The Baroness Catherine Ashton of Upholland is the European Commissioner for External Trade. Previously, as the Director of Business in the Community, Baroness Ashton worked with companies and communities to create business strategies. She was made a life peer in 1999 and appointed Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council in Gordon Brown’s first Cabinet in June 2007.

During her time with the Department of Constitutional Affairs and Justice she had responsibility for negotiations on international trade in legal services with India and South Africa. The focus was on seeking better access to global markets for lawyers to enable them to provide business-to-business (B2B) services to international companies and investors.

Sanjay Kirloskar was born in India amd holds a Bsc in Mechanical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. He is a fourth-generation entrepreneur from an engineering conglomerate, best known for pumps, diesel engines, compressors and valves. Sanjay Kirloskar, who became Managing Director of Kirloskar Brothers Ltd. at the age of 28, refocused its attention on its core engineering and industrial segments.

The Kirloskar Group, which is also active in the power, construction and the mining industry, is based in Pune, and is the joint venture partner of Toyota Corporation in India. Sanjay Kirloskar’s great-grandfather Laxmanrao founded the group in 1888. It began making pumps and diesel engines in the 1920s, machine tools in the 1930s and in the 1940s diversified rapidly into motors and compressors. The Kirloskar Group now has manufacturing facilities on four continents, ten overseas offices and exports to more than 80 countries.

Anthony Bouthelier is Executive Chairman of the French Council of Investors in Afrique (Conseil Francais des Investisseurs en Afrique - CIAN), a professional non-profit organization. He is also Board Member of the Agence Fran?aise de Développement (AFD) and Director of several African companies.

In 1974, he went to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to run Pechiney’s West African subsidiaries. In 1994, he became head of the Africa division of Aluminium Pechiney and was appointed Board Member of the Pechiney Group in 1996. Meanwhile he joined the Board of CIAN of which he became Secretary-general in 1998 and Executive Chairman in 2005. Anthony Bouthelier trained at the Université de Paris – Faculté de Droit (Economics), the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, the Ecole Nationale des Langues Orientales (Hindi – Urdu) and in Lahore, Pakistan, at the Oriental College of Panjab University. He has been made Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur and the Ordre National du Mérite (France) and Chevalier of the Ordre National Ivoirien (Ivory Coast).

Osei Boeh-Ocansey is Director General of the Private Enterprise Foundation – Ghana. Prior to this position, he was Managing Director of Pioneer Food Cannery, Tema, Ghana, a subsidiary of H. J. Heinz and Co. Osei Boeh-Ocansey was a member of the Governing Board of the Public Procurement Authority, Ghana Investors’ Advisory Council and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); he is Chair of the Food Research Institute of CSIR and has worked on assignments for major multilateral, bilateral and private sector organizations.

He was a senior faculty member in the University of Ghana, Legon; University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria. Osei Boeh-Ocansey is a PhD graduate in Process Engineering and Food Science from the Université des Science et Techniques du Languedoc, Montpellier, France, after which he won a Fellowship for Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Mass., USA. He received an award and a certificate from President J. A. Kufuor of Ghana, “In appreciation of his invaluable contribution to business environment reforms in Ghana”.

Ambassador V.B. Soni is an alumnus of Balliol College, University of Oxford and is a retired Indian Foreign Service Officer with a career spanning over 35 years. He has been Ambassador of India to over a dozen countries, including Senegal, Jamaica and Ukraine. In recognition of his meritorious record he was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctorate by International Personnel Academy of Ukraine. He was also decorated with the St. George Medal by the International Academy Rating of Popularity, “Golden Fortune”. Ambassador Soni is presently Chairman of Overseas Infrastructure Alliance (India) Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.

The company has implemented energy projects worth more than U.S.$100 million. It has confirmed orders to the tune of $570 million in various countries in Africa in the field of sugar processing. Urban railway developments projects are also in the pipeline.

Dr. Francis O. Alaneme is a State Coordinator with the Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Nigeria. He has a PhD in Environmental Toxicology from the University of Ibadan and an MBA in Corporate Governance. He has varied postgraduate work experience spanning over 20 years in Management System.

Dr Alaneme is a career civil servant, seasoned administrator and a team player in the review of policies and programme and other related matter in the department. His areas of expertise include research and training, writing, talks, and paper presentations. He contributes a lot at local and international conferences in diverse issues including environmental awareness education, industrial policies etc.

Victoria Taiwo Obasaju-Ayo was born in Nigeria. She attainted a BSc in Biology Education from the University of Ife, Nigeria. Her Postgraduate degree was in Human Nutrition, with a specialty in Community Nutrition, obtained from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as a United Nations University Fellow.

Ms Obasaju-Ayo was Lecturer with the School of Health Technology, before being seconded to work with the USAID/Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) funded project on Dietary Management. She went on to work on diverse USAID / FGN funded projects.

Following this she was consultant to the United Nations and a volunteer at the United Nations Information Center, Lagos, and United Nations Development Programme of Nigeria Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist. Ms Obasaju-Ayo is a United Nations University Fellow with life membership status with Nigeria – Britain Association, International Development Evaluation Association (IDEAS –Canada) and a member of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria.

Cas Coovadia is Managing Director at the Banking Association South Africa. He obtained his BCom from the University College, Durban in 1971 and completed the Housing Finance Course at the University of Pennsylvania and Effective Directors Program with the Kagiso School of Leadership.

He was involved in anti-apartheid politics in the 1980’s and was instrumental in the formation of the South African National Civic Organisation, becoming its Vice-President. He was central to the signing of the Financial Services Charter and in helping to implement its agreements.

He is also Chairperson of the National Business Initiative, First Deputy Chairman of the African Union for Housing Finance, and serves on the Board of the Centre for Development and Enterprise. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Community Bank in South Africa and is dedicated to accessible financial services for the broad spectrum of people in South Africa. He has considerable experience in housing finance, SMME (small, medium and micro enterprises) support, local government restructuring, dynamics of organised business and the financial environment in the SADC region.

Mr. L. H. Dabi is Vice President, Corporate International Institutional Business, with Kirloskar Brothers Ltd. (KBL). Dabi completed his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and has a wealth of experience with over 30 years in International Marketing. He has traveled extensively in Asia, Africa, and Europe & America & has successfully negotiated prestigious contracts for pumping solutions for Irrigation & Water supply in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Egypt, Senegal, Ghana, Angola, Zimbabwe, Sudan, South Africa, Jamaica & Suriname.

Mr. L.H.Dabi, is a member of the Africa committee of CII & FICCI, New Delhi. He is spearheading KBL’s ‘’FOCUS AFRICA’’ programme to ensure food sufficiency in West, Central, Eastern & parts of Southern African states and also in parts of Asia , Latin America & Caribbean countries. Mr. L H Dabi can be contacted at ‘’lhdabi@kbl.co.in‘

Shameel holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science (Honours) from the University of South Africa and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. He is also an Associated General Accountant and Commercial and Financial Accountant (South Africa).

Shameel joined Vodacom in March 1994 after completing his articles and has held various positions within Vodacom. He was appointed as Managing Director of Vodacom SA in April 2005. He has served as the managing director of VSPC from 2000 to 2005. He has been a director of Vodacom Group since September 2000. Shameel was also managing director and founder of Vodacom Equipment Company (Proprietary) Limited, the former handset distribution company in Vodacom from 1998 to 2000

Madelein Mkunu is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the ‘Leading Women of Africa’, a pan-African forum that seeks to promote economic empowerment, new leadership and the unity of women of Africa. She is also Editor of Feminar: Leading Women of Africa Magazine, a socio-economic women’s magazine that promotes women leadership in Africa and speaks to businesses and organizations that have identified Africa as part of their growth strategies.

Part of her vision is in advocating the role of African first ladies, entrepreneurship, and the representation of women on an international platform. She has implemented a ‘Personal and Business Development Programme for Women’ in Cape Town; put in place various Economic Projects for women in the city; developed Leadership and Good Governance Programmes for Women (due to start in September 2009 in Cape Town); and is the woman behind the first Leading Businesswomen of Africa Forum, which took place in May 2008 in Cape Town, and brought together over 300 women from five regions of Africa.

Dr. Ken Ife is London Enterprise Ambassador, Chairman of London Business Development Corporation, Member of Task Force on EU – AFRICA Business Summit (Co-chair of Trade Working Group), International Coordinator of Africa Business Round Table/ Consultant, NEPAD Business Group and Founder Director of African and Caribbean Business Network.

Dr. Ife is Senior Visiting Research Fellow of the University of East London, and works as a Training and International Economic Development Consultant, working with the African Development Bank (World Bank Group), Africa Business Round Table/NEPAD Business Group and other Executive UN Agencies. As Policy Adviser to the President of Africa Business Round Table/NEPAD Business Group (New Partnership for Africa’s Development), he has a key role in shaping business policy and strategy formulation on Africa on Private Sector Development.

Patrick Okonjo studied law at the Bendel State University Ekpoma and the Nigerian Law School Lagos. He is Managing Partner of the Lagos law firm Okonjo, Odiawa & Ebie. His areas of specialization include energy law, corporate law, and telecom law. He most recently prepared the Nigerian Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association draft Bill before the Nigerian National Assembly.

His firm has also worked for a number of International Oil Companies, including Shell Petroleum and Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited. Mr Okonjo is a founding contributor to the World Bank annual series, ‘Doing Business, Obstacles to Growth’. He is a member of the energy committee of the Delta State Vision 2020 steering committee, saddled with charting the States path to creating an enabling environment for the State’s future development.

Chijioke Kanu Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Cuusak Technology Limited, Lagos, Nigeria. A technology driven environmental engineering, and engineering management company. Dr. C. Kanu, holds a BSc in Environmental Health & Safety; MPH in Environmental and Industrial Health; MSc. in Environmental Science and Engineering and a PhD. in Environmental Engineering.

He is a Registered Sanitarian, and a Certified Safety Manager.Dr. Kanu has worked variously in both the United States and Nigeria in the academics, government and industry. He has directly supervised planning and execution of several water projects including boreholes, treatment plants and appurtunances for corporate, state and local government clients

Dr Gata is Managing Partner of EMC: Continental (Africa) Limited, a consulting partnership company specialising in energy and power development, focused on the Sub Saharan African Region. He is also Board Chairman of the Rural Electrification Agency of Zimbabwe, and was Group Chief Executive and Board Chairman of Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, on several contract terms since 1983. Dr Gata was the founding Chairman of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) of the SADC Region.

He also served as the Peer Review Reader (Electricity, Coal and Nuclear Sectors) on the African Energy Programme. He was Regional Coordinator for Sub-Saharan Africa and Member of the Board of the World Energy Council’s Commission on ‘Energy for Tomorrow’s World’ and served as Vice Chairman of the World Energy Council’s Studies Committee and Deputy Team Leader of its Task Group on Energy Financing for Developing Countries

Pierre Strydom is Director/CEO with the Business School, Netherlands. His post bachelor studies focused on adult education and marketing. In 1999 he became a member of the Business School Netherlands to develop the schools international activities. He then became Managing Director with the Business School Netherlands (BSN) in South Africa - a private higher educational institution. He was instrumental in the founding of Business School Netherlands (BSN) ventures in Nigeria and the Sudan, and BSN Asia. He further activated the BSN International Action Learning MBA (English) and is currently leading a validation process towards an International DBA.

Besides numerous business school conferences he has done conference presentations and led workshops at the Skills Africa Summit (Gallagher Estate, Johannesburg), the NIHA (Netherlands Institute for Higher Education Ankara) Conference ‘Common Future’ (Patalaya, Turkey) and the Jacob Fleming conference for Corporate Universities and Learning Units in Barcelona.

Steven Dimitriyev is Senior Private Sector Development Specialist in the Abuja office of the World Bank, focusing on Nigeria’s investment climate and private sector participation in infrastructure finance and governance of public enterprises. Mr. Dimitriyev was previously senior privatization advisor in Eastern Europe and Asia, serving the World Bank, as well as national government commissions and agencies. He was also a regular lecturer on privatization and strategic planning at the World Bank/IMFs Joint Vienna Institute in Austria. He has co-authored a study of privatization impact on the Republic of Cape Verde. With an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago, he was senior manager with Accenture before embarking on a career in international development with the World Bank.

Since coming to Nigeria in 2005 he has worked with the Federal and State governments of Nigeria in the Bureau for Public Enterprises and the Infrastructure Concessions Regulatory Commission. As manager of the jointly-funded World Bank/DFIDs Investment Climate Program (ICP), he oversees the World Bank’s benchmarking of the cost of doing business in Nigeria, and the diagnosis of the investment climate across Nigerian states.

Dr. Yusaf Samiullah OBE has nearly 30 years professional experience in environment, infrastructure, urban and international development. He spent a decade as an academic with the University of London, seven years in the environment and infrastructure consulting private sector, and joined DFID in 1995, serving overseas for 10 years in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Between 2005 and the end of 2007 he was DFID’s Pakistan Programme Country Head in Islamabad, and took up his current HQ Policy Division post in 2008.

Having been Educated in Delhi at the Modern School, Mr guha went on to do his Post graduate from the Indian Institute Of Foreign Trade, New Delhi. He has a background in commodities and has been actively trading in them for more than 12 years, in international trade only. Mr Guha has worked in many capacities, having a diverse international marketing portfolio, but currently works as Vice President with Amira Foods India, Limited.

Alistair Soyode is Founder/CEO of the Bright Entertainment Network (BEN) Television. Educated in Nigeria and the UK he has 15 years worth of experience in business development and management. He is also chairman of the Jadergroup which publishes Mobile Tech News (Nigeria’s first mobile telecommunications magazine) and Excel magazine.

With African Business Roundtable (www.abrnet.org), he was instrumental to the publishing of Invest Africa 2004. He is also a board member of a private sector organisation dealing with farmers to ensure fair trade prices in Nigeria (www.nicanig.org).

Dr. William Karikari Bannerman is an Environment and Material scientist with over 15 years experience. He holds a doctorate degree in Environment and Material Sciences from the University of Pau et du Pays de l’Adour in France.

As Head of Health, Safety and Environment in AngloGold Ashanti West Africa he oversees six gold mining operations in West Africa, including Morila Mine (Mali), Yatela Mine (Mali), Sadiola Mine (Mali), Siguiri Mine (Guinea), Iduapriem Mine (Ghana), and Obuasi mine (Ghana).

He is involved in environmental and community development projects with AngloGold Ashanti in West Africa, in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).He has also provided consultancy services to the General Development Corporation in Ghana and the Ghana Water Company which involved Community Water Supply project under the auspices of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Nick Rouse became Managing Director of Frontier Markets Fund Managers, the Fund Manager of the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) and GuarantCo, in May 2005. Both funds are owned by the governments of The Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. He worked in Africa for seven years, running Barclays Corporate Business in East Africa and as Head of Credit Risk for Africa and the Middle East.

Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund and GuantCo (EAIF) undertakes senior and subordinated debt investments of up to 15-years tenor in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a Public Private Partnership with government equity being used as a base to leverage debt from commercial banks and development finance institutions. It has invested US$462 million, with extensive ongoing projects in power, telecoms, transport, cement and infrastructure connected with mining. Guarant Co is a credit enhancer providing guarantees of up to 15-years for local currency lending for infrastructure projects in poor countries worldwide. It aims to unlock long-term local currency currently trapped in pension funds and insurance companies without the capacity to invest in anything but government securities and use the funds for private sector infrastructure investment.

Mr. Cyriaque has been Director-General of the Autonomous Port of Cotonou in Benin since November 2008. He worked in the Office of the Minister of Public Works and Transport in 2004 as Deputy Director of the Cabinet, which gave him the opportunity to work with the Board of Directors at SOBEMAP (the Benin Society of Harbour Handling).

Mr. Cyriaque has had previous experience in several public administrations of Benin including the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Employment Promotion, as Deputy Director of the National Coordination for Initiatives and Projects, and Technical Advisor to the Promotion of Employment. He holds a Master of Maritime Affairs degree.

Shamsuddeen Usman is Minister of National Planning for Nigeria, Chairman of the Steering Committee on Vision 2020 and former Finance Minister of Nigeria. He is an Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) and a Member of the Federal Executive Council, National Economic Council and the Economic Management Team.

He gained a BSc in Economics from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria and an MSc and PhD from the London School of Economics. He has taught Economic Analysis and Public Finance to University students and was a Controller at the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank, before serving as the Director of Budget/ Special Economic Adviser to the Kano State Government. Under his supervision, about 88 public enterprises were either fully or partially privatized without any foreign technical assistance. The programme succeeded in relieving the Government of the huge and growing burden of financing public enterprises, minimised the overstretching of government’s managerial capacity through a redefinition of the role of the supervising ministries, created a large body of shareholders and deepened and broadened the Nigerian Capital Market.

Mr. George Aboagye is the Acting CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). He started his career as Assistant Commercial Officer at the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Ghana and later became Commercial Officer. He also lectured in Business Management and Marketing at the Kebbi State University, Nigeria.

He has been involved in Trade and Investment Promotion Programmes in Africa and Asia as an Advisor/Consultant for multilateral and bilateral agencies, particularly in Namibia and Zambia. Specifically, he served as the World Bank Implementation Consultant and USAID/Trade and Investment Programme (TIP) Special Adviser for the Development of the Ghana Free Zones Programme and Executive Secretary of the Ghana Free Zones Board (GFZB). He has also coordinated the Export Business Intensification Programme of Zambia in selected COMESA Markets of Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mr. Aboagye holds an MA in Area Studies from the University of London, UK, and majored in Economics.

Dr Annie Wu established the first joint venture between Hong Kong and Mainland China through a co-operation arrangement between the Civil Aviation Administration of China and Hong Kong Beijing Air Catering Ltd. Since then, she has become the Vice Chairman of over 20 joint venture and catering companies in China.

She helped Hong Kong obtain the membership of the World Trade Centre’s Association (WTCA), thereby putting the territory in direct trade partnership with 750,000 trade organizations around the world. Subsequently she has assisted many cities in the mainland in gaining admission, and her efforts also led to China being listed among the most favoured nations of the WTCA.

Benjamin Aduli is a Financial Consultant developing next generation financial products and services for the emerging markets, such as the Mainsail Investor Protector (MIP) for financing large scale infrastructure projects in Africa and other developing countries. He is a certified e-commerce solution developer in strategic operations in the Nigerian E-Business environment.

One such project is the KemTRAMS Platform, a Full Hosted banking Platform for Microfinance Banks with full ERC/CRM Solution, which is being promoted with the Commonwealth Business Council across Commonwealth Countries. He is also currently Managing Director of Kemson Concept Limited and sits on the board of other companies, including Africa Capital & Business Support Limited (Nigeria), Global Reach Investment Limited (Dubai), Mainsail Trading Limited 112 (PTY) Limited (South Africa) Mainsail Trading Limited (Dubai) and KemTRAMS Limited (Dubai) Benjamin also led a team to develop the Mechanized Agricultural Micro Credit Investment Programme developing Micro Subsistent Farmers into Micro Mechanized Farmers through Microfinance Banks.

Theo Ubani is the International Director at Elvaton Nigeria Limited. He is also the Founder/Principal Consultant at Toub Associates a firm of Management and Regeneration Consultants with offices in Abuja. He holds a Bsc in Material Science from University of Greenwich, London and PgDip in Housing Studies from Middlesex University, London. He has extensive knowledge of Urban Regeneration and Neighbourhood Management having been Project Director of an EU regeneration budget in North London, accomplishing many award winning urban renewal projects in the process.

Dr Ekwow Spio-Grabrah, a citizen of Ghana, was appointed Chief Executive of the London-based Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) in 2003, bringing 25 years of Government, diplomacy, business, banking, and consulting experience. He was Minister of Communication for Ghana, and ambassador to the U.S. and Mexico (1994 – 1997). He also served as Minister of Education, Minister responsible for Mines and Energy, and a member of UNESCO’s Executive Board in Paris. Dr Spio-Garbrah was also Head of Communications at the African Development Bank from 1991 – 1994 where he directed the $33bn global corporate and marketing communications and acted as institutional spokesman.

Prior to that he worked in a similar role as External Relations Officer at the International Finance Corporation, affiliated to the World Bank, in Washington, mortgage bank in the U.S. and chairman of the Middle East Africa Group within the public relations firm Hill and Knowlton, New York, providing investment, export and tourism promotion counsel to Governments in Indonesia, Turkey, The Netherlands, and Austria.

Geoff Doidge is Minister of Public Works, South Africa. He has been an ANC member of parliament since 1994, when he was elected whip. Prior to that he was in various positions, including Chairman of the Kokstad Housing, Development and Services Forums, Chairman of the ANC Kokstad Branch, member of the ANC Regional Executive, Transkei (Head of the Local Government Desk) and Deploy Chair of the Kokstad Civic Association. He is a member of Land Affairs Portfolio Committee and has retained his position in the Ministry of Public Works since Jacob Zuma was elected in April.

Silue Daoda is an Ivory Coast native and is General Director of the CEPICI (Centre of Promotion of Investments for Ivory Coast). Mr Daoda took a diploma of management, human resources and business management under the Dale Carnegie Training method, and trained in the African Development Bank and with the International Economy Department of the World Bank. He also has an MA in Public Economy from the National University of Ivory Coast. Previously he worked as Cabinet Director of Omega Economic Studies and General Director Advisor of the CAA.