Press Release
Thierno-Habib Hann assumes office as the CEO of Pan-African Housing Institution, Shelter Afrique
Thierno-Habib Hann has assumed the position of the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nairobi-based Pan-African housing development financier Shelter Afrique following his appointment in August last year.
Mr Hann joins Shelter Afrique from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), where he served as the Asia/Pacific Lead for housing finance, based in Bangkok, Thailand.
He takes over from Mr Kingsley Muwowo, who has been serving in an acting capacity following the change in management last year.
Mr Hann has extensive international experience in housing finance, capital markets/investment banking and structured finance spanning over 20 years. He brings a wealth of leadership experience in development and investment, sharp insight into the real estate landscape and a strong track record of delivery.
He is expected to strengthen governance, be an embodiment of the organisation’s values and drive the investment strategy of the Company focused on delivering large-scale affordable housing.
Speaking on his appointment, Mr Hann expressed his gratitude and appreciation, “I’m happy and honoured to take on the new role at Shelter Afrique; I would like to extend my appreciation to the Shareholders and the Board of Directors for their confidence in me. I would like to thank the staff, partners and stakeholders for their warm welcome and their commitment to the mandate of Shelter-Afrique. I am also grateful to my former colleagues at the IFC and World Bank. The institution and title may have changed, but I believe we all share a joint commitment and goal of developing our world and I look forward to collaborating with them. I would especially like to thank Mr Kingsley Muwowo for the role he has played in the transition and for his personal and professional support; his service to the Company as CFO and eventually as Acting CEO has been invaluable to the Company.
Mr Hann continued on the significance of Shelter-Afrique and affordable housing on the continent, “Housing is critical to the development of any nation, and Shelter-Afrique’s mandate is both unique and important, particularly as many African countries face a significant turning point in their housing agenda. We want to be part of this turning point. It is an honour to lead this team, and together, we will work towards harnessing national resources to improve local populations’ living conditions and to achieve Shelter Afrique’s mandate,”
Illustrious career
Mr Hann began his career at the consulting firm Arthur Andersen, LLC as a Senior Consultant in Financial Services and Capital Markets in New York City. He has worked at JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs as Manager and Vice President, respectively and led investment teams issuing mortgage-backed securities (RMBS/CMO) and credit derivatives (CDS) in these organisations.
He also served at the World Bank Group as the Private Sector Development Program Manager in Guinea, responsible for designing and implementing the business climate improvement program while developing a bankable pipeline of investments and government advisory projects in strategic sectors of the economy.
Thierno-Habib Hann holds an MBA in Finance & Investments from the Zicklin School of Business, Bernard Baruch, City University of New York; a master’s degree in Accounting and Finance (M.S.T.C.F) and a bachelor’s degree in Management and Applied Economics (GEA), from Paris IX Dauphine University, with honours.
A native of Guinea (Conakry), Habib is the co-founder of “AngelAfrica” – a Pan-African thinktank formed to achieve economic prosperity on the continent by building and fostering innovative technological ideas, investors and business partnerships.
New Beginnings
Speaking on his plans for Shelter Afrique, the new Managing Director emphasised his focus on growing the portfolio with quality assets, generating impact for stakeholders, and ensuring shoring up the organisation’s capital base. “My immediate focus will be to optimise the organisation’s performance and ensure we deliver on our mandate. To do this, in the immediate term, management is committed to strengthening the brand and corporate governance, ensuring financial sustainability with a strong execution capability, strengthening risk management framework as well as deepening capacity within the organisation and advocating for innovative solutions in the delivery of affordable housing.
“I also plan to embark on broad stakeholder engagement to understand other ways to address our mandate; we welcome the views of our shareholders and partners as the task of delivering affordable housing is a shared one, and no single organisation can address the growing housing crisis alone”.
Thierno-Habib Hann also commented on the current organisation renewal and corporate governance, “We are very pleased that as part of our renewal, our Board has nominated two women to lead as Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson for the first time in our history. We look forward to their stewardship and vision for the organisation”.
Press Release
TelCables’ Partner Program is shaping the future of digital connectivity in West Africa
TelCables West Africa, part of the Angola Cables global network, shared details of its innovative Partner Program at a recent event held at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. This initiative is designed to empower companies in West Africa to shape the future of digital connectivity, tap into the rapidly growing enterprise market, and expand their businesses internationally.
The TelCables Partner Program enables telecommunication companies, operators, ICT integrators, as well as internet service providers to extend their influence in shaping West Africa digital ecosystem.
Multinational telecommunications company Angola Cables operates in the wholesale market, providing connectivity, IT solutions and services, as well as international data circuit capacity and IP transit via owned, high-capacity submarine cables, including SACS, Monet, and WACS.
“Leveraging the Angola Cables Partner Program provides a unique opportunity for us to help connect our partners’ businesses from West Africa to the world,” said TelCables Nigeria CEO, Fernando Fernandes.
“As the most connected network operator in Africa, our secure, low-latency direct routings Data Center to Data Center from West Africa to the USA and South America, and from West Africa to London provide an immense advantage to our partners. Moreover, our presence across a number of Nigerian IP hubs such as Lekki, WACS CLS, Medallion DC, Rack Centre and others, and connections across Africa via the Djoliba network, means our partners have access to some of the most advanced digital infrastructure on the continent and our featured products to address secure connectivity and Clouds2Africa the most interconnected Cloud IAAS in Africa benefiting to our Global Network in more than 400 Cloud and Anti-DDoS secured nodes,” he added.
The Partner Program provides a comprehensive suite of management resourceful tools to support partners in their sales efforts. This includes portal, sales and marketing tools that enable partners to define product, commercial, and marketing strategies, as well as receive technical formation and go-to-market initiatives to streamline and accelerate their market offerings. The personalized program also adapts to the needs of each partner’s experience and market demand, ensuring mutual success. Additionally, tailored training and support are provided to each partner to help them achieve their goals.
Based in Nigeria, and with a global footprint in 20 countries on five continents, TelCables offers a wide range of internet exchange points, points-of-presence, peering, and related services. Current participants in the Partner Program include Microsoft, NEC, Juniper Networks, Ciena and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., all benefiting from Angola Cables’ extensive, low-latency direct access connectivity, connecting to the largest Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), Tier 1 operators, and global content providers in Africa and around the world
As part of the Angola Cables family, TelCables West Africa’s Partner Program is a testament to the company’s dedication to empowering businesses in West Africa to reach new heights in the digital age. Companies interested in joining the Partner Program and becoming part of a network that is shaping the future of digital connectivity in West Africa, can do so here
Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) Chief Executive Officer, Thierno Habib Hann, has presented his credentials to Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya and Foreign & Diaspora Affairs Minister of Kenya, H.E Dr. Musalia Mudavadi.
In a formal ceremony held at the Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya’s office in Nairobi, Mr. Hann conveyed Shelter Afrique Development Bank ‘s commitment to enhancing its collaboration with the Government of Kenya in addressing the pressing challenges of affordable housing and urban development in the country and across Africa.
Mr. Hann highlighted the organization’s commitment to sustaining its impactful efforts in Kenya, particularly in advancing affordable housing programs. Mr. Hann reiterated Shelter Afrique Development Bank ‘s dedication to supporting Kenya’s housing agenda with a particular focus on housing programs that seek to address key thematic areas of climate financing, gender, migrants, refugees, and the diaspora.
“We enjoy a great relationship with the Government of Kenya, being Kenya Shelter Afrique Development Bank ‘s largest shareholder and we are looking forward to scaling up projects that are in line with the visionary economic development agenda – Kenya Vision 2030. We extend our gratitude to the Government of Kenya for their enduring confidence in our institution and for hosting ShafDB’s Headquarters for the last 42 years,” stated Mr. Hann.
He further conveyed Shelter Afrique Development Bank ‘s readiness to collaborate closely with Kenyan authorities in implementing innovative solutions aimed at expediting the provision of quality, affordable housing, and associated infrastructure and urban development across the nation.
Welcoming Mr. Hann and accepting his appointment, Prime Cabinet Secretary Honorable Musalia Mudavadi, commended Shelter Afrique Development Bank for its ongoing transformation and continued commitment to Kenya and further Africa’s development priorities, highlighting the organization’s valuable contributions to the region’s housing sector over the years.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and N Gage Consulting signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance implementation of the AfCFTA within Africa, with a focus on North Africa and Arabic speaking countries as well as harness the potential of the AfCFTA through targeted outreach towards positive impact in Africa. The MoU was sealed by the AfCFTA Secretary General, H.E. Mr. Wamkele Mene and Mr. Karim Refaat, Chairman of N Gage Consulting and Dr. Sherif Fahmy, CEO.
The was established as an effort to eliminate trade barriers among African countries with the aim of creating a single market size of 1.3 billion people with a combined annual GDP of $3.4 trillion. As the largest free trade area in the world, the AfCFTA is expected to increase intra-African trade and promote regional economic integration of Africa and, as a result, contribute to the sustainable economic and social development of the continent through the creation of employment opportunities and the reduction of poverty.
Pursuant to the MoU, the two parties commit to strengthen cooperation and promote concrete activities in areas of conducting webinars, tailor effective roundtable sessions, public-private dialogues and to develop a series of monthly newsletters to disseminate relevant information through social media platforms with the aim of raising awareness of business and governments on the AfCFTA, its objectives and showcasing AfCFTA’s Guided Trade Initiative and its role in powering trade among members states.
Additionally, the collaboration will facilitate the preparation for the AfCFTA Business Forum and The Intra African Trade Fair (IATF) and the execution of different capacity building programs for the member states in order to leverage the AfCFTA to boost intra-African trade and utilise Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects to support investment in infrastructure.
The MoU is expected to promote the AfCFTA as a trade liberalisation instrument and sustainable development enabler and accelerator as well as enhance intra-African trade as an engine for economic diversification and industrialisation.
As one of the leading companies operating in the area of government relations and public policy in the MENA region, N Gage Consulting is committed to support the AfCFTA and will deploy all the necessary resources to strengthen and expand cooperation with the AfCFTA Secretariat to enhance African trade integration.
In addition to her impressive legal background, Rosemond has cultivated a niche expertise in the tech startup ecosystem. She has consistently provided comprehensive consulting, due diligence, and investor readiness services to numerous companies in the tech sector.
-
Op-Ed2 days agoSam Tayengwa: Navigating the Future of Insurance in Africa
-
Corporate Citizenship2 days agoHuawei 2024 ‘Seed for Future’ Programme Kicks off in Kenyan Tertiary Institutions
-
Press Release1 hour agoTelCables’ Partner Program is shaping the future of digital connectivity in West Africa