SECTIONS
African Capital Markets: Challenges and Opportunities

Biographies

Badr Benyoussef 

Badr Benyoussef is chief business development officer at the Casablanca Stock Exchange. Previously, he held the position of financial communication and investor relations manager at Maroc Telecom, the leading telecom operator in Morocco. Mr. Benyoussef also worked in the Moroccan stock market as a financial analyst. He has a master’s degree in business from Paris Dauphine University, is a laureate of the Institut des Hautes Études de Management de Casablanca and has a financial analyst diploma from SFAF-Polyfinance.

Kopano Bolokwe, CAIA, MBA

Kopano Bolokwe, CAIA, MBA is the head of product development at Botswana Stock Exchange and has over 11 years of industry experience. He joined the BSE in 2011 and, prior to that, was a broker and investment analyst at Stanlib. Mr. Bolokwe holds a degree in finance and an MBA, both from the University of Botswana. He has completed the CAIA Charter program and the Level II exam of the CFA Program. Mr. Bolokwe is a graduate fellow of the IFC-Milken Institute Capital Markets Program at the George Washington University School of Business.

Bhavik Desai 

Bhavik Desai conducts equity research on stocks listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) at AXYS Stockbroking. His team provides regular market wraps covering equities, fixed income, and other securities listed on the SEM and provides recommendations for blue chips. Prior to joining AXYS, Mr. Desai worked on the implementation and monitoring of corporate strategies at SAP Labs LLC in California. He holds a master’s in finance from the Sorbonne Business School at IAE de Paris and a double bachelor’s degree in physics and astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ronak Gopaldas

Ronak Gopaldas is a political economist, “pracademic,” writer, and speaker focused on the intersection of politics, economics, and business in Africa. He is a director at Signal Risk and fellow at the Centre for African Management and Markets at the Gordon Institute of Business Science. Previously, Mr. Gopaldas was the head of country risk at Rand Merchant Bank. He has made frequent appearances on CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, and CNBC Africa, and publishes regular opinion and analysis pieces. He has spoken at top universities and leading Africa-focused policy and business conferences as a moderator, panelist, and keynote speaker, and delivered a TEDx talk entitled “Embracing Africa: Beyond the Binaries.” Earlier this year, Mr. Gopaldas was selected for the Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship. He is also an alumnus of the Asian Forum on Global Governance, as well as the Young African Leaders Initiative.

Karim Hajji 

Karim Hajji is the CEO of the Casablanca Stock Exchange. Prior to joining CSE, he was chairman and CEO of Atlas Capital Group. After various management roles at Eli Lilly and Company in the United States, Italy, and Switzerland, Mr. Hajji joined the ONA Group, Morocco’s largest conglomerate—first as adviser to the chairman, then as general manager of an affiliate in Monaco, and finally as group CFO. In November 2018, he was appointed chairman of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA). Mr Hajji is also a board member of Operation Hope and a member of the advisory board of Silatech. He holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, a diploma from Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, and a master’s degree in capital markets from the University of Paris-IX Dauphine.

Ivy Hesse, CFA, CIPM

Ivy Hesse, CFA, CIPM, is the founder and principal consultant of Synercate, an investment performance, GIPS compliance, and general advisory firm in Ghana. She previously worked at Databank Brokerage Ltd and SEM International Associates (SEM Capital Advisors) and served as an independent trustee on seven pension trustee boards. Ms. Hesse has been a panelist at the EASEA (East African Securities Exchanges Association, a regional grouping under ASEA) conference in Kigali, Rwanda; a moderator at the annual Capital Market Week and Financial Analyst Society, Ghana (the precursor society to CFA Society Ghana) conferences; and a session facilitator for the ACCPA (Association of Certified Compliance Professionals, Africa) Ghana conference. She is an instructor for the professional licensing program for investment industry professional courses in Ghana and provides training for professionals of key industry institutions through her in-house training, public workshops, and industry forums.

Adil Hlimi 

Adil Hlimi is managing editor of Boursenews.ma, a Moroccan financial information website. He is also professor of universities in finance. He started his career in wealth management and investment consulting in specialized firms in Casablanca and Marrakech, Morocco. Mr. Hlimi is a graduate in corporate finance.

Gehad Hussein 

Gehad Hussein is managing editor at Business Forward and journalism instructor at Misr International University (MIU), with nine years of experience in journalistic writing, content curation and copy editing. Her focus has been on economic, financial, political, social and stock market stories. Previously, Ms. Hussein has worked at Daily News Egypt, Egypt Business Directory, RiseUp LLC, and Mubasher.info, among others. She has a BA in online and print journalism from MIU and an MA in political science from the American University in Cairo (AUC).

Dennis Murekachiro

Dennis Murekachiro is a full-time lecturer and head of the banking and finance department at Bindura University of Science Education. He is a passionate researcher on capital markets and investment management and is also passionate about financial and risk analytics and fintech and its application of artificial intelligence systems. Mr. Murekachiro is a PhD candidate in finance, with a thesis on predicting African stock markets. He holds a Msc in finance and investment from the National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe, and a certificate in algorithmic trading from QuantInsti, India.

Norbert Mungwini​ 

Norbert Mungwini is a full-time lecturer in the department of finance at the National University of Science Technology, Zimbabwe (NUST). He lectures on corporate finance, alternative investments, and derivatives pricing and application. Mr Mungwini’s research interests include capital markets, personal finance, alternative investments, and corporate finance. He holds a master of science in finance and investment (NUST); bachelor’s degree in financial management from the University of South Africa (Unisa), and a post-graduate diploma in higher education (NUST). Mr. Mungwini is a member of the Investment Professionals Association of Zimbabwe.

Brighton Mutingwende, CFA

Brighton Mutingwende, CFA, is an investments analyst with First Mutual Wealth Management, a local asset management company. He is a founder and lecturer at Wintelstar Finance School, a local finance school with sole mandate of assisting candidates in the in the CFA Program. Mr. Mutingwende’s experience spans investment research, financial reporting analysis, private equity valuation, and investment management. He holds a bachelor’s of accounting sciences from Africa University and is a member of the Investment Professionals Association of Zimbabwe and CFA Society South Africa.

Rufus Mwanyasi 

Rufus Mwanyasi is an executive with an investment advisory firm, Canaan Capital, that manages an equity-focused investment partnership fund. He runs a weekly business column, Mark to Market, with Business Daily and features on business media, CNBC Africa, and CGTN. Mr. Mwanyasi currently advises various corporate entities on East African capital markets and is a contributor to The Exchange.

Martin Mwita

Martin Mwita is a regular writer for The Exchange, contributing on the economy and financial and economic trends in East Africa. He is a popular journalist in East Africa covering the various financial and capital markets. Mr. Mwita holds a diploma in journalism from the Mombasa Aviation Training Institute and a BA in mass media and communication from Mount Kenya University.

Aly Z. Ramji

Aly Z. Ramji is a director at Mediapix Limited, a media houses that publishes The Exchange. He is also responsible for overseeing the operations of various other news publications under the Mediapix portfolio on the continent. Mr. Ramji has worked for UNESCO, UNDP, UN OIOS, and the African Union, in addition to having his own development consulting firm, where he was an advisor for the US military on reconstruction efforts in Iraq. Previously, he has served as a consultant on energy and security to various US companies in West Africa. Mr. Ramji holds a BA in economics and finance from the University of Waterloo, an MA in international relations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, and an MSc in public relations from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University.

Adrian Saville

Adrian Saville is chief executive at Cannon Asset Managers. He has experience in managing all the major asset classes and holds a professorship of economics, finance, and strategy at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). Dr. Saville has been nominated for the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Business Professor of the Year Award and received the Central and East European Management Development Association award in teaching excellence. He has consulted widely to government and business, including serving as an economic consultant to Visa South Africa. Dr. Saville’s holds a bachelor’s degree, master’s of commerce, and PhD (economics) from the University of Natal, for which he was awarded the Economic Society of South Africa’s Founders’ Medal. He is a UNESCO laureate and a matriculant of Linacre College at the University of Oxford and has completed programmes in value investing and competitive strategy at Columbia University and Harvard Business School.

Kagiso Sedimo, FRM, CFA

Kagiso Sedimo, FRM, CFA, is a co-founder and a portfolio manager at Morula Capital Partners. He has over 13 years’ experience in asset management. Previously, Kagiso was a portfolio manager at Investec Asset Management, where he was a strategy leader responsible for the management of multi-asset portfolios. Prior to joining Investec, Mr. Sedimo was a portfolio manager at Fleming Asset Management, where he managed emerging and frontier market equities.

Mohamed Selim Tantawy

Mohamed Selim Tantawy is deputy manager in the R&D department at the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), where he works on new business development projects and reports. He is also an instructor for EGX and Egyptian Capital Market Association training programs. Mr. Tantawy holds a bachelor’s of economics and political science from Cairo University and a business administration diploma from the American University in Cairo. He has passed the Level I exam for the CFA Program and global securities exam from Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment “London 2017.” 

Dave Uduanu, CFA

Dave Uduanu, CFA, is the CEO at Sigma Pensions Limited, a Nigeria-based pension fund manager, and a member of the board of trustees of CFA Institute Research Foundation. Previously, he was chairman of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria. Mr. Uduanu has worked at Ernst & Young in Lagos and served as a director of a life insurance company in Nigeria. He has held board positions for general insurance, asset management and healthcare companies. Mr. Uduanu holds an honors degree in civil engineering and a Certificate in Institutional Private Equity Investing jointly awarded by the EVCA and the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. He is a Chartered Accountant.

Virginia Wairimu

Virginia Wairimu is an independent research analyst. She has been an avid writer for The Exchange, as well as holding various positions with investment funds in Kenya. Ms. Wairimu holds a BSc. in actuarial science, with nine years of experience working in capital markets in Africa.