AUHF Virtual is privileged to host some of the foremost professionals working in property investment today. As the goal of our virtual summit is to enrich the working experience of our delegates through relevant information and insights, we take great care in selecting a high calibre of speakers, who, in many respects, set the tone for the virtual conference. Furthermore, as a speaker you get the most visibility and the most significant corporate brand exposure. If you would like to get in touch with us about speaking at AUHF Virtual 2020, please contact Priscilla Nthai on priscilla@apievents.com
Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif (Malaysia) is the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), appointed at the level of Under-Secretary-
General by the Secretary-General, following an election by the General Assembly on 22 December 2017. She succeeds Dr. Joan Clos of Spain. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Sharif was the Mayor of the City Council of Penang Island, Malaysia. In 2011, she was the first woman to be appointed President of the MunicipalCouncil of Seberang Perai. As mayor of a local authority, she led the Municipal Council of Seberang Perai to achieve its vision of a “cleaner, greener, safer and healthier place to work, live, invest and play.” Ms. Sharif began her career as a Town Planner at the Municipal Council of Penang Island in 1985. In 2003, she was promoted to Director of Planning and Development, a position she held until November 2009. Born in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, on 26 August 1961, Ms. Sharif holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Town Planning Studies from the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, UK and a Master of Science in Planning Studies from the Malaysia Science University.
is Program Lead for IFC EDGE Green Building Market Transformation Program in Ghana and Nigeria. He is an Urban Development professional with experience in the built environment in Ghana. His expertise includes Sustainable Real Estate Development, Real Estate Marketing and Agency, Real Estate Management, Real Estate Valuation and Business Development. He has also undertaken socio-economic surveys for voluntary relocation and other resettlement packages. He holds an MSc in Urban Policy and Development and an Undergraduate degree in Land Economy in Ghana. He is also a member of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors.
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. Further she has held Board
and Adisory position on a range of pioonering inclusive finance organisations in Africa.
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.
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.
Drs. Marja Hoek-Smit is the Founder and Director of the International Housing Finance Program, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She teaches executive education programs in housing finance and housing market analysis. Marja is a frequent advisor to governments and private- and non- profit sector clients in Emerging Market and Developing Countries in the field of housing and housing finance policy, institutional development and product development. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Habitat for Humanity Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter. Marja is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Housing Finance Information Network—HOFINET—a global web portal that consolidates international housing finance information and statistical data for public use.
Karsten currently is CEO of iLima Digital Foundary, https://ilimafoundary.com/ a start-up based in Johannesburg and San Francisco, a “thought leader” and a disruptor harnessing Big Data
and Industrialized Construction technologies to accelerate the construction of Affordable Housing for Africa. Before iLima Karsten was CRO at Bright Machines in San Francisco with
focus on Robotics in the manufacturing world. Karsten spent over 20 years in Europe in roles as SVP of Autodesk, VP Mentor Graphics and CEO of Adelante Technologies.
Mamadou Bocar Sy has been actively involved in the emergence of the real estate sector in Senegal for the past 25 years. He has been Managing Director of the Senegalese Housing Bank (BHS) since December 2010 after being Deputy Managing Director since 2006. He holds a Master degree in economics, from the University of Dakar, a bachelor degree in Banking Management from Paris 1 Sorbonne University and a diploma from the Center for Economic and Banking Financial Studies (CEFEB).
François Perrot is the Managing Director of 14Trees Ltd, a Joint-Venture company between LafargeHolcim, the world leader in building materials and CDC Group, the UK development finance institution. François has developed LafargeHolcim’s Affordable Housing initiative which addresses the needs of low income families in emerging countries, using innovative offers such as microfinancing and new construction materials. In 2017, the initiative, which is the largest private sector affordable housing program, contributed to build 100,000 housing units, impacting over 1 million people across 20 countries. In 2016, François founded 14Trees Ltd, LafargeHolcim and CDC Group joint venture company dedicated to scaling up affordable housing solutions with a focus on Africa. As an example in Malawi, the company is producing Durabric, an innovative brick which allows saving 14 trees per house built. François joined Lafarge (then LafargeHolcim) in 2006 and started to work in Indonesia as part of his Ph.D. thesis on corporations’ strategies and poverty. His research articles have been published in several peer reviewed books as well as management journals (Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research…). François holds a Master in Management (Grande Ecole) from ESSEC Business School, a Master in Sociology from Sciences-Po Paris and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Ecole Polytechnique, France.
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.
Olivia Nielsen is an Associate Principal at Miyamoto International where she focuses on resilient housing solutions. From post-disaster Haiti to Papua New Guinea, she has developed and worked on critical housing programs in over 30 countries. Olivia has a decade of experience in housing finance, housing public-private partnerships, post-disaster reconstruction and green construction. Through her work she hopes to make safe and affordable housing available to all.
Sean is Group CEO of Select Africa Limited a retail financial services group which has been in existence since 1999 focusing primarily on the extension of retail unsecured, incremental housing microfinance, education loans, and consumer loans.. Prior to joining, Sean was the Head of Sales and Marketing at First National Bank’s home loans division for 3 years, responsible for the development and management of the retail mortgage lending book and the affordable housing sector in South Africa.Prior to joining First National Bank, Sean pursued his own interests and was CEO of Iquad Treasury Ltd for 15 years. Iquad is a risk management company with specific focus on both interest rate and currency management for large national and multi-national corporate companies. As part of Sean’s exit plan, he listed Iquad on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Gayatri Datar is the co-founder and CEO of EarthEnable. Prior to founding EarthEnable, she worked at Dalberg Global Development Advisors, the World Bank, and consulted for several local NGOs and governments. She holds a BA in Economics from Harvard College, an MPA/ID from the Harvard Kennedy School, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she was an Arjay Miller Scholar. She is an Echoing Green Fellow, a Stanford Social Innovation Fellow, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 social entrepreneur.
Dr. Michael Mba is a Principal Economic-Statistician and the Head, Real Sector Statistics at the Central Bank of Nigeria with expertise on National Accounts, Prices, Labour statistics. He coordinates various national surveys and compilation of establishment, household, and administrative statistics. He serves as the National Coordinator of the Technical Working Group for the Nigerian Real Estate Data Collation and Management Programme (NRE-DCMP), an inter-agency collaboration to develop a national data repository for the real estate sector involving public, private, and multilateral organizations in Nigeria. Dr. Mba holds a PhD in Public Policy Analysis, MS in Information & Communications Technology, and BS in Statistics.
Kampeta has 16 years of progressive professional experience as an international development practitioner in both public and private institutions within Rwanda and the East African Region.
She is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) Plc; and, prior to joining the Bank, she was the Director General of the National Industrial Research and Development Agency (NIRDA) under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM). She previously served as the Director of Cabinet in the Prime Minister’s Office (PRIMATURE); and worked at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) for a decade where she held various senior positions including Permanent Secretary and Secretary to Treasury. Before joining the public service, she was a Professional Associate at the World Bank. Kampeta has also served on the Board of Directors of diverse institutions such as PTA Bank, the East African Development Bank (EADB), Rwanda Eurobond Committee, GT Bank, and National Capacity Building Secretariat, and Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA). She currently Serves on the Board of Directors of Kivu Marina Bay Ltd and IBDAA Microfinance Institution of Rwanda She holds a master’s degree in Economic Development and Policy Analysis from University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom (UK).
Kehinde Ogundimu is the Chief Executive Office of NMRC and a member of the Board of Directors. He joined NMRC as Chief Financial Officer in March 2015 bringing more than 20 years of finance leadership expertise in public accounting, oil & gas, secondary mortgage, commercial banking and executive management experience to his role in NMRC. In his position as Ag. CEO, he is responsible for the overall corporate direction of NMRC. Within Finance, he guides the Controller, Treasury, Tax and Shareholders’ relations to pursue the company’s growth strategy and meet shareholders’ expectations. Prior to joining NMRC, Kehinde worked and held various positions at Capital One Bank, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Chevron and PricewaterhouseCoopers. On the Nigerian capital market, Kehinde has led multiple equity and debt financing transactions and raised several millions of dollars equivalent in Nigerian naira.
Kehinde holds a BS in Electrical Engineering, Master of Business Administration, is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder.
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.
Hennie Botes, CEO and Inventor of the Moladi Construction Technology, has gained more than 30 years’ experience in the construction industry. An astute product designer, inventor, passionate entrepreneur and born philanthropist. Hennie travels extensively and continues to provide consulting services to international Governments, Advisors and Institutions to eradicate global poverty and housing shortages, simultaneously driving the continued development of Moladi Technology in more than 20 countries. He was won numerous accolades acknowledging his contribution and unique insight into the complexities of Governments and Businesses working together. Hennie often refers to “Back to Basics” using models from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to Henry Ford’s Model T production line principal. In order to disrupt the status quo on how homes are produced and funded, he utilizes his ability to think outside the box by applying novel radical thinking, implementing frugal innovation and frugal engineering to create disruptive technology by emulating the lean production methodology of the automotive assembly line, enhancing the holistic supply chain, reducing cost by increasing production output by de-skilling the production operation, making homes affordable.
Oumar has more than 18 years of academic and practical experience in land, natural resources, conflict resolution, urban development, regional cooperation and partnership. Prior being appointed as Acting Director for the Regional Office for Africa, Oumar was coordinator of the Urban Legislation, Land and Governance Branch within UN-Habitat. As the Leader of the Land and GLTN Unit, Oumar has led the efforts towards improving tenure security for the vulnerable through the expansion of GLTN’s work at the country level; advocating for wider ncorporation of land governance in the overall SDGs agenda towards bridging the gap between rural and urban land nexus, and to build strong partnership on land governance. The Land and GLTN Unit is also supporting tools implementation at country levels to support land administration and policy development Previously as a Senior Human Settlement Advisor in UN-Habitat’s Regional Office for Africa, Oumar oversaw the cooperation with francophone countries within UN-Habitat, and was focal point for the AMCHUD. He also coordinated a regional program to strengthen the capacity of member states in the Great Lakes Region to deal with land and property issues related to displaced persons in support to the ICGLR secretariat and to the Peace and Stability Framework for the Great Lakes Region. Oumar was also appointed as Chief Technical Advisor in the Republic Democratic of Congo to support peace and reconstruction; to support land reform process and to develop UN-Habitat expertise in the country. He supported land reform processes in many countries in Africa as technical advisor (Mali, Burundi, DR Congo, Senegal, Republic of Congo, Central Africa Republic). Oumar has also worked within the European Union framework as a Land Policy Advisor in South Sudan and Burkina Faso, and he operated a Researcher Fellow in the Laboratory of Legal Anthropology in Paris 1 Sorbonne, with a focus on land and decentralization policies in West Africa. A Senegalese National, Oumar holds one degree in Local Government from Saint Louis University (Senegal), and two Masters ‘degrees in African Legal Studies and Legal Anthropology (with a focus on land and natural resources), and in Territorial Project Management – Senegal, Paris 1 Sorbonne and Paris 13 Creteil in France respectively.
Mr Mbulelo Tshangana has amassed an extensive twenty years of experience in Government as a Senior Manager and distinguished Executive, serving in different Government Departments and Entities such as the Development Bank of Southern Africa. In 2010, he was appointed as Head of Department by the Western Cape Provincial Department of Human Settlements, where he had a successful tenure of four years that he utilized to make an indelible contribution towards the delivery of sustainable integrated human settlements and related infrastructure. Tshangana joined the National Department of Human Settlements in May 2013 as a Deputy Director-General: Programme and Project Management Unit and was later confirmed as the Director-General of the National Department of Human Settlements in April 2016, the position he currently holds. From April 2019 to October 2020, Tshangana served as the Acting Director-General of the Department of Water and Sanitation whilst retaining his position as Director-General of the National Department of Human Settlements. Over the years, he has
managed and overseen multi-billion rand worth of mega-human settlements and infrastructure projects which include the N2 Gateway in the Western Cape, Zanemvula in the Eastern Cape,
Cornubia and Vulindlela in KwaZulu-Natal, Fleurhof, Savanna City and Lufhereng in the Gauteng.
Visionary architect James Mitchell founded BuildX Studio (formerly Orkidstudio) in 2016, which envisions a world made for people and planet by creating the buildings of a radically better tomorrow. Celebrated in Impact Design Hub’s 40-under-40 in 2017, James has also led BuildX Studio to international recognition, including accreditation as the first architecture and construction B Corporation in Africa and becoming 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 and SOCAP Entrepreneur. Most recently,
BuildX Studio 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. Together, these organizations are working towards a bolder and better vision for the built world in which we live and the impact this has on our environment and climate.
Célestin Koalla is the Director of Housing and Land Development in the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Sanitation and Urban Planning, Côte d’Ivoire. In this capacity, he participated in the design of the strategy, the assembly, the implementation and monitoring of real estate projects of the presidential program of construction of social and economic housing. He is an expert with more than 20 years of experience in land and housing, and a graduate from the Interstate School of Architecture and Urban Planning,
Monika Glinzler is the Director for International Relations in the Department of Human Settlements of the South African national government. She has been a South African Public Servant for 19 years, with 14 years’ experience in international co-operation in the human settlements sector. She has extensive experience in Intergovernmental Relations between the national, provincial and local spheres of government, and in stakeholder engagement. She was the co-ordinator of South Africa’s preparations and participation in the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), including the adoption of the Common African Position on Habitat III by the African Union.
David Gardner is a development, economics and human settlements specialist. He is a private consultant with over 25 years’ experience in the development and human settlements arena in Africa. He has undertaken consulting commissions for public, private and non-governmental organisations in Africa and beyond. The focus of this work has been in the areas of public policy analysis and development, sustainable human settlements, housing and the economy, housing rental markets and housing finance and supporting institutions.
Felician Komu is a consultant, previously working at Ardhi University with over 30 years of academic-research experience in real estate and housing. Some of the accomplished researches in Tanzania include ‘design of information centre for housing’, ‘Developing Mortgage Literacy Programme’’, ‘Options for Enhancing Performance of Real Estate Sector’ and ‘rental housing market study’. Felician was board member of the International and African Real Estate Societies, International Valuation Standards Management Board, and country representative at the FIG. He is a registered and licensed valuer in Tanzania. He holds a PhD in real estate (Sweden), an MSc in Construction Management (UK).
From the USA Daniel has spent the last seven years building Blockchain solutions. Daniel studied at the University of Michigan where he worked at Bitbox, one of the first Cryptocurrency exchanges in the USA. Daniel subsequently co-founded 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.
Jane is a Development practitioner specialising in market systems, value chain and enterprise development. She has over 20 years working experience in Eastern, Western, and Southern Africa in shelter, agribusiness and youth and women empowerment initiatives. Jane has vast experience working at strategic and operational levels with private, public and development sectors, developing and delivering strategies, building capacities and programmes for inclusive growth. Jane is based in Nairobi and currently working with Habitat for Humanity International as the Associate Director Markets Systems and Entrepreneurship heading the African region. Jane was instrumental in designing and implementing the first ever ShelterTech Accelerator in Kenya and the African region as a whole.
Jonathan Halloran is co-founder and CEO of American Homebuilders of West Africa (AHWA), a residential developer. He is responsible for operations, strategy and day to day management of subsidiaries who develop, sell and construct single family homes in West Africa. He has held positions in the construction and related services industries. Prior to AHWA he served as EVP: Client Services at Textura Corporation. He holds an MBA, a BS: Civil Engineering and a BA: History. He is fluent in French and has worked in the Peace Corps in West Africa. He is a licensed civil engineer in Illinois.
07/2018 ➔now:Chief Operating Officer at the Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD).
02/2018➔05/2018: Consultant at SKAT Consulting Ltd. A Switzerland project in Rwandato promote the construction using local material, especiallybricks.
2014➔2017: Partner at Freddy N Consulting Ltd: Freddy N. Consulting Ltd. is a consulting company specialized in strategic business and financial planning. I was in charge of assignment coordination and supervision, business analysis, strategic and business planningespecially for Energy du Gabon (EDG), a Gabonese subcontractor to the national electric utility.2012➔now: Member of the Board of directors of the Bank of Kigali (leading bank on the Rwandan market)
2016➔12/2017: Founder of La Maison Deli: First lunch delivery service in Kigali for busy executives
2012➔2014: Vice Rector in charge of Administration and Finance at the School of Finance and Banking(SFB):SFB ispublic Business School in Kigali –Rwanda,with 2700 students,9 academic programs from BBA to MBAand professional trainings, over 100 staff membersand an average annualbudget of $8MM.As of today ithas merged with other Rwandan public universities to form the University of Rwanda (UR).
Urban development specialist with combined 17 years work experience of which 15 managing international development cooperation. Qualified architect and urban designer specialised in regional and environmental planning, in human settlements and researching on the political economy of adequate and affordable housing in India.
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. He was responsible for promoting the interest of mortgage lenders at the European level and worked on issues such as the European regulatory framework for mortgages under Basel II. He also worked 3 years as an economist for the Nationwide Building Society in UK where he covered competitor analysis, strategic planning and market forecasting. This followed on from 4 years spent as a banking regulator for the Bank of England and later the Financial Services Authority.
Chris is a data analyst and research consultant at 71point4. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Stellenbosch where he assessed the efficacy of macroprudential regulations. More recently, his research has focused on data management protocols and their application to reducing organisations' reporting burdens. Chris has been working with CAHF in this capacity to develop metrics that measure performance along the housing value chain and assess the availability of housing data on the continent.
Louisa Waddingham joined Reall in February 2020 as Head of Operations in Africa. Prior to that she worked for the British Council for 32 years in progressively more demanding roles
including international postings in Botswana, Malawi, Nigeria, Oman, Sierra Leone, Slovakia and Zimbabwe. She holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Management (2009) and a
Masters Degree in Peace and Conflict Studies (2015).
Johnstone is the Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC); responsible for the establishment and operationalization of the Company. 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. The Company is one of the key enablers of the Affordable Housing Pillar of the Government of Kenya’s BIG 4 AGENDA. From 2017 to 2019, Mr. Oltetia held the position of Senior Financial Sector Adviser at the National Treasury of Kenya, responsible for policy matters relating to banking, micro finance, capital markets, pensions and insurance among others. Prior to this, Mr. Oltetia was the Manager Market Supervision at the Capital Markets Authority (CMA)-Kenya for over fifteen years, responsible for oversight of Listed companies, Securities Exchanges(s), Central Securities Depositories (CSDs), Asset Management companies, Investment Banks, Stockbrokers 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) and Institute of Directors of Kenya (IOD). Mr. Oltetia is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School holding a certificate in Innovating Public Policy & Service.
Festus Adebayo is a Banker, Lawyer and Media guru. A graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, with Masters in Business Administration from University of Lagos. A member of Nigeria Institute of Management and a leading promoter of Housing Development in Nigeria. He has received commendation awards for his unparalleled contributions to housing development from Nigeria Institute of Town Planners and Nigeria Institute of Building.
Mr James Archer is the Director for Growth and Development in Economic Policy at the National Treasury. He holds an MSc in Finance and Economics and has over 10 years’ experience in
dealing with inter-governmental relations, public finances and urban development and infrastructure, in particular, housing and human settlements.
Andrew Jones is a Research & Policy Manager at Reall. A PhD-qualified multidisciplinary researcher and policy professional, Andrew has a background in interdisciplinary teaching
and research. This includes Faculty positions at the University of Birmingham and the University of Warwick. Andrew has authored and published widely for academic and non-
academic audiences (including several peer-reviewed journals) and presented to peers at over 100 conferences and forums. In his current role, Andrew leads on driving Reall’s capacity for thought leadership and catalysing market change through demonstrating the commercial viability and developmental impact of Reall’s global affordable housing interventions. This includes peer-reviewed research on end-user housing finance innovations (Environment & Urbanization, 2020; Housing Finance International, 2020), prominent speaking slots at the 10th World Urban Forum, and leading research on a FCDO-funded project to unlock mortgage finance for the informal sector in Kenya and Nigeria through innovative credit assessment.
Dr. Frank Gyamfi-Yeboah holds a doctorate degree in Real Estate from Georgia State University, USA and a master’s degree in Real Estate Finance from the University of Cambridge, England. He is a Senior Lecturer in Real Estate Finance and Investment at the Department of Land Economy, KNUST and a member of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors. He has published several articles in leading real estate journals and consulted for several organizations including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and UN-Habitat. He was the chair of the organizing committee of the Ghana Affordable Housing Finance Forum held in Accra in December 2019.
Mildred Mutesa leads Zambia’s largest mortgage finance institution, Zambia National Building Society (ZNBS). With over 15 years work experience, she has worked across several sectors
including, audit assurance services, manufacturing, and the financial services sector. She holds a Master of Business Administration with distinction from Herriot Watt University, a Bachelor of Accountancy Degree from the Copper-belt University, and a professional accounting qualification, ACCA. She is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), and a Fellow of the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accounts (ZICA). Prior to the appointment as Managing Director, Mildred worked as a Finance Director of the ZNBS. Her role would see the issue of the first listed term notes for a public entity to support housing finance in Zambia. On her clock, she has driven home ownership performance harder as ZNBS focuses on getting
more Zambians to have roofs over their heads in the most affordable manner through products such as Nyumba Ya banja (A Home for the Family) which requires a zero percent deposit as she targets to empower Zambians.
Hamidou Sorgo is IFC Operations Officer based in Kigali, Rwanda and covering Burundi. He has over 18 years of experience providing advisory and technical assistance to government and private sector. Hamidou joined IFC advisory team in Burkina Faso in 2008 and implemented projects in Togo where he also served as a country officer, in Benin, Ghana. He has been involved in economy wide policy reforms as well as sector reforms notably Agribusiness and Tourism and more recently in housing. He has recently been heavily involved in developing IFC strategy for Rwanda and Kenya while assisting different teams to develop projects in Rwanda. Prior to IFC, Hamidou served as a legal advisor at the telecommunication regulatory body and private firm in Burkina. He holds a Master of Law (LLM) in international business law from Georgetown University, a Post graduate degree (D.E.S.S)in corporate law from University of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Certificates in Project Management from George Washington University and Investment law from the University of Barcelona.
I am a Civil Engineer by training. I worked in the Construction Division of the Dept of Water Affairs, then joined the Gauteng Dept of Human Settlements for 13 years involved in RDP housing delivery and is currently employed by International Housing Solutions, an equity investor in affordable housing, as Technical Specialist since 2007.
Ben is an international development practitioner, with nine years of practical experience managing projects in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. This includes almost four years living and working in India. Ben has a background in managing WASH, housing and rural development projects funded by large institutional donors and small trusts. He currently leads on expanding Reall's capacity for research and evidence collection and dissemination, and driving the widening of affordable housing data access and availability in Africa and Asia. In this capacity, Ben works closely with external stakeholders on expanding global and regional data collection and oversees Reall’s ongoing Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning outputs.
Mr. McAllister is a recognized expert in housing and inclusive finance with over 20 years’ experience working in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. He was Habitat for Humanity’s
Asia Director of Housing Finance and Market Development, and his consulting assignments include the World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Citi Foundation among others.
He speaks English and French and holds Irish and US citizenship. Mr. McAllister holds a certificate in International Housing Finance, Bonds and Securitization from the Wharton International Housing Finance Program; a master’s degree in Development Studies from University College, Dublin; and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of
Wisconsin.
Naeem is the Global Director, Financial Inclusion and Capital Markets, at Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter (TCIS), and is responsible for designing strategic roadmaps and implementation models for increasing access to housing and finance in developing markets. He has led interventions to engage, onboard, and manage a diverse set of
stakeholders within the finance and housing ecosystem in over 10 different geographies in the Asia Pacific and MENA region.
An advanced professional, highly skilled in Financial Services within the Housing and Real Estate Development Finance markets in India. Have enjoyed rapid growth within HDFC Ltd. by adding significant value through penetration in new regions, innovating new products, opening new branches and building and developing new teams. Have developed a reputation as a strategic leader with a keen eye for creating, developing and leading cross-functional operations over both state and national level. Have performed in the capacity of Regional Business Head and National Marketing Head with HDFC Ltd. Have also taken up advisory roles as ‘Consultant’ for start up housing finance companies in Africa – First Housing Finance (Tanzania) Ltd at Dar Es Salaam and Egyptian Housing Finance Company Ltd. at Cairo.
Volunteer Experience
Take keen interest in child care and education. Have served as a Board Member for Pestalozzi World, UK which sponsors children with humble background for education. Currently serving as a Director Advisor for its Board at India.
After twenty years in the investment banking world, I discovered greater opportunity and satisfaction in challenging some of the ingrained practices that frustrate innovation, particularly those habits in the finance world that seem to defy logic, rationale and human potential. In 2008, I co-founded Osmosis Investment Management, an entrepreneurial investment firm that
challenges the way in which large listed businesses are valued. Ten years later, I am challenging the inability to solve for the SDGs in Africa. 17Africa is an initiative to help drive solutions that support a more inclusive model for economic growth and development.
Mounia Tagma is a housing policy consultant whose work focuses on affordable housing, ranging from slum rehabilitation to public private partnerships, program evaluation and policy design. Mounia previously worked as Regional Manager for Africa and MENA for AHI. She also was the head of PPPs and Cooperation at Al Omrane, the implementing agency of housing policy in Morocco. Mounia holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco.
Mehluli Mpofu is currently the Deputy Managing Director for Central Africa Building Society (CABS), the largest building society in Zimbabwe. He is the current Chair for the Zimbabwe Association of Housing Financiers. Mehluli is an experienced investment professional having worked for the Old Mutual Group in Zimbabwe firstly as an Investment Analyst and ultimately as Managing Director of the Group’s Investment Business in Zimbabwe before joining CABS. He holds a Charter in Financial Analysis as well as an MBA from the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. He studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Zimbabwe.
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.
Taofeeq is the Head, ICT and Business Process Operations, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC). He is a champion of affordable housing and access to finance, building the Housing Market Ecosystem for the Financial and Real Estate (Housing) industries with focus on Credit, Risks and Treasury in Housing Finance.
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.
Besim has BA and MA in Economy and 20 years’ experience in international development, 15 of which with Habitat for Humanity International managing social housing, shelter and residential energy programs in Europe and Central Asia. His experiences include managing and supporting field offices (national offices and affiliates), strong project management record coordinating regional projects. He has experience with development and management of Residential Energy Efficiency programs in Eastern Europe, Impact Evaluation;, Partnership development and representation, financial management, and stakeholder engagement, consensus building & management skills to solve complex problems.
George Mugweru is a Specialist, Housing Market Systems at Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter (TCIS). He is leading Housing Finance Systems domain and is responsible for supporting design, coordination, implementation and sharing lessons and emerging best practices. George previously worked as a Housing Microfinance Lead in Habitat for Humanity Kenya for the “Building Assets, Unlocking Access” project, in Kenya and Uganda implemented by TCIS. George has over 13 years’ experience in financial services provision to low income households, market research and product design. He has consulting experience in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda
Nancy Welsh is the Chief Marketing Officer/ Co-Founder of the software company iBUILD Global. She is a serial entrepreneur, global technology fellow and U.S. patent holder. She has previously worked for Coca-Cola USA, Leo Burnett International Advertising for the Kellogg Company and Ashoka Worldwide. She launched over 7 businesses and is an affordable
housing advocate and experienced housing development professional. She is an active mentor for women and girls and an advocate for the poor. She has received various awards for her philanthropy and has been featured on PBS, CBS, NPR, The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and many more.
Richard Bamhumwire is an urban housing development expert with over 12 years of experience in international development work. Richard has experience in program planning and project delivery which he has acquired over the years while working in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, Togo, Rwanda and Ivory Coast,in water, sanitation and affordable housing. He worked for Reall as a consultant in Uganda and Mozambique in designing affordable housing projects. Richard is currently living in Mozambique and overseeing the operations and project delivery as Casa Real’s CEO.
Lucia is a Senior Researcher at Cenfri and is part of the Resilience team, which focuses on strengthening insurance markets across sub-Saharan Africa. Her research to date has focused on
analysing the role of the financial sector in promoting urban resilience and climate risk adaptation, providing technical assistance to insurers to expand the reach of inclusive insurance and analysing behavioural interventions that affect the uptake and usage of financial products. Lucia holds a Master’s in Spatial, Transport and Environmental Economics from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and undergraduate degrees in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Cape Town.
Dr. Emmanuel Mungongo works for the Bank of Tanzania as Senior Principal Officer, with work experience in banking supervision, financial stability and banking departments. Emmanuel has held some leadership roles at regional and international levels. He chaired Financial Crisis Management Technical Team of East Africa from 2016-18. He chaired Responsible Lending subgroup of the Alliance of Financial Inclusion (AFI) from 2014-18, leading two studies on digitally delivered credit innovations in Sub-Saharan Africa region, Latin America and Asia. He continues to research on growing digitization of services, deepening connectivity of assets and institutional and product innovations to inform inclusive growth policies.
Julieta leads R&D at New Story by https://newstorycharity.org/ forming partnerships with key academic and industry leaders to pioneer ground-breaking solutions for affordable housing. She is kickstarting a unique venture fund, Hometeam Ventures, to invest in founders bringing breakthrough technology to the world’s largest – but least innovative – industry: construction. As a Partner, she drives the fund’s dealflow and operations. Julieta is passionate about bridging the gap between architecture, engineering and construction through collaborative design to maximize innovation. Her academic and AEC industry research focused on AR/VR, circular economy, automated drone inspection, resiliency, and sustainability.
Marie-Odile Zanders is an environmental engineer who has been working since the last 20 years on various affordable housing and associate infrastructure projects, especially focused on low to middle income groups. She previously worked as regional housing finance manager at DIGH (Dutch International Guarantees for Housing), and as a consultant to various international organisations working on affordable housing & housing investment issues. Since 2015 she has been involved in affordable housing activities in Mozambique, resulting in the establishment of Casa Real where she is currently a director.
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.
Pascal is the Community Coordinator at KDI Kenya. Pascal grew up in Kibera and is passionate about youth development, drawing his motivation from sports and participation for a good course. He has worked with KDI since 2012, first as a volunteer and later as an employee. Pascal has supported KDI’s Rivers and People project since 2016, working with community members to test risk communication methods and setting out local interventions focusing on issues such as flooding, fire outbreak, and disease. He leads the community engagement process on a number of KDI’s participatory design projects and has extensive experience in field data collection via household surveys, focus-group discussions, and key informant interviews. Pascal also provides support in community mobilization, field coordination, data collection, youth development, mapping and photography. He holds certificates in training and group facilitation, youth program management and computer training.
Emmanuel Stefanakis has more than 40 years global experience in applying sustainable development principles to numerous housing and urban development projects. Prior to joining EchoStone, Mr. Stefanakis has served as Senior Management Consultant at Arthur D. Little International, as a senior executive at Harvard University, and has advised many Fortune 500 companies and international organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations. Mr. Stefanakis received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Massachusetts, Master’s degrees in Sustainable Development from the University of Pennsylvania and Public Administration from Harvard University, and is certified as an International Finance Corporation EDGE Expert in sustainable building.
Patrick Domingos Tembwa is currently Director of Investment and Operations at Reall. Reall (Reall Equity for All) is UK a based social enterprise that focuses on affordable housing in Africa and Asia. Reall currently operates in 14 different countries in Africa and Asia, including Kenya. Patrick has been with the organisation since November 2016. He has overall investment and portfolio management responsibilities, including identifying new markets and partners, execution of Reall’s investment strategy. Prior to joining Reall, he advised social enterprises in the UK tech and art sectors on fund raising . A graduate of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (IEP) in France and a CIMA qualified accountant, Patrick has over 20 years’ international
experience in financial management, investment and international development. He started his career in finance at British Telecom in 1998 in the UK. Over the following decade, he worked in corporate real estate consulting, in financial services at JPMorgan and RBS. In his role as finance director in 2009, He also helped setup a microfinance bank in DR Congo.
Sean Godoy is a property professional with 10 years’ experience in the property industry. Most of his professional experience has been in property market analysis where he has developed a strong understanding. He has a strong interest in cities and emerging economies. Sean is passionate about SA, Africa, poverty alleviation, and education. In his own capacity and through his role on the executive committee of the South Africa Chamber of Commerce in London, he actively promotes and facilitates business and charitable activity between the UK, SA, and afield.
LandAfrique´s long term commitment focuses on the development & management of a sustainable and affordable smart cities concept, that includes an inclusive balance between work, life, education, health and leisure in combination with reliable infrastructures. The indigenous African firm´s approach eliminates many of the African context challenges – including access to reliable and redundant power, water, transport and telecommunications – that often confront companies and individuals while providing modern and reliable infrastructure for its tenants. LandAfrique brings professional serviced plots, custom-built warehouses, factories, offices, lifestyle & affordable housing, commercial, health, education and datacenter properties to its pan-African clientele. Paulo brings over 24 years of comercial real estate & infrastructure experience and passion to the LandAfrique group, including housing (from affordable to high-end), industrial & logistics, commercial, datacenter and health facilities. He most recently led the Washington DC based BlackIvy´s real estate endeavors in Africa and has been with another US based, NAI Global’s Sub-Saharan Africa office as their CEO and he developed and managed BP’s real estate assets in Southern Africa. Across Africa Paulo has advised many Oil & Gas, Marine, Governments, Financial and other investors on creating value and impact with their assets. Paulo started his career in Europe at Cushman & Wakefield and Royal HaskoningDHV. He holds a BSc in Construction & Real Estate Management from Delft University of Technology and a Post Doctorate from the Lisbon School of Economics and Management in Real Estate Management & Valuation, after which he became a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and has been loving to live & work the last fourteen years in Sub-Saharan Africa with his family.
Fatou is the Managing Director of Skat Consulting’s offices in Rwanda, Burundi and DRC Congo, responsible for the implementation of the Swiss Cooperation’s construction industry transformation program for Africa’s Great Lakes Region. The program introduces affordable construction systems to the region’s fast-growing urban agglomerations and facilitates the construction industry’s shift to environment-friendly production of durable building materials for the mass supply of affordable urban houses. Prior to joining Skat, Fatou was team leader for the Affordable Housing and Neighborhood Development Unit at the City of Kigali’s Office of Urban Planning and Construction. Fatou holds degrees in architecture, urban planning, and sustainability management from Princeton and Columbia Universities.
Jean Philippe Ado is a research manager at CAHF responsible for the West and North African regions. He holds a postgraduate diploma in commercial and business law and a LLM in corporate law both obtained from the University of Wits. His work is mostly focused on research on innovative financial products, knowledge sharing and advocacy key stakeholders in West and North Africa.
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).
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.
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.
Kecia Rust is the Executive Director and founder of the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa. She is a housing policy specialist and has provided strategic support to
government in South Africa for the past 20 years. Over the span of her career, she has focused on affordable housing finance, residential property assets and property markets,
rental and social housing, and the creation of sustainable human settlements. She holds a Masters of Management degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Bachelor’s
Degree with Distinction and Honours in International Studies from the University of North Carolina USA.
Olivier Vidal is the Francophone Programme Manager at the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa since October 2016. In this capacity, Olivier is responsible for overseeing the development of CAHF activities in Francophone Africa, through the support of the French Development Agency. Before joining CAHF, he worked for six years for the African Development Bank in the Financial Sector Development Department, lately as a Senior Research Officer inside the multi-donor partnership Making Finance Work For Africa. Before this he worked with the World Food Program and the French ministry of foreign affairs. He holds a Master Degree in International Development and Economics from the French Institute of Political Studies – Sciences-Po Toulouse, and a Bachelor Degree in Economics from the Aix-Marseille University, France.