Events

Ahanna Anaba is Head of Sales & Partnerships at Finverity, a leading supply chain finance technology provider for emerging markets. She leads the adoption of Finverity’s platform by banks and NBFIs across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Previously, she led the transactions team at Africa’s first deal origination platform, facilitating over $1.3 billion in African debt, equity, and trade finance deals. Ahanna is also the founder of the Women in Trade Network and chairs the working group for MSME Trade Finance within ITFA’s Africa Regional Committee, advocating for improved access to trade finance for businesses across the continent.

Alice Azevedo is a seasoned trade finance professional with a strong foundation in corporate credit and currently serves as Deputy Director, Head of FI Trade & Payments at BFA. She joined the FI team in 2023 to lead the Trade & Payments portfolio, bringing a depth of expertise in managing complex credit assessments and building strategic financial institution partnerships. Alice holds an MBA and an Executive Master’s in Banking Management, and throughout her career, she has developed a solid track record in optimizing corporate credit portfolios, mitigating risk, and delivering actionable financial insights to support strategic decision-making. Her core expertise spans financial analysis, trade finance, and credit risk management. Committed to continuous professional development, Alice remains engaged with evolving industry trends and best practices, ensuring clients and stakeholders benefit from forward-thinking, trade finance solutions.

Maria Barmaki is an experienced senior banking leader and currently Head of Sales, Cash and Trade, for Eastern & Central Europe and Africa within Societe Generale’s Global Transaction & Payments Services division. With over two decades of international experience, she has held key roles in global transaction banking, corporate banking, trade finance, and leasing covering Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Her career includes leadership positions such as, Commercial Director Floor Plan Finance at BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, and International Key Account Manager at LeasePlan International. She is recognized for driving strong commercial performance, leading multicultural teams, managing strategic institutional relationships, and navigating complex regulatory and geopolitical environments.

Tod Burwell is the President and Chief Executive Officer of BAFT. Prior to being promoted to CEO, he served as the Senior Vice President of Trade Products with oversight of all trade-related initiatives including the Global Trade Industry Council, Trade Committees, and other strategic initiatives of the organization. Mr. Burwell has over 25 years of trade, supply chain and cash management experience as a banking practitioner, as well as serving as a consultant to global corporations and suppliers of strategically integrated trade solutions. Prior to joining BAFT, Mr. Burwell was a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase and held senior global management roles responsible for trade operations, launching the logistics business and managing global product sales for trade finance and logistics management.

Leslie Fatch is Head of Global Markets, Trade Finance and FI Coverage for FDH Bank Plc, a Malawi Stock Exchange listed commercial bank. With over 14 years’ experience in Global Markets and Trade Finance, Leslie oversees the trading, origination and sales function for both global markets trading and trade finance, specifically focusing on business development and deal structuring, and as well as strategic acquisition and management of key financial institutional stakeholders. In addition, Leslie is currently the President of Financial Markets Dealers Association in Malawi (FIMDA), an association that not only brings together all qualified financial market traders in Malawi but also collaborates with central bank to drive policies. He is also an active participant in industry forums and contribute to thought leadership on financial markets and treasury management.

Sitah Lang’o is the Head of East and West Africa at Swift, where she works closely with banks, central banks and financial market infrastructures to support the safe, efficient functioning of the financial system across the region. Prior to joining Swift, Sitah worked in enterprise security solutions, specializing in solution architecture, customer relations and account management. She holds a degree in Information Technology from Middlesex University and is currently finalizing her Master’s degree in Big Data Analytics from the University of Liverpool.

Jeremiah Mutune is a senior international banker and trade finance leader with over 18 years of experience across Africa and global markets. He is Head of Trade and Working Capital Product Management at Absa Group and previously led Absa’s trade digitization as Head of Trade Digitization and Partnerships. He specializes in trade finance and digital transformation, with a track record of building, scaling, and reshaping trade and working capital businesses to deliver sustained, return-driven growth. He is an active voice in shaping Africa’s trade digitization agenda—working across banks, clients, fintechs, and development institutions to advance more connected, efficient, and inclusive trade ecosystems. His focus is on aligning market realities with execution—driving adoption, improving access to finance, and unlocking cross-border trade at scale. Jeremy brings a pragmatic, Pan-African perspective to digitization, grounded in what works across diverse markets. He advocates for deeper ecosystem collaboration, interoperable solutions, and data-led standardization as critical enablers of Africa’s trade transformation and integration into global value chains. Alongside his executive work, he mentors young professionals and contributes to developing the next generation of leaders in banking and finance.

John Njoroge is a seasoned professional with over two decades of experience in the banking and Fintech sectors. Currently serving as the Country Manager for Visa Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan, John oversees the management of a dynamic portfolio of clients across three countries, aiming to enhance Visa’s strategic value in the region, increase client and Visa revenue, and strengthen executive relationships through innovative growth opportunities. In his current role. He is charged with establishing the strategic direction for business objectives and leads critical projects and implementations of new products and services across the three territories. His expertise spans across financial management, business development, stakeholder collaboration, and team leadership, making him a valuable asset to any organization.

Brendan du Preez is a senior trade finance executive with 30 years of experience spanning operations, sales, risk management, and product leadership across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He has built a distinguished career in leading and scaling trade finance businesses, driving strategic transformation, and delivering innovative, client-centric solutions within leading global and regional financial institutions. He currently serves as Group Director Trade Finance at Equity Group Holdings, where he is responsible for shaping and executing the Group’s trade finance strategy, driving client solutioning, product governance, innovation and deepening financial and fintech partnerships, delivering value to clients and markets across Equity’s presence footprint.

Gabrielle Reid leads Pangea-Risk’s advisory services globally, specializing in developing intelligence-driven risk management solutions tailored to clients’ unique exposures, challenges, and objectives. With over a decade of experience, Gabrielle has helped organisations across diverse sectors navigate complex political, commercial, and security environments in Africa and the Middle East. Before joining Pangea-Risk, she worked at a prominent global intelligence consultancy, where she held a variety of client-facing roles, leaving as Associate Director for Strategic Intelligence. Gabrielle is a recognised voice in her field, with insights featured in The Financial Times, and Reuters, among others, where she has provided commentary on the business implications of global events. Gabrielle holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Politics and Psychology, an Honours degree in Justice and Transformation (Conflict Resolution), a Master’s in International Relations with a focus on East African terrorism, and a Certificate in ESG Investing.

John Bosco Sebabi is the Deputy Chief Executive of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS). John Bosco comes with more than 20 years’ experience in the financial sector and was, until joining Afreximbank, a consultant with the World Bank on the establishment of the Africa Wide Payment Platform. John Bosco is the former chairman of the Rwanda Airports Company, the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (formerly the PTA Bank), vicechairman of Cogebanque and, to date, serves on the Board of Bralirwa and BancABC Botswana. From July 2014 to October 2018 John Bosco served as the Deputy Director General of the Rwanda Social Security Board, in charge of funds management, managing assets over $1 billion in value. Between March 2013 and April 2014, he was the CEO for the East Africa Commodity Exchange, which is mandated to uplift national and regional economies by eliminating market barriers to trading, providing access to financing for farmers and traders in return for commodities, and more broadly engaging in regional capital market development. John Bosco holds a MSc in International Economics, Banking and Finance from Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales (UK), a BSc in Economics and an Associate degree in Economics, both completed with distinctions from the University of Rwanda (formerly the National University of Rwanda) and a certificate in Financial Programming and Policy from the IMF. John Bosco is also a fellow of the Fletcher Leadership Program for Financial Inclusion of the Fletcher School, Tufts University. He also holds an executive education certificate of the Advanced Management Program (AMP), a sandwich programme from three prestigious universities: Strathmore, Lagos and IESE business schools.

Tendani Sidogi is a Product Head at RMB, responsible for cross‑border payments and correspondent banking solutions across all FirstRand Africa markets. With over a decade of experience in financial services, Tendani has a strong focus on product innovation through digital solutions and leads end‑to‑end product strategy, spanning P&L ownership, product development, and large‑scale project implementation. Tendani has worked extensively on modernising and digitising cross‑border payment flows, introducing alternative channels, improving operational efficiency, and enabling financial access for underserved financial institutions across African markets. Areas of expertise include cross‑border payment rails, correspondent banking and currency clearing, digital payments enablement, and client‑centric product design.

David is a seasoned FI relationship banker, treasury professional and trade financier who has worked closely with central banks and commercial banks throughout his 30-year career in sales, the majority of which has been spent with Crown Agents Bank. David has led the coverage of FI relationships across East & Southern Africa for the last ten years. He has a critical understanding and experience of these respective markets and has forged strong relationships with our financial institution partners over many years. David has an integral role for expanding a portfolio of financial institutional clients and his extensive experience of Crown Agents Bank’s treasury, international payments and trade finance solutions makes him well positioned to grow our extensive network further.