AFRICAN PHILANTHROPY FORUM - Key Persons
Aishah N Ahmad is a central banker, board-level leader and financial expert with over 27 years of experience working at the intersection of public policy and private markets. She was Deputy Governor for Financial System Stability at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from March 2018 to September 2023, overseeing prudential regulation, licensing, supervision and consumer protection in the banking and payments sector of Africa's largest economy.
As the first female Deputy Governor in charge of financial system stability and the youngest in over four decades, Aishah was a member of the CBN Board of Directors, Monetary Policy Committee, and Financial System Stability Committee. She is credited with leading significant financial reforms, including the Banks & Other Financial Institutions Act of 2020, which strengthened the legal framework for financial services regulation in Nigeria, and the landmark bridge resolution of a failing bank that protected depositor funds and preempted a banking crisis. Under her visionary leadership of the national strategy, financial inclusion in Nigeria improved from 63% to 74% (2018-2023), marking the highest overall percentage increase to date (EFINA 2023 A2F report). She also led Nigeria to host its first international financial inclusion conference to broad acclaim.
Aishah has significant board leadership experience. As board chair, she has led four CEO transitions and several corporate strategy transformations. She is currently a board member at the Financial Alliance for Women (US) and SOS Children's Villages International (Austria). Formerly, she chaired the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System, Nigeria Commodity Exchange, Financial Institutions Training Centre, and SOS Children's Villages Nigeria. She also served on the boards of the Islamic Financial Services Board and the International Islamic Liquidity Management.
An advocate for gender equity, Aishah championed women's leadership at the CBN, institutionalizing Women's Day celebrations for five consecutive years. Annually, she hosted a "100 Women Breakfast" to mentor over 600 young female professionals at the Bank. During her tenure, female CEO representation within the Nigerian banking industry reached an all-time high of 25%. As executive chairperson of WIMBIZ, Africa's largest female-focused NGO (2015-2017), she grew its membership, financial stability, and launched the ‘Big Sister Program,' which has mentored over 7,000 teenage girls in public secondary schools across Nigeria to date.
Andy Bryant joined the foundation as Executive Director in 2010. He leads the foundation's team and implements the vision of the board of directors. He has overseen an increase in the foundation's annual giving from $2 million in 2010 to over $18 million, alongside the growth of the partner portfolio from 30 organizations to now well over 300. This makes SFF the second largest U.S. foundation in Africa, behind only Gates. The most important quantifiable changes that Andy has overseen include:
Job Titles:
- Founder of above Whispers Media Foundation
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Gender and Development Practitioner, Feminist Activist, Policy Advocate, Leadership Coach, Philanthropist, Image Management Specialist, and Writer. She holds a BA (1984) and MA (1988) in History from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and an MA in Gender and Society (1992) from Middlesex University, UK.
Bisi is the founder of Above Whispers Media Foundation, which offers leadership development and coaching. She is currently a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Africa Leadership Center, King's College, London.
Bongiwe Ndondo is a social justice activist and highly experienced professional in the development sector. Over a career spanning 30 years, she has been instrumental in developing programmes to improve marginalised communities and subpopulations throughout Southern Africa; exploring how development work can be better rooted in local contexts. She aspires to change cultural norms and practices that create barriers to women's empowerment and enjoys having candid cross generational conversations with women and girls. "My best moments are spent with other women and collectively seeking ways we can get more of the things we desire."
As Chief Executive Officer of Hlanganisa Community Fund, she tirelessly seeks to bridge the gap between grassroots communities and policy making processes.
Bongiwe is an avid reader, keen golfer and a grandmother to Sesethu.
Chisom Udeoba is a Media and Communications professional with over 5 years experience in traditional and digital media with core expertise in public relations, content creation and strategic communications.
Prior to joining APF, she worked with and led communication teams in diverse organizations in the private, public and non-profit sector to develop and execute communication strategies that revolutionized their operations.
Chisom is a graduate of English Language and Literature from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and She has been trained and certified by different communication bodies including PTCIJ, International Press Centre and The Comms Avenue.
She is an Amazon Bestselling Author for her book; Content Creation 101. She has also been published in different media publications by The Guardian, Sun Newspaper and NGWomen in PR.
She is deeply passionate about equipping budding and established creatives with the skills and knowledge for exploits and this is what she does through her community: Creatives in Africa(A community of over 5000 creatives learning, building and developing innovative solutions together)
She has been nominated twice for the 25 under 25 awards, The Enterpreneur Africa Awards and in 2023, she won the Vita W - Creative Innovator Award.
Chris Worman began his career in fundraising and communications for large American nonprofits. However, having spent most of his childhood in Botswana, he knew he wanted to work internationally and, in 2005, joined Peace Corps which landed him in Romania where he founded several social enterprises and Romania's first community foundation. While building a national platform to support the development of future community foundations, Chris increasingly found himself needing access to technology and brought TechSoup into the country.
Job Titles:
- CEO of Ishk Tolaram Foundation
Divya Patel is the CEO of Ishk Tolaram Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to providing underserved communities in Indonesia, Nigeria, and Singapore with access to quality education, healthcare, and skills training.
In her role as CEO, Divya oversees the foundation's strategic direction, guiding program development and grantmaking while fostering global partnerships and building relationships with potential collaborators. She works closely with the board on governance matters and ensures the responsible financial oversight of the foundation's assets. Additionally, she supports Tolaram's business initiatives that focus on social impact.
A firm believer in unlocking more capital for impact and a strong advocate for progressive philanthropy, Divya champions approaches that encourage philanthropists to take risks on innovative pilot projects, collaborate to reduce duplication, and explore alternative financial instruments for funding social change. She is equally committed to nurturing talent in the impact sector by building organizations that attract, retain, and develop skilled professionals through competitive compensation and learning opportunities.
She is also a board member of CSP Singapore and The Impact Foundation, which support wealth holders and managers by providing training and research in sustainable finance and impact investing.
English Sall is a data enthusiast and researcher at heart. English holds a Masters degree and is currently pursuing her PhD in Industrial Organizational Psychology (IOP) at North Carolina State University. English specializes in Humanitarian Work Psychology and is interested in how IOP can be applied to cross-cultural leadership and work-force development within informal economies. English is also a board member of the Sall Family Foundation and is pursuing the role of a next gen philanthropist. Additionally, she is on the boards of CARE USA, The EndFund, Jacaranda, and Aspen Management Partnership for Health. English is also a member of Maverick Collective.
English is co-founder of the organization Impact Thread which uses IOP to address workforce and organizational development through a social good lens. Before co-founding Impact Thread, English was co-director for Aspen Institute's Impact Careers Initiative.
English has also worked as a Data Strategist Fellow with Organize and as a member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists-United Nations Liaison team. English is also the co-founder of Embark, a Gender Justice initiative powered by CARE. English served as Visiting Research Fellow at the Social Science Research Institute Duke University in the center for Advanced Hindsight. English is currently a principle at Community Health Acceleration Partnership as well as an Adjunct professor at UNC Gilling's School of Global Public Health in the department of Health Behavior.
Faramola Fasuyi Adewumi has worked with startups, within established organizations and non-profit organizations where she has built a track record specializing in developing strategic initiatives, communications, policies and plans that manage internal and external performance, identify and address key business issues, initiate and manage transformational change programmes and create project roadmaps to achieve desired business results.
In her journey to contribute to the development sector in Nigeria and beyond, Faramola joined APF as a Research and Communication Volunteer, to seek a platform that would enable her to contribute to scalable change and development on the African Continent.
She holds a BSc in Economics, a MSc in International Business and Corporate Governance and another MSc in Applied Management and Enterprise.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Board Chair & Pioneer Board Member
- Counsel at Aluko & Oyebode
Gbenga Oyebode is the founder and Of Counsel at Aluko & Oyebode (Barristers & Solicitors), one of the largest integrated law firms in Nigeria. He is a philanthropist who is passionate about education and the arts and holds several key positions within the social sector. Gbenga is the Chairman of Teach for All and is a trustee of the Ford Foundation. He is a member of the Board of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (NMAFA) and Cleveland Museum of Arts International Collectors Council.
Gbenga holds a Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of Ife and a Master of Law Degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the International Bar Association (IBA). He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) (FCIArb). He holds one of Nigeria's highest honors, as a member of the Order of the Federal Republic and is a recipient of the Belgian Royal Honor of Knight of the Order of Leopold.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Pioneer Board
Job Titles:
- Accountant
- Accountant at APF
Kenneth Ochuko is the Accountant at APF. He has over five years of professional experience in External Audit, Financial Accounting, Business Management, Corporate Governance and Regulatory Compliance Services. Prior to APF, Kenneth worked as an Audit Manager at Olutayo Obadina and Co. Chartered Accountants where he led audit exercises including the audit of Global Manpower Limited, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Biznurture Financial Services Limited. He also served at Daltrade Nigeria Ltd as the Branch Accountant.
Passionate about improving lives in rural areas, Kenneth has joined several groups in organising programs geared towards improving lives of people living in rural Nigeria.
Kenneth obtained a Bachelor of Technology Degree in Accounting from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso; is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and is currently doing his Masters Degree program in Finance at the University of Lagos.
Mosun Layode is a development professional with two decades of experience in international development and nonprofit leadership. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the African Philanthropy Forum (APF) where she works extensively across Africa with established and emerging philanthropists who are committed to the sustainable and inclusive development of Africa. She was instrumental to the establishment of APF as an independent entity in Africa, increasing its reach and impact in the philanthropic community, as well as growing its brand and membership base. Prior to this, she served as the Executive Director of WIMBIZ and LEAP Africa, leading nonprofits in Nigeria. Passionate about the interplay of social issues and business, Mosun founded Social Runway, a nonprofit organization established to harness the power of the crowd for small donations supporting crucial initiatives
Mosun studied Urban and Regional Planning at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria and obtained an MSc. in Environmental Resources Management from Lagos State University. She has an MBA from Lagos Business School and benefited from Executive Programs offered by the IESE Business School, Barcelona and Harvard Business School. Mosun currently sits on nonprofit boards including Candid, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and AMP Health. She is an alumnus of the United States International Visitors Leadership Program and was identified by Forbes as one of the black women to watch in philanthropy.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Pioneer Board
- Expert
- Managing Partner of Sahel Consulting Agriculture & Nutrition Ltd
Mrs. Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli is an expert on African agriculture and nutrition, philanthropy, and social innovation. She has over 25 years of international development experience and is a recognized serial entrepreneur, author, public speaker, and consultant. Through her work in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, she has led the design and execution of high-impact initiatives focused on policy, strategy, organizational design, ecosystem solutions, and growth.
Ndidi Nwuneli is the Managing Partner of Sahel Consulting Agriculture & Nutrition Ltd., which works across West Africa shaping agricultural policy, creating catalytic ventures, and implementing ecosystem solutions. She is also the co-founder of AACE Foods, which sources from over 10,000 farmers and produces a range of packaged spices, seasonings, and cereals for local and international markets. Ndidi is the founder of LEAP Africa which inspires, empowers, and equips a new cadre of principled, disciplined and dynamic young leaders in Africa. She is also the founder and chair of Nourishing Africa, a digital knowledge and data business focused on enabling agribusiness entrepreneurs to scale.
Ndidi started her career as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, working in their Chicago, New York and Johannesburg Offices. She holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree with honors from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She was a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government at the Harvard Kennedy School and an Aspen Institute New Voices Fellow.
Ndidi was recognized as a Young Global Leader and Schwab Social Innovator by the World Economic Forum and received a National Honor from the Nigerian Government. Ndidi serves on the boards of the Rockefeller Foundation, AGRA, Nigerian Breweries Plc. (Heineken), Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. India, Fairfax Africa Holdings Canada, BusinessDay Newspapers, Royal DSM Sustainability Board, Netherlands, and the African Philanthropy Forum.
Ndidi is the author of "Social Innovation in Africa: A Practical Guide for Scaling Impact," published by Routledge. Her new book titled "Food Entrepreneurs in Africa: Scaling Resilient Agriculture Businesses" will be published by Routledge in 2021. She is a TED Global speaker and her work has been featured on CNN, BBC, and a range of international and local media outlets.
Ngozi Obigwe Kunuji is a development professional with over two decades experience in international development, non-profit management, and business strategy. Prior to joining the African Philanthropic Forum, she was the Chief Operations Officer at iOpenEye Africa Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that utilises the power of performance art to challenge the status quo, empower and improve the independence, rights, and status of women. Before then, she served as the Programme Manager at NewGlobe where she advances the work to advance the cause of access to quality education, for low- income families and assists government to transform their basic education sector. She was the Chief Operating Officer of LEAP Africa, a leading non-profit organisation and had a stint in the private sector, where she held roles in administration, business development and public relations.
Driven by her passion for development in Africa, Ngozi has spent the last two decades supporting entrepreneurs, youth, and social innovators. She serves on the Board of several consulting and non-profits organisations as well as small and medium enterprises- SMEs. She is an advisor to many youth groups and entrepreneurs.
Ngozi studied Theatre Arts at University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. She has personality assessment certification from the Center for Creative Leadership -CCL, North Carolina and certifications in Marketing, Public Relations, and Non-profit management from the Lagos Business School. She is an Alumnus of the British Council organized Interaction Leadership Programme and a member of the Society for Corporate Governance, Nigeria - SCGN.
Job Titles:
- CEO for Southern Africa at General Electric
- Chairman of U.S. Chamber 's U.S
- Industry Leader
Nyimpini Mabunda is the CEO for Southern Africa at General Electric. He has 25+ years background leading major consumer goods, food franchise, and telecoms businesses across Africa and the United Kingdom. Prior to joining GE, he fulfilled roles at the Country/Divisional CEO level for two major multinational businesses - Vodafone/ Vodacom and Diageo.
Nyimpini is a recognized industry leader who sits on a few external boards as non-executive director and chairman. He is also a former senior advisor for Boston Consulting Group (BCG) where he assisted the partners to build the business in Technology, Media, and Telecom (TMT) and Consumer Good Practices across sub-Saharan Africa. Nyimpini who holds an MBA from the University of Cape Town is a regular speaker and panelist at industry events, some highlights include his role as a judge and panelist at the Stanford University's Africa Business Forum start up initiative, emcee at the official Nelson Mandela Memorial in Uganda, and moderator at the ILLA Africa lawmakers conference.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Rutgers University Hall of Distinguished Alumni
- Naspers As South Africa CEO
Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa joined Naspers as South Africa CEO, in July 2019. Before joining Naspers, she was the cofounder and Executive Chairperson of Sigma Capital, an investment holding company formed in 2015. She held the position of CEO at Shanduka Group, an investment holding company from 2004 to 2015. Prior, she was the Head of the Project Finance South Africa business unit at the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Early in her career, Phuthi worked in New York at Fieldstone, an international firm specialising in the financing of infrastructure assets. She later transferred to the South African office, where she served as a Vice President. In 2020, Phuthi ranked number 42 in Fortune's Most Powerful Women International list.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Vice Chairman and Co - Founder of the International Law Institute African Centre for Legal Excellence
Swithin J. Munyantwali is Vice Chairman and co-founder of the International Law Institute African Centre for Legal Excellence, and the ILI-South African Centre for Excellence. He is Senior advisor to Appleton Luff. He has served as a party-appointed arbitrator under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (power and telecoms), and the World Bank International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (energy). He has served as a Guest Professor at the Macau University of Science and Technology, as well as the City University of Hong Kong Law School. He has lectured at Case Western Reserve Law School (CWRU), University of Pacific McGeorge, the World Affairs Council in Sacramento, California, and Peking University (School of Transnational Law) in Shenzhen. He is an adjunct lecturer at the Loyola Law School Masters in Law (LLM) Pro Law Program; he has spoken at the Maine and Kreisky Forums. He has published broadly and been cited on the subject of legal and judicial reform. He is currently a Senior Advisor to the Absa Group Limited (JSE Limited); he previously served as Non Executive Director of the Absa Group, serving on the Audit and Compliance, Social Sustainability and Ethics, and Group Credit Risk Committees. He has served as Chairman of Barclays Bank, and Absa Bank in Uganda, serving as the Chairman of Human Resources and Compensation, and the Board Audit Committees. He serves on the Board of Directors of the ILI in Washington, DC, and the African Philanthropy Forum. He has served on Special Advisory Boards including Interpol (biosecurity) and UN Habitat. He is Vice-Chairman on the Staff Appeals Tribunal at the East African Development Bank. He is a member of the Visiting Committee, at the Center for International Affairs, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). He also serves on the Dean's Cabinet For Global Legal Studies at CWRU Law School. He is a member of the American Law Institute. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from St. Joseph's University, a Juris Doctor from CWRU School of Law, and Masters in International and Comparative Law, from Georgetown University Law Center. He is licensed to practice (inactive) in Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Cosmos Club, and has been honored by International Bar Association (Innovation). He is a Ugandan and British citizen, and US Permanent Resident. He is married to Lyvia Kakonge, a Canadian Barrister and Solicitor; they have 3 children and currently reside in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Pioneer Board
- Pioneer Board Chair
Tsitsi Masiyiwa is an African philanthropist and social entrepreneur. She is the Executive Chair and Co-Founder of Delta Philanthropies and Higherlife Foundation, whose primary goal is to invest in human capital development to build thriving individuals, communities, and sustainable livelihoods. As a result of her work and experience establishing and growing the Higherlife Foundation over the last twenty-five years, Tsitsi serves on various social impact boards and has become an advisor and thought partner to universities, national leaders, and social entrepreneurs on issues of education, health, leadership, development, gender, and youth empowerment.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at LVMH
Vanessa Moungar is Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at LVMH, where she supervises the global coordination of the Group's actions on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
She previously served as Director for Gender, Women and Civil Society at the African Development Bank, where she led the Bank's action on gender equality, women's empowerment and civil society engagement. In particular, she led the development, resource mobilization and roll out of the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) program, to unlock $5 billion in access to finance for women entrepreneurs across Africa's 54 countries. As Senior Manager for Africa at the World Economic Forum between 2013 and 2017, she led large-scale publicprivate collaboration efforts across multiple industries to drive investment into the continent. There, she also led the Demographic Dividend agenda with a multi stakeholder group of global experts, with the aim of accelerating investments for women and youth. Between 2006 and 2013, she held various positions including Director of Sales and Marketing at Terrafina, an American company operating in the agri-business industry. As a student, she co-founded a consulting company, AV Consulting, to support young entrepreneurs in Africa and the Middle East through specific consulting missions.
A citizen of Chad and France, she sat on French President Emmanuel Macron's Presidential Council for Africa between 2017 and 2022, was a member of the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council in 2019 and is a visiting lecturer at Sciences Po Paris.Vanessa holds degrees from INSEEC Paris and Harvard University, and was a WEF Global Leadership Fellow (in partnership with Columbia University, Wharton School of Business, China Europe International Business School, London Business School, and INSEAD).
Yinka is a Development Professional with core expertise in Research, Project Management as well as Policy and Programme Development. He is currently a Programme Officer- Research at APF.
Working across Development areas such as Public Health, Migration, Gender, Law and Policy, he has supported leading civil-society organizations, bilateral organizations and multilateral agencies (such as USAID, GIZ, British Council, Save the Children, World Health Organization, International Organization on Migration and African Union Commission) to ideate and implement sustainable solutions to pressing concerns in Africa.
Prior to joining the APF, he worked at the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria as Policy Officer where his contribution to Policy and Programme Development resulted in the institutionalization of a public-private partnership which has received international acclaim and philanthropic contribution.
A firm believer in the importance of next-generation philanthropy in sustainable development, he has occupied leadership positions within several youth-led organizations such as Give Hope to the Slum Child Initiative (as Head of Fundraising), LED Initiative (as Programme Lead), Asido Foundation as (Deputy Director of Communications) and was the Charter President of the Leo Club Ikeja.
He is an active contributor to philanthropic organizations centered on gender justice, diversity, sustainability, and climate change. Yinka is a Member of The International Society for Priorities in Health. He holds a B.Sc. in Microbiology from the University of Ilorin and is studying for an MPH in Public Health Policy and Management at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan.