SPEAKERS

Simon Walley has been with the World Bank for 10 years – his role has been varied covering a range of countries from Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. In particular, he has worked on the development of affordable housing solutions through improving the access to financial services. He has worked extensively on developing secondary mortgage markets through the creation of liquidity facilities, mortgage subsidy schemes and housing microfinance.Prior to the World Bank, Simon spent 3 years in Brussels with the European Mortgage Federation as Deputy Secretary General.

Pierre is a housing specialist who has over 25 years’ experience in housing within the banking environment. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree, a Master of Science Degree in Housing (Building), a banking diploma, a mini MBA, together with a number of property diplomas. Pierre is employed by The Banking Association South Africa as General Manager, Human Settlements Cluster, which includes oversight for the various property, physical infrastructure, agriculture and sustainable finance committees.

Christian König is the Managing Director of the Association of Private Bausparkassen in Berlin, Germany and the European Federation of Building Societies in Brussels, Belgium. Christian König’s involvement with housing finance issues began long before taking on the dual directorships of the Association of Private Bausparkassen and the European Federation of Building Societies. In 2003 Christian König joined the Brussels office of the German Bausparkassen and the European Federation of Building Societies as Head of Office. He added to his responsibilities in 2012 when he became the Head of Legal Affairs for the Association of Private Bausparkassen in Berlin. Christian König was elected Managing Director European Federation of Building Societies in November 2017. Since May 2018 Christian König is also Managing Director of the Association of Private Bausparkassen. Christian König’s scope of works include the evaluation of legislative proposals in the field of banking, contract and consumer protection law, as well as housing policy of the European Union as well as of other German regulatory and legislative institutions. He is a regular member in expert groups at the EU level, for example the Forum Group on mortgage credit and the CFR-Network on European Contract Law of the European Commission to name a few. Christian König is a registered German attorney admitted to the bar. He regularly publishes books, articles and reviews in German and international journals on German and EU mortgage and consumer credit law and has been a speaker at several international conferences throughout the world. Before joining the European Federation of Building Societies, Christian König worked for several law firms in Bonn, Cologne, Stockholm and for the German Thai Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok. He studied law in Germany, France, Austria and Sweden and holds a degree in German law, a French diploma degree in comparative law and a Master of European Law. Christian König is married and has two children.

Anne-Marie is CIO of FSD Africa Investments, the development capital investment arm of FSD Africa. A Zimbabwean, she is the former CEO of Financial Sector Deepening Mozambique, and Co-founder of a private equity fund manager, Alitheia IDF Managers, investing in women-led businesses. She also took over and led the exists of Pan African microfinance fund returning capital to shareholders. Anne-Marie has a wealth of experience in building African financial markets. Across her career, she has led a range of development finance investments and implemented strategies for private sector growth, in roles at the World Bank Group, CGAP, and UK Aid, among other development finance institutions. As a Board member of the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF), Anne-Marie helped shape a blended finance approach to de-risking investments in renewable energy and agriculture businesses, contributing to the prosperity of African rural economies. She was also a member of the Women’s World Banking Advisory Council of leading thinkers in finance for women.

Ananta Wiyogo was born in Rome, Italy on August 14th, 1957. His formal education is the Graduate (Engineer) in 1981 of Institut Pertanian Bogor, majoring in fishery. His working experience is mainly in the capital market and/or financial sector for almost 30 years. Since 1989 until 2019 (he has ever worked as Director & President Director at Bankers Trust, PT Bank Niaga, Niaga Finance Ltd Hong Kong, PT Tunas Sepadan Investama, PT Pefindo, PT KSEI, PT BNI Sekuritas) and the latest is as the President Director of PT Sarana Multigriya Finansial (Persero) since August 2016 until present. He has attended many education and trainings in the capital market and/or financial sector either in domestic as well as overseas, among others attending the International Housing Finance Program at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA (2016) and World Bank Conference, Washington DC, USA (8th Global Housing Conference – 2018). In July 2018 he attended the 5th Asian Fixed Income Summit (AFIS) and the 5th Asian Secondary Mortgage Market Association (ASMMA) Meeting at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Ahmed Attout (AA) is a Chief Capital Markets Officer at the Financial Sector Departments of the African Development Bank (“AfDB”) based in the AfDB Regional Office in Pretoria – South
Africa. AA has been working with the AfDB since 2010 with more than 20 years of professional experience in MENA & Sub-Saharan Africa. He has extensive experience in conventional and innovative financing transactions to private and public sector clients through multilateral development banks and multinational commercial financial institutions. AA is leading, structuring and developing different type of transactions and projects with a background in infrastructure finance, financial sector development, and corporate finance. In particular, AA is leading projects and interventions to deepen African Capital Markets through structured operations to mortgage finance companies, banks, and state owned enterprises. AA is spearheading the AfDB endeavors in promoting access to long-term mortgages, affordable housing finance schemes, and the widening of insurance and leasing sectors in Africa. Prior joining the AfDB, he was a corporate finance officer at Sociéte General Bank (Egypt) – Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (Sudan) – and Banque Audi (Lebanon). Ahmed holds an MSc in Management of Internal Development from the University of Turin – Italy.

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.

Paul is the CEO of TUHF, a specialist mortgage lender in South Africa, focussing on inner city residential rental property. He has been TUHF’s CEO since inception in 2003 and has been involved in development finance since 1987 when he joined the Development Bank of Southern Africa. In addition to various Executive Director roles in the TUHF Group, Paul is also a Director for Brickfields Housing Company, Centre for Affordable Housing Finance and Divercity. Paul holds a BSc (Hons) in Agricultural Economics.

Ilona Roodt is a Financial Director at the TUHF, managing the entire financial process within the company. Financial reporting, Policy development and implementation, Treasury and Risk Management, Governance and regulatory compliance. She has held the position of financial manager at Standard Bank Property Finance & Advisory services, Portfolio Manager for Rand Merchant Bank, a Division of First Rand Bank Ltd, and Credit Manager and Corporate & International Credit at the Nedcor Bank. Ilona holds a B.Com (Accountancy, Auditing, Commercial Law), C.T.A./B.Compt (Accountancy, Auditing, Tax), PAAB Qualifying Exam – CA (SA), JSE Compliance Officer Rules Exam, Mortgage finance (Wits Business School), Property Development Programme (SAPOA), H. Dip Tax, and a International Housing Finance Program (Wharton Business School, Pennsylvania) qualification.

Mrs. Abdel Hamid is the Chairman of the Mortgage Finance Fund since September 2010, an affiliated entity to the Ministry of Investment mainly in charge of improving access to housing and finance to low income groups. Since 2016 she has also been appointed as the Executive Director of Social Housing Fund (SHF) affiliated of Ministry of Housing, Utilities and New Urban Communities. In August 2018 both funds were merged & she was appointed as the CEO of Social Housing & Mortgage Finance Fund (SHMFF). She graduated from the American University in Cairo in 1993 and has several professional diplomas in global corporate banking, credit risk management and international housing finance from American Express Bank New York and Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Abdel Hamid is a leading expert in corporate and mortgage lending with over 26 years of professional experience. Her latest positions include being Advisor to the Chairman of the Egyptian Mortgage Finance Authority, the regulator of the mortgage market. She also worked for the Crédit Lyonnais Bank – Egypt and for American Express Bank Limited – Egypt for more than 10 years as Head of Corporate Banking at the Head Office. She is currently a Board member of SAIB bank, Since April 2019 and member of Risk committee. Before joining SAIB, she was a Board member at Housing & Development Bank and member of Audit, Risk Corporate Governance committees since October 2013 till April 2019. She also served as the Vice Chairman of the Egyptian Liquidity Facility Egyptian Mortgage Refinance Company “EMRC”, a company owned by the Central Bank of Egypt, Mortgage Finance Fund and 28 banks & mortgage Companies. She was also member of audit & risk, HR and Executive committees of “EMRC”. She has also been a board member of several companies including Taamir Company for securitization and October for Development & Real Estate Investment Company. Mrs. Abdel Hamid is also a certified mortgage trainer by the US Mortgage Bankers Association “MBA”, member of the Egyptian Mortgage Bankers Federation and Head of the advisory board to the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority “FRA” on mortgage lending.

Lew has throughout his career been an innovative social entrepreneur, tackling diverse social problems in multiple industries. That experience over a diverse career has helped to develop and apply scalable solutions to complex global social issues. After serving his country in the US Navy early in his career, Lew pioneered a lending model for plaintiffs who were out of work due to traumatic injury. After selling this growing business to a private equity group, Lew’s business interest in the Seafood industry resulted in the creation of fishing co-ops and building export facilities in South and Central America for export to the US market. A decade later Lew turned his attention to affordable housing and helped pioneer innovative housing strategies including Public Private Partnerships in the US. Lew led an organization that developed and built new and rehabilitated thousands of affordable homes in disinvested communities within culturally diverse populations, ultimately taking the expertise to Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Lew is leading the Technology company, iBUILD Global (Co-Founder) which has developed “iBUILD”. The end to end Mobile Platform for the construction/housing space in developing countries with partnership contributions from IBM and MasterCard Innovation Labs.

Mr Joseph Mwansa Chikolwa is a holder of a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics, a Financial Studies Diploma (DipFS), Masters Degree in Finance and is a Fel low of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (UK). He is a seasoned chartered banker who has over 27 years of post qual ifying experience mostly obtained from the Financials Services Industry. He has held various senior roles over the years including that of Managing Director of Stanbic Bank Zambia Limited, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ZCCM Investments Holdings and General Manager/ CEO of the Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE). He was prior to joining LuSE the Executive Director for Corporate & Institutional Banking at Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Plc. Currently Mr. Chikolwa is Managing Director of Zambia National Bui lding Society (ZNBS) which is the largest mortgage lender in Zambia with 350 members of staff and 20 branches country wide. He is a non- Executive Director of British American Tobacco Zambia Plc, Prudential Life Assurance Zambia Limited and National Housing Authority (NHA) Zambia.

Datuk Chung Chee Leong is the President/Chief Executive Officer and an Executive Director of Cagamas Berhad. He spearheaded Cagamas’ entrance into the international bond market. Starting with the A3 Sovereign Equivalent International Rating by Moody’s Investors Services, Datuk Chung was instrumental in establishing the company’s USD5 billion Multicurrency EMTN Programme under which Cagamas’ inaugural and South East Asia largest Offshore Renminbi bond was issued. Under his leadership, Cagamas also concluded the country’s largest Sukuk issuance in 2013. He is currently the Chairman of the International Secondary Mortgage Market Association, a networking group formed under the auspicious of the World Bank and served as the first Chairman of the Asian Secondary Mortgage Market Association. Prior to his appointment, Datuk Chung has 29 years of experience in central banking focusing mainly on financial system stability and the financial sector. He has served as the Director of Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Banking Supervision Department as well as the Risk Management Department. Datuk Chung has carried out assignments for the International Monetary Fund, the Islamic Financial Services Board and the Asian Development Bank.

MUSTAPHA NJIE (TAF), is the man behind the success called TAF AFRICA GLOBAL LIMITED, a company registered in 8 African countries with dominance in Gambia and Nigeria. Mustapha has been involved in the development of the GIETAF Special Economic Zone in Gambia, the design and development of the RIVTAF Golf Estate, Port Harcourt in Nigeria as well as the design, development and furnishing of the the 52 A.U Presidential villas in Gambia. He was recently awarded the GBB Best Affordable Housing of the Year 2018 and the CNBC/AABLA Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 (West Africa). Mustapha has also taken part in a number of conferences including the Annual Africa Business Conference at Harvard Business School 2019 and 2003 (panellist), Africa CEO Forum 2019 (panellist) and the Wharton Business School 2004 (panellist).

Ilaria Benucci joined the CDC Group in 2013 as Investment Director: Industrial Businesses. She has also led CDC Investments in two East-African commercial banks. Ilaria joined CDC from AIG Private Equity where she was responsible for investments in emerging Europe and Turkey. Her background is in private equity and financial institutions investing across Europe and the CIS countries. Before AIG, she spent over 10 years at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development where she worked on banks’ privatisations and equity investments as well as
project finance and real estate.

David heads the Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A) Partnership Secretariat. He has over 20 years of experience in the African financial sector. His broad knowledge covers thematics ranging from SME finance and capital markets to public-private partnerships and long-term finance. He previously managed the Commonwealth’s Private Investment Initiative (CPII), which raised US$800 million for investment in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific. David has also worked for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Agence Française de Développement. His current interests focus on unlocking domestic long-term capital for investment in Africa. David is a graduate of the London School of Economics and The Management School, Imperial College, London.

Ian has been working at the interface between private sector effectiveness and public good for over 25 years. Reall’s affordable homes model is built on thirty years of these solutions, and has provided an ideal platform for his leadership. Ian began his career in the 1990s working for a Nepali NGO. He spent 16 years at the UK Department for International Development (DFID), where he progressed to Head of Private Sector Development. Ian was Chief Strategy Officer for Crown Agents before joining Reall as CEO in 2018. Ian has lived and worked for many years in East Africa and South Asia. He now lives in London, the city of his birth, with his wife and daughters.

Roland has garnered over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry in Nigeria having worked with United Bank of Africa Plc, Oceanic Bank of Nigeria and National Bank of Nigeria. He was also recently a consultant with the World Bank on the design and transaction structure of the Family Homes Fund (FHF) – a N500 Billion social intervention program for housing by the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Roland was head hunted by the Federal Government of Nigeria in July 2013 to lead the turn around and recapitalization of the moribund Federal Housing Authority Homes – a mortgage bank (now known as FHA Mortgage Bank Limited). Within a 6 months’ period, the bank was recapitalized and returned to profitability. Roland is currently a member of the technical committee (mortgage sector) of the Financial System Strategy 2020 (FSS 2020), the Federal Government of Nigeria financial schemes reform driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Dr Igbinoba is an alumnus of the School of Management, Cranfield University, UK. He is currently leading the development and organization of the PropTech Industry in Nigeria. This task involves helping both the private sector and government with policy frameworks; and the advocacy for an enabling environment and investment climate regime for PropTech companies in the country. With an academic background in Microbiology, Roland’s post-doctoral research work currently focuses on the intersection between Sustainable Cities Development and Health. Roland is the Founder of Pison Housing Company; and The Roland Igbinoba Real Foundation for Housing and Urban Development (RIRFHUD). He is an alumnus of Harvard University Graduate School of Design with a concentration in Real Estate Development & Finance.

Originally from Venezuela, David is a developer-entrepreneur, founder of Atenu Developments and Emanya Capital Group. Through Atenu, David has been building since 2014 in Namibia. Atenu builds privately-funded, affordable housing projects in towns around sub-saharan Africa, providing integral solutions to first-time home buyers. On the health and education fronts, Atenu builds clinics and classroom blocks for underserved populations around the nation, partnered with NGOs like the Pupkewitz Foundation and Palms for Life Fund. Emanya Capital Group is the private equity arm of their operations, which owns FinTech company OperFin, a digital identities and eMortgage platform. David is actively engaged in consulting projects for real estate funds and developers in Namibia, Cameroon, Zambia and Nigeria. Before moving to Namibia, David Akinin worked for Credit Suisse in NYC as an Investment Banker in the
Energy industry, and later covering Latin America from Chile and NYC. Previous to CS, he held positions at Google in California, Clarteza in Chicago/Paris, Fundacion Don Juan De Borbon in Madrid, and Rallytel (astartup). Fluent in six languages, Akinin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Chicago, where he was a QuestBridge Scholar. He is completing a Masters in Philosophy in Inclusive Innovation at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, researching ‘stakeholder accountability in the provision of affordable housing’. Akinin completed coursework at Harvard University and Paris VII- Diderot.

Fiona Stewart, Lead Financial Sector Specialist, is part of the Long-term Finance Team in the World Bank’s Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Practice. Fiona provides policy advice on pension and insurance market reform to governments around the world, and is currently working on projects in East and Southern Africa, Indonesia and Georgia. Previously,
she worked for the OECD’s Financial Affairs Division for eight years and led the Secretariat of the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS). Prior to working at the OECD,
Fiona worked in the pension fund industry. As head of American Express Asset Management in Japan she was responsible for investing $2bn in Asian equity markets, and, as part of an
international team, for managing $20bn globally. She holds degrees from Oxford and Johns Hopkins Universities and a Chartered Financial Analyst qualification. She also served on the
advisory board of one of the OECD’s own pension funds.

FA Johnstone Oltetia is the Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC). KMRC was established with the principal objective of addressing 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 pillars of the Affordable Housing Project under 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 (in good standing) 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.

Sylvia Kasanga is a practicing Architect & 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 as a RIBA Chartered Architect. She has been in the construction industry for sixteen years, and 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 Nominated Member of the Twelfth Parliament of Kenya in the capacity of Senator. Duly, she serves as a Member in the Parliamentary Committees on “Land, Environment and National Resources”, “Powers & Privileges” as well as the “Road and Transport”. Internationally, she represents Kenya in the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) under the Forum of Parliaments. As a legislator, she aspires to utilize her professional passion and expertise on; Affordable Housing, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Health and Education matters, to advocate for formulation of SMART policies, regulations & laws on these areas. Duly, she has sponsored two bills in Parliament; The Mental Health Bill 2018, and The Alternative Dispute Resolutions Bill 2019. In overall, on this national stage, she has pro-actively sponsored eight motions, four statements and the two Bills.

From the USA Daniel has spent the last seven years building Blockchain solutions. Daniel studied at theUniversity of Michigan where he worked at Bitbox, one of the first Cryptocurrency exchanges in the USA. Daniel subsequently cofounded the College Cryptocurrency Network (now Blockchain Education Network) a nonprofit that provided Blockchain educational initiatives at Universities in over 10 countries. In 2014 Daniel received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a Blockchain solution in Ghana which ultimately led to the concept of Seso. This experience has provided valuable expertise in the land administration and financial inclusion implementation.

Lenore is the African Regional Program Manager for EDGE, the green building certification solution that is an innovation of IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. Prior to joining IFC
she was leading the implementation of green building initiatives for a housing impact fund at Old Mutual Alternative Investments for close to four years. Her experience includes six years of
project finance at Standard Bank in South Africa and London. She holds an MBA from GIBS, University of Pretoria and an MSc (Chemical Engineering) from University of Cape Town, South
Africa.

Evans is Director, Capital Markets Development at FSD Africa. Prior to joining FSD Africa in July 2016, he was a Senior Securities Market Specialist and Head, Efficient Securities Markets Institutional Development (ESMID) Africa, with the World Bank-IFC Finance and Markets Global Practice, where he worked on technical assistance projects related to developing government, non-government bond and equity markets in emerging market countries. His work experience spans Africa, Middle East & North Africa (MENA), North America, Europe and South Asia. Before joining the World Bank Group, he served as a Vice President, Head of Investments at AIG Global Investment Group where his responsibilities included managing a pan-African total return fund that was a pioneer investor in debt and equity markets in Africa. He was instrumental in developing the research and investment process capabilities in fixed income, equities, alternatives and offshore investments in the company. He was a founding member of the Market Leaders’ Forum in Kenya and has served (in an advisory capacity) in the Capital Markets Master Plan Implementation Committee. He developed the first Government Bond Market index in Kenya and a widely followed Equity Market index.

Andrew Chimphondah is Managing Director of Shelter Afrique, the Pan-African finance institution dealing exclusively with providing affordable housing finance and advisory solutions in
Africa. He is a CA, a member of SAICA and ICAZ. He holds an MBA in International Finance and is currently completing his PHD thesis on innovative housing finance solutions for the affordable housing market. He has more than 20 years’ Finance and Business executive leadership experience in real estate finance, retail and wholesale banking. He has hugely successful business turnarounds and fundraising initiatives in several housing finance corporations.

Illana Melzer is the founder and lead consultant at 71point4, an analytics consultancy (not a radio station) focused on bringing numbers to life. 71point4 uses data-driven insights to
support the growth of key sectors in developing economies. The company name is the current estimate of global average life expectancy at birth. Illana began her career over 20 years ago working at well-known international consulting firms, Monitor and Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting). Prior to starting 71point4, Illana worked at Eighty20 which she founded in 2001. Over the years Illana’s work has focused on putting the customer at the centre of strategic conversations in potentially transformational sectors such as banking, credit, housing,
payments, insurance, urban development and healthcare in South Africa and other countries on the continent. Clients include think-tanks, government departments as well as private sector companies. Her work is grounded in data, spanning the spectrum of data sources, including record level transactions or administrative data maintained by credit bureaus, deeds registries and payment systems, survey data as well as so-called thick data generated by qualitative research methodologies such as focus groups. In addition, Illana and her team established and operate an action-research housing support centre in Khayelitsha called the Transaction Support Centre (TSC) together with CAHF. The objective of the TSC is to improve the functioning of the property market in lower income areas and enable the participation of the financial sector in entry level housing markets. The TSC uses client case studies to identify critical frictions and barriers, and uses this evidence to engage with industry, policymakers and officials. With funding from the Mastercard Foundation, the TSC has launched a blockchain pilot with Seso to create a registry of property owners in an area of Khayelitsha.

Rob Wesselo is a Managing Director of International Housing Solutions (IHS), a position he has held since September 2010. He is responsible for sourcing investments, structuring and
negotiating deals with developers and managing the operations of IHS in South Africa. Prior to joining IHS, he was the Head of Commercial Property Finance (Property Investments) at ABSA Business Bank. He has held other property-focused positions such as Commercial Director at Pangbourne Properties and Head of Listed Property Funding at Rand Merchant Bank. He holds an LLB from the University of Witwatersrand.

Mr. Agossa is the Director General of CRRH-UEMOA and acts as the Permanent representative of the West African Development Bank (BOAD) on the Board of Directors. He is also the
general manager of BOAD TITRISATION and has previously been Special Advisor and Financial Advisor to the President of BOAD. He holds a degree from Sciences Po Paris (ECOFI)
and Paris Dauphine University (Master of Applied Economics) and a postgraduate degree in Applied Economics from IEP Paris.

Habib is the Senior Housing Finance Specialist for the Sub-Saharan Africa region, at the International Finance Corporation, based in Nairobi. He 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 and Goldman Sachs. He started his career at Arthur Andersen as a Consultant in financial services and derivatives products.

Lael Bethlehem is an investment executive at Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) where she has been working since 2013. She is involved in developing and managing assets, especially inner city housing developments and renewable energy. She is also responsible for several other portfolios in the company. Lael has a Masters Degree in Industrial Sociology from Wits. She started her career as a researcher in the trade union movement in the early 1990s. From 1998-2002 Lael served as Chief Director of Forestry in the National Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. From 2002 – 2010 she worked for the City of Johannesburg including as CEO of the Johannesburg Development Agency where she was deeply involved in inner city regeneration. From 2010 – 2013 she was Head of Real Estate Investments and Integrated Residential Development at Standard Bank South Africa. Lael is a member of the Board of Directors of the Industrial Development Corporation as well as Sedibelo Platinum. She serves as a sectoral facilitator for the Minister of Trade and Industry. She has previously been a Board member of various other entities including the Centre for International Forestry Research, the International Institute for Environment and Development and City Power Johannesburg.

Jonathan is a Co-Founder and the Chief Innovation Officer of iBUILD and responsible for all product development activities related to the deployment of iBUILD. This includes design and development of the iBUILD mobile application and partnership management. Prior to iBUILD, Jonathan joined Builders of Hope as the Director of Programs and International Development after a 7 year career with IBM in management consulting. At IBM, Jonathan worked across a wide variety of industries – including government, military, healthcare, finance, security, and supply chain – to resolve critical strategic questions and analytical challenges for clients. He has extensive expertise in strategic management, design thinking, data analytics application, lean six sigma techniques, organizational change management, and continuous process improvement. iBUILD is a powerful platform that touches every constituent and seamlessly tracks and
facilitates the flow of money through the entire construction ecosystem. Combining the best of mobile technology, payment technology, and advanced data analytics, iBUILD is the first true end-to-end solution dedicated to help solve the housing crisis.

Brenton Lalu is an experienced Investment Professional with demonstrated history of working in the Financial Services Sector. Skilled in Investment Research, Strategy & Investment Thesis Development, Financial Modelling, Analytical Reasoning, Negotiation & Persuasion, Deal Origination & Execution, Due Diligence and Keynote Speaking. Currently, at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), overseeing portfolio investment strategy and research for Africa. Prior to the PIC, Brenton worked at Citibank Research in South Africa, where he was an Equity Analyst covering CEEMEA Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals. Brenton started his career at RisCura as a Quantitative Investment Analyst, where he developed quantitative models for a range of South African and African asset managers. He holds a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Stellenbosch Business School; and is currently a PhD candidate in Development Finance at the same institution.

Alison Tshangana joined CAHF as the Head of Research and Market Intelligence in June 2018. With nearly 10 years experience in the public sector, her areas of interest include human settlement policies and programmes, inter-governmental finance and public expenditure analysis. She recently joined CAHF from the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), where she led SALGA’s work on human settlements, acting as a local government sector advocate and policy analyst. She has senior management experience at provincial level in South Africa in both the housing sector and Treasury. During her time with the Western Cape Department of Local Government and Housing, she was responsible for developing Western Cape housing policy, as well as research and information management. Prior to this, Alison spent two years heading the budget office at the Western Cape Provincial Treasury. Her experience in the NGO sector includes four years at IDASA, a South African NGO supporting democratisation, where she founded and led a unit which undertook research and capacity-building activities on budgeting for government’s response to HIV/AIDS. She has also worked with an international NGO based in Washington DC which undertook conflict resolution programmes in the Middle East and elsewhere. Alison obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 2000, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (cum laude) and Religious Studies from Brown University in Rhode Island, United States.

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. Seeta 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 (friendsofcitypark.org) and Community Cooker Foundation (communitycooker-foundation.org).

A consummate financial service professional – He is Chief Executive Officer of Zambian Home Loans Limited, an innovative mortgage finance business he has led from start-up. He is responsible for the overall direction and administration of ZHL.

He is a Seasoned Banker with over 14 years’ experience in insurance, risk management, new product development and general business development.

Prior to Zambian Home Loans, Twaambo is former Vice President & Head of Consumer Lending and Insurance at Barclays Bank Zambia Plc where he was responsible for overseeing the full product suite of retail lending and insurance products that included group schemes, unsecured loans, mortgage finance and credit card issuing.

Twaambo studied Economics and Statistics at the University of Zambia, Insurance studies at Zambia Insurance Business College and postgraduate studies in Actuarial Science at the University of Leicester (UK).

Rob is a Chartered Accountant by training and has extensive residential mortgage and financial services experience. He joined SA Home Loans in 2005, and is currently the Group COO having previously filled the role of CFO for 10 years. SA Home Loans is the largest non-bank mortgage lender in South Africa, with a home loan book of c.R70 billion; and the pre-eminent issuer of Residential Mortgage Backed Securities in the capital markets, having securitised in excess of R50 billion of home loans. The Group also has significant life assurance and short term insurance operations, and is the appointed servicer to an affordable housing development fund.