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A POST COVID-19 AFRICA: ECONOMIC REALITIES & BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN CANADA-AFRICA
May 21, 2020 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
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The Canadian Council on Africa (CCAfrica) is pleased to present a special webinar –
A POST COVID-19 AFRICA:
ECONOMIC REALITIES & BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN CANADA-AFRICA
May 21st, 2020 | 10:00 – 12:00 EST
SPEAKER BIO’S:
Zemedeneh Negatu, Global Chairman of Fairfax Africa Fund, LLC (U.S.)
Zemedeneh is widely recognized as one of Africa’s top business leaders and has received numerous global awards and recognitions including:
– “Top 10 Most Influental Africans 2018” – By Top-Ten, a global ranking organization
– The “100 Most Influential Africans of 2013” – New African Magazine (UK)
– “Who-is-Who of African Finance 2015” Global Finance Magazine (New York)
– “Titans Building Nations 2014” Award, CEO Magazine (South Africa)
– “Pioneer Ethiopian-American Diaspora Business Person of the Year Award 2012” – Washington D.C.
– “Top 15 African CEOs to Watch 2015” – African Business magazine (UK)
An Ethiopian-American, Zemedeneh has lived in the U.S.,Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia.
He is currently the Global Chairman of the American investment firm Fairfax African Fund, LLC, based in Washington D.C. Fairfax focuses on five sectors: manufacturing, infrastructure, natural resources, hospitality and Agro-processing.
Zemedeneh was the founder of Ernst & Young (EY) Ethiopia and had served as its Managing Partner for 18 years. He was also the Head of EY’s Transaction Advisory Services for East Africa and a member of EY’s Global Partner Council. Prior to EY, he was with PwC in the U.S.
Zemedeneh regularly provides powerful and influential global thought leadership about finance, economics and investments and has been featured on CNN, BBC, the FT, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera and as a “Power Lunch” guest on CNBC. Furthermore, he has been invited to give speeches and as a panelist at high profile events such as the World Economic Forum (WEF), Harvard Business School, the Milken Global Summit in Los Angeles and Global Business Forum in Dubai.
He serves on more than ten boards globally including: InvestAfrica, based in London (UK), a successful Fintech company based in the Netherlands and as Chairman of the Ethiopian subsidiary of Calzedonia, the multinational italian clothing manufacturer and retailer.
Zemedeneh has a business degree from Howard University, Washington D.C., completed the LSE program at the Harvard Business School, Boston and is a U.S. C.P.A.
Dr. Kojo Busia, Chief, Natural Resources Management, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
Dr. Busia is currently the Chief of Natural Resources Management Section, Division of Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
From 2014-19, he served as the Coordinator of the African Mineral Development Centre (AMDC), a Pan-African Center of Excellence charged with the implementation of the African Mining Vision (AMV), an African Union policy initiative for sustainable mineral resources development. As Coordinator of the AMDC, he led the Center in domesticating and implementing the AMV in a number of African countries. Under his leadership, the AMDC supported the AU member states in developing forward looking mineral policies aimed at diversifying African economies through greater value addition to minerals. Collaborating with regional associations of national Chamber of Mines, an AMV Private Sector Compact was established as a partnership for policy dialogue between the AMDC and the industry at the annual Mining Ndaba begining in 2015.
Under Kojo’s leadership, the AMDC succeeded in promoting productive linkages of the mineral sector by emphasizing both upstream and downstream value chains of the industry. With support from the AMDC, African mineral dependent countries like Ghana, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Namibia, Guinea, Mali, and Burkina Faso have incorporated upstream value addition and downstream beneficiation into their Country Mining Visions. In 2017, AMDC concluded a study that led to the setting up a National Suppliers Development Programme (NSDP) in Ghana to scale up domestic suppliers’ capacity, capabilities and competiveness.
While working primarily in the policy and regulatory aspects of the mining sector, Dr. Busia has equal skills, expertise and experience in the Economic, Environmental, Social and Governance (E-ESG) sustainability dimensions of mining companies and their supply chains. He serves as an Executive Advisor, Global Mining Sustainability (GMS), a global non-profit platform to create sustainable solutions to meet critical mining challenges on environment, social engagement and governance. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Responsible Mining Foundation (RMF), an independent research organization that encourages continuous improvement in responsible mining. He is also a member of Mining Ndaba’s Sustainability Advisory Group responsible for organizing “Sustainability Day” at the Mining Ndaba and has represented the ECA at different fora: the OECD Natural Resources Forum, the Inter-Governmental Forum for Sustainable Mining (IGF), the African Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) Secretariat and the European Commission’s Raw Material’s Week and many similar global fora.
Currently, as the Chief of Natural Resources Management, Kojo has been leading his section in crafting a new strategy that brings the nexus between mining and mineral resources and the climate change. The focus is to support African countries to transition to a low carbon green economy in the context of mineral resources development. He has recently been advising Ghana government and other private sector stakeholders on Climate Finance and revenue mobilization designing policies and incentives for stimulating a pathway of this transition, but also facilitating a dialogue with private sector to encourage the appreciation for climate risk risks but also opportunities,
Prior to heading the AMDC, Dr. Busia spent nearly a decade leading the United Nation Economic Commission on Africa’s support to the African Peer Review Mechanism for the African Union/NEPAD, helping the governance flagship program to gain traction and institutional support throughout Africa and globally. Before joining the UN, he was a USAID Foreign Service Officer for Democracy and Governance from 1995-2003. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in international development policy from Cornell University in the USA and is a frequent presenter on political economy of natural resources governance and management, climate change and carbon trading in the context of the mining industry; green finance and greening value chains in the mining sector in Africa and globally.
Jean-François Arsenault, Managing Partner, CPCS
An economist by training, Jean-François has strong executive experience in Africa, Asia and North America with a particular emphasis on PPP projects in the infrastructure sector.
His experience, acquired from over 100 mandates for both public and private clients, covers mainly the transportation, mining and energy sectors. As managing partner for finance and operations, he oversees the proper execution of all CPCS mandates and ensures the financial stewardship of the firm.
He remains directly involved in select consulting mandates, notably to support InfraCo Africa for the development and financing of transportation, energy and water projects across the African continent.
He is also involved in a small number of complex mining transactions and in strategic North American port mandates. Prior to his current position, Jean-François initiated and developed the Francophone Africa division of CPCS. He also has experience working for the African Development Bank, the Canadian International Development Agency, the Bank of Canada and the Centre for the Study of Living Standards.
Education:
M.Phil., Economics, University of Cambridge
B.A., Economics, University of Ottawa
Credential:
Chartered Member, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, North America
3 fun facts:
– Spent most of his early childhood in Yaoundé, Cameroon
– Was captain of an adult soccer team named Clockwork Orange for 10 years
– Won against two different chess masters in a concurrent setting
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