SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

OYEYIMIKA ADEBOYE, PARENT’26

CEO and Managing Director, Cadbury Nigeria PLC

Oyeyimika Adeboye joined the Board of Cadbury Nigeria Plc. as Finance and Strategy Director in November 2008. She was appointed as Managing Director of Cadbury Nigeria Plc on 1 April 2019 and Cluster Director of Mondelēz International West Africa on 1 July 2019. Adeboye is the chairman of the Board of Cadbury Ghana Limited.

Elsie Addo Awadzi

Second Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana

International economic and financial lawyer

Elsie Addo Awadzi was appointed second deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana in February 2018, only the second woman to hold that position. She was also elected as chairperson of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion’s Gender Inclusive Finance Committee in 2020. Addo has more than 20 years of experience working in various capacities in Ghana, Japan, South Africa, and the U.K. She formerly served as a commissioner of Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission, and then as a senior counsel in the International Monetary Fund’s Legal Department.

Alima Bello

Creative Director and Owner, Bello|Edu

Alima Bello is the founder and creative director of Bello|Edu, a contemporary womenswear brand established in Accra, Ghana. Its brand mission is to design clothing for the passionate, contemporary, and lifeloving woman. Bello attributes her Nigerian and Ghanaian heritage to playing a major role in her flair for aesthetics. She started designing and creating clothes for her family and friends in 2008, her first collection was debuted in June 2014, and in November 2017 she opened the doors to the brand’s flagship store.

CHRIS CHINEBAUH, PARENT’23 Executive Chairman, Fueltrade Limited

Chris Chinebuah is the executive chair of Fueltrade Limited, responsible for executing the overall operational and commercial strategy of the company. He reports directly to the Board of Directors. Chinebuah holds a BA degree in geography and economics from the University of Ghana, Legon. Since 1982, he has been working in the petroleum industry mainly as a local representative of a number of international companies.

Sipho Dlamini

CEO, Universal Music South Africa and SubSaharan Africa

Sipho Dlamini started his career in the music industry in the late 1990s as a U.K. concert and club promoter for African artists. He later took a role at the Southern African Music Rights Organization (SAMRO), eventually rising to CEO, where he ensured the smooth operation of performance royalty collection and distribution practices, as well as SAMRO’s support of music and arts education through its foundation. Dlamini joined Universal Music Group in 2016, and has since helped elevate legendary brands such as Def Jam Africa and Blue Note Records Africa.

Rosy Fynn

Country Head, Ghana and Nigeria (acting) Programs, Mastercard Foundation

Rosy Fynn is a distinguished change leader with a wealth of experience in international development, telecommunications, financial services, consulting, and insurance. She has over a decade’s executive-level experience in transforming organizations across Africa, the U.S., and the Caribbean. Fynn is currently the Ghana Country Head at the Mastercard Foundation, where she oversees the delivery of the foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy to enable upwards of three million young Ghanaian women and men to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.

Archie Hesse

CEO, Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems, Limited

As CEO of Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana, Archie Hesse is transforming Ghana into an electronic payments society. He joined GhIPSS in 2007 as a general manager in charge of projects and business development before his appointment to CEO in 2012. Under his leadership, Hesse guided the GhIPSS team to develop several payment solutions for the financial services sector. He has also helped shape policy and strategy in the deployment of national payments system infrastructure in several countries.

SAM IMMANUEL CEO, Semicolon Africa

Sam Immanuel is the CEO of Semicolon Africa, a social enterprise founded in 2019 aimed at transforming individuals, industries, and communities in Africa, by positioning them for digital transformation with a focus on education, technology, and innovation. So far, the organization has worked with more than 35,000 individuals and over 50 businesses both locally and globally.

H.E. GRACE JEANET MASON

South African High Commissioner to Ghana

With strong diplomatic credentials from spending more than 20 years in the sector, H.E. Grace Jeanet Mason is intentional about using her time to empower people, particularly women, promote youth and culture, and also strengthen the close ties between Ghana and South Africa. In previous roles, Mason has served as chief protocol officer for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, chief protocol officer for former President Jacob Zuma, and worked with both President Thabo Mbeki and President Nelson Mandela. She was also Deputy Chief of Protocol for former President Kgalema Motlanthe.

SHEIKH JOBE, PARENT’25

Chief Operating Officer, Standard Chartered Bank

Sheikh Jobe has almost 30 years of extensive banking experience holding senior level positions at global, regional, and country levels across banking technology and operations, operational risk management, financial crime risk management, compliance, audit, and branch banking. He has been managing director/chief operating officer, West Africa, at Standard Chartered Bank since December 2019, but joined the company back in 1994 working in various executive roles.

Kofi Kinaata

Musician

Kofi Kinaata, born Martin King Arthur, is a Ghanaian musician and songwriter. Known as the Fante Rap God, he is noted for his lyrical dexterity, unique rhyme schemes, and using a humorous Fante rap style with a touch of traditional African proverbs in his local language to entertain and educate. He has won many awards for his music, and was named Artist of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards USA in 2022. He is also a Goodwill ambassador for the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration.

M.ANIFEST

Musical artist and producer

M.anifest is a Ghanaian musician, rapper, and record producer. He was born Kwame Ametepee Tsikata, and is the grandson of one of Africa’s foremost ethnomusicologists and composers, J.H. Kwabena Nketia. M.anifest won both categories Best Rapper and HipHop Song of the Year at the 2017 Ghana Music Awards. He has worked with other musical luminaries such as Damon Albarn, Flea, Tony Allen, and Erykah Badu. He is currently home on two continents, splitting his time between Madina in Ghana and Minneapolis in the U.S.

MANSA NETTEY Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, PLC

With more than 15 years of experience in the banking industry in both corporate and financial markets, Mansa Nettey has a proven track record of delivering results and building strong partnerships with a diversified client base in West and Central Africa. She has specialized in sales and trading within financial markets, including sales coverage in fixed income, investment management, risk management products (derivatives), debt capital markets, and structured products. Nettey was the first female to be appointed to the board of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana in 2014.

NANA OPOKU Artist and creator of Afroscope

Ghanian artist Nana Opoku uses photomanipulation to create the works of art which are both Afrocentric and Afrofuturistic and known as Afroscope. In addition to receiving the 2017 Kuenyehia Prize for Contemporary Ghanaian Art, Opoku’s work has been part of multiple exhibitions in the Accra area, including Diaspora: From Local to Foreign, an art exhibition created as part of the 2019 Year of Return Event. Opoku’s work was also shown in the A.I. For Afrika’s art entry as part of the A.I. For Good Global Summit in Geneva.

KWAME A. OPPONG

Head, Fintech and Innovation, Bank of Ghana

Kwame Oppong is the head of Fintech and Innovation at Bank of Ghana. His background spans technology, digital financial services operations, policy development, and regulation. He has consulted for several governments, public sector institutions, international development organizations, and private corporations globally. Prior to joining the Bank of Ghana, Oppong worked with CGAP (World Bank Group), Millicom, Hewlett Packard (now HP EB), and other organizations in the banking, housing finance, and health insurance industries. He is a passionate advocate for financial inclusion, innovation, and the development of digital economies.

GEORGE OWUSU-ANSAH

Managing Director, Unilever Ghana, PLC

Supply chain professional George OwusuAnsah has 30 years of experience in operations and strategy development across the planning, sourcing, procurement, and distributions streams of the chain. He has lived and worked across two continents in Ghana, Malawi, China, Singapore, Kenya, and Nigeria. When he became managing director of Unilever Ghana, he was also named to the Board as an executive director. Previously, Owusu-Ansah held executive leadership roles at Unilever Kenya Limited and Unilever Nigeria PLC.

VIRGINIA E. PALMER

U.S. Ambassador to Ghana

Virginia E. Palmer arrived in Accra to assume her responsibilities as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Ghana in April 2022. Some of her previous roles include acting assistant secretary for Energy Resources at the Department of State, deputy commandant of the National Defense University’s Eisenhower School, and U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Malawi from 2015 to 2019. Other postings during her 36-year diplomatic career comprise assignments in Kenya, Canada, Zimbabwe, China, and Hong Kong working on political-military affairs, corruption, trade and agriculture, labor and human rights issues, health, and development.

ODILE TEVIE, PARENT’18

Co-Founder and Director, Nubuke Foundation Accra

Odile Tevie has served as co-founder and director of the Nubuke Foundation since 2006. In this role, she manages the operations of the foundation, which involves curating visual art exhibitions, mentoring visual artists, and managing the cultural exchanges and collaborative programs with similar organizations. The foundation currently runs mentoring initiatives with artisans who work in clay and textiles in the Volta and Upper West Region.