Join us in partnership with Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Absa Bank for our upcoming webinar; Dubai – The Gateway to Global Trade for African Markets to discover how you can easily set up, run and grow your business globally.
Home to 19,000+ companies ranging from multinational corporations to start-ups, DMCC offers unparalleled access to leading markets, bespoke business services, world-class infrastructure and much more.
Register to get practical advice from experts, explore DMCC benefits and services, as well as learn about Dubai’s attractive tax policies, lifestyle and business opportunities that can help you succeed.
The live session will give you the chance to:
Don’t miss out. Register now!
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Executive Chairman & CEO
DMCC
Ahmed Bin Sulayem is the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC and has driven its growth from a start-up of 28 member companies in 2003 to the world’s leading free zone in 2019 with over 19,000 member companies from 170 countries, employing over 60,000 people.
Tasked with enhancing commodity trade flows through Dubai, DMCC has introduced to market a number of value-added products and services under Mr Bin Sulayem’s leadership. In 2020, DMCC was named the ‘Global Free Zone of the Year’ by The Financial Times fDi Magazine, for a record sixth consecutive year.
Mr Bin Sulayem oversaw the exponential growth of the DMCC Free Zone master development in Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT), a 200-hectare business and residential community in Dubai of over 100,000 people living and working across 68 towers. Mr Bin Sulayem also oversees the development of DMCC’s latest real estate project; the much-anticipated Uptown Dubai district.
Mr Bin Sulayem currently serves as the Chairman of the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) and the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX).
The Kimberley Process officially appointed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the first and only Arab country to Chair the Kimberley Process in November 2015. Shortly after, the UAE Ministry of Economy officially appointed Mr Bin Sulayem as the UAE’s Chair of the Kimberley Process for 2016.
Director
International Offices at Dubai Chamber Of Commerce and Industry
Omar Abdulaziz Khan is Director of International Offices at Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry leading the global development and management of Dubai Chamber International Offices. He currently manages nine offices in Africa, CIS and Latin America.
Prior to his current position, Omar held consecutively successful leading positions at Dubai Chamber as Membership & Documentation Services Department Director representing Dubai Chamber at the ICC World Chambers Federation on trade facilitation issues and as Customer Service Centers Director during which he helped to transform Dubai Chamber from having a customer-centric department to being customer-centric organization.
Omar has led training sessions in Dubai and the GCC to help implement the ATA Carnet system across the region and regularly participates as MC, presenter and speaker for Dubai Chamber.
Before joining Dubai Chamber, Omar worked for HSBC Middle East in the Commercial Banking Sector under the Business Banking Unit as Relationship Manager.
Omar holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering and a MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology.
Executive Director
Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Kebour Ghenna is an Ethiopian entrepreneur and current Executive Director of the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI. He oversees a unique organization representing the interests of business and trade associations in Africa.
One of the well-known business men of Ethiopia, he has launched a number of successful business ventures and was actively engaged in the management of a number of businesses and non-profit organizations. He served as a non-executive director of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Abyssinia Bank, and the National Fertilizer Company. He presided over the Addis Ababa and Ethiopia Chambers of Commerce, the Ethiopian Business Coalition against HIV/AIDS, the Ethiopian Red Cross Society. Next to his business experience, Kebour Ghenna has extensive knowledge in organizational development having been involved in the design and execution of numerous development projects and programs working as expert and consultant for UNECA, UNDP, the WBI, IDRC and various other national and international organizations.
Kebour Ghenna has post graduate degrees from SUNY at Stony Brook. He lectured at the Addis Ababa University and played a key role in the establishment of the School of Information Sciences. He is a regular contributor to Capital, a weekly newspaper in Addis Ababa he launched in 1998.
Partner & Head of Middle East Research
Knight Frank Middle East
Faisal is a Partner and Head of Middle East Research at Knight Frank and he has over 15 years' experience in property. His most recent role was Head of London Commercial Research for Knight Frank, where he and his team provided consultancy and strategic advisory services to a range of global clientele, including investors, landlords, developers, HNWI, banks and institutions.
Faisal’s knowledge and experience spans all real estate sectors and includes markets across the Middle East and West Africa. Faisal is a well-known commentator in the media and speaks regularly at industry events, including at conferences across the region as well as the UK, Europe and Nigeria.
He has a BSc. in Electrical Engineering from The American University in Dubai, an MSc. in Project Management and an MBA, both from the University of Greenwich in London.
Faisal's most recent success was Knight Frank's 2021 London Report, which investigated the impacts of the pandemic on one of the world’s most dynamic property markets, including a closer look at the growing importance of ESG considerations, sustainability and the future of the office.
Managing Director for Middle East and Asia Corridor
Absa Group
Premeshin Naidoo is Managing Director for the Middle East & Asia corridor at Absa Group Limited, responsible for the strategy to originate and execute corporate and investment banking solutions for clients across the region looking to trade or invest in Africa. He has over 20 years of experience in corporate and investment banking focused primarily on the mining and telecoms sectors, the last 7 years as the sector head of TMT for Absa CIB. Prior to Absa, he spent 6 years as the Head of Mining and Telecoms for Citi Bank where he worked on a number of landmark capital raising transactions across Africa.
Prior to his career in banking, Premeshin worked as a Civil Engineer specializing in hydraulics and hydrology, and remains registered as a Professional Engineer. He has further completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) as well as a Master of Science in Finance (University of London), both degrees awarded with distinction. In addition, he has attended executive management programmes at Kellogg School of Management (Chicago), Gordon Institute of Business Science and Rotterdam School of Management
President
Kenya National Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Mr. Richard Ngatia is a renowned business leader in Kenya and globally, and is the President of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He has tremendously contributed to the development of healthcare in Kenya and the region as the founder and Managing Director of Megascope Healthcare Limited.
Mr. Ngatia is the Chairman of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Private Sector Forum, comprising of 12 member States. He is a Board Member at the East Africa Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. In addition, Mr. Ngatia has held the rotational Chairmanship of the IGAD Business Council (consisting of 8 Countries) for the last two years, and recently handed over to the President of Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectorial Associations.
Mr. Ngatia is the Special Business Advisor to the Council of Governors, Patron at Health Relief International Kenya and Deputy Patron at the Kenya National Federation of Jua Kali Associations.
CEO
Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC)
Yofi Grant is a renowned Ghanaian investment banker with over 30 years of extensive work experience in banking and finance. Having served in various capacities in corporate finance, credits, marketing, and investment banking, Mr. Grant has broad knowledge and exposure in the African financial markets and has cultivated strong relationships with international private equity funds, portfolio investment managers and brokerage funds. He was responsible for the development and implementation of AAF SME Fund LLC, one of the largest agriculture funds in Sub-Saharan Africa, and helped them achieve their first close of US$30million.
Yofi is a council member of the Continental Business Network of the African Union which advises African governments on private sector finance and infrastructure and has served in many directorship roles in the following subsidiaries of the Databank Group. Databank Agrifund Manager Limited, Databank Financial Services Limited and Databank Brokerage Services Limited. In 2009, he was the Executive Director for Business Development for the entire Databank Group. Mr. Grant was a consultant on finance and business for the Africa Asia Business Forum (AABF) organized by the UNDP which run workshops in 12 African countries and six Asian countries in 2002.
He is partner and co-founder to a number of companies including Grant Dupuis Investment Limited, an investment advisory firm and Coldwell Banker Ghana a company which holds the master franchise license for Coldwell Banker (of the Realogy Group in New Jersey, USA, the world’s largest real estate organization) for Ghana and Nigeria. In addition to this, he recently co-founded Praxis Fortune Calibre, a firm that offers general business and investment advisory and consulting services across the continent.
He holds several supervisory board mandates in private sector companies in the telecommunications, commodities, and education sectors and has also played many policy advisory roles for government, particularly in private sector development. He was chairman of Ghana Telecom (One Touch), the Listing Committee of the Ghana Stock Exchange, and Venture Capital Association of Africa amongst other prestigious organizations.
Mr. Grant was also Special Advisor to the Minister for Private Sector Development between 2002 and 2006 where he advised and assisted the Minister with policy formulation and implementation and also on financing for private sector development projects.
Mr. Grant currently serves on the advisory boards of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and also a member of the board of trustees of the ACP Endowment and Trust Fund.
As the CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, it is Yofi's singular vision to make Ghana the 'Best place to do business in Africa'. He lives by the guiding principle of honesty, integrity and hard work. He also believes that everything is achievable and that it is only a question of faith in God, will, desire and focus.
Global Chairman
Fairfax Africa Fund, LLC (U.S.)
Zemedeneh is widely recognized as one of Africa’s top business leaders and has received numerous global awards and recognitions including:
An Ethiopian-American, Zemedeneh has lived in the U.S.,Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia.
He is the Global Chairman of the American private equity investment firm Fairfax African Fund, LLC, based in Washington D.C. Fairfax has invested millions of dollars in selected high performing Africa countries. Fairfax focuses on five sectors: manufacturing, infrastructure, natural resources, hospitality and Agro-processing.
Zemedeneh was the founder of Ernst & Young (EY) Ethiopia and had served as its Managing Partner for 18 years. He was also the Head of EY’s Transaction Advisory Services for East Africa and a member of the EY Africa Board. Prior to EY, he was with PwC in the U.S.
Zemedeneh regularly provides powerful and influential global thought leadership about finance, economics and investments and has been featured on CNN, BBC, the FT, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera and as a “Power Lunch” guest on CNBC. Furthermore, he has been invited to give speeches and as a panelist at high profile events such as the World Economic Forum (WEF), Harvard Business School, the Milken Global Summit in Los Angeles and Global Business Forum in Dubai.
He serves on numerous boards globally including: the international advisory board of the University of Texas at Dallas, School of Business; advisory board of InvestAfrica, based in London (UK), Belcash, a successful Fintech company based in the Netherlands and as Chairman of the Ethiopian subsidiary of Calzedonia, the multinational italian clothing manufacturer and retailer.
Zemedeneh has a business degree from Howard University, Washington D.C., completed the LSE program at the Harvard Business School, Boston and is a U.S. C.P.A.
Regional Representative - Middle East & Africa
DMCC
Mohammed Al Falasi is the Regional Representative – Middle East & Africa at DMCC (Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre), appointed to the role in September 2020.
Prior to Current position Mohammed held many senior roles at DMCC such as Manager Government Services & Senior Manager Business Relations.
Serving on DMCC’s corporate Sales & business development team, Mohammed oversees the company’s free zone operations and commercial growth plan as the world’s leading trade and enterprise hub for commodities.
Mohammed drives relations, partnership & collaborations development, and manages the SME & large companies’ profiles. Contribute generating revenue & customer satisfaction levels and creating an optimum business environment for DMCC members to grow their enterprise.
With expertise in the fields of government relations, Corporate Sales, and Operations Management, Mohammed is an integral part of the organization’s successful transformation policy.
Prior to joining DMCC in 2006, Mohammed held senior positions at Dubai Police as chief of telecommunication since 1996. Mohammed earned a Bachelor of Business Administrations & Relations from the American University - School of Business.
Researcher
Knight Frank Middle East
Tilda currently works as the researcher for Africa at Knight Frank focusing on commercial and residential market research across the continent.
She is tasked with producing market leading reports such as the Africa Report and Africa Horizons, thought leadership whitepapers and analysis on the office, retail, industrial, and residential markets as well as specialist property sectors such as healthcare, agriculture and data centres.
Alongside this, Tilda is regular speaker and panel host at key industry conferences in the Africa region and a regular contributor to regional and international media outlets including but not limited the BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC Africa.
