Adel joined IFC in 1999, in Central Capital Markets. While in DC, he worked on investment projects in Europe, Middle East North Africa, Asia and the Pacific primarily in the Financial Markets sector. In 2005, Adel moved to Bogota, Colombia as a Hub Leader and took responsibility for managing the Financial Markets business for IFC in the Andes and the Caribbean. There, he led the business development, processing, portfolio management and team building which allowed for timely response and effective client management. In 2009, Adel moved to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to help expand the IFC's footprint in the Mekong, where he achieved outstanding results. In 2012, Adel assumed the role of Regional Representative for Thailand and Myanmar and thereafter in 2014 was appointed as IFC's Manager for FIG for the East Asia and Pacific region. In 2017, Adel returned to DC and led the SME finance team where he created a number of global platforms using blended finance support along with other donor funds. Adel was appointed Global Upstream Manager for FIG in July 2019 and within 3 years in the role enabled investments of over USD1.45bn for IFC’s own account. In December 2022, Adel was appointed as Global Sector Manager for Financial Inclusion within the Financial Markets Department. His responsibilities include overseeing IFC’s activities associated with credit infrastructure, MSME finance, digital financial services, embedded finance platforms and upstream and innovation.
Adel holds a BSc. in Economics from the London School of Economics and a Master’s degree in Development Economics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Aliou Maïga IFC’s Regional Director for the Financial Institutions Group in Africa Aliou Maïga is IFC’s Regional Director for the Financial Institutions Group (FIG) in Africa. In this capacity, he is responsible for the implementation of IFC’s strategy in the region and leads all FIG operations, including the execution of investment transactions and portfolio oversight. He also leads the advisory teams and works with the World Bank on needed sector policy reforms to develop new opportunities and markets. He has been with IFC for more than twenty years and held several positions with increasing responsibilities before his appointment to his current position in September 2022. Prior to his current position, Mr. Maïga was IFC's Regional Director for West and Central Africa. He oversaw IFC's advisory and investment operations in 22 countries. He also maintained the institution's relationships with clients, partners, and governments. Previously, Mr. Maïga was IFC’s Regional Industry Head, FIG, Sub-Saharan Africa, for four years. He oversaw investment and advisory services operations in the financial sector across the region. Earlier in his career, Mr. Maïga served as IFC’s Resident Representative in Ethiopia, before moving to Asia as Regional Manager, Financial Institutions Group for East Asia and Pacific. Mr. Maïga has been instrumental in building IFC’s FIG business in Africa and East Asia over the past decade. Before joining investment operations, Mr. Maïga led a major IT and change management project for IFC for two years. Mr. Maïga started his career at Credit Lyonnais Capital Markets where he spent six years as System Integration and Email Systems Manager, and subsequently as IT Project Manager for the Treasury and Derivatives Groups (France and the US), developing and rolling-out state-of-the-art real-time fixed income, FX, and derivatives trading platforms. This was followed by two and half years in management consulting with Booz Allen & Hamilton (Europe) where he contributed to assignments for European and Middle Eastern blue-chip companies in the financial and telecommunications industries. Mr. Maïga holds an engineering degree (Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Telecoms and IT) from SUPELEC (France), and an MBA in General Management from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

As of August 2025, Andiswa Bata is the Group Managing Executive of Business & Commercial Banking at Nedbank. Before joining Nedbank she served as CEO: FNB Business segment. She joined FNB in 2018 as an executive in the Corporate Advisory team. She subsequently took up a role as a Regional Director and later as Head of SME segment.
Prior to joining FNB, Andiswa gained 12 years of pan-African investment banking experience between Absa and Standard Bank. During her time within Absa’s corporate and investment bank, she occupied various roles spanning across strategy & planning, loan structuring & execution, loan syndication & distribution; as was also the Head of Construction & Cement sector client coverage. Andiswa further co-chaired the institution’s Banking on Women initiative.
During her time at Standard Bank, Andiswa was the Head of Structured (Derivative) Sales for institutional clients and prior to that, she headed up the Africa (ex-South Africa) loan syndications business. Prior to investment banking, Andiswa was in management/strategy consulting.
Andiswa is an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow, and she holds a Bachelor of Business Science degree (with honours) from the University of Cape Town.

Ashley N. Scott is a seasoned regulatory, legislative, and public policy professional with a robust career spanning multiple years within emerging industries. Her expertise lies at the intersection of innovation and policy where she has excelled in identifying and leveraging the potential of new technologies to further public interest goals.

Her expertise and understanding of strategic advocacy has led to the passage of groundbreaking legislation and has resulted in a decade-long career in forging first-impression regulatory frameworks across the globe.

Currently, as the Senior Director of Global Policy and Government Affairs at Circle Internet Financial, Limited, a leading digital asset company, she has taken on a pivotal role in shaping the future of digital assets regulation. In her role, she collaborates with key stakeholders across the political spectrum to promote policies that enable the responsible expansion of blockchain technology.

Prior to Circle, Ashley served as the Head of Global Policy for popular micromobility provider Lime, where she was responsible for establishing micromobility regulations and operations in over 150 jurisdictions across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia . She also has served as a former City Attorney for the City of Atlanta. Ashley holds a law degree from Emory University and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida.

Bongi Kunene is the Managing Director of The Banking Association South Africa. She assumed this position in March 2020.

Prior to that Bongi was the Global Head, Public Sector Banking for the Standard Bank Group. She had responsibilities for strategic direction of the business in 15 African countries including South Africa.
Her career has included a role as the Executive Director at the World Bank Group in Washington DC. In that capacity, she served in the Board representing South Africa, Nigeria and Angola.

Bongi has also served in the South African Government in different capacities including amongst others, as Chief of staff in the office of the Deputy President, and the Head of Treasury and Economic Affairs for the for the Gauteng Province.

Charlotte leads the Office of Corporate Engagement's international responsibilities and serves as global head of 10,000 Women. She is a member of the EMEA Inclusion and Diversity Committee. Charlotte joined Goldman Sachs in 2015 as an executive director in the EMEA Office of Corporate Engagement and was named managing director in 2019.

Prior to joining the firm, Charlotte was chief executive of Tony Blair's Foundation. Previously, she worked in Investment Banking at JPMorgan Cazenove in London and Jefferies and Co. in Houston.

Charlotte serves as chair of the Expert Advisory Council for the UK government’s Help to Grow: Management program for small businesses.

Charlotte earned an MA from Oxford University in 2003. She was a Frank Knox Fellow at Harvard University from 2003 to 2004, and earned an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University.

Cleola Kunene is an award-winning Start-up to Scale-up investment and growth expert. She is a minority partner in a debt and equity fund and also serves as Head of SME Development at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Cleola drives Economic development solutions, with a specific focus on SME growth, funding access, international market access, red tape reduction and strategic relationships, with a particular focus on public and private partnerships. She currently serves as G20, StartUp20 Deputy Chair for Trade and Market Access. Cleola also serves on various boards including as Chairwoman and as an Independent Investment Committee director for Edge Ventures. She was the winner of Future Leaders Awards, Entrepreneurial leader 2024 and the winner of the Mail and Guardian Winner, Women of Power for 2023.
Before joining the JSE, Cleola was a co-founder of Say Siyabonga an e-commerce business and River Life a water bottling company, she also founded Blaq Circle Consulting. She also worked for various multinational organizations such as MultiChoice, T-Systems and Media24.
Cleola holds an Executive Development qualification from DUKE Fuqua School of Business and a master’s degree in business administration from Henley Business school. She also holds a communications qualification from University of Reunion Island, a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics, and a Financial Accounting qualification from Tshwane University of Technology and a post graduate qualification from University of the Witwatersrand (WITS).

Dr. Dorothy Nyambi is a distinguished leader with over 25 years of experience in the international development, entrepreneurial, and humanitarian sectors. Her career is defined by a strong commitment to ensuring that women and girls are not left behind, particularly through her work in impact investing and blended finance. With lived experience across Africa and the Global South, Dorothy has become a champion of economic transformation, driving initiatives that create job opportunities for women and youth, particularly within agri-food systems.
As CEO of MEDA, Dorothy leads the organization’s impactful work across Latin America and the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and Africa, leveraging the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund to drive inclusive financial investments in SMEs. Prior to joining MEDA, she served as Executive Vice President of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) and held significant roles at the U.S. Peace Corps, World Health Organization, the former USAID. Fluent in both English and French, Dorothy has held senior leadership positions in diverse organizational phases, including start-up, growth, crisis management, and turnaround, across Africa, North America, Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Dorothy is the Chair of CAMFED Canada, an organization dedicated to empowering girls and young women through education in sub-Saharan Africa. She serves as Chair of the board of governors at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), is a Board Member of Waterloo EDC in Ontario, and is involved with Board Room Africa, where she mentors young African women aspiring to governance roles.
A passionate advocate for systems change, Dorothy believes in the power of entrepreneurship within market systems to build prosperity and promote sustainable, inclusive growth. Through her leadership, she is contributing to the transformation of systems that create jobs for youth within the agri-food sector. Dorothy is also a founding member of Gender Summit Africa and a life member of AWID.

Ethiopis Tafara is IFC’s regional Vice President for Africa. In this capacity, he oversees all investment and advisory operations in a region with a committed portfolio of $17 billion and nearly 800 staff working to expand the private sector’s role in addressing urgent development challenges in the financial, manufacturing, agribusiness and services, and infrastructure industries.

Previously, Mr. Tafara served as the Vice President, Chief Risk, Legal & Sustainability Officer and Partnerships for the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), where he was responsible for the supervision and oversight of MIGA’s Finance and Risk Management Group, the Economics & Sustainability Group, and the Legal Affairs & Claims Group, in addition to overseeing MIGA Partnerships.

Prior to this, Mr. Tafara served as Vice President and General Counsel for IFC where he was responsible for non-financial risk management, including the Legal, Compliance and ESG functions. In that role, he was named as Financial Times Global GC 25 in 2018.

Prior to joining IFC, Mr. Tafara served as the Director of the Office of International Affairs at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He practiced as a regulatory lawyer for close to 20 years, focusing on international securities regulation and cross-border law enforcement litigation. Mr. Tafara was the recipient of the prestigious Chairman’s Award and has been recognized for his work on facilitating cross-border investor access by promoting mutual recognition of comparable regulation.

Mr. Tafara also held leadership positions in several international bodies, including as the Vice Chairman of the Board of the International Organizations for Securities Commissions, the Chairman of the Public Interest Oversight Board Monitoring Group, and the SEC Deputy to both the Financial Stability Board and the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board.

Ms. Ghada Teima has been working with the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of The World Bank Group, for 20 years, in different technical and managerial capacities. During her tenor at IFC, Ms. Teima managed Access to Finance Advisory Services Operations in Latin America and the Caribbean and prior to that worked in the Middle East and North Africa region on related topics. As part of the Financial Institutions Group, she has led IFC SME Finance Advisory Practice globally, advising banks on developing their SME Finance business and women banking. Beyond emerging markets private sector development experience, for six years, she has engaged on multiple policy and regulatory topics as Global Lead SME Finance at the Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Practice at the World Bank Group.

Ms. Teima has been leading the IFC/ World Bank G20 SME Finance practice within the Financial Inclusion agenda under the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) since 2010. This included leading the G20 GPFI SME Finance and Digital Financial Services work program for multiple G20 Presidencies.

Prior to joining IFC, Ms. Teima held several positions in the private sector, in the areas of corporate finance and management consulting assisting clients with initial public offerings, private placements and mergers and acquisitions with the former Andersen Consulting (currently Accenture) and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu International.

Ghita has 25 years of experience in corporate and retail banking, transactional banking, and payments. A specialist in change and build, she is the CEO of the Payments Association of South Africa (PASA), where she is leading the transition of the organisation and its functions to a new operating model. In her last role, she was responsible for building and operationalising the payments systems for the Discovery Bank start up. She has served as a director on the boards of BankservAfrica and SBV Services and has a masters degree in engineering.

Mr. Gachora is currently the Group Managing Director (GMD) for NCBA Group PLC. Prior to his appointment at NCBA, he was the GMD of NIC Group PLC, from September 2013 to 30th September 2019. NCBA Group PLC was formed on 1st October 2019 following the merger of NIC Group PLC and CBA Bank Limited. Mr. Gachora joined NIC Bank from Barclays Africa where he had been Managing Director and Head of Corporate & Investment Banking. In his role he was responsible for Barclays Corporate and Investment Banking activities across 12 African countries (excl. South Africa). Prior to this, he held several executive positions at Absa Bank in South Africa, including CEO of Absa Africa and Head of Investment Banking, Sub Saharan
Africa.
Before moving to South Africa, he spent close to 15 years in the United States where he held several positions at both Bank of America and Credit Suisse First Boston. While at Bank of America he rose through the ranks to become a Managing Director and Global Head of the Financial Engineering.
Mr. Gachora holds a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA as well as an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Kelvin Teo is the co-founder CEO of Funding Societies, Southeast Asia’s largest SME digital finance platform, operating across five countries. Since founding the firm in 2015, he has led its mission to close the region’s SME financing gap, disbursing over USD 4.7 billion to 100,000+ businesses and driving USD 1.4 billion in annualized payment volumes (under CardUp brand). Recognized among Asia’s Top 200 FinTech Influencers and the Singapore FinTech Association’s Top 12 FinTech Leaders, Kelvin spoke at conferences such as Money20/20 and the Singapore FinTech Festival. He worked at McKinsey, Accenture, and KKR Capstone, and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA from NUS as valedictorian.

Kizito is the Head of Secretariat for Startup20 (SU20) which is an engagement group of the G20. He was the Board Vice President and interim-President of Digital Africa. Digital Africa is a €130m French Government initiative launched by French President Emmanuel Macron to support Africa’s Tech startups. Kizito is the co-Chairperson of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Africa and the Executive Head of 22 ON SLOANE which is Africa’s largest tech startup campus based in Johannesburg South Africa. He is an Independent Investment Committee Member of the IDF Capital Future Fund which is a USD$17m Telkom and BCX Fund focused on investing in Tech startups in South Africa. His experience includes, heading up Guest Relations, Internal Sales and Marketing for the Tsogo Sun Group, Editor for the African Entrepreneur magazine, Head of Research at the BAM-SA group, and Associate at Centre for Creative Leadership (CCL). He was also the Founder and Executive Head of SEA Africa, a Research and Development firm that supported SMMEs across Africa. Kizito plays a significant role in the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) in South Africa and the rest of Africa and has been highly instrumental in developing the Global Entrepreneurship Network in various African countries. He spear-headed the development of the largest Startup campus (22 ON SLOANE) in Africa situated in Bryanston Johannesburg. He writes regularly on Africa’s Startup ecosystem which is published in the Business Report newspaper. Kizito’s academic qualifications include a diploma in Latin Language (affiliated to the Urban University in Rome), a diploma in Public Relations, a postgraduate diploma in Business Management and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) where he delivered his thesis titled, ‘The contribution of higher education in advancing entrepreneurship in South Africa’.

Lamia Kamal-Chaoui is Director of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities and a member of the OECD Executive Leadership team. Under her leadership, the Centre’s 230+ economists and analysts support governments to unleash the potential of entrepreneurs and small businesses, promote inclusive and sustainable regions and cities, and boost local job creation. To elevate international dialogue on the vital role of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in economic growth and development, Ms Kamal-Chaoui spearheaded the establishment of the OECD Committee on SMEs and Entrepreneurship, supported by the Informal Steering Group on SME and Entrepreneurship Financing, an international network of SME financing experts representing government ministries and central banks from 50 countries. The Steering Group produces the OECD Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs Scoreboard and developed the first OECD Recommendation on SME Financing. Ms Kamal-Chaoui now oversees a number of programmes to address the key priorities of OECD Members, including: expanding access to finance for SMEs and entrepreneurs, helping firms to start up and scale up; strengthening links between foreign investment and SMEs; and promoting inclusive entrepreneurship. Ms Kamal-Chaoui has also launched ground-breaking programmes to prepare small business for the green and digital transitions, including partnering with global financial institutions to create the Platform on Financing SMEs for Sustainability and bringing together the public and private sectors for the Digital for SMEs (D4SME) Global Initiative. The Centre also provides policy advice and capacity building for regional, urban and local development and leads the OECD’s engagement with subnational governments through numerous global platforms, including the World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment, the OECD Local Development Forum and the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative. Ms Kamal-Chaoui holds degrees in Macroeconomics and Foreign Languages and received the “Women of the Decade in Enterprise and Leadership” award of the Women's Economic Forum.

Lyle Horsley is the head of fintech at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and currently serves as the chairperson of the Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG) in South Africa. In her current role, areas of focus include crypto assets; open finance; central bank digital currencies; artificial intelligence and tokenisation and advancing practical explorative projects to understand the policy and regulatory implications of emerging technologies for the financial sector. The SARB’s Fintech Unit also co-leads the IFWG’s Innovation Hub, made up of the Regulatory Guidance Unit, the Regulatory Sandbox and the Innovation Accelerator.
Lyle is an admitted attorney and conveyancer in SA and obtained her LLM (cum laude) from the University of Witwatersrand.

Mr. Manoj Mittal is the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India), bringing over 3 decades of experience in the financial sector, particularly focused on MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) finance and development.
He previously served as MD & CEO of IFCI Limited, where he led the institution back to profitability after years of losses. Earlier, he spent five years as Deputy Managing Director at SIDBI, where he played a key role in designing and implementing SIDBI Vision 2.0, driving strategic initiatives for profitability, impact, and innovation in MSME and startup support. His notable contributions include the management of large venture capital operations, the Fund of Funds for Startups, retail credit portfolios, risk management, and launching major digital lending platforms.
He also has comprehensive experience in design, management and impact evaluation of various sustainability and developmental programs funded by multilateral agencies/ Government of India. He is a strong votary of Credit Plus approach for holistic development of MSMEs.
Mr. Mittal has a background in engineering, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management, a Postgraduate Degree in Economics, and is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance.

Mohamed Gouled is IFC’s Vice President of Industries. He’s responsible for (i) managing IFC’s global sector communities of practice and ensuring that lessons of experience from IFC operations contribute to the WBG’s global knowledge bank and thought leadership; (ii) leading business development with global clients, as well as IFC’s climate finance and portfolio management; (iii) fostering close collaboration across WBG to align sector strategies, implement the Cascade approach, enhance client delivery, and support policy/sector reforms in WBG countries of operation; and (iv) supporting operational process simplification.

A Djiboutian national, Mr. Gouled was previously VP of Risk and Finance from 2017. Prior to that, he was a Director for IFC’s Special Operations Department, a Chief Credit Officer for EMENA region, and Manager for Financial Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. He started his career at the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, working for Treasury and the Industry and Infrastructure Departments.

Munir Duri is the founder and CEO of Kifiya Financial Technology, an AI-ecosystem tech infrastructure company with alternative-data decisioning engines, intelligent financial infrastructure, and ag-tech solutions. This integrated stack empowers banks and other lenders to extend collateral-free tailored financial services to micro, small, and medium enterprises and smallholder farmers.

A recognized leader in inclusive digital finance, Munir has received the Mastercard Foundation’s Zambezi Prize and the World Bank/IFC SME Finance Forum’s Product Innovation of the Year (Silver). Through Kifiya he continues to drive data-driven innovation that closes market gaps, strengthens local economies, and re-imagines finance for broader impact.

Natalie Jabangwe is the CEO of the Timbuktoo Foundation, that houses a $1bn start up fund, a leading organization focused on driving innovation across Africa. Under her leadership, the foundation has become a key player in empowering young innovators and entrepreneurs, fostering creativity, and promoting sustainable development through technology and education.

Before joining Timbuktoo, Natalie served as the Group Digital Executive Officer at the Sanlam Group, Africa’s largest non-bank financial company in Africa and overseeing 34 countries and a budget of $600m. From 2014-2021, she was CEO of EcoCash, Zimbabwe’s largest mobile money service, where she was one of the youngest female CEOs in Africa’s mobile financial sector. Her career has been marked by her commitment to leveraging technology to create impactful solutions, earning her recognition as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2018. Natalie is also a 2017 Oxford University Tutu Fellow, reflecting her leadership and influence across Africa.

Nigar Arpadarai is an independent Member of Parliament for Azerbaijan, representing one of the central constituencies of Baku city since 2020. She was elected to parliament after 15 years of professional experience in international organizations, sports and telecommunications.

Prior to becoming a Member of Parliament, Ms. Arpadarai was the Director of the Marketing and Communications Department and the official spokesperson of the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix since its inception in 2016. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in law and international relations from Baku State University.

Nontobeko Lubisi is the Director of Financial Inclusion at the National Treasury. She is primarily responsible for giving strategic guidance in the formulation of South Africa's Financial Inclusion Policy, the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, and a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for financial inclusion. In November 2023, the Association for Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP) presented Nontobeko with the Financial Inclusion Award "Low-Cost Access Provided to Lower LSMs" in appreciation of her efforts to promote financial inclusion and financial sector transformation in the country.

She was previously the Shareholder Representative on the board of the Co-operative Banks Development Agency and is now a Non-Executive Founding Board Member of the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency, as well as a member of the Financial Sector Transformation Council's board of directors, where she chairs the Audit, Finance, and Risk Committee.

Ms Nontobeko Lubisi holds an Executive Development Programme from the University of Witwatersrand Business School, a Master of Philosophy (Taxation) from the University of Pretoria, a Postgraduate Diploma (Development Finance) from the University of Stellenbosch Business School, a Bachelor of Commerce (Statistics) from the University of Pretoria, and a Bachelor of Technology (Quality) from the University of South Africa

Dr. Patrick Njoroge served as the ninth Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya from June 2015 to June 2023, after a 20-year career at the International Monetary Fund. He is currently a member of the Advisory Boards of the "Yale Program on Financial Stability" and the "Global Finance and Technology Network," chair of the "Africa Financial Industry Summit" (AFIS) Supervisory Council, and a member of the Africa Expert Panel for South Africa’s G20 Presidency. He has received several awards and recognitions, including four awards for Africa’s Central Banker of the Year, and recognition in 2023 as a Top 25 African Finance Leader. He holds a PhD in Economics from Yale University. He is MLK, Jr. and Phyllis Wallace Visiting Scholar at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Pearl Nkrumah is Executive Director and Head of Retail & Digital Banking for the Africa Subsidiaries of Access Bank PLC. With over two decades of experience, she leads efforts to expand SME financing, drive digital innovation, and deepen financial inclusion across key African markets.

She also serves as Chair of the Governing Council of the Ghana Stock Exchange, where she champions improved access to capital for SMEs through stronger governance, sustainable finance practices, and innovative market structures.

Pearl is passionate about empowering women-led businesses, scaling impact through partnerships, and building Africa’s next generation of growth enterprises. She holds an MBA, LLB, and executive training from Harvard Business School.

Philip Sigwart is Group CEO of Baobab Group, a leading provider of inclusive finance in Africa. Since 2019, he has led a seven-country platform serving 1.6 million customers—including more than 600,000 active small businesses—through digital channels, agent networks, and branches. Baobab disburses over $1.2 billion in new loans annually, manages more than $1.1 billion in assets, and employs 4,000 people.

He previously led SME Banking at Equity Group Holdings (Kenya) and held several CEO and Board-level roles with the ProCredit Banking Group in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Latin America. He began his career at the EBRD’s Russia Small Business Fund. His focus throughout has been on how finance can drive economic transformation and deliver better outcomes for all.

Philip holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

QAMAR SALEEM heads SME Finance Forum, managed by IFC at World Bank Group, working to expand access to financial services for small and medium businesses globally. Prior to this role, Qamar Saleem was heading IFC’s Financial Institutions Group Advisory Services business for Asia and Pacific providing integrated client solutions across SME, Gender, Climate, Digital, Housing, Trade, Capital Markets, Agri and Supply Chain Finance. Qamar has been with IFC since 2012 and served in his previous roles as global technical lead for SME and Supply Chain Finance.

Qamar has overall 30+ years of global financial services experience having supported clients across 80+ countries internationally, managing large business lines while leading multi-cultural and cross-functional teams. He is a recognized thought leader, featured speaker, and an industry mentor with several publications and thought pieces to his credit. Prior to IFC, for a period of two decades, Qamar was associated in leadership roles with international organizations like HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank as well as large regional banks in MENA while serving in several emerging markets where he also led SME Banking, Transaction Banking, and Commercial Banking Divisions.

Mr Ravi Menon has a portfolio of work in sustainability, innovation, and inclusion.

Mr Menon is Singapore’s first Ambassador for Climate Action and Senior Adviser to the National Climate Change Secretariat at the Prime Minister’s Office. He plays a leading role in Singapore’s efforts to foster collective action internationally and transition planning locally towards a low-carbon future. He is also Chairman of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) Asia-Pacific Advisory Board and a member of the GFANZ Principals Group.

Mr Menon is Chairman of the Global Finance & Technology Network, which harnesses technology and fosters innovation for more efficient, resilient, and inclusive financial ecosystems globally. He is also a Trustee of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Chairman of its Innovation and Enterprise Committee.

Mr Menon is Chairman of ImpactSG, a philanthropy which aims to grow a community of purposeful givers in Singapore and Asia. He is also a Board Member of The Majurity Trust, a charity which deploys cause-based funds for social needs; and a Trustee of the Singapore Indian Development Association, a community self-help group.

Prior to his current roles, Mr Menon served for 36 years in the Singapore Public Service.

As Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (2011-23), Mr Menon oversaw monetary and macroprudential policies, reformed the financial regulatory framework, and developed Singapore as a green finance centre and a global FinTech hub. On the international front, he served as Chairman of the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System and Chairman of the Financial Stability Board Standing Committee on Standards Implementation.

As Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade & Industry (2007-11), Mr Menon helped to steer the economy during the global financial crisis. As Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (2003-07), he oversaw fiscal policy and government reserves.

Mr Menon is a recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal from the Singapore Government, the Distinguished Alumni Award from NUS, and the Distinguished Leadership and Service Award from the Institute of International Finance in Washington.

Mr Menon holds a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Economics from NUS.

Dr. Segun Ogunsanya, former Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Africa PLC, is an Engineer and Chartered Accountant with over 35 years’ cognate experience garnered across multiple geographies, organizations and diverse sectors such as telecoms, consulting, Banking and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Airtel Africa PLC operates telecommunication and mobile money services in 14 countries in Africa. With a turnover of about $5 Billion, It is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and Nigeria Stock Exchange. Dr. Segun Ogunsanya was the only Black/Minority CEO of a FTSE100 company from 2021 to 2024.

Dr. Ogunsanya’s appointment as Airtel Africa PLC Group CEO came into effect on the 1st of October 2021 with responsibility for driving the company’s strategic vision and corporate purpose of transforming the lives of people across sub-Saharan Africa by inspiring a sustainable future that is built on increasing equality through digital and financial inclusion. During his tenure, Airtel Africa PLC was the fastest growing and the most profitable telecommunications company in Africa.

Prior to his role as GCEO of Airtel Africa PLC, Dr. Ogunsanya joined Airtel Nigeria in 2012 and repositioned the company to become profitable and the 2nd largest telecommunications company by revenue and serving over 50 million customers.
Mr Ogunsanya joined Airtel from The Coca-Cola Company, where he started his career in Finance and gradually transitioned into senior leadership roles with the various bottling operations of The Coca-Cola Company across diverse markets and countries in Africa. In his last stint as the Managing Director and CEO of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company in Nigeria, the first African to be appointed, he was responsible for over $1billion revenue operations annually.

He was also the CEO of the Kenya operations for Coca-Cola SABCO, where he was instrumental in successfully turning around the business. Prior to this, he worked with Ecobank Transnational where, as the Managing Director of Retail Banking for Africa, he was responsible for the operations across 28 countries.

Apart from manufacturing and banking, Mr. Ogunsanya has consulting experience having worked with Arthur Anderson & Co in Nigeria where he was involved in Audit, Tax Advisory, setting up new businesses and profit improvement services.

Dr. Ogunsanya is a Chartered Accountant and also an Electrical/Electronics Engineer. He is married to Aderonke Ogunsanya with two children. A member of Lagos Metropolitan Club, Lagos Boat Club and Ikoyi Club.

Sopnendu Mohanty is the Co-founder and Group CEO of the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), a global advisory and investment firm. At GFTN, he leads innovative strategies that drive development and transformation in the financial sector through four operating arms: Forums, Advisory, Platform, and Capital.

He served at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as its first Chief Fintech Officer for nearly a decade, establishing Singapore on the global map as a leading center for innovation in the financial sector and a dynamic hub for fintech development. He continues to advise MAS on technology and innovation.

He currently serves on several boards, including the board of A*STAR, Singapore’s leading public sector agency dedicated to advancing scientific discovery and technological innovation. Before his leadership role in the public sector, he spent nearly two decades at Citigroup. He is credited with developing many public goods, including the notable PayNow, Singapore’s digital public infrastructure for payments. He conceptualized the globally well-known Singapore Fintech Festival and its global network of forums; today, the GFTN forum is the world’s largest convenor of tech, policymakers, and the financial sector community. Mr. Mohanty has co-authored several patented works in digital finance and received numerous industry accolades. He advises governments and various institutions on policies and implementation strategies for innovation, infrastructure, and ecosystem development in the financial sector.

Hon. Sylvester Adinam Mensah is an accomplished finance professional, renowned for his expertise in public sector banking, fund management, strategic financial management, and governance.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Business Consulting (FIBC), UK, and a Certified Strategy Professional (CSP) with a proven record of accomplishment of delivering innovative strategies and financial solutions.

With over two decades of experience in providing both practical and academic instruction in Corporate Strategy, Strategic Management, and Strategy Execution, he is providing first-rate leadership to position Ghana as a leading exporter in Africa under the AfCFTA, and beyond.

Sylvester is on a mission to reset Ghana EXIM Bank’s credit facilitation function to a transformative focus on investing in strategic areas that promise to deliver palpable results geared towards strengthening SME competitiveness, expanding agro-industrial job creation, boosting food production to enhance food security and accelerating revenue and forex generation.

As Head of Public Sector Banking at the then Intercontinental Bank (Ghana) Ltd, he led the development of credit risk criteria and robust credit acceptance frameworks. Sylvester, among other measures, provided strategic investment and business advisory services to diverse public sector clients.

He served as an Honorable Member of Parliament for the La Dadekotopon Constituency in the capital region of Ghana, and later as Chief Executive of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), where he managed the National Health Insurance Scheme and fund. He reformed and expanded Ghana’s Health Insurance Scheme, introducing a raft of policies including a clinical audit regime, electronic claims processing, instant issuance of subscriber ID cards, and migrating from a mutual scheme to a national unitary health insurance scheme, among others, to enhance efficiency.

Hon. Mensah was a Senior Lecturer at Ghana’s University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), and an Adjunct Lecturer at the Nobel International Business School (NiBS), where he was an adjunct faculty member of the Certified Strategy Professional (CSP) program.

Hon Sylvester Mensah holds Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Ghana Business School, and an MBA in Finance from the University of Leicester in the UK. He also holds a number of diplomas and certificates from various distinguished universities abroad, including the Harvard school of public health.