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.

Evens started his career in banking in 2006, at Société Générale Securities Services, as an accountant in the Institutional Clients’ Middle-office. In 2010, he joined the General Inspection of the bank as a Controller, where he took part on several audit and advisory assignments, abroad and in France. He spent 2 years from 2014, in the Tax department on a project aiming to map the tax burden of the group. In 2016, he integrated the Global Transaction Banking department, where he supported the Relationship Management in Asia & Pacific, UK & Nordics and with Middle East banks. Since 2018, he covers sub-Saharan African banks as a Relationship Manager for Cash Clearing Services. He holds a Bachelor in International Business and Corporate Development from CNAM Paris, a Masters' degree in Marketing and Sales from Paris Sorbonne Business School, and an Executive Certificate in Strategy from HEC Paris.

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.

Derryn is a dual qualified English and South African lawyer, having extensive experience as a banking / trade lawyer both in private practice law firms, as well as financial institutions in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Trade finance transactions in emerging markets are Derryn’s key area of expertise. With her in-depth legal knowledge and acute understanding of the nuances of emerging market trade finance, she is skilled at structuring and executing complex trade transactions as well as distributing trade risk.

Kevin joined Rand Merchant Bank in February 2024 as the Product Development Lead within Trade and Working Capital Division having spent 15 years at Standard Bank Group in a capacity of Head Trade and Working Capital Product Management within Transaction Banking. Prior to assuming his role as Head Product Management Kevin managed the Trade Solutions Structuring team, responsible for the structuring and execution of a bespoke range of trade finance and working capital solutions for Standard Bank’s Corporate client franchise across the African continent. Kevin holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He is a Certified Associate of the Institute of Bankers (CAIB) and holds a Management Advancement Program through WITS Business School.

Charles is a Director of Sales, Visa Direct, Sub-Saharan Africa. He is specifically responsible for B2B Connect, which is an innovative solution offering Correspondent Banking as a Service, enabling cross border business purpose payments supporting over 120 currencies globally, via a private blockchain owned by Visa. A seasoned Transaction Banker and Payments Specialist, Charles has over 25 years’ experience spanning Technology and Operations, Transaction Banking Sales and Product Management, Payments and Correspondent Banking. He has developed and commercialized digital first innovative solutions that have been scaled across client value chains and countries while working for various banks in several countries including Standard Chartered, Citibank NA, Standard Bank Kenya and Standard Bank Group. Charles is a graduate from the University of Nairobi, with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. In the course of his career, he is has also completed many professional courses and is a Certified Design Thinking Practitioner By SolveNext!, SAFe® 4 Certified Practitioner by Scaled Agile, Inc. and a holder of CertICM by Association of Corporate Treasurers.

An expert in international trade finance, Arnaud has been with MCB for 18 years. When he's not structuring African trade, he's actively discussing it at international forums and forming part of key international committees to promote African Trade. As a strong advocate for trade solutions tailored to the African continent, Arnaud, along with his team, develops supply chain finance solutions to help clients grow their businesses sustainably. He holds a Master's in Finance from the Sorbonne Business School and is a certified Trade Finance professional from the International Chamber of Commerce.

Ian is a structured trade and commodity finance banking veteran, having worked for many of the largest banks in the world including Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC where he had global responsibilities for the transaction risk management in their commodity finance businesses. Bringing a unique expertise in structuring and restructuring deals across multiple jurisdictions and multiple product lines including insurance backed facilities, Ian is regularly engaged to speak at industry events, and his skills have been in demand as an advisor and expert witness in many dispute cases. In addition to his global responsibilities at MonetaGo, he also co-chairs the ITFA Fraud Working Group.

Ebele Ogbue is the Group Head, Corporate & Energy Bank at United Bank for Africa plc, which role he assume in February 2024. Prior to his current role, he was Regional CEO for East & Southern Africa at United Bank for Africa, from October 2021. He was also the Group Head Oil & Gas and Telecoms from June 2018 to September 2021. Other roles he has assumed at the bank are Head of Wholesale Banking (Corporate and Trade) for UBA’s Rest of Africa business (outside Nigeria). Prior to this role he was MD/CEO, UBA Capital Europe Limited (now UBA UK Limited) and the pioneer MD/CEO, UBA Liberia. He was a member of the team that set up UBA Ghana in 2005, the bank’s first and biggest subsidiary in Africa as the Chief Credit Officer. His professional career started at Price Waterhouse in 1991, before his foray into banking, where he has spent the last two decades working at international banks such as, Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank (in the UK, Ghana and Nigeria), before joining UBA in 2004. His banking experience spans various areas of banking from Asset Based Finance to core Corporate Banking and Trade Finance. Ebele holds a B.Sc. (Honours) degree in Accounting from the University of Lagos and an MBA (IT and Management) from the CASS Business School, London. He has also attended various courses in General Management, Credit, Trade, Treasury and Cash Management at various global institutions. He also sits on the board of 4 (four) of UBA’s subsidiaries in Africa.

Emeka Onyia is the Ag. Director of Digital at the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), where he leads the Bank’s digital transformation efforts in alignment with its mission to accelerate intra-African trade and industrialisation. Based at the Bank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Emeka plays a pivotal role in driving the development and execution of Afreximbank’s digital strategy, overseeing innovative platforms such as the Africa Trade Gateway and other transformative digital initiatives. Prior to this role, Emeka served as Head of Innovation (Digital Banking), where he led the Bank’s innovation agenda and helped shape new digital products and services tailored for the African market. He has also held roles as Senior Manager and Manager for Innovation and Product Development at Afreximbank. With a career spanning top-tier financial institutions and consulting firms, Emeka brings deep expertise in digital business, banking innovation, and payments. He previously worked at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in London, where he led digital transformation projects for Commercial and Private Banking clients. At Visa Europe, he was involved in the design and rollout of next-generation payment systems and data monetisation initiatives. Earlier in his career, he served as a Consultant at Accenture UK, delivering cutting-edge digital solutions for global clients. Emeka holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronic and Software Engineering from the University of Birmingham and a Master of Science in Engineering Business Management from the University of Warwick.

Duarte Pedreira is an experienced trade financier, with ample exposure to trade, commodity and working capital finance in a multitude of different jurisdictions, with an emphasis in emerging markets. Having been exposed to most areas of institutional banking, including operations, coverage, origination, structuring, syndications, distribution, advisory and insurance underwriting, Duarte has developed strong relations with a multitude of clients (corporates, financial institutions, governments, multilaterals). He is currently a director and global head of trade and working capital finance at Crown Agents Bank, an emerging markets specialist bank. His previous experience includes senior trade finance roles with AIG, Caspian Sea Capital, the Standard Bank Group and Banif Bank. Duarte has a MSc in International Securities, Investment and Banking from the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) Centre, part of Henley Business School. Duarte’s ultimate passion is development through education, especially through the enablement of Early Years Education facilities catering for children who don’t have access to learning before official mandatory education begins (normally 6 years of age and above). Working with Shelter Them, a Rwandan grassroots NGO he created the “Power of Choice Early Childhood Development Centre” which currently hosts over 100 children aged between 3 months and 7 years old. Duarte also lectures the Summer Trade Finance Elective at Bayes Business School.

With a degree in Business Administration, began her professional journey at BFA in 2010, joining the Marketing Department as a product manager for both individual and corporate clients. Her strategic vision and dedication to delivering value led to her appointment in 2018 as Head of the Medium and Long-Term Projects Unit within the Social Responsibility Department, where she played a key role in structuring and managing initiatives aligned with the bank’s CSR impact agenda. In August 2024, she assumed the position of Lead Officer in the Sustainability Office, where she now oversees the implementation and integration of sustainable practices across the institution, reinforcing BFA’s long-term commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles.

Niron Rampersad holds an Executive MBA cum laude from the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business and is currently the Divisional Executive of Trade at Nedbank CIB. Niron has held key roles in the financial services industry, with over 15 years of experience in Corporate Asset Finance, Coverage and Trade and Working Capital.  He has a proven track record of providing clients trade and supply chain finance solutions to SMMEs, Medium, Large and Global Corporate clients.  He is passionate about growing in inter-Africa Trade as well as expanding trade with our key international trading partners and trade corridors.

Amish Shunker is currently the Head of Trade for Africa. Amish and his team are responsible for the structuring and execution of a bespoke range of trade finance and working capital solutions for the bank’s client franchise across the African continent. Amish has over 15 years of Trade Finance transactional banking experience, having joined Standard Bank in 2010.