Advisory Board

Dr. Kizito has over Twenty (20) years of experience in investment management, professional writing, lecturing, consulting, banking, financial analysis, project management and sit on many boards of large companies. He is a young and energetic professional with exceptional entrepreneurial skills. He has thus established an enviable track record of successfully designing solutions to difficult engagements and then coordinating their implementation. As a result, he has been credited with creating, as well as maintaining, lucrative client relationships, and boosting the sales and profitability of his company and that of his clientele.

Dr. Kizito has multiple areas of expertise in investment management, financial planning, taxation and housing counseling. Dr. Kizito has an MBA and a doctorate in Business Administration. He also possesses several Financial Services Licenses, IRS Enrolled Agent license and Debt Adjustment Licenses for resolving credit and mortgage issues. Dr. Kizito is an author for Amazon bestseller titled Lived Experiences of Home Foreclosures Consequences on Physical and Mental Health.

Dylan is Senior Manager in Deloitte Africa’s Retail, Consumer and Manufacturing Industry, and has over 13 years of experience working in start-ups. Dylan sits on the Deloitte SA Payments practice committee is Chairman of the Board of the Ecommerce Forum Africa.

He represents Africa on the Global DTN (Digital Trade Network), and actively sits on a number of Advisory Boards. Dylan has presented and led Executive Private Sector & Government sessions in Africa, Europe, and the US.

In December 2018, he participated in the first Pan-African Digital CEO Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. He has led multiple global disruptive thinking interventions as a keynote, MC and moderator, including the World Investment Forum (Geneva), East Africa Manufacturing Summit (Nairobi) and African Union Private Sector Summit (South Africa).

Mr Desire Balazire Bantu is the CEO of Congo Airways, a position he has held since April 2016. He is a Chartered Accountant (ONEC-DRC) and Certified Accountant (IRC-DRC).

He holds degrees in audit (DPAI –IFACI/France), DAS in Aviation Management (University of Geneva, Switzerland). He is currently completing a Doctorate in Economics and Management at the University of Kinshasa, DRC, and he has a Master’s in Commerce and Finance from Kinshasa Commerce Institute, DRC.

Previously, he was Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister in charge of public expenditures control, Portfolio and Governance; Advisor to the Minister of Finance in charge of public expenditure control and revenues, Director at KPMG and Financial Management Officer at the Canadian Embassy. He is a member of the Executive Committee of AFRAA.

Mrs Sarah Dumbrill is the Director-General of the Nigerian Norwegian Chamber of Commerce, based in Lagos, Nigeria, where she leads numerous missions to strengthen business relations between West African and Nordic companies.

For the last 20 years, Mrs Dumbrill worked in similar international organizations that specialize in helping businesses expand their operations globally: Business France, Missions Economiques.

Graduated from Science Politique France, Mrs Dumbrill was mobilized to organize French presidential visits in China and Nigeria.

Almas is a fiercely vocal champion for gender equality, internationally renowned for her efforts to encourage women’s social, economic, and political empowerment. As CEO of the Almas Jiwani Foundation, Almas spearheads initiatives where corporate growth intersects with humanitarian development, by introducing enabling solutions and technologies, particularly for young women.

In 2013, Almas was appointed as a member of Magna Carta Canada honorary committee, also as goodwill Ambassador of the World NGO. She is a member of the Global Advisory Board of Women in Leadership – NASEBA Corporation in the Middle East; and Dean of the Faculty of Law at Istanbul University in Turkey.

In 2018, she was awarded the African Women Development Award (ATIGS, USA) and the Illuminance Fem-Leader Award (Canada).

For 12 years, Ms Saraiva has promoted pan-Africanism through events, lectures and business missions.

In 2013, she held the ‘Meeting Africa with the African Diaspora’ and the ‘Meeting with UNESCO Scientific Committee for Elaboration of the Ninth Volume of the History of Africa’ in Costa do Sauípe, Bahia, Brazil, an event supported by the African Union UNESCO, and the UN.

In addition to various articles published, in 2000 she was awarded the Brazilian Personality of 500 Years by the Council of Honors and Merits of Brazil.

In 2017, she was granted the Mama Africa Award by the African Cultural Center in the Africa Connections category, and in 2018 granted the Business Connection Nigeria Brazil Award by the Nigerian Ministry of Industry and Trade.

OusmanouNgamis the founder and CEO of Transimex SA, a major player in the ports of Douala, Cameroonwithsubsidiary offices within the CEMAC countries as well as in the Chad Republic, Central AfricanRepublic and the Congo Republic. 2013 saw the creation of NIG Holding, which oversees the management of other businesses created under Mr Ngam’sstewardship: BETA Constructions, GAMA Engineering, SCI IMMO Plus and Transimex SA.

Mr Ngamholds an MBA from Universiti of Quebec and Montreal, and has completed an advanced management program withEssec, France. He is married and the father of six children. He is a member of GICAM – Cameroon, AMCHAM (American Chamber of Commerce) – Cameroon, CCIMA (Chamber of Commerce Industry Mines and Crafts) and KPMO (Kribi Port Multiple Operators).

Luca Roscini holds a law degree in both Italy and Belgium and a Master’s in Political Science. He is a member of the Brussels Bar and practices in an international law firm. He divides his time between Europe and Africa to support his clients in penetrating African markets. He has an in-depth knowledge of this continent, where he lived and where he has been working for several years assisting and representing local and international companies as well as governments in a wide range of economic sectors.

Luca’s competencies are broad and naturally embrace OHADA law. He also handles complex litigation, which makes him especially capable of drawing up all kinds of agreements. Luca is the author of several articles on African business law.

Anthony ‘Tony’ Moore has 40+ years experience in the global financial services. Most notably, Tony opened and managed the Goldman Sachs (Asia) Ltd office based in Hong Kong; was Head of Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs Japan in Tokyo; and subsequently Executive Director at Goldman Sachs Ltd in London. He has also served as Member of the Board of Banker’s Trust International’s and Chairman of Corporate Finance at BZW, Barclays Bank’s investment banking subsidiary.

Tony has also held senior positions in industry, including President & CEO of New Energy Ventures Technologies in Los Angeles, and has served as Chairman and/or Board Director of a large number of public and private companies in the USA, Europe, and Asia.

Eduardo Carlos Arantes Ferreira is a Brazilian entrepreneur, and an electronic engineer graduated from Mackenzie University, Brazil. He also has a postgraduate degree in Marketing from ESPM University, and a postgraduate degree in Real Estate Law from Irvine University, California, USA.

Mr Ferreira is President and Founder of the Administrative Council of the Angola Brazil Chamber of Commerce, Director of the Blue Tree Solidarity Network, the third sector beneficiary institution, and Vice President of the International Arbitration and Mediation Center of the Chamber of Commerce Angola–Brazil CAM-CCAB, with offices in Portugal, Angola and Brazil.

As the founder and Managing Director of Global Trade Solution, she has more than 25 years’ experience in the International Trade and International Supply Chain and Logistics environment. The objective of Louise and her competent team at GTS is to provide consulting service combined with innovative solutions to enable the optimization of the international trade, supply chain, and logistical environment. Linking all the different trade partners in the international supply chain as well as all the various statutory organizations is a primary drive for the GTS team. The various statutory bodies include the Customs and Port Authorities as well as the Other Government Agencies who focus on the related aspects of international trade including food safety, standards, and health.

GTS has adopted blockchain technology as a primary disruptor in the International Trade and Supply Chain environment. The GTS team is championing a number of blockchain initiatives with various industry role players to help shape the future of the industry and to modernize the international trade and supply chain landscape.
Louise holds a B.Com from the University of Stellenbosch and a B.Compt (Hons) from the University of South Africa, as well as a number of diplomas in International Trade and Project Management. Prior to founding GTS, Louise completed her articles at Ernst and Young and worked extensively in international trade at various major blue-chip companies in Africa. She has performed extensive consulting and international trade enablement throughout the Africa region and participates in a number of World Customs Organisation, International Chamber and other international organization initiatives on an ongoing basis.

Mr RidhaMahjoub is an expert in international business development in Africa. For more than 20 years he acted as an advisor to government institutions and major private sector groups in Tunisia. He coached more than 150 companies in their business development projects in Africa. He is a specialist in Cluster development and is currently coordinating the activities of a major automotive spare parts cluster in Tunisia. He is an expert in GIZ projects and is since 2012 the President of African Consultants and Cooperation Network, an NGO focusing on the development of the services sector in Africa. He animates a Tunisian weekly national radio program focusing on business opportunities in Africa.

Siyabulela Grant Skade was born in East London, South Africa. Siyabulela is the former Eastern Cape Provincial CEO of National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NAFCOC) and presently Director of the International Partnership For African Growth (IPAG) and Board Member of African Continental Chamber of Business & Investments (ACCBI). Siyabulela Skade is Founder, CEO, and President of the African Chamber of Maritime Industries (ACMI) and a Member of the Buffalo City Maritime Cluster. He sits on the Advisory Board of the Asian–African Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

He has been recently been appointed as a Member of Africa’s Largest Trade, Transport and Energy Summit (ATTES) International Advisory Board for ATTES 2020, Ireland, Dublin.

Mrs Malak Bellout is a Senior Consultant in strategic communication and a certified trainer in leadership and team-building of the International Association of Experts (AEI), Geneva, Switzerland, and Worldwide Association of Female Professionals (WAOFP), USA. She helps companies to gain new market shares. She also helps business leaders set up an effective and innovative management system. She is a specialist in economic and legal intelligence.

Currently, she is a business developer working to connect different economic operators around the world, especially in the MENA region.

Michelle ChivungaNsanzumuco has vast experience in evaluating/designing government policy frameworks, financing packages, and investments. She previously worked for the British Bankers Association (now UK Finance) managing a range of global projects, working with many senior stakeholders across the corporate finance spectrum.

Michelle has had engagement with groups like the OECD, Commonwealth, World Bank, World Trade Organisation, European Banking Federation, World Economic Forum, HM Treasury, British Chambers of Commerce, EU Commission and many governments leads globally.

Michelle is extremely passionate about exploring the potential of blockchain/DLT in emerging markets, and she is a recognized leader in supporting women/business/governments and others to educate and leverage digital tools that foster social and sustainable economic development.

Matt Kuppers is an Independent Private Sector Development Consultant. Based in London,
he works with a range of international clients such as the European Commission, Isle of Man Government, Czech Invest and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

In 2013 he founded Startup Manufactory, a private sector development consultancy. He guests lectures on entrepreneurship at the London School of Economics and is a regular conference speaker at conferences including Economist Lisbon Summit, Tehran Venture Capital Summit, and World Startup Expo, Bangalore. Matt is an advisory board member of Africa’s Largest Trade, Transport and Energy Summit (ATTES) and Chief Mentor with the Arab Innovation Academy in Qatar. Matt has also mentored startups with Microsoft Ventures Accelerator, Startup Bootcamp FinTech and Oxford University.

ChabukaJ.Kawesha is a Regulatory and Telecommunications Specialist. A certified Arbitrator, Mediator, and Corporate Governance Trainer; he is the current President of Zambia Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI). He worked in the telecommunications sector for more than 15 years, notably for Celtel, Zain, and Airtel. He has held various public sector board positions, notably as Chairperson of Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA), Chairperson of National Institute for Industrial and Scientific Research (NISIR), Chairperson of Lusaka Business and Technical College (LBTC), Board Governor of Policy Monitoring and Research Centre (PMRC), and Member of National Digital Migration Taskforce (NDMT). Chabuka is a Fellow at the Institute of Directors Zambia (IoDZ) and Rotary International-recognized Paul Harris Fellow (PHF).

MrOualidLoukil is Deputy Managing Director of Loukil Group, one of the largest diversified industrial groups in Tunisia. The Group has five pillars including Industry; Agro-Industry & Construction; Automotive; Technologies and Trade & Services. The Group has 35 subsidiaries and employs more than 4,500 employees. Since 1997, MrLoukil has evolved from Central Director to his current position of Group Deputy Managing Director. He has been actively involved in the diversification of the Group into many industries, as well as developing exports to many countries in North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Mr Loukil is a Certified Chartered Accountant from InstitutSupérieur de Gestion Business School, Tunisia.

Originally from New York, Lydia Gonzalez-Dross is the creator and Executive President of the US Women Christian Chamber of Commerce and Global Women Christian Chamber of Commerce Embassy and subsidiaries. Dross serves as a Parliament Business Advisor for the Latino 4 Life Coalition and liaison to Opportunity Zone, a faith-based economic growth funding investment opportunity to eliminate poverty-stricken rural areas.

She has received an Honorary Humanities doctorate degree from the School of Philosophy, United Graduate Theology School (Africa) and Honoree of Golden Rule. For the past three years, Gonzalez-Dross has served as Chief Advisor of Latin America, Global Hispanic Diplomat for Global Goodwill Ambassadors and FAAVM International Ambassador for Women Affairs.

Cinthia Loïs Ta Thomsen is Founder and Chief Executive of the African Chamber of Commerce Scandinavia (ACCS), whose purpose is to promote sustainable business and investment opportunities between Scandinavia and Africa. Cinthia teaches “Organization and Management”, “Africa in Globalization” and “Corporate Social Responsibility” at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) at the Master level. She is currently working on her new book, Post Conflict Reconstruction and the Role of Government – The Case of Ivory Coast.

Cinthia is Founder and Managing Director of CLT-Investment Property Group, whose purpose is to assist wealthy African businesspeople in obtaining a European Passport or a green card. She also works with governments in Africa to get loans and funding for sustainable development projects.

Mr Bernardo Arnaud is based in Europe and Brazil. He has an educational background in Chemistry, Marketing, Mining, and Electronics. Mr Arnaud’s professional interests led him to work in the automotive, aviation, pharma, financial, new materials and telecom industries. He became an entrepreneur in the agribusiness and defense industries while leading and operating his trading house. These experiences made him see the need for the development of a secure and fraud-proof platform for origin traceability of food items from the farm to the table, as well as food waste prevention and decentralized recycling.

Mireille Toulekima is an award-winning serial entrepreneur. She is the Managing Director of MT Energy Resources Ltd. A petroleum engineer who gained her experience working for more than 20 years in Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia, she published the book Local Content Key Enabler for Oil and Gas Projects in Emerging Markets in 2015.

Mireille is also Chairperson of UAE–AFRICA Mentoring and Development Consortium, STEM Leader at Women Economic Imperative Organisation, a Global Goodwill ambassador, Female Waves of Change Asia Pacific ambassador and member of the Helen Clark Foundation (focusing on climate change). She founded the Mireille Toulekima Global Leadership Organisation and STEM QueensUganda.

Dr GD Singh is the Founder & Chairman for the Asian–African Chamber of Commerce & Industry (AACCI), Founder & President of the Confederation of International Accreditation Commission (CIAC), Unified Brainz Group Holdings Inc. Dr Singh has held roles as Management Consultant to Leading Companies in India and abroad. With well over a decade of experience in Human Resource & Management Consulting, Dr Singhis actively involved with the Confederation of Indian Healthcare Foundation (CIHF) and currently serves as Founder and President for INDIAN MANAGEMENT ACADEMY. He has traveled around the world to serve on councils and attend seminars and conferences conducted by universities and other academic and industry-related institutions.

Hiroyuki Itoh is a Japanese entrepreneur, international business developer, manager, advisor, investor, producer, lead and corporate management/restructuring professional, and Founder/CEO and President of Onebloom Corporation based in Japan, also operating and cooperating in Asia, Africa and across the entire globe (a venture company of international trading house, international business investment/advisory/management of early ventures and related various international business solutions and practical business development, operational and advisory services worldwide).

Jan is an international strategy consultant, speaker, and startup investor. He serves on various boards and advisory boards around the globe. He currently works as an advisor to projects dealing with strategic collaboration, trade, and technology, etc. in both UNDP and the EU Commission. He is the founder of Resting – Advice from the Future, a C-suite strategy consulting firm focusing on social intelligence and strategic development linked to innovation and leadership. Jan served as the global head and lead partner for government and public sector industry in PwC between 2008 to 2015. Some years ago he was awarded by Microsoft the title of one of 50 most influential persons on smart cities.

SophiaTabatadze is the Founder of the Georgian Business Platform (GBP) LLC, a startup company operating in Tbilisi, Georgia, providing a number of relevant business services for Georgian and international companies. Before starting her own company in 2017, she worked for the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) as the Chief Specialist of business services (2013–2017); prior to this, she held the position of Chief Specialist of the European Harmonization Division at the National Food Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia (2011–2013). Sophia obtained her Master’s degree (2015) in International and Transnational Law, at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, IL, USA.

Emmanuelle Ganne is Senior Analyst in the Economic Research and Statistics Division of the World Trade Organization (WTO), where she leads WTO engagement on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and blockchain. She is the author of a recently published WTO book entitled Can Blockchain Revolutionize International Trade? Previously, she held the position of Vice-President and Managing Director for Europe at the Allam Advisory Group (AAG),a team of former C-level executives and senior diplomats that help businesses expand their operations globally. Before joining AAG, Ms. Ganneheld various positions at the WTO, including Counselor to Director-General Pascal Lamy.Ms. Ganne is a 2009 Yale World Fellow.

Kouyaté studied administration at the University of Conakry before joining the civil service. In 1976, he was appointed as Director of Labour, then the following year, moved to become Director of Trade, Prices and Statistics, where he had responsibility for state-owned companies.

In 1982, Kouyaté worked on a rice development project, then moved to the diplomatic service, joining Guinea’s delegation in Cote d’Ivoire. In 1985, he returned to the Foreign Ministry in Conakry as head of African and Organisation of African Unity affairs. Two years later, he became Guinea’s ambassador to Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria and Turkey. In 1992, he became Guinea’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations, where he became Vice President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

In 1993, he was appointed as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Somalia for the UNOSOM II mission, then in February 1994 became the Acting Representative. In June 1994, he became the Assistant Secretary-General in the UN Department of Political Affairs, one of his first missions being a tour around ECOWAS member states to discuss the situation in Liberia. He continued his involvement in discussions to build regional support for a resolution of the First Liberian Civil War. He left this job in September 1997 to become the Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a post he held until February 2002.