The initial board members include sponsor representatives and compose of highly qualified and experienced members from diverse professional fields
Uche Orji
ChairmanMr. Orji is the Managing Director/CEO of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority. He joined NSIA as CEO in October 2012, from Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS Securities, where he was Managing Director in the New York branch of its Equities Division. Prior to his UBS experience, Mr. Orji spent six years at JP Morgan in London, 2001-2006, rising from the position of Vice President to Managing Director within the Equities Division. Prior to JP Morgan, he worked for Goldman Sachs Asset Management, London, 1998-2001, as an Analyst/Portfolio Manager. His first banking financial industry experiences were at Diamond Bank Plc., Lagos and Arthur Andersen, Lagos. Mr. Orji studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, graduating in 1990. He also obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1998.
Chinua Azubike
Chief Executive OfficerChinua is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of InfraCredit. He has garnered over 15 years experience in corporate/structured finance and debt capital market roles. Chinua has a strong and practical know-how of local capital markets with a firm interest in market development, and has acted as a lead adviser in the establishment of key development finance institutions in Nigeria. He was the project lead for the establishment of an Infrastructure Credit Enhancement Facility (now InfraCredit) and prior to this role, the Managing Director of Dunn Loren Merrifield Advisory Partners, a corporate finance advisory firm. He holds an Msc in Finance & Financial Law from University of London and studied law at the University of Lagos. He is currently the chairperson of the Regulation Consolidation Sub-Committee of FMDQ Debt Capital Market Development Project. Chinua is registered as a sponsored individual with the SEC and served as a member of the Fixed Income Sub-Committee of the SEC Capital Market Committee
Chris Vermont
Independent DirectorChris Vermont retired as the CEO of GuarantCo in December 2016 after leading the institution for over 10 years since its inception. GuarantCo is one-of-a-kind – the only local currency guarantee facility in the world targeting infrastructure in frontier markets. Chris previously held senior positions with ANZ Banking Group in London (as well as assignments in Kolkata and New Delhi) where he was head of project & structured finance and latterly head of debt solutions & distribution. He has over 20 years experience of finance for infrastructure projects in the emerging markets. Chris Vermont is a Non Executive Director and Chairman of the New Business Committee of InfraCredit responsible for an initial review of potential transactions ahead of detailed due diligence & term sheet negotiation with the potential client, and also the Credit Committee of the Board.
Stella Ojekwe-Onyejeli
Non-Executive DirectorStella Ojekwe-Onyejeli is the Executive Director and Chief Risk Officer at NSIA. She joined NSIA following a tenure as Director and Head of Operational Risk & Control at Barclays covering Emerging Markets and Africa. She served as Vice President and Head of Quality Assurance, Africa at Citibank with direct oversight of the enterprise risk and control environment in 14 countries across Africa. She had a decade-long career at professional services firms Arthur Anderson and KPMG in Nigeria and South-Africa, providing financial advisory and business assurance services. Mrs. Ojekwe-Onyejeli was a Federal Government of Nigeria Scholar, and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria Prize Winner. She is a qualified Chartered Financial and Tax Accountant, who holds a first degree in Chemistry from the University of Lagos. She holds an M.B.A from Cranfield School of Management in the UK.
Banji Fehintola
Non-Executive DirectorBanji Fehintola is a Director and head of Treasury and Financial Institutions. Mr. Fehintola is responsible for managing the Corporation’s balance sheet and implementing its annual funding program in the international capital markets. He oversees the Corporation’s Trade Finance as well as the Syndications businesses. Mr. Fehintola joined AFC in January 2008 as the pioneer Treasurer of the Corporation. Prior to joining AFC, he worked with the Fixed Income Currencies and Commodities team of Citibank Nigeria and in the Tax & Business Advisory team of Arthur Anderson. Mr. Fehintola has a BSc degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan and an MPhil in International Finance from the University of Glasgow. He is a CFA charter holder as well as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.
Sanjeev Gupta
Non-Executive DirectorSanjeev Gupta is Executive Director and Head of AFC’s Financial Services division. As head of Financial Services, Mr. Gupta oversees the Corporation’s Treasury, Trade Finance, Syndication and Advisory business units. He has a wealth of experience in working across various emerging markets, especially in Sub Saharan Africa for over 25 years. He was the Lead Partner of the Emerging Markets M&A Centre of Excellence at Ernst & Young (EMEA). He also served as CEO of Sanlam Investment management – Emerging Markets (South Africa) and CEO of Botswana Insurance Holding Limited. He was the founder and Managing Partner of Emerging Opportunities Consulting (EOC), a boutique advisory & consulting firm focused on MENA, India & Africa-based corporates. Mr. Gupta is a Fellow for the ICAI (India), an alumnus of the Oxford University Said Business School (UK), and has been an active participant in the Commonwealth Study Group activities under the auspices of the Duke of Edinburg Foundation. He is a keen supporter of the activities of several UK and India based NGOs including Childreach International and Common Purpose. Among his other interests, he likes to play golf and is a contributor to various publications, does regular motivational speaking and workshops with senior corporate management teams and continues to be a speaker at conferences globally. He also has his own blog with Forbes under Forbes India where he shares his experiences of doing business in emerging markets.