of the Distributed Ledgers and Artificial Intelligence Taskforce, Ministry of ICT, after completing his role as Minister responsible for the docket of Communication, Information and Technology – County Government of Kisumu. He’s also a Global Fellow – Social Innovation (Rockefeller Foundation), Skoll Foundation Fellow 2019 and previously served as a within the wider creative industries sector, immensely contributed to developing The Road Map for Kenya’s creative industries sector, in collaboration with IBM, positioning the sector as a catalyst to Kenya’s economic growth, outlining how to double Kenya’s current creative industries contribution to GDP.
His formal academic background is in the Sciences (BSc Andrews Michigan), while his work history has primarily been within the communication, IT and policy since 1994.
CEO & Principal Consultant
BESIC Group Ltd.
John by profession is a Building Surveyor & Sustainability Consultant at BESIC Group where he is also the founder and MD. John Graduated with a Bachelor of Business Management (1 st Class) from Mangalore University, India. He also has a Professional Diploma in Property Inspection from InterNACHI School, Diploma in Sustainable Development from Allison, training in Sustainability from BATH University and is an Accredited USGBC LEED Green Associate. John has already undergone the Green Star SA AP-EBP training as well.
John has a combined 16 years’ experience in land management & administration, property condition assessment, conducting real estate technical due diligence, asset & facilities management, sustainable waste management and, building sustainability & strategic sustainability consulting throughout East Africa. John has worked with property owners, developers, corporations, associations and, cultural institutions around East Africa offering advisory on asset management, urban renewal, green building and strategic sustainability planning and implementation for businesses. Through his advisory John has optimized net worth of his clients’ property portfolio by protecting the integrity of their assets and integration of sustainability into real estate and business to future proof against disruptive trends.
As well as his work at BESIC Group, John is the Vice Chairperson and head of the Advocacy Committee at the Kenya Green Building Society-KGBS, a member of International Association of Certified Home inspectors (InterNACHI), and The International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP).
Managing Director, Innohabitat Ltd.
Gavin Tokely is the Managing Director of Innohabitat Ltd. He has extensive expertise and experience in large low cost and affordable housing projects, sustainable building materials and ultra-fast-track construction systems for sustainable residential community developments in developing countries.
He has completed over seventeen hundred low cost homes in remote areas of Sabah, Malaysia since 2001, relocated to London in 2007 and used the experience gain in Asia to complete the design of the Pristine Sustainable City model.
Awarded and completed the conceptual plan and presentation of the 3,000 acre tourist destination city at Osolu Island, Lagos, Nigeria. Mr Tokely has since established the African Belt & Road initiative and commenced the world’s first chain of branded Affordable Sustainable Townships that incorporate a Dry Port Free Trade Zone with integrated Solar Farm Power Plant. Innohabitat has secured large Development Sites in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.
Central London Real Estate Ltd is a very strong international brand with an extensive portfolio of off-plan and new-built property in addition to off-market property, development sites and hotels within London and strategic cities in the UK. This niche is extended to the most premier off-plan property in mega-projects located in capital cities worldwide.
The Innohabitat group is primarily a CSR based organisation. Innohabitat: affordable housing and job creation. ZeroCo2energy: green energy. Innorest Hotels: budget hotel and public sanitation. Innobanking: affordable financial inclusion. Innoauto: affordable reliable public transport infrastructure and Buy2Lease: empowerment of single mothers in public transport.
Mr Tokely is a qualified Mechanical Engineer and holds diplomas in Business Management and Marketing at Griffith University, certified Quality Assurance auditor, certified Health & Safety officer, certified Town Planner and Entrepreneur Enterprise at LSE.
Regional Director, East & West Africa, Guarant Co
Janice Kotut-Sang is the Regional Director for GuarantCo in East and Southern Africa based in Nairobi. Janice has over ten years banking experience with Standard Chartered Bank. She has worked in Asia, the United Kingdom and Kenya in a various business strategy and origination roles. Her last assignment with Standard Chartered Bank in London was as Director, Origination and Client Coverage focusing on mining clients in Africa.
Janice has also spent four years running a floriculture operation in Kenya and is the current chair of the Waitrose Foundation Kenya. She also still sits on the board of Karen Roses Limited as a Non- Executive Director.
Janice has an LLB from Warwick University and an LLM from King’s College London and an Executive MBA from the Said Business School in Oxford.
GuarantCo is the guarantee arm of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), which mobilises private sector investment to assist developing countries in providing infrastructure vital to boosting their economic growth and combating poverty. GuarantCo is a provider of contingent credit solutions aimed at enhancing the availability and role of local currency finance for infrastructure projects and developing local capital markets.
UN – Habitat
Head - Capacity Building, Senior Housing Expert
Claudio Acioly is an architect and urban planner, a development practitioner with more than 35 years of experience. He has worked in more than 30 countries. Acioly was a senior housing and land expert, a programme manager, associated with the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies-IHS for 15 years before he joined UN-Habitat in 2008 as chief Housing Policy, coordinator of the United Nations Housing Rights Program and the Advisory Group on Forced Evictions to the Executive Director of UN-Habitat – AGFE. At IHS, he worked internationally in several housing and slum upgrading programmes. As head of Housing Policy of UN-Habitat (2008-2012), Acioly led the housing policy work of UN-Habitat in countries such as Cuba, Ghana, Malawi, El-Salvador, Uganda, Vietnam, Nepal and Ecuador and was directly involved in housing policy planning and implementation as well as slum upgrading. He is the principal author of UN-Habitat’s Housing Profile Methodology and the Street-led Citywide Slum Upgrading Strategy amongst many other publications. He is currently the head of Capacity Building of UN-Habitat leading global programs and initiatives linking capacity building, institutional development and policy change. Acioly has worked as a consultant for the World Bank, UNECE, UNDP, the Dutch Development Cooperation and several international organizations. He has published books and articles in international journals on issues such as urban density, inner city revitalization, housing, slum upgrading and participatory budgeting.
