Our Advisory Board
Our advisory board brings a wealth of expertise in investments from various disciplines.
Mostafa is a structured finance professional with keen business acumen. This is coupled with 14 years of rich experience in origination, execution and managing projects, and assets-based finance in real assets investments. These investments include airports, aircraft, and other infrastructure assets. Mostafa worked in different asset types, with a large focus on real asset investments, and executed transactions with different finance structures including, leasing (operating and capital leases), Islamic finance structures. He participated in transactional advisory services for infrastructure fund structuring and PPP projects.
Mostafa is currently serving as Director – Asset Finance Strategy at Neo Merchants Capital in Egypt. Prior to this role, Mostafa had worked as Chief Investment Officer in CIAF LEASING, in a JV among Egyptian state-owned entities and Aviation Capital Group (“ACG”, a US based top lessor). During his career at CIAF LEASING, he worked on aircraft portfolio acquisitions and finance leased to international airlines, in EMEA, and Asian markets, and raised debt finance from international banks. He also originated and arranged debt finance for a fleet of other aeronautical equipment. Previously, Mostafa worked as a Senior Financial Analyst in CIAF Holding Company and Support and Development Civil Aviation Fund (SADCAF), where he worked on some related infrastructure projects including, Terminal 3 at International Cairo Airport and a project at Borg El Arab International Airport.
Mostafa obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting in 2003. He also holds the prestigious Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charter obtained from the CFA Institute in the United States of America. In addition, he holds the Islamic Finance Qualification (IFQ) administrated by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), and he is a certified Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA), a qualification he earned through the Corporate Finance Institute of Canada. Mostafa also possesses other qualifications having undertaken training in finance, risk management, project-based finance and evaluations, marketing and commercial strategies.
He has over 33 years of economic development experience having served in various leadership capacities within the African Development Bank Group and other public institutions. Racine was the African Development Bank’s Deputy Managing Director and Acting Managing Director for the Central African Region covering seven countries including Cameroun, Chad, Gabon, CAR, Equatorial Guinea, Congo Brazzaville and DRC. In Central Africa, he managed a project portfolio of about $ 7 billion with a focus on the sectors of energy, roads, agriculture, water and sanitation, governance and public financial management. In the energy sector, projects were often implemented as Public Private Partnerships. Prior to that, Racine served as Resident Representative for Cameroon, a role he held between 2011 and 2017. His leadership led to significant growth in the size of the African Development Bank’s portfolio in Cameroon, the strengthening of the quality and performance of the lending and non-lending programs, and enhancement of the country’s capacity for resource mobilization and co-financing in various sectors. During his tenure, he helped to significantly advance policy dialogue, enabling the Bank to become a preferred adviser to the Government on various strategic issues. Racine has played important roles in promoting regional integration, especially at the level of the Regional Economic Communities of West Africa and the Regional Economic Community of Central African States.
Racine started his career with the African Development Bank in 2003 as a Senior Economist based in Tunisia and in 2008 he was promoted to Chief Economist with responsibility over Cameroon, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Togo.He earlier worked as Head of General Planning at the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Planning of Senegal between 1989 and 1994 and as Macroeconomist for the Economic Policy Unit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Senegal between 1995 and 2002.
He holds Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in Economics from the University of Dakar, Senegal. He also holds a post-graduate diploma in development policy, as well as various certificates in Industrial and Energy Planning from the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning.
Christelle is a sustainable finance expert and global impact investor with experience spanning international banking and sustainable investing for developing countries.
She is the Founder and Chief Executive of Uhusiano Capital, a company she founded in 2016 as a catalyst to facilitate better business in African within the impact investing sector, with particular interest in agriculture and women economic empowerment. Christelle has convened a team of experts and specialists with whom she has developed service propositions that solve complex problems and add value to communities, stakeholders and shareholders in Africa. Uhusiano Capital is an impact adviser to a Multi family office based in London.
Christelle spent 13 years as a Investment banker within the alternative space and Hedge fund management mainly in London. She spent that time with global institutions including JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs International serving in various capacities. Christelle is an internationally recognised leader in impact investment and has spoken at high profile events and conferences around the world. She has also been an expert participant in several panels and knowledge sharing initiatives.
In her non-for-profit activities, Christelle is a practitioner, advocate on sustainable impact capitalism and community bridging through business and bottom-up leadership. She sits as a Trustee on Medical aid film and is a strong supporter on Education for young girls in the DRC.
Christelle is a Belgian – Conglese national based in London, with extensive travel on the African continent. She holds a BA in business and finance from the University of Westminister. Christelle speaks French, Dutch, English, Swahili and understand Lingala.
Banji is a qualified and experienced Finance, Accounting and Investment professional with extensive experience in Banking and Investments.
He has served in senior management positions with various commercial banks including Finance Bank and most recently, the United Bank for Africa where he is currently serving as the institution’s Chief Finance Officer.
Banji is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA) and holder of the prestigious CFA Charter. He also holds a Diploma in Treasury Management and is also a fellow of the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA).
Rachel is a South African born Project Finance Lawyer and Founder of Rachel Jiyana Incorporated, a well-established law firm specialising in banking and finance, oil and gas, projects, infrastructure, construction, mining and general litigation. She started off her career as a law clerk for the judges at the Constitutional Court of South Africa after which she joined practice and was exposed to projects development, banking and financing. Rachel has not only represented financiers such as commercial banks and equity investors but also development finance institutions, the export credit agency and the project sponsors/developers in project and infrastructure related transactions.
AfriProspect GmbH’s Founder CEO as well as ShEquity’s Founder and Managing Partner, Pauline is a leading innovation expert in developing & emerging economies, impact investor and seasoned impact-driven team leader with over 20 years’ experience in international affairs and venture philanthropy. AfriProspect focuses on connecting African innovators with global markets, and ShEquity provides smart investment to impactful and scalable African female-led and owned businesses. Pauline also has 10+ years’ experience catalyzing innovation and entrepreneurship across Africa and her passion lies in innovation, entrepreneurship, youth, and women economic empowerment.