Thierno-Habib Hann, CFA

Thierno-Habib Hann, CFA is the Chief Executive Officer of Shelter Afrique, the Pan-African institution for housing. He joined Shelter Afrique from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), where he served as the Asia/Pacific Lead for housing finance, based in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mr. Hann has extensive international experience in housing finance, capital markets/investment banking and structured finance spanning over 20 years. He brings a wealth of leadership experience in development and investment, sharp insight into the real estate landscape and a strong track record of delivery.

Mr. Hann began his career at the consulting firm Arthur Andersen, LLC as a Senior Consultant in Financial Services and Capital Markets in New York City. He has worked at JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs as Manager and Vice President, respectively, and led investment teams issuing mortgage-backed securities (RMBS/CMOs) and credit derivatives (CDS)

He also served at the World Bank Group as the Private Sector Development Program Manager in Guinea, responsible for designing and implementing the investment climate improvement program while developing a bankable pipeline of investments and government advisory projects in strategic sectors of the economy.

Mr. Hann holds an MBA in Finance & Investments from the Zicklin School of Business, Bernard Baruch, City University of New York; a master’s degree in Accounting and Finance (M.S.T.C.F) and a bachelor’s degree in Management and Applied Economics (GEA), from University Paris IX Dauphine, with honors.

A native of Guinea (Conakry), Habib is the co-founder of “AngelAfrica” – a Pan-African thinktank formed to achieve economic prosperity on the continent by building and fostering innovation, investors and business partnerships.

Christopher Chege

Christopher has over 20 years extensive experience in setting up and managing housing finance operations; from deal origination and underwriting to processing and has also been closely involved in business turnaround situations across Pan African flagship  institutions.

He is  also a contributing member  to industry umbrella bodies and societies including the African Real Estate Society (AFRES), the Global Real Estate Society (GRI), the East African Property Investments (EAPI) and serves as a keynote speaker at Makerere University’s School of Real Estate.

Bernard Oketch

Bernard is a Kenyan national. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration majoring in strategic management from the University of Nairobi and a Bachelor Degree in Business Information Technology from Strathmore University. He has over twelve years of work experience in enterprise risk management.

He previously worked for Deloitte & Touche in the Risk Advisory practice for nine years from 2007 to 2016 before joining the Co-operative Bank of Kenya, a top tier one bank, as a Senior Risk Manager, where he worked for three years before joining Shelter Afrique. His key achievements include many years of developing and implementing enterprise risk management programmes.

 

 

 

 

Charles Kazuka

Charles Kazuka pursued his undergraduate studies at Makerere University (Kampala, Uganda) and postgraduate studies at the University of Leicester (UK). He has more than 20 years’ experience in transformational and strategic Human Resources across East, West and Southern Africa. Charles’s experience is mostly in the financial services sector having worked as HR director for leading institutions such as Barclays Bank (Tanzania and Ghana) NMB Bank (Tanzania) and was the regional HR director for East and West Africa for British Petroleum (BP).

He joins us from Pharo Ventures, a leading Social Enterprise in Kenya. Charles is also a chartered certified HR professional.

 

 

Beatrice Mburu

Beatrice Mburu holds an MBA from Warwick Business School (United Kingdom) and a BSc in International Business Administration-Finance. She is also a qualified Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Member of the Institute of Certified Accountant.

She has 23 years of progressive wealth of hands-on experience in Corporate Financial Management (i.e., Financial Planning, Control and Reporting), Budgeting, Debt restructuring, Treasury Management, and Fundraising in the international and Debt Capital Market, including Euro Bonds.

She has worked in Treasury and Finance departments at the African Export Import Bank (Afrexim). She has also held various senior finance roles in Standard Chartered Bank, Bombardier Uganda Limited and DHL Logistics.

Ibrahim Mamadou Diop

Ibrahim Mamadou Diop is a Niger national.
He holds a Global MBA from the Georgia Institute of Technology (GeorgiaTech) and an Executive master’s in development policy and management from SciencesPo Paris. He also holds numerous certifications including the International Change Maker from ESSEC Business School and the Certificate of Hispanic Business Studies from ITBA – Buenos Aires.
He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Public Affairs from University Paris Dauphine – PSL with research interest on the humanitarian- development- peace nexus in the Sahel region.

After nine years spent in the United States and solid training at major financial
institutions he returned to Niger in 2009 where he joined the nuclear group ORANO (ex- AREVA) on the mega Imouraren project of which he served as Director of Internal Audit and Financial Control.

In 2016 he progressed to the Acosta Mining Company (a SOPAMIN, ORANO and ENUSA partnership) as Secretary General.
Prior to his incoming role with Shelter Afrique, Ibrahim served as Advisor to the Executive Director of the African Development Bank in charge of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verbe, Gabon, the Union of the Comoros, Mali, Niger and Senegal.
Ibrahim is fluent in both French and English.

Nisan Abdulkader

Nisan Abdulkader, dual Yemeni-Kenyan, is a seasoned communications & government advisor having worked in senior public and private sectors roles across the globe including in Tunisia, Kenya, South Africa, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Syria, Italy and Canada. Nisan began her career in advisory roles at UN agencies including Consortium for agricultural research (CGIAR), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy and the United Nations Environment Program in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia. Nisan has also served as the Vice President for Wavteq and the Vice President, Africa & Middle East at the Financial Times Group.

In the course of her career, Nisan has advised over 30 government authorities in Africa on how to best respond to the significant foreign investment opportunity which has created an estimated 50 million high value jobs across sectors like Infrastructure, Agriculture, Healthcare, Tourism, ICT and Manufacturing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nisan has supported key African economic development and investment authority to weather the economic impacts through expert advice & resilience strategies to rebuild emerging economies.

As a dynamic and key expert in the field, Nisan has participated as a panelist and moderator in key global influencing forums and events. She held a directive role at the largest North American African Business Initiative in Montreal, Canada; as well as being invited to speak on multiple global platforms including the BBC Focus on Africa news segments, Harvard, Yale University symposium, Annual Investment Meeting UAE, COMESA Annual Meeting as Chair, Commonwealth Africa Forum, One Africa Network Forum, Global Business Forum in Canada and an initiative by the World Bank, the EI4A –Entrepreneurship for Investment in Africa. Nisan is also a Board Member at Unsolve consultancy, Guul Group & Board President of the Yemeni National Business Council WICCI and on the advisory board of Business Club Africa and four foreign direct investment consultancies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Nisan holds the Mary Brooks Law Award, the Social Business Impact Award and the Extraordinary Young 30 Under 30 Award from the Government of Canada.

Nisan Abdulkader holds an honours B.A in Political Science, Management and

International Development Studies from McGill University in Canada and a Diploma of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies from Harvard University. Nisan speaks 6 languages: Arabic, English, Italian, French, Swahili, Spanish.

Marianne Koly

Marianne Koly is an audit, risk, and fraud examination leader with a wealth of expertise.

She earned her master’s degree in public administration from École Nationale d’Administration Publique du Québec (Canada) and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University Paris XII (France).

Marianne is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), a Certified Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) professional , and a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).

With a remarkable 20 year career, she has progressively advanced in both assurance and advisory services in auditing within a prestigious ‘Big Four’ audit firm. Notably, Marianne served as an Audit Senior Manager at EY (formerly Ernest & Young) in West Africa.

Her extensive experience includes conducting risk-based internal audits in Canada and collaborating with multinational financial institutions across Africa to deliver audit project.

Marianne has played a pivotal role in delivering financial audits and consulting services, encompassing risk mapping, transaction advisory services, and internal control reviews.

Fluent in both English and French, Marianne Koly brings a unique international perspective to her work, making her an asset to the company.

Nabil Mahfoudh

Nabil Mahfoudh, a Tunisian national has been appointed as our new Head of Treasury and reports to the Managing Director.
With over 26 years of extensive international experience, he brings onboard expertise in managing foreign exchange, liquidity, Investment, and interest rate risk environments.
During his career, Nabil has held various Treasury, Dealing Room and Risk positions in Management, including Assets Liability Management, Financial Institutions relationship management and software treasury products implementation.
Nabil joins from Qatar National Bank in Tunisia and holds a bachelor’s degree in international finance from IHEC Tunisia, a master’s degree in market and corporate finance from IHEC Tunisia, a Master’s degree in banking management from the Conservation Nationale des Arts et Métiers Française, Paris, and holds the ACI Dealing Certificate and the International Dealing Room Diploma from The Financial Markets Association London.
He is fluent in 3 languages: French, English and Arabic.

Gibson Mapfidza

Gibson Mapfidza is a Zimbabwean national with over two decades of extensive experience as a Chartered Surveyor, primarily focused on the built environment and bulk infrastructure sectors. Prior to joining ShafDB, he was the Managing Director at Mashonaland Holdings Limited.

Throughout his career, he has successfully led numerous mega property development projects across Africa, demonstrating expertise in infrastructure financing, property investment management, and strategic business growth initiatives.
His career began at CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) International Property Consultants, followed by a pivotal role at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, where he spearheaded Corporate Real Estate Services (CRES) and Infrastructure Financing portfolios.

Transitioning to Old Mutual in 2010, Gibson ascended to the position of Head of Property Development, overseeing notable infrastructure projects spanning Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Malawi, as well as contributing to property portfolio valuation and amalgamation efforts in East Africa under Old Mutual Africa. He has active membership with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and other regional professional institutes.
Gibson pursued his studies at the University of Reading, UK, completing an MSc in Real Estate Investment. He also obtained an MBA specializing in Development Finance from the University of Cape Town in 2022.
In addition to his professional pursuits, Gibson shares his wealth of knowledge as a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe since 2008.