Mrs Ourèye Sakho-Eklo is the Director of the Department Risk and Portfolio Management. Mrs Eklo has over 20 years of experience in the financing of corporations. She has been with BOAD for the last 20 years except for a 5 years stint in with HSBC Paris as Senior Enterprises Credit Risk Analyst and as a consultant for Africa for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Previously, Mrs Eklo also worked in Dakar for the International Bank for Trade and Industry of Senegal (BICIS) / BNP PARIBAS GROUP before joining BOAD in 1998. She obtained her Maîtrise en Sciences Economiques (BA in Economics) from the University of Reims, France, and her Diplôme d'Etudes Supérieures en Gestion des Entreprises dans les Pays en Développement from the University of Paris IX Dauphine, France and DESS in Banking Management (Equivalent to an MBA) from CEFEB, Sorbone. Mrs Eklo attended (executive education programmes) the prestigious HEC and INSEAD business schools in France.

Olaf Schmidt is Manager, Health and Education and Tourism, Retail and Property, Africa Region at IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.

He has done investments across all continents over the past 15 years. Besides leading the Services business in Africa he also supports the implementation of the Private Sector Window for MAS (Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services). His previous responsibilities as Global Sector Lead for Tourism, Retail and Property and Hub Lead for MAS in Western Europe included helping build business with European sponsors across emerging markets and providing global coverage of investments. 

Before joining IFC in 2003, he worked in strategy consulting with A.T. Kearney in France and Germany and spent two years with OTF Group (formerly Monitor Country Competitiveness) in Africa.  

Olaf holds a Business Administration degree from ESSEC, France and Mannheim University, Germany, and an MPA from the Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government.
 

Jorim Schraven is Director of the Strategy and Corporate Affairs Department of the FMO, the Dutch development bank. In addition, he is one of two ESG Directors at FMO. Before taking over the Strategy and Corporate Affairs Department, Mr Schraven was the Manager of the Credit Department at FMO and Chairman of the Investment Committee. Previously, he also was Manager of the Financial Institutions Africa department at FMO. Together with the team he was responsible for financing the Financial Sector in Africa as well as for providing Capacity Development assistance. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Eco. Business biodiversity fund, an investee of FMO. Before joining FMO, Jorim Schraven was Head of the Retail team at Clear Capital Ltd., an equity research and advisory firm based in London. He also worked as Economist at the European Central Bank and held various positions at the Dutch Central Bank. He holds an MA in Economics and Management from Oxford University and an MSc in Microeconomics and Finance from Toulouse University.

Jean-Michel Severino succeeded to Patrice Hoppenot in May 2011 as CEO of Investisseurs et Partenaires (I&P), an impact investing and private equity firm, which focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises and microfinance institutions in Africa.

Prior to I&P, Mr. Severino served as Vice-President for Asia at the World Bank (1997-2001) and as Director General of the French Development Agency (2001-2010).

Mr Severino chairs the board of Ecobank International. He serves as chair of the audit committee for Danone’s board and is a member of its corporate social responsibility committee. He is also a member of the board of Orange (France Telecom).

Mr Severino graduated from the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris and the Sorbonne University (degree in Law). He then entered the Institut d’Etudes Politiques and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration, from which he graduated in 1984.

Martin Spicer is the Director of Blended Finance at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), where he manages a team of investment professionals responsible for co-investments originating from US$1 billion of blended finance facilities across sectors, including climate, agribusiness, and small and medium enterprises. He also oversees the IDA18 Private Sector Window, a $2.5 billion multi-facility blended finance initiative focused on the poorest and most fragile and conflict-affected countries. He received his MBA with a major in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his MA from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to graduate school, he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Gabon. He received a Bachelor of Science from Stanford University.

Ivo Stoel is a political economist with an interest in the nexus between trade and sustainable development. 

After completing degrees in international politics and economics in the Netherlands and the UK, Ivo started his career as policy officer for international economic affairs at the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands, advising inter alia on trade- and development policies, economic sanctions and international corporate social responsibility. Following this, Ivo moved to the economic department of the Netherlands embassy in Moscow, working on energy, infrastructure and sustainability issues. 

Currently, he is employed at the Department for Sustainable Economic Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hague, advising on infrastructure development in the global south. 

Dr. Sibry JM Tapsoba joined the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 2000 after a decade at the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC) West and Central Africa Office in Dakar, Senegal, where he served as Regional Director from 1997 to 2000.

Before joining IDRC, he taught at the Institute of Educational Sciences of the University of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.

In the AfDB, he served in many positions including: Advisor to the Vice-President of Policy and Planning; Manager of the Higher Education, Science, Technology; Head of the African Development Institute; and Resident Representative of the AfDB in Egypt.

Since 2013, he has been the Director of the Transition Support Department in charge of countries in fragile situations.

A member of  committees and boards and is the author/co-author of several articles and books, he holds a PhD in Educational Policy and Planning from SUNY Buffalo and a Masters in International Finance from Time Université of Tunis, Tunisia.

Sara joined CDC in August 2014. She leads our Impact Fund investments and manages a team which oversees a $150 million portfolio of nine intermediated investments .

The Impact Fund portfolio includes funds which aim to reach underserved groups with improved goods and services and economic opportunities (investing in sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, off-grid energy and education) as well as funds operating in and contributing to build some of our most nascent or frontier markets.

Prior to joining CDC, Sara was a Principal at Quona Capital, a venture firm which manages funds for Accion and invests in financial technology for inclusion across Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Sara has also worked for Zoona, a payments company in Zambia, and prior to that spent 10 years in investment banking and corporate law.

Sara holds a BA in PPE from Oxford University, a Graduate Diploma in Law from the College of Law, and an MA in International Development from Johns Hopkins SAIS.

In charge of the Fragility, Crisis & Conflict Department at the Agence française de Développement, a public bank tasked with implementing France's international solidarity policy, Charles Tellier is a diplomat. His previous postings include South Africa, the UK and the US. Over the course of a +15 years career in the French MFA, Charles has worked on political crises across Africa, as well as on multilateral institutions, more specifically the UN Secretariat, the World Bank as well as most specialised agencies. The Fragility, Crisis & Conflict Department has overall responsibility for the AFD's new Peace & Resilience Fund, with a ~ 200m budget for 2019. Under the new French strategy for sustainable peace, the fund is aimed at combating the fragilisation of states and societies, and at strengthening the resilience of the most vulnerable, especially women and girls, in poor, crisis-affected countries.  Supporting the private sector and entrepreneurs is key to this resilience.

Pierre joined CDC in 2013. During his time at CDC he has been a Director of the DFI Strategies team with responsibility for high impact intermediated investments in the agribusiness, forestry and renewable energy sectors. Prior to this he was Head of the Frontier Investments team leading investments in some of the most challenging and capital-starved economies. 

Before joining CDC, Pierre was a member of the Executive Board of a diversified conglomerate in Nigeria and Chief Executive of its logistics business. He had previously been the founder and Managing Director of Acap Partners, a private equity fund management business focusing on frontier markets. In that role, Pierre was also the Fund Manager of the Afghanistan Renewal Fund, the country's first private equity fund. Pierre's earlier career saw him at McKinsey & Company in London, and as a journalist working in Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia during the civil wars in the mid-1990s. Pierre has an MPhil and a DPhil from Oxford

Felix von Schubert has 20 years of private equity, technology investment and operating experience. Felix co-founded InFrontier, a specialist investment company, active in post conflict regions. Previously, he co-founded Zouk Capital, an independent private equity and infrastructure fund manager dedicated to the cleantech and renewable energy market, managing over $600 million. Felix has been involved in over 20 investments in Europe, North America and Asia. Felix was Chairman of one of Germany's a highly successful publicly listed technology start-up for over 11 years. Felix started his career at JPMorgan M&A practice focusing on oil and gas transactions in Russia, Middle East and South Korea. He is fluent in German, French, English and Russian. 

Ngaire Woods is the founding Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government and Professor of Global Economic Governance. Her research focuses on how to enhance the governance of organisations, the challenges of globalisation, global development, and the role of international institutions and global economic governance. She founded the Global Economic Governance Programme, and co-founded the Oxford-Princeton Global Leaders Fellowship programme. She serves as a member of the International Advisory Panel of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, on the Board of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, and as a Rhodes Trustee. She is co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Values, Technology and Governance. She serves on the Advisory Group of the Center for Global Development (Washington DC). She was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 New Year's Honours for services to Higher Education and Public Policy.

Graham was a founder partner of Permira and a member of the firm’s management board as it grew into one of the leading global private equity firms. He stepped down from the firm in 2006 to “retrain” for a new career in international development by completing an MSC in development economics at SOAS. Since then he has worked in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, focussing on using his investing experience to help bring long term investment capital to help the private sector in these countries to grow and provide sustainable development. He was appointed Chairman of CDC, the UK Government’s private sector development arm, in 2013. In 2015, the government recapitalised CDC for the first time in almost 20 years, and this led to the CDC Act in 2017. Prior to Permira, Graham worked for Bain & Co and studied at Cambridge University. He also has an MBA from INSEAD, where is he is an adjunct professor.

Shubiao Yi works at the China Development Bank London Rep. Office as the director of business development department. He moved to Cairo in 2011 and worked for CDB Cairo Rep. Office as senior manager for 5 years. Shubiao Joined CDB and worked as risk manager in 2008. He has a PhD in political economics and a master's degree in labor economics from Shandong University.

Luuk Zonneveld is Chief Executive Officer of the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) since December 2012. 

Luuk Zonneveld has worked in development since the 1980s, in particular in the promotion and financing of the private sector. 

From 2008 to 2012, he was Managing Director of the Belgian non-profit organisation Vredeseilanden. Previously, he was one of the architects of the success of Fairtrade labeling, as Managing Director of its global umbrella Fairtrade International in Bonn, from 2001 to 2007.

After graduating in Psychology, Sociology and Economics in France and the Netherlands, he started his career as a journalist. Later he held various positions in the international trade business and within NGOs and organisations active in North-South Cooperation such as Oxfam, in the Netherlands, Germany and Cuba.
 

Kazuhiko is currently based in UK, gathering/analysing information on international development and humanitarian assistance, and exchanging opinions with a wide range of practitioners and experts. He has engaged in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of various technical cooperation projects, development studies and grant aid/soft loan projects in the areas of international disaster relief, disaster risk reduction, economic development through technical upgrade, the formulation of industrial policy and safety standards, agriculture, capacity development of local governments and other areas.

He was previously Senior Development Officer at the UNHCR HQ in Geneva, and was involved in assistance for the refugee/IDP caseloads in Syria, Somalia, Mali, Ivory Coast, Libya, Rohingya and others. Kazuhiko has lived and worked in Egypt, The West Bank and Gaza, Switzerland, Iraq and is currently working in the UK.