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Speakers                                                                                                                      

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Opening Keynote

Anchor 1

Cyrille Nkontchou - Founder of Enko capital and Liquid Africa

 

Cyrille Nkontchou is managing partner and CIO at Enko Capital, an asset management company primarily focused on African investment opportunities. Enko also advises Central Banks on reserves management strategies. In 2000, Cyrille founded Johannesburg-based LiquidAfrica, an online trading site that allows global investors to buy and sell stocks across Africa. In recent years, due to the small pool of investors, the company has changed focus from individual investors to institutions and from trading to information, including news, corporate filings, country profiles, brokerage research and other business intelligence.

Until March 2000, Cyrille was the head of sub-Saharan research at Merrill Lynch & Co in London, where he was ranked in the Financial Mail 1999 Analyst Survey as one of the best research analysts on the continent. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Cyrille was a Manager at Accenture in Paris, specialising in financial markets. He was nominated in 2006 as Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He holds a BA in Economics from Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and an MBA from Harvard Business School.                                                                                                                              

enkocapital.com

 

Mining & Energy

Mining

Benoit La Salle - CEO at Windiga

 

Benoit La Salle is a Canadian Chartered Accountant and the founder of SEMAFO Inc., a mining company, which has operations in Africa. Today, Mr. La Salle is President and CEO of Windiga Energy Inc. a Canadian based Independent Power Producer focused on renewable energy assets in West Africa. He also acts as Chairman of Algold Resources Ltd (TSX: ALG), a gold exploration company with assets in Mauritania and Burkina Faso, as well as Chairman of Sama Resources Inc. (TSX: SME), a base metal exploration company with assets in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea. Finally, Mr. La Salle is Chairman of the Canadian Council on Africa, the only Canadian organization dedicated to the economic development of Africa and an essential medium between Canadian and African economic collaboration.

windiga-energy.com

 

Jean-François Arsenault - VP Afrique Francophone at CPCS

 

Jean-François Arsenault is the Vice President - Francophone Africa for CPCS, a management consulting firm providing strategic advisory services specific to transportation, energy and urban development sector infrastructure, operations, investment, policy and regulation. Before joining CPCS, Jean-François acquired extensive experience in international development, economics and policy analysis through his work for the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS), Industry Canada, and the Bank of Canada (BoC).

 

cpcs.ca/en/

 

Shane Brady - CEO at ASB Group International SA

 

Shane Brady is the president and CEO at ASB Group International SA in Burkina Faso, a consulting group uniting engineers and specialists from across the world in the mining and industrial sectors throughout West Africa. After completing his mechanical engineering studies in Quebec, Canada, Mr Brady launched a career in the mining industry in Burkina Faso and Madagascar.

 

linkedin.com/company/asb-group-international-sa

Moderator: George Kibala Bauer

 

George Kibala Bauer graduated from McGill University in Winter 2014 with a BA in Economics and Political Science. George is of Congolese (DRC) and German origin, and is fluent in English, French, German, while possessing basic knowledge of Kiswahili. George has gained work experience in Africa, while interning with the Cabinet of the Minister of the Economy in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and has learned about the African business landscape through founding and co-organizing the McGill African Development Convention. George’s main areas of interest include emerging markets, economics, and the political economy of energy, and development. In his free time he enjoys books, basketball, and music.

 

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

Rahama Wright - Founder of Shea Yeleen International

 

Rahama Wright is a first generation Ghanaian-American dedicated to improving the lives of over 800 women in Africa through the production and sale of Shea butter. After working for the Department of State at the American Embassy in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and the Peace Corps in Mali, she launched Shea Yeleen International, a not for profit business that helps women in West Africa organize cooperatives, provides training on quality assurance and micro enterprise development, and brings shea butter products to market. In 2012, she created Shea Yeleen Health and Beauty, LLC a for profit sister organization that distributes high quality shea butter products through 70+ Whole Foods Markets and natural product stores in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and North Atlantic regions. In 2008, the White House Project and O, Oprah Magazine selected Rahama as a national leader. In 2014, she was selected to serve on President Obama’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa.

 

sheayeleen.com

 

Stephanie Otou - Legal counsel at Triton Digital

 

Stephanie Otou is a legal counsel with Triton Digital, a US-based company that connects audio supply to advertising. Ms. Otou is a civil law and common law trained lawyer, specializing in media, technology and telecommunications. She has experience doing business in emerging countries, including several on the African continent.

tritondigital.com

 

Moderator: Nina Sarah Moutairou

 

Nina Sarah Moutairou was born and raised in the Benin Republic of West Africa. Sarah earned a degree in Economics at Salem State University in Massachusetts, where she co-founded the African student association, presided over the Economics club and was the vice president of the International Student Association. After working a year in finance, she started a master in Agricultural Economics at McGill. Through this program, Sarah became increasingly aware of the complexity of food systems and the opportunities lying in entrepreneurship to create new markets and generate income in a sustainable manner. She will earn the Master of Science degree in February 2015 and aims to acquire work experience in agricultural financing and supply chain management before venturing into self-employment. In her downtime, Sarah enjoys watching comedy shows, drawing, listening to music, knitting and has an addiction to peppermint tea.

Media & Telecommunications

Media, IT & Telecommunications

Jean-Claude Tshipama - CEO at Canal+ RDC

 

Jean-Claude Tshipama is CEO at Canal + RDC in Montreal and is currently pursuing an EMBA degree at McGill University and HEC Montreal. Mr. Tshipama has fourteen years of extensive international experience (42 countries worldwide) in the telecommunications and IT industry. He worked for Microsoft in West and Central Africa as well as the African telecommunications company Celtel in multiple sales and management positions.

canalplus-afrique.com

 

Anita Bakal - Business Development Manager at Inspire Afrika Magazine

 

Anita Bakal is a senior litigation associate at BDO USA, LLP in New York City, specializing in accounting , mathematics and statistics. Previously, she held the position of business development manager at Inspire Afrika Magazine, a web magazine that aims to paint a non-biased picture of Africa by portraying African leaders from all geographic, ethnic and semantic areas across the African continent.

inspireafrika.com

 

Gauthier Batcho - CEO at Batcho Enterprise

 

Gauthier Batcho is the founder of Batcho Enterprises, an Ontario based consulting company, specializing in business development, logistics and freight forwarding. He has advised several African companies in West Africa, among them the telecommunications providers MTN, Orange and Cellcom. Having worked for Etisalat, Bell, Orange and other telecommunications companies in the past, Mr. Batcho has extensive knowledge of the industry, specifically in West Africa.

 

batcho.ca

Moderator: Jacob Omorodion

 

Jacob Omorodion is a U3 Honours Political Science student with minor concentrations in Economics and German. Currently in the final year of his Bachelor of Arts degree, Jacob has an academic focus in international relations, regional integration and institutional development. A Canadian citizen by birth of Nigerian origin, Jacob speaks English, French and German. Jacob has variously worked as an intern at the constituency office of his Member of Parliament, in the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) at the United Nations of Geneva, in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and at the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC) headquarters in Cape Town. Jacob plans to pursue a career in foreign affairs and diplomacy upon completion of his studies.

Banking & Microfinance

finance

William Nkontchou - Director at Emerging Capital Partners

 

William Nkontchou is a director at Emerging Capital Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm in London, UK, that focuses on opportunities in Africa. With seven funds and over $2 billion under management, ECP is a leading private equity manager focused exclusively on Africa.  ECP has seven offices across Africa and over a decade of investing experience in companies operating in over 45 countries on the continent. Previously, he worked for GE and Merrill Lynch. Mr. Nkontchou holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique (Ms Sciences) and Ecole des Mines de Paris (Ms Engineering). He is a Cameroon National.  Mr. Nkontchou serves on the board of Thunnus Overseas Gold and Oragroup SA.

ecpinvestments.com

 

Meinna Gwet - Blogger at Bobby Finance & Chief Analyst, National Bank of Canada

 

Meinna Gwet is Chief Risk Analyst at National Bank of Canada, specializing in enterprise risk management for banks and insurance companies, and Founder of BobbyFinance.com, a financial literacy blog dedicated to young professionals and entrepreneurs. She frequently speaks about modern economic issues that impact the Millennial Generation. She is a Board member of several non-profit organizations, including the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association. She is also the co-founder of the National Bank’s Young Professional Network.

bobbyfinance.com

 

Jane Imai - Project Associate at FINCA Canada

 

Jane Lmai is representing FINCA, a leading international microfinance institution offering financial services and products to small scale businesses that have been turned down by traditional banks, so that these businesses can start, grow, and diversify with resulting increases in family income, nutrition, employment and well-being.

 

FINCA pioneered the “Village Banking method” of credit delivery, now used by hundreds of organizations worldwide. Their programs reach low-income people in more diverse countries than any other microfinance provider. They operate subsidiaries in 23 countries of Africa, Eurasia, the Middle East and South Asia and Latin America, serving over one and a half million people.

 

finca.org

 

Moderator: Christelle Lorraine Dossa

 

Christelle Lorraine Dossa is a final year McGill undergraduate studying Economics, East Asian Studies, and African Studies.

 

Over the years, she has gained experience in numerous industries including Management Consulting, Finance, Public Relations, Event Planning, Sales & Marketing, and Business Management.

 

She has served as the President of McGill’s African Students Society and she is the founder of McGill’s Black Students’ Alumni Network.

 

Christelle is passionate about African Intercontinental Trade, Event Management, and Commerce. Her personal mission is to promote and scale African businesses and talent.

 

Women Empowerement

Women

Rahama Wright - Founder of Shea Yeleen International

 

Rahama Wright is a first generation Ghanaian-American dedicated to improving the lives of over 800 women in Africa through the production and sale of Shea butter. After working for the Department of State at the American Embassy in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and the Peace Corps in Mali, she launched Shea Yeleen International, a not for profit business that helps women in West Africa organize cooperatives, provides training on quality assurance and micro enterprise development, and brings shea butter products to market. In 2012, she created Shea Yeleen Health and Beauty, LLC a for profit sister organization that distributes high quality shea butter products through 70+ Whole Foods Markets and natural product stores in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and North Atlantic regions. In 2008, the White House Project and O, Oprah Magazine selected Rahama as a national leader. In 2014, she was selected to serve on President Obama’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa.

 

sheayeleen.com

 

Nkechi Ogbodo - Founder of Kechie's project

 

Nkechi Ogbodo is the founder and executive director at Kechie’s Project, a non-profit organization based in New York City committed to empowering girls to become future leaders by providing academic and social support to girls in disadvantaged communities in the United States and Nigeria. Ms. Ogbodo visits her native Nigeria every year, where she strives to give a voice to young girls and women by providing academic resources to primary and secondary schools as well as full scholarships to promising female students.

kechiesproject.org

 

Lynda Rey Senior manager, ONE DROP

 

Lynda Rey is a senior manager at ONE DROP, a non-profit organization established in 2007 by Cirque du Soleil Founder Guy Laliberté— that strives to ensure that water is accessible to all, today and forever. With the help of donations, ONE DROP provides access to water sources, raises awareness about water scarcity and offers microloans to communities. Ms. Rey previously worked at the French embassy in Zimbabwe and the French Development Agency.

 

onedrop.org

Moderator: Abdoulaye Traore

 

Abdoulaye Traore is a Bachelor's candidate at the University of Montreal. His field of study is international relations where he specializes in the matters of international development. Abdoulaye Traore is a citizen of the Republic of Guinea, however Abdoulaye resided in several countries. Due to this fact, Abdoulaye Traore is fluent in French, Arabic, English and his native tongue Soussou. Abdoulaye's most salient fields of interests are NGOs, the humanities and global economics. Abdoulaye enjoys humanitarian work, a field by which he feels invigorated. That being so, Abdoulaye has worked, volunteered, for several NGOs such as the Quebec Committee for the Rights of Haitian Workers in the Dominican Republic. Abdoulaye is the co-founder of the African Association of the University of Montreal. An association through which he has organized several conferences on the history of Africa, the concept of Panafricanism and the role of Africa in modern Economics. Abdoulaye, in his free time, enjoys listening to music, playing basketball and allowing himself to be enculturated.

 

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