Kofi Asumadu Addo is a seasoned professional with over 25 years experience in banking, development finance, export credit  and guarantee business.  He is the Head of Guarantees and Specialised Finance at Afreximbank and leads the Bank’s export credit business, including management of relationships with global ECAs, DFIs and Multilaterals as well as capital market investors.  He is also responsible for the Bank’s Guarantee Programme, Specialized Finance Programme and Country Export Programme.  He has structured several ECA/DFI and Guaranteed transactions across the African continent (both public and private sector) in different industries including  aviation, telecom , energy, transport, oil & gas, mining, among others. He is a Chartered Accountant and a graduate from Henley Business School, University of Reading UK (MSc Business & Management Research), University of Sorbonne, Paris-France (MSc Corporate Management and Finance) and University of Cape Coast, Ghana (B.Comm and  Dip. Education). He is currently a doctoral research associate at the Henley Business School, University of Reading, UK

Robert Nijhout has over 30 years of experience in the international trade credit insurance industry, and joined ICISA as its executive director in 2001. After obtaining his law degree he joined NCM (now Atradius) were he fulfilled several international management positions. His successive responsibilities varied from the implementation of the regional expansion of NCM, managing the strategic partnerships in Central Europe and Latin America, managing the London City office and finally heading the product development team. As executive director of ICISA Robert Nijhout is a frequent guest speaker at international conferences were he shares his views on current and future developments within the industry and regulatory and supervisory issues affecting the industry.

Francois is the Director of Business Development at a growing sourcing solution, Noviland, Inc. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from West Virginia University and has been with Noviland since it’s inception in 2016. Since then, he’s had a hand in establishing many of the processes and helping Noviland grow its userbase to have thousands of companies. In his off-time, he frequents many Meetups and entrepreneurial groups to contribute his knowledge in supply chain & manufacturing to help other small businesses grow their business efficiently and mitigate many of the risks often involved for first-time importers.

Olli Jääsaari is a business developer with a background in banking and IT development. He holds a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree from the Turku School of Economics at the University of Turku. With demonstrated skills in project management, trade finance, and customer service. He is a Standardised Trust expert and serves as Nordea’s Trade Finance & WCM Product Manager for guarantees and standby letters of credit. Olli manages development initiatives involving IT while focusing on the commercial side, including capital adequacy and liquidity regulation (CRR/CRD) and long-term product roadmaps.

Sherry Kennedy is a Director of Communications Sherry sets the organisation-wide communications strategy for SEforAll focusing on stakeholder engagement and showcasing impact aimed at mobilizing resources for SDG7. She is a driven communicator committed to influencing leaders to act in a meaningful way to steer the world towards a more sustainable future. Sherry is a native of Toronto, Canada and has lived and worked in Washington, DC and Nairobi, Kenya with 20 years of experience in brand management, media relations, marketing and international development communications working for the Asian Development Bank,  the World Bank and the African Trade Insurance Agency. She is also passionate about advancing the communications profession and, in this capacity, has served as the Vice President of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Washington, DC and as a Board Director for IABC’s global body. She has a BA (Honours) in Sociology from Queen’s University, a Master’s degree in Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Master’s degree in Public Communications from American University.

Keri Leicher has over a decade in security and political risk management experience during which time she has advised some of the world’s largest companies with operations in high risk locations globally. She has worked for renowned consultancies in Cape Town, London and Kenya as well the South African Institute of International Affairs, the continent’s number-one-rated think tank. She holds two first class Masters degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

Simon became a Director of Texel Finance Limited in 2012 and manages a team of brokers placing political and trade credit risk insurance for bank, trader and corporate clients. In addition to his management duties, Simon specialises in structuring and negotiating insurance policies to meet clients’ risk management and regulatory needs and has a successful track record placing insurance for complex and/or difficult risks. Simon joined Texel in 2007 after 4 years at Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) where he worked as research analyst and then as a broker in the Credit and Political Risk team where he placed insurance for commodity trader and financial institution clients. Simon graduated from Bath University in 2003. Texel Finance Limited is a Lloyd’s registered and FSA regulated specialised credit and political risk broker, with a deep knowledge base of commodities and structured trade finance. Texel Finance’s parent company also owns Texel Asia Pte Limited, a Singapore-based broker, as well as Texel Capital Limited, which originates, structures, and distributes structured trade finance transactions.

John Khaw is a technology evangelist and cofounder of a trade finance technology startup after 10 years in trade finance operations in major banks like Westpac Banking Corporation and Citi. Combining this passion for technology and trade finance, John is now consulting for a major trade finance project in Singapore. John is also a member of the Digitalization Committee for Singapore International Chamber of Commerce.

Akinbobola Olukayode “Kay” Olugbemi studied Masters of Law in International Commercial Law (with Professional Arbitration Skills) at the University of Aberdeen. He is a Nigerian qualified legal practitioner with considerable experience working in a top tier law firm in Africa to provide legal advisory services and support to institutional investors in the trade and finance sector. Kay has been instrumental in advising on the licensing of major Fintech entities in Nigeria and the multi-jurisdictional financing of a Fintech group in Africa. Kay has also advised on major trade transactions in Africa and was part of the team that advised in the sub-concession of the Lekki Deep Sea-Port in Lagos, Nigeria. As a budding scholar, Kay is passionate about trade simplification and liberalization. He is also concerned about repositioning trade in Africa through economically tested trade principles and ideas. His current research interest centres around distributed ledger technology in trade, trade policy and governance and international arbitration.

Tanya Epshteyn has over 20 years of work experience in various financial positions. Tanya is currently the Head of Structured and Trade Finance at CZ since August 2023. Before that, they worked as the Head of Structured Finance at CZ from January 2020 to July 2023. Prior to joining CZ, Tanya was the Director of Trade Commodity Finance at Société Générale from September 2014 to December 2019. Tanya also served as the Head of Commodity Finance at Bank Leumi UK plc from September 2009 to August 2014, and as a Senior Relationship Manager at Fortis bank from October 2008 to September 2009. Earlier in their career, Tanya held various roles in credit and risk analysis at Natixis, Morgan Stanley, Natixis Commodity Markets Ltd, Standard Bank Group, and J.P. Morgan. Tanya started their career as an Assistant Project Finance Manager at VELUX in 1999. Tanya Epshteyn earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance from Orel State Institute of Economy and Commerce (former Orel Institute of Commerce) between 1991 and 1996. Tanya later pursued an MSc in Business and International Relations at Oxford Brookes University from 1996 to 1998.

Philip Oguntoye is a finance professional with extensive knowledge and experience in International Trade, Cash Management, and Financial and Investment Analysis. He spent about eight years with Citibank across various functions. Currently, Philip serves as a Senior Asset and Liability Management Analyst at Yorkshire Building Society. Previously, he advised individuals and businesses on financial and investment management at Ecofinar and worked as an International Trade Analyst at Citibank Nigeria, where he handled invisible trade, exports, and supply chain finance. With a background in Economics, he is in the final stage of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program and is an accomplished writer with articles published in both local and international media.

Director, Trade Remedies Consultant, Lead Researcher Sarah is a leading expert in UK trade remedies, having worked in trade remedies at the Department for International Trade from its inception. Previously Sarah has worked as a journalist at Reuters and the BBC. Sarah was trained as a trade remedies investigator at the TRID and now runs a trade consultancy, Castle Knight Services Ltd. Castle Knight offera 1-day crash courses on trade remedies to explain how the system works and whether it is worth it to get involved in a case. They also assist companies throughout their participation in cases. In addition to trade remedies, Castle Knight monitors the changes in the UK’s trade policy and helps companies to participate in government and parliamentary consultations on trade issues, as well as lobbying to put forward their position in trade negotiations with the EU, United States and other countries.

Neha Saxena is a banking professional with over 10 years of experience in the Indian financial services industry. Her core expertise lies in credit appraisal, managing large business relationships and transaction banking. She has served in diverse roles within Commercial/Corporate Banking and Trade Finance with eminent corporates including ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and CTBC Bank. She currently holds the position of Regional Head – Product and Sales (Supply Chain Finance) with Indusind Bank. Her interests include reading, music and travel. She is passionate about promoting international trade and providing credit solutions backed by technology

Osama Ibrahem is a Trade Finance Deputy Manager at National Bank of Egypt with 9 years of experience. CDCS, CTFP and currently studying for CDTS. Passionate about the impact of emerging technologies on international trade. Member of Trade Finance Global, LIBF 2020 International Trade Professionals Programme, and ITFA Emerging Leaders Programme.

Poppie is currently part of the Corporate & Institutional Trade Sales team at Lloyds Bank, specifically focused on a portfolio of Financial Institutions clients. Building on strong relationships with other global banks, she works to support businesses of all sizes in achieving their international trade ambitions through tailored risk management and working capital solutions. Prior to joining the world of finance, she earned a degree in Computer Science and is therefore naturally passionate about the intersection of technology and trade, utilising her unique experience to bring the best of both worlds together.

Mohamed is a trade finance passionate with experience for about 15 years in the banking industry, he is looking forward to expanding his knowledge by getting exposed to new challenges, providing new trade finance solutions, and spreading the knowledge to the new trade finance practitioners.

Edgar is passionate about trade finance, a certified trade finance professional with a career spanning over 13 years in the banking industry. Edgar has worked with Standard Chartered Bank Uganda and now with the Central Bank of Uganda in treasury, reserves management and trade finance operations, presently as a Principal Banking Officer. He is a writer and trainer seeking to grow thought leadership in the trade finance space. Edgar is equally keen on supporting the translation of technology into solutioning trade. Edgar is from Uganda where he works and lives with his family.  

Mathieu is the founder and Managing Partner of Fitracor, a Paris-based advising boutique dedicated to the African trade finance space. Prior to establishing Fitracor, he was notably responsible of the Correspondent Banking relationships of East-Africa and Middle-East in Société Générale – Paris serving the commodity traders portfolio of the bank. Mathieu holds 15 years of experience in banking, mainly in the commercial bank, trade finance and emerging markets. Mathieu graduated from University of Paris-X in Bank, Finance and Insurance.