TDB GROUP BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors is responsible for the conduct of the general operations of TDB Group. The Board generally consists of not more than ten Non-Executive Directors, in addition to the TDB Group Managing Director.

Chairperson & Non-Executive Director

Gerald Paul Kasaato

Mr. Gerald Paul Kasaato is the Chief Investment Officer of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), a mandatory retirement savings scheme in Uganda, a position he has held for the last 6 years. Gerald holds over 10 years’ experience in Finance, Investment and Equity acquired from his previous roles in the Banking and Insurance sector.

He holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors (Bsc. Hons) in Accounting from Oxford Brookes University (UK), an MBA in Finance from the University of Exeter (UK), and an Msc. in International Finance and Investment from London South Bank University (UK) and an alumnus of Harvard Business School.

Gerald is a CFA Charter holder, a Chartered Accountant (UK), a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI, UK), and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU).

He sits on the Board CRDB Bank, Tanzania and is the Vice Chairperson and Non-Executive Director for the constituency comprising Angola, Uganda, Sudan, Comoros and DRC

Vice Chairperson & Non-Executive Director

George Tongesayi Guvamatanga

Mr. Guvamatanga is the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Zimbabwe. He has held this position for 3 years and is responsible for Facilitating economic policy formulation and implementation, economic planning and modelling, monitoring and evaluation of fiscal and macro-economic performance and overseeing the preparation and execution of the Ministry Budget.

Mr. Guvamatanga is a seasoned Banker who possesses over 28 years in the Banking and the financial services sector. He previously served as CEO of the former Barclays Bank in Zimbabwe and was instrumental in translating Barclays Group international strategy into action in Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe. He established a strategic framework for the allocation of Barclays’ financial & human capital, acquisitions, mergers, divestitures and the entry/exit.

He also holds a Master’s in Business Administration in Banking from the University of London. He is the Non-Executive Director representing the constituency comprising Botswana, Eritrea, Mauritius Rwanda and Zimbabwe.

Co-Chairperson & Managing Director

Admassu Tadesse

Mr. Tadesse is TDB Group President & Managing Director and Chairman of the TDB Group Executive Management Board. He co-chairs the boards of directors of TDB Group, the Trade and Development Fund (TDF), the TDB Captive Insurance Company (TCI), the TDB Fund Manager (ESATAL) and the ESA Trade Finance Fund (ESATF).

He serves on the governing organs of several global and continental industry bodies, notably the International Development Finance Club, Finance in Common and the Africa Investment Forum. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Financial Sector Deepening Ethiopia, a-not-for-profit financial sector development agency. He is a member of the boards of directors of the Washington D.C.-based Corporate Council on Africa, ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company) and Gulf African Bank. In the past, he has also served on the boards of various development finance institutions/funds/associations in Paris, London and Geneva, as well as Johannesburg, Gaborone and Abidjan.

From 2012 to 2022, he led PTA Bank, and spearheaded its evolution into TDB Group. During the previous decade, he served as Executive Vice President at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, responsible for international finance and corporate strategy. He has also served with multilateral funding agencies in Johannesburg, Windhoek and New York in various capacities including executive, senior advisor, management consultant and economist, including at the United Nations.

He has been a member of the Institute of Directors of Mauritius/South Africa and the Institute of Bankers of South Africa/Kenya. An economist and banker, Mr. Tadesse qualified at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Wits Business School and Western University of Canada. He also trained in advanced management and banking at Harvard Business School and INSEAD, among others. He is a recipient of multiple industry awards, including African Banker of the Year, African Business Leader of the Year and African Development Banker of the Year.

Non-Executive Director

Busiswe Alice Dlamini-Nsibande

Ms. Dlamini-Nsibande is an experienced macroeconomist with over 30 years of exposure and working as an economist; supervising and providing economic research on pertinent issues, analyzing domestic, regional and international economic developments to inform authorities and policy makers to take informed policy decisions on different sectors of the economy.

Ms. Dlamini-Nsibande worked at the Central Bank of Eswatini for 25 years eight of which as Director of the Economics department, providing updates on domestic, regional and international developments to the Bank’s executive committee and Bankers Association meetings.

She coordinated the monitoring and surveillance of the SADC macroeconomic convergence program to ensure economic stability in the region (2008 to 2017). Ms. Dlamini-Nsibande is currently a member of the Central Bank of Eswatini Monetary Policy Committee and advises on fiscal and monetary issues. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Statistics from the University of Botswana and Swaziland and a Master’s in Economics from the University of Essex

She is the current Chairperson and Non-Executive Director for the constituency comprising Egypt, Tanzania Eswatini, South Sudan, Namibia and Djibouti.

Non-Executive Director

Veenay Rambarassah

Mr. Veenay is Director of Investment at the National Pensions Fund of Mauritius, managing the portfolio of all the funds falling under the National Pensions Scheme. Prior to his service at the National Pensions Fund of Mauritius, Mr. Veenay was a Project Finance Manager for Ebene Cybercity Project in Mauritius.

He holds MSc. In Finance and Investment and ACCA designation and has over 20 years of experience, primarily in the finance and accounting field. He is the Non-Executive Director representing the constituency comprising All Other Shareholders.

Non-Executive Director

Solomon Quaynor

Solomon Quaynor is the Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure & Industrialization at the African Development Bank (AfDB); a position he has held for the last 18 months.  He has over 25 years’ experience in development finance and investment banking.

Mr. Quaynor recently worked as Senior Advisor to Rothschild Global Advisory and IFU (Danish DFI) across Africa, as well as providing special situations advisory services to PE Funds.  Prior to that he worked for several years at IFC in various capacities and there he became an emerging markets specialist investor with experience developing business and investing across financial institutions including banks & NBFIs, Telecoms Media & Technology, Infrastructure including Energy, Manufacturing, Agribusiness & Services.

Before IFC, he worked in investment banking with Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns in NYC, providing corporate finance advisory services to companies across several sectors.

Mr. Quaynor is a graduate of the J L Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.  He also holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as a BS in Applied Physics from Atlanta University Center. He is the Non-Executive Director representing African Institutions.

 

 

Non-Executive Director

Shuo Zhou

Ms. Zhou is the Chief Representative for the People’s Bank of China at the Africa office in Tunis. Her career comprises of 31 years in PBC as a central banker working on financial supervision and international financial cooperation. She served as an Advisor to the Board of Executives of the African Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank between 2012-2016.

Ms. Zhou holds a MA in International Finance from Tsinghua University and an Honor Degree in International Finance from the Business School of Liaoning University in China. She is the Non-Executive Director for the constituency comprising Non-African States.

Non-Executive Director

Adele Tura Halake

Mr. Tura possesses 26 years of experience in Human Resources Management at both local and international level. He Served in different capacities in Human Resources Management while in Nation Media Group between the years 1995 – 2004 before moving to TotalEnergies Marketing Kenya PLC. Mr. Tura has served in different capacities within TotalEnergies; Head of Human Resources & Administration, Kenya, Regional Human Resources Manager, Sub Saharan Africa (based in France for nearly two years and South Africa for three years) and Senior Talent Developer, Eastern and Southern Africa (based in Kenya). Currently, he holds three roles – Strategy and Corporate Affairs Director, TotalEnergies Marketing Kenya PLC, Managing Director, GAPCO Kenya Ltd and CEO Safe way right way.

Mr. Adele Tura Halake holds a Master of Business Administration in Strategic Management from the University of Nairobi, a Bachelor of Education (Arts) Degree from Kenyatta University and Higher National Diploma in Human Resources Management from the Institute of Human Resources Management Kenya. He is the Non-Executive Director representing Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia and Zambia.

Non-Executive Director

Lekha Nair

Lekha Nair has over 40 years of public sector experience, most recently serving as the CEO of the Seychelles Pension Fund, managing investments and modernizing the national pension service.

She served as the Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Finance, Principal Secretary of the President’s Office , Director of Finance at Air Seychelles, CEO of the Public Officer’s Ethics Commission and Chief Internal Auditor. Ms. Nair played a prominent role in the Ministry of Finance’s successful reform of the fiscal, economic and trade policies for Seychelles’ economic development and trade liberalization, in the country’s first IMF-led macroeconomic reform program in 2003.

She has served on the boards of African Development Bank and Afrexim Bank. Ms. Nair holds a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) in Accounting and Commerce from St. Teresa’s College in Kerala, India and a Master of Science (MSc) in Public Finance from Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom.

Lekha Nair is the Independent Board Director.

Non-Executive Director

Juste Rwamabuga

Mr. Rwamabuga is a Burundian national with over 40 years’ experience in public, private and international organizations, including, the World Bank, International Finance Corporation and the African Development Bank. He previously served as Division Manager of AfDB’s Transports Infrastructure Department.

Mr. Rwamabuga holds an MBA from the University of Montreal, Canada. He is an Independent Non-Executive Director.

Non-Executive Director

Solomon Asamoah

Solomon has over 25 years of experience in transactions and has led over $4billion in transactions across the African continent. In his role as CEO of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, he oversees origination, structuring and investment into infrastructure-related projects across Ghana. Prior to this role he held a number of notable positions including Vice President for Infrastructure, Private Sector and Regional Integration at the African Development Bank (AfDB); Deputy CEO and Chief Investment Officer of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC); Vice President for Private Sector and International Investments at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA); and Special Assistant to the CEO of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Managing Director of the World Bank in Washington DC. He began his career as an Investment Banker in the City of London and has a Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College. He is the Non-Executive Director representing Seychelles, Burundi, Ethiopia, Malawi, Madagascar and Ghana.

 

TDB GROUP EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP & CORPORATE SECRETARIAT

Group President & Managing Director (GPMD)

Admassu Tadesse

Mr. Tadesse is TDB Group President & Managing Director and Chairman of the TDB Group Executive Management Board. He co-chairs the boards of directors of TDB Group, the Trade and Development Fund (TDF), the TDB Captive Insurance Company (TCI), the TDB Fund Manager (ESATAL) and the ESA Trade Finance Fund (ESATF).

He serves on the governing organs of several global and continental industry bodies, notably the International Development Finance Club, Finance in Common and the Africa Investment Forum. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Financial Sector Deepening Ethiopia, a-not-for-profit financial sector development agency. He is a member of the boards of directors of the Washington D.C.-based Corporate Council on Africa, ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company) and Gulf African Bank. In the past, he has also served on the boards of various development finance institutions/funds/associations in Paris, London and Geneva, as well as Johannesburg, Gaborone and Abidjan.

From 2012 to 2022, he led PTA Bank, and spearheaded its evolution into TDB Group. During the previous decade, he served as Executive Vice President at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, responsible for international finance and corporate strategy. He has also served with multilateral funding agencies in Johannesburg, Windhoek and New York in various capacities including executive, senior advisor, management consultant and economist, including at the United Nations.

He has been a member of the Institute of Directors of Mauritius/South Africa and the Institute of Bankers of South Africa/Kenya. An economist and banker, Mr. Tadesse qualified at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Wits Business School and Western University of Canada. He also trained in advanced management and banking at Harvard Business School and INSEAD, among others. He is a recipient of multiple industry awards, including African Banker of the Year, African Business Leader of the Year and African Development Banker of the Year.

Group Vice President & Deputy MD

Joy Ntare

Ms. Ntare joined the Bank in April 2014 with over 26 years of experience in accounting and finance. She was previously employed by the Central Bank of Rwanda for 20 years in several capacities including as Director General for Financial Stability and Director of Supervision of Non-Bank Financial Institutions.

She also worked at the Tanzania Electric Supply Company. Ms. Ntare holds Advanced Diploma in Accountancy and a MBA from Cardiff Business School, University of Wales. She is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK) and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Rwanda (ICPAR)

Group Vice President, Deputy MD & General Counsel

David Bamlango

Mr. David Bamlango is Group Vice President, Deputy Managing Director, and General Counsel of TDB Group and is the Group’s Chief Legal Officer, advising TDB Group’s management and governing bodies on various legal, regulatory, and policy issues and leading its Legal Services Department. He co-chairs TDB Group’s Executive Management Board. He also serves as Co-Chair of several statutory committees of the Bank and provides senior and strategic oversight to TDB Group’s Asset Management business.

Mr. Bamlango has over 18 years of extensive experience as a banking, legal, and finance professional. Prior to his appointment at TDB Group, Mr. Bamlango was a Partner in the Finance Practice Group of DLA Piper LLP in Chicago, in the United States.

He is a member of several industry bodies and has served on numerous boards, including current service on the boards of TDB Group subsidiaries Eastern and Southern African Trade Advisers Limited (ESATAL) and Trade and Development Fund (TDF). He also serves on the global board of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), the largest voluntary professional organization of in-house lawyers in the world with over 40,000 members, as a Director and Treasurer. He is an Independent Director and Board Chair for Congo Energy Solutions Limited, a Mauritius‑based solar-power development and distribution company operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo through its subsidiary Nuru S.A.R.L.

Mr. Bamlango holds a Juris Doctor degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law, at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree in business law from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, a License in Law from Université Lille 2, and a Graduate in Law from Université Libre des Pays des Grands Lacs in Goma. He is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and the State of Illinois. He is fluent in English, French, Swahili, and Lingala.

Group Chief Strategy Advisor

Catherine Kimaryo

Prior to her appointment, Ms. Kimaryo was the Director, the Nairobi Regional Office, responsible for Projects and Infrastructure Finance. Before joining TDB, she was a Senior Investment Officer at the World Bank and held roles at the United Nations in Kosovo and Akiba Commercial Bank in Tanzania. Ms. Kimaryo possesses over 20 years of experience in project and corporate finance and deal structuring.

 

Group Corporate Secretary

Tom Mzumara

Mr. Mzumara has over 14 years of diverse experience as a legal professional with expertise in corporate legal advisory, corporate governance & legal institutional matters, capital markets & other resource mobilization transactions as well as structured financing transactions. He joined Trade & Development Bank (TDB) in 2012. Prior to joining TDB, he held various positions working both in the private and public sectors as legal practitioner and in-house legal counsel.

Mr. Mzumara holds an LLM in Commercial Law from the University of Cape Town (South Africa), an LLB from the University of Zambia and he is duly admitted to the Zambian bar as an Advocate of the High Court of Zambia.

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP OF STRATEGIC BUSINESS UNITS (SBUs), SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES

Chief Executive, Trade and Development Banking

Michael Awori

Mr. Awori has over 20 years of experience in investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged finance and corporate banking and has advised and executed over $20 billion of Capital Markets, M&A and financing transactions. Prior to his appointment at TDB, he was the Regional Head of Debt Finance, East Africa at Barclays, responsible for originating, structuring and executing corporate and sovereign debt transactions.

Prior to Barclays, Mr. Awori advised on corporate finance and mergers & acquisitions for Global Industrials clients at Citigroup in Chicago. Earlier, he spent nearly a decade in various roles with JPMorgan in Chicago. Mr. Awori holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts from Goshen College.

Chief Executive, TDB Asset Management (TAM)

Gloria Mamba

Ms. Mamba has over 20 years’ experience in financial services in Southern Africa with a focus on strategy development and execution, business development, due diligence, financial analysis and structuring, investment management, negotiation and risk management. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Mamba was an Associate Director at Deloitte Consulting based in Johannesburg. She has served in senior management roles at the Global Environment Fund, Development Bank of Southern Africa, and Blue Catalyst.

She has also served as a Board member for international industry associations (Africa Venture Capital Association, Emerging Markets Private Equity Association) as well as Investment Committee member for various fund entities and corporates. Ms. Mamba holds Master of International Management (with honours) from the Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management and Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) from Barnard College (Columbia University).

Chief Executive, ESATAL fund management company, and Group Executive, Indian Ocean-Lusophone Africa Coverage

Daniel Lam Chun

Mr. Lam Chun joined TDB in 2018 and possesses over 15 years of experience in corporate finance and investment banking in senior roles in Mauritius. Prior to his appointment as Coverage Executive, Franco-Lusophone Africa (ad int), he was Head, Deal Structuring and Head, Coverage Franco-Lusophone Africa.

Mr. Lam Chun holds Master of Business Administration from the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris Dauphine, a Master of Professional Accounting, Control & Audit from Université d’Auvergne Clermont, MSc. in Accounting & Finance from Université d’Auvergne Clermont and Bachelor of Business Administration from Université Lumière Lyon. He is a national of Mauritius and is bilingual in English and French.

Executive Director, Trade and Development Fund (TDF), and Group Executive, Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations Department

Mary Kamari

Mary Kamari is a development finance professional with close to 20 years of experience leading resource mobilisation, programme management and business development efforts in some of the most prominent institutions globally and in Africa, including the World Bank, the UN, DBSA and GoodWorks International.

Ms. Kamari joined TDB in 2012 where she has been able to distinguish herself by raising capital and equity from sovereign and institutional shareholders, developing and managing strategic partnerships and networks, and enhancing the Bank’s brand equity through corporate communications.

Ms. Kamari holds an MBA from California State University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Makerere University.

Executive Director, TDB Captive Insurance Company (TCI), and Group Executive, Credit Risk Department

Dr. Goodman Chakanyuka

Mr. Chakanyuka has over 18 years of experience in commercial banking across Southern Africa. Prior to joining the Bank, he was the Chief Risk Officer at Ned Bank (Swaziland) for 8 years and held senior positions with Kingdom Bank and the African Export Import Bank.

Mr. Chakanyuka holds a Doctorate in Business Leadership from UNISA, a MBA and a BSc in Economics from the University of Zimbabwe. He is an associate member of the Institute of Bankers (Zimbabwe)

Executive Director, COMESA Infrastructure Fund (CIF), and Group Executive, East Africa Coverage, and Senior Advisor, Syndications

Wegoki Mugeni

Ms. Wegoki Mugeni has over 15 years of experience in Corporate and Investment Banking. Prior to joining TDB in 2020, she was Division Manager, Co-financing and Syndications at African Development Bank. She held management roles in Standard Bank Group in Kenya and  Standard Advisory United Kingdom with extensive experience in debt and equity capital markets. She holds Master of International Business Administration from United States International University Africa, Bachelor of Education from Kenyatta University and is a Certified Public Accountant (Kenya).

TDB GROUP EXECUTIVES

Group Executive, Financial Management Department

Francis Namboya

Mr. Namboya has been with the Bank for over 10 years and holds over 20 years of experience as a finance specialist. Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Namboya worked as Financial Controller, Company Secretary and Treasurer for the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) in Tanzania, United Kingdom and Malawi.

Mr. Namboya holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accountancy) and Diploma in Business Studies from the University of Malawi. He is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Malawi.

Group Executive, Treasury Department

Abraham Byanyima

Mr. Byanyima has over 15 years of diverse and progressive experiences in Emerging and Global Markets gained from working for Global Banks and Africa based Financial Institutions. His expertise includes interest rate derivatives and global currency derivative products, forex trading and risk management.

Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Byanyima worked as Vice President of Bank of New York Mellon and as Associate Director at UBS Investment Bank, New York. Mr. Byanyima holds a MBA from Fordham University.Mr. Byanyima has over 15 years of diverse and progressive experiences in Emerging and Global Markets gained from working for Global Banks and Africa based Financial Institutions.

His expertise includes interest rate derivatives and global currency derivative products, forex trading and risk management. Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Byanyima worked as Vice President of Bank of New York Mellon and as Associate Director at UBS Investment Bank, New York. Mr. Byanyima holds a MBA from Fordham University.

Group Executive, People and Organizational Development Department

Sheila Amule

Ms. Amule has over 20 years of experience as a human capital professional, with responsibilities for human resources management, talent acquisition, learning and development, in the banking and financial advisory sectors. Prior to joining TDB in 2008, she worked at PwC and Bank of Uganda. She holds MSc. Human Resources Management and Development from University of Manchester, Master of Public Policy  from Victoria University of Wellington, Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resources Management and Bachelor of Social Sciences from Makerere University.

Group Executive, Corporate Services and Administration Department

Hamere Tefera

Ms. Tefera possesses over 20 years of  experience in corporate and investment banking with experience in strategy and financial management. Prior to joining TDB in 2013, she held senior management roles at the Royal Bank of Canada and Rabobank Canada. She holds Master of Business Administration from McGill University and Bachelor of Arts from University of Guelph.

Associate Group Executive, Finance & Treasury Departments

Antonina Kayitesi

She has 20 years of diversified Financial Management experience with technical expertise ranging from Banking, Financial Advisory, Treasury Management, Auditing, Operations as well as structuring innovative broad-based financial inclusion solutions for seed stage venture capital and social impact private equity investors at the base of the wealth pyramid.  She joined TDB in 2013 after having previously served in various capacities as the Rwanda Country Director, Women for Women International, Chief Finance Officer Ecobank Rwanda and Auditor at Ernst & Young Kenya. She also served as a Non-Executive Board Director of Development Bank of Rwanda, Letshego Microfinance, an affiliate of Letshego Group and for a private holding company specializing in renewable energy and Information communication technology.

Ms. Kayitesi holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School, BCom from Catholic University of Eastern Africa, is a professional accountant and an alumna of the Columbia Business School Global Banking Executive Leadership Program.

Associate Group Executive, People and Organizational Development & Corporate Services and Administration Departments

Dawit Amare

Mr. Amare possesses over 20 years of global experience (Africa, Middle East, and Canada) in consulting, hospitality, academic industry with private and public sector environment. Prior to joining TDB in 2017, he held management and academic roles at Toronto Hydro, Intercontinental Hotels, & Ryerson University. He holds Master of Business Administration, a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation, and a member of good standing at the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA) of Canada – Toronto Chapter.

BUSINESS EXECUTIVES

Group Executive, Southern Africa Coverage, and Executive Director, SATFF

Gift Moonga

Mr. Moonga, joined TDB in 2016 with over 20 years of experience in corporate banking and risk management, having held senior roles in Barclays Bank, Stanbic and Standard Chartered Bank. Prior to his appointment as Coverage Executive, North-East Africa & Representative Addis Ababa Office (ad int), he was Head of Coverage, DR Congo and Head of the TDB Office in Kinshasa, while concurrently serving as Head, Enterprise-wide Risk Management (ERM).

Mr. Moonga holds MSc. Risk Management from Stern Business School, New York University, MSc. International Banking and Finance from Salford University, Diploma in Risk Management, Diploma in Banking from Chartered Institute of Bankers (UK) and is a Certified Professional Risk Manager. He is a national of Zambia.

 

Group Executive, Global Client Solutions & Co-Financing Department, and Executive Director, EETDF

Esayas Berhanu-Endeshaw

Mr. Berhanu is a seasoned banker with over 20 years of experience in investment banking, corporate treasury and client relationship across Europe and Africa.

While at TDB, Mr. Berhanu has served in various capacities, most recently as Head of Co-Financing and Structured Trade Finance, where he was responsible for originating, structuring, and executing corporate and sovereign debt transactions as well as funding the trade finance business in close collaboration with the Treasury department. He has successfully executed financing of over USD 3 Billion throughout the East African region- largely consisting of trade finance transactions.

Before joining TDB, Mr. Berhanu was a Senior Funding Manager at Kommunalkredit Austria AG Bank and Investment Banker at BAWAG P.S.K. Bank of Austria.

Mr. Berhanu brings a wealth of experience as a specialist in corporate treasury, syndication, structured finance, and investment banking. He holds a Master of Science in Finance from Danube University of Economics & Finance located in Vienna, Austria.
Mr. Berhanu is fluent speaking multiple languages including Amharic, German, and English.

Group Executive, North-East Africa Coverage

Godfrey Okolobo

Godfrey Okolobo has twenty years of experience in banking. Prior to his appointment as Group Executive, North-East Africa Coverage, he was Head of North-East Africa Coverage, prior to which he was Head of Trade Finance covering North-East Africa as well as Indian Ocean-Lusophone Africa regions.  Before  joining TDB in 2013, he held senior management roles in corporate strategy at the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

Godfrey Okolobo is a Chartered Manager-CMgr from the Chartered Management Institute UK. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Corporate Financial Management from the University of Law Business School, an MBA and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Makerere University and is an INSEAD alumni.

Group Executive, Central and Western Africa Coverage

Antoine John Esther

Mr. Esther holds 20 years of experience in corporate banking and insurance. Prior to his appointment, as Coverage Executive, DR Congo & Prospective W/A M/S, he was Coverage Executive, North-East Africa & Representative, Addis Ababa Office. Before joining TDB in 2018, he held senior management roles at Sacos Insurance Group and Barclays Bank.

Mr Esther holds a Master of Business Administration from Durham University Business School, a Bachelor of Laws from University of London, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education and BSc. in Physics from Victoria University of Manchester. He is a national of Seychelles and is bilingual in English and French.

Associate Group Executive, Credit Risk Department, and Executive Director, EATFF

Josephat Waichungo

Mr. Waichungo is a Corporate & Investment Banking, Development Finance and Risk Management professional with over 20 years of work experience across Eastern, Central and Southern Africa regions. Prior to joining TDB in 2017, he held senior regional and country roles in Standard Bank Group, Citigroup, and The African Trade and Investment Development Insurance. Mr. Waichungo holds an MSc in Risk Management from New York University – Stern School of Business, and a Bachelor of Commerce, Finance from The University of Nairobi.

Executive, Portfolio Management Department

Wycliff Bbossa

Mr. Bbossa is the Executive, Portfolio Management. He possesses more than 20 years’ experience in commercial and development banking, risk management, and business advisory. Prior to joining the Bank in 2000, he served as Senior Consultant at KPMG East Africa and Manager at leading commercial banks in the East African region.

Mr. Bbossa holds an MBA from the University of Cumbria, a Master’s degree in Economics from University of Malawi, a Post Graduate Diploma in Education and a Post Graduate Diploma in Projects Management from Maastricht School of Management.

 

Associate Executive, Project and Infrastructure Finance Department

Lucy Chege

Ms. Chege holds over 20 years of extensive experience in project and infrastructure finance. She was previously Head – Energy, Environment and Information Communications Technologies (ICT) at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and was Divisional Executive and advisory committee member of various private equity funds.

She has originated, structured and executed the financing of landmark transactions including Public Private Partnerships (PPPPs) in energy, telecommunications, transport, water and health sectors.

Ms. Chege played a key role in setting up South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme (REIPPP) and financing the projects in the programme. She developed the operational strategy and led several teams in financing over 30 renewable energy projects resulting in local and international awards for the transactions.

Ms. Chege holds Master of Business Administration (Finance) from Manchester Business School and has attended the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.

Associate Executive, Trade Finance Department

Mwaya Siwale

Ms. Siwale joined TDB as Head, Trade Finance in 2021. She is a seasoned banking professional with 15 years of  experience  in global financial institutions. She was previously Executive Director and Country Head of Transaction Banking at Standard Chartered Bank Zambia. She holds Master of Commerce in Development Finance and Bachelor of Commerce from University of Cape Town and Diploma in Marketing and Business Management.

SENIOR ADVISORS

Group Senior Advisor, Partnership Development

Tim Turner

Mr. Turner come to TDB with demonstrated track-record and a highly accomplished background, having served as a senior executive and top specialist earlier, in a successful career spanning 30 years in the financial services sector, with some 2 decades in Africa, mainly with the Africa Development Bank Group.  His most recent role was Chief Risk Officer at the African Development Bank (AfDB). Prior to that, he held the positions of Director of Private Sector and Microfinance Operations and Director of Risk Management in AfDB. Much earlier, he worked as an Independent Consultant in Canada and with Capital markets, Smith Barney International based in London and New York. Mr. Turner holds a Master of Business Administration, IMEDE (now IMD), Switzerland, and a Bachelor of Applied Science and Engineering from the University of Toronto, Canada.

 

Senior Advisor, Infrastructure and Public Private Partnerships

Reginald Max

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Max was Senior Director, Originations, Development & Investment at General Electric and Transaction Leader Sub Saharan Africa at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). He possesses over 25 years of experience in corporate banking and financial advisory and has held roles at Rand Water Services, Infrastructure Finance Corporation and Genesis Investment Bank.

He holds Post Graduate qualification in Development Studies from Darwin College, Cambridge University and Bachelor of Economics and History from University of Zimbabwe and is a member of Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators.

Senior Advisor, Lending Operations

Eyob Easwaran

Mr. Easwaran is a seasoned Project Finance and Private Equity professional with over 30 years of experience in the power and finance industries in various capacities including equity and debt investing, engineering, project financing, construction, and asset and risk management for private equity funds and other financial institutions.  Since December 2017, Mr. Easwaran is serving as Lender Transaction Advisor on Power and Infrastructure for the Trade and Development Bank for Eastern and Southern Africa.  Most recently, he served as a Director of Development for Black Rhino and based in Addis Ababa.  Prior to that, he was a Managing Director and Director of Asset Management at Power Capital Partners LLC, a startup private equity firm formed in partnership with Hunt Power, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hunt Consolidated, Inc., to invest in the development of fully contracted or hedged power projects.

Previously, Mr. Easwaran was a Partner and Lead Asset Manager at Conduit Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invested in power projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. In this capacity, Mr. Easwaran managed a portfolio of independent power projects with approximately 1,000 MW of aggregate installed capacity and a total investment of approximately $1.5 billion employing a range of conventional and renewable generation technologies in nine countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.  Mr. Easwaran was a member of the investment committee of the fund and was involved in several acquisition and divestment transactions.

Mr. Easwaran, a native of Ethiopia, received a B.E. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Jose Antonio Echeverria Polytechnic Institute in Havana, Cuba, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Geothermal Technology from Auckland University in New Zealand, and an M.S. degree in Business/Finance from Johns Hopkins University.  He has also attended short-term programs on Geothermal Energy in Japan and Iceland.

Group Senior Advisor

Macharia Kamau

Ambassador Macharia Kamau is an Internationally renowned Diplomat & International Relations expert. He joined the Bank in March 2023. Ambassador Kamau holds History and Economics from College of Wooster, USA,  Ed.M. Social Policy and Planning from Harvard University and Executive Programme on Macro Economic Policy and Management from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.