Speakers

Oladipo Pius Idowu-Agida is an innovator and a disruptive aficionado with over 12 years experience in the real estate sector. A member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, United Kingdom, Oladipo’s Education and expertise spans across various aspects of Real Estate including Business Development, Sales & Marketing, Strategy Operations, Client Relationship Management, Construction and Project management. He holds a Bachelor of Education degree in Guardian and counselling/ Political Science from the University of Ibadan, a Master’s degree in Managerial Psychology (MMP) from the University of Lagos; an MBA from the prestigious Lagos Business School and several other degrees from Pan-Atlantic University Nigeria and IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain. With a rare and remarkable passion for people and capacity building, he continues to pursue excellence in the real estate sector in Nigeria. Mr Oladipo Idowu-Agida lives in Lagos, Nigeria and he is the Chief Executive Officer of Dradrock Real Estate Limited.

Eguono Soewu is a Senior Counsel with the Energy and Project Finance Practice Group of Adepetun Caxton-Martins Agbor & Segun, a full service integrated law firm. Over her 13 year career, Eguono has advised clients on real estate transactions and been involved in title investigations, transaction structuring, contract negotiation, preparation and review of contracts of sale,
deeds of assignment, leases, facility usage licenses and joint development agreements. She routinely advises clients on bids, acquisitions, joint ventures and related transactions and has acted as team lead on several transactions where she coordinated the conduct of extensive corporate and title due diligence, reviewed transaction agreements and prepared due diligence reports that highlighted: transaction risks; proffered advice on mitigating transaction risks; key contractual terms and their implications on the relevant transactions.

Garreth Elston is the Chief Investment Officer of Reitway Global’s suite of global listed property funds. He is an investment management professional with over twenty years of international capital markets’ experience in South Africa, North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. Mr. Elston has a deep passion for real estate and has significant experience in listed and unlisted real estate investments, property development and real estate private equity. Mr. Elston holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, an MA
in International Relations, and a BCom in Banking Management.

James is recognised as one of the leading thought leaders on the future of the real estate market. He is the Co-Founder of Unissu, the global leader of PropTech data, information and resources,and has an unrivalled perspective on global PropTech trends. As a result, he is a much sought-after speaker on the future of the property industry both in terms of how people and companies in the sector should adapt to facilitate change.

Mr. Asamoah is an investment professional with over 25 years of experience originating and executing transactions in both developed and developing markets. He has personally led over US$4billion in transactions across the African continent. In April 2017, he was appointed the CEO of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment (GIIF), an investment vehicle, initially capitalized at US$250 million, with a mandate to originate, structure and invest in infrastructure-related projects across Ghana. Between Oct – Dec 2016, he was advising the Federal Government of Nigeria on the implementation of their infrastructure program. Up until February 2016, he was the Vice President for Infrastructure, Private Sector and Regional Integration at the African Development Bank (AfDB), with responsibilities including the Bank's Power, Infrastructure, Private Sector Operations; Financial Institutions/Markets & Equity, including Private Equity Funds; NEPAD and Regional Projects. He was previously the Deputy CEO and Chief Investment Officer of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), an International Organization
established and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, and initially capitalized in 2007 at over US$1 billion.

Immediately prior to this Mr. Asamoah was the Vice President for Private Sector and International Investments at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), based in Johannesburg. Mr. Asamoah was formerly the Special Assistant to the Executive Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Managing Director of the World Bank based in Washington D.C., and later became a Principal Investment Officer at the IFC in Johannesburg, leading IFC's activities across Africa in the ICT sector. Prior to this, Mr. Asamoah was an investment banker in the City of London with HSBC Markets. He has a Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College in London.

Geoffrey White, CEO of Agility Africa, is an expert on infrastructure development, retail supply chains, agri-business, and investment for African markets. Agility, a leading global provider of logistics and related infrastructure solutions for the oil and gas and FMCG markets, has over $5 billion in revenue, 24,000 employees, and offices in more than 100 countries. Mr White is a member of the Agility Strategic Advisory Board.

Mr. White joined Agility in 2014 after serving as CEO of Lonrho Plc for 8 years, where he developed product supply chains for some of the world’s largest retailers and developed essential infrastructure and logistics facilities for Africa’s burgeoning oil and gas industry. Mr. White’s career path has included Thomas Tilling Plc, BTR Plc, Asda Plc, Hilton, Ford PAG, and a leading Middle Eastern private investment office.

Mr. White has commented on Africa for the BBC, CNN, CNBC, Forbes, and at the World Economic Forum, AU, NEPAD, Royal Africa Society, Chatham House, the Africa Investor Index Series Summit, and The Economist East Africa Summit and many other important African debates. He is a regular author of editorials on Africa.

Mustapha Njie (TAF), is the man behind the success called TAF AFRICA GLOBAL LIMITED, a company registered in 8 African countries with dominance in Gambia and Nigeria. Mustapha has been involved in the development of the GIETAF Special Economic Zone in Gambia, the design and development of the RIVTAF Golf Estate, Port Harcourt in Nigeria as well as the design, development and furnishing of the the 52 A.U Presidential villas in Gambia. He was recently awarded the GBB Best Affordable Housing of the Year 2018 and the CNBC/AABLA Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 (West Africa). Mustapha has also taken part in a number of conferences including the Annual Africa Business Conference at Harvard Business School 2019 and 2003 (panellist), Africa CEO Forum 2019 (panellist) and the Wharton Business School 2004 (panellist).

Olumayowa Ogunwemimo is the Managing Director of FSDH Asset Management. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting from Obafemi Awolowo University and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. She rose through the corporate ladder at FSDH Asset Management to become Managing Director having served in various units of FSDH Merchant Bank such as Risk Management, Research and FSDH Asset Management Ltd. She currently oversees the Fund Management of the UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust, which was the first, and is currently the largest REIT in Nigeria.

Ifeoma Ezeokafor is a Principal Investment Officer at IFC, focused on project and corporate finance and is the Sector Lead for the tourism, retail and property sectors in the Sub-Saharan Africa. She has been with IFC since 2000 and her past investment experience also includes the health, education and manufacturing sectors. Her geographical coverage originating and executing transactions has been
in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe.

Prior to IFC, Ifeoma was an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers and before that worked with SecTrust (now Afrinvest West Africa). She has an MBA, from INSEAD, France, a Master of Banking & Finance from University of Lagos, Nigeria and is a Chartered Accountant.

Timi is the Commercial Manager at Agility Logistics Parks based in Lagos, Nigeria, where he isresponsible for sales and marketing of the 500,000m2 Agility warehouse park under construction on the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way that is opening early 2020, providing industrial real estate solutions and services to both national and international corporate clients requiring space for storage, distribution, packing, processing and manufacturing. He also oversees the evaluation of further warehouse park locations across Nigeria and executes the corporate marketing plans at the country level for Agility Logistics Parks. Before assuming his current role, Timi was the Commercial and Industrial Sales Manager at Rendeavour, Africa’s largest new private city builder, where he was responsible for leading the industrial, commercial and residential sales drive in Alaro City. Prior to this, he was at JLL, a Fortune 500, global, commercial real estate services firm specializing in real estate and investment management, where he was responsible for managing and delivering solutions to corporate clients, negotiations, strategic advisory services and providing innovative marketing solutions. He served in various capacities within real estate advisory, management and consulting services both at Trollope Property Services, Signature Group Limited as well as Fine and Country International Realty. Timi holds a B.Sc. (Hons) from the University of Lagos, Nigeria and is a Chartered Surveyor and member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) with a specialty in Commercial Property Practice. He is also an Associate member of the Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV).

Kunle is the Managing Director of Ecobank Capital, Nigeria and the Group Head of Real Estate for Ecobank Transnational Inc. (ETI). Prior to joining ETI in 2012, he spent most of his professional career in Jones Lang LaSalle in London where he was Chair of Lead Directors in Corporate Finance covering advisory, debt and structured finance. In addition, Kunle is responsible for all of ETI’s non-core and real estate investment assets’ related business across Africa. He has led numerous project teams, advised major institutions and corporations on financial transactions. Kunle holds a B.Sc (Hons) from the University of Lagos, Nigeria and has attended various management courses in INSEAD and Warwick University, UK.

Funke is a Director in the real estate team at Actis, based in Lagos. Funke joined the firm in 2007 where she is responsible for origination, execution and portfolio management in West Africa. Funke has over 15 years’ experience in private equity with the last 5 years focused on investing in Commercial Real Estate. Funke is a chartered accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos and a Master in Finance from the London Business School.

Kofi Addo has had a considerable experience in international trade, public sector policy and management for a period of almost twenty years. His core expertise includes Policy Analysis, Trade Analysis, Business Development, Investment Appraisal etc. As Minister Counsellor and Head of Trade and Investment Section of the Ghana High Commission, UK, his primary responsibility is to advise the Government on matters relating to Trade and Investment promotion and to aggressively promote and protect Ghana’s commercial interest in United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland as well as the world at large.

In addition, he undertakes market intelligence activities to enhance bilateral trade between Ghana and especially UK and present policy documents of Government at various institutions. He has over the last four years made presentations at University of Turkey, Leicester University, Coventry University, Nottingham University, Imperial College, etc. on Industrialise Africa, Renewable Energy, Oil & Gas, Infrastructure Development, etc. He has also made series of investment promotional presentations in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, and other cities in UK to attract potential investors to Ghana.

Kofi has previously served as the Ministry of Trade & Industry’s Counter-part Coordinator for the Ghana Government–IDDA (World Bank) Micro Small & Medium Enterprise (MSME) Project (2005-2008).

Dr. Olabanjo Johnson Obaleye, MD/CEO of Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank Plc holds a Doctorate Degree in Business Administration (DBA) from Walden University, Baltimore, USA. He has a Master Degree in Financial Management from the University of Abuja and BSc Accounting from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Dr. Obaleye has worked in several banking institutions, which included Afribank Nigeria, Midas Bank, and Societe Bancaire Nigeria Limited before he joined the services of Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank as GM/CEO in 2004. He moved ITMB Plc from less than 100-million-naira balance sheet to over 10 billion naira, making the bank to become the best primary mortgage bank in Nigeria. Dr. Obaleye has attended many high-profile seminars, symposia, training workshops, conferences, and courses locally and internationally, and delivered thought-provoking papers in diverse fields of human endeavor, spanning banking and finance, mortgage and real estate, leadership, human capital development, corporate strategy, and business process re-engineering. Dr. Obaleye is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), an Associate of Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN). An alumnus of Wharton Business School, Philadelphia, USA. He is a seasoned administrator, mortgage and real estate development expert with over 25 years of banking experience. He has a deep belief in the possibility of shelter for all through an efficient and effective mortgage system anchored on proper policy and legislation that have the capacity to create a much-needed enabling environment.  He has participated in various national high-ranking policy reform committees on real estate and mortgage banking. Presently, he is serving as the Chairman, Audit Committee at NMRC, Publicity Secretary of MBAN, and member CBN-OFISD committee on consumer education among others.