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The Governor of the Bank of Central African States since March 2017, Mr. Abbas Mahamat Tolli was born on June 4, 1972 in Abéché, in the Republic of Chad. He is a senior executive with extensive experience in public service and great leadership skills. During his rich career, he has held many leadership positions, both in the administration of his country, Chad, and at the level of the CEMAC region.

After completing his higher education at the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) in Paris and the University of Quebec, Mr Tolli joined the Chadian public administration where, through his work, skills and qualities, he quickly grew professionally. In 2001, he was requested to serve within the Ministry of Finance as Director of Customs and Indirect Duties, and in 2003, he assumed the responsibilities of Director of the Civil Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Chad.

In 2004, at the age of 32, Mr Tolli joined the Government as the Secretary of State for Finance. Between 2005 and 2008, he held positions successively of the Minister of Finance, Minister of Economy, Finance and Planning, and Minister of Finance and Information Technologies.

Building on his rich experience at national level focused on economic issues, Mr Tolli proceeded to broaden his engagement in the region. In 2008, he was asked to join the newly established Government of BEAC as the Secretary General. In 2011, as Chad was undertaking major infrastructure modernization projects, Mr Tolli was appointed to lead the Ministry of Infrastructure and Equipment. In 2012 he returned to work at the level of the CEMAC region as the Secretary General of the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC), after which in 2015 he held the position of President of the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC).

Since February 2017, the Governor has presided over the future of BEAC. In this capacity, he also serves as the Chairman of COBAC and BEAC Monetary Policy Committee.

Mr. Tolli is fluent in several languages, including Arabic, French and English.

A Chadian national, Ms Idrissou holds a Masters degree in Management and Business Administration from IAE- Faculty of Economics and Management in Orléans, France. Ms Idrissou has 25 years of experience within BEAC where she has held various positions. Her academic curriculum was complemented by additional training courses by institutions such as the IMF and the International Banking and Finance Institute of the Bank of France.

In her previous positions, Ms Idrissou performed functions including Head of the Credit and Money Market department, Head of the Credit and Central Risk department, Head of Department at the General Directorate of Operation, and Head of Internal Control at the General Secretariat of BEAC. She worked on various projects, such as the Balance Sheet Centre, the establishment of the public securities market in CEMAC, the implementation of internal controls within BEAC, and the development of procedure manuals.

Since 2019, Ms Idrissou has been the Director in charge of financial stability, banking activities, and financing of the economy. Her directorate’s mandate include the implementation of monetary policy, risk monitoring and financial stability, centralization of financial information, and the development of the regional strategy for financial inclusion.

Charlotte Waldraff is an advisor in GIZ’s Financial Systems Development program, specializing in sustainable finance policy development and the intersection between finance and nature.

Since joining GIZ in 2020, she has advised the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on sustainable finance and supported sustainable finance projects in Viet Nam, Indonesia, and Peru.

Previously, she worked in London for BNP Paribas’ Foreign Exchange and Local Markets division, covering European institutional investors. Charlotte holds a BA in Economics from Cambridge University and an MA in European History and Politics from Columbia University.

Danielle is a lawyer, a Business Law and Taxation graduate from Bordeaux IV University and a Bank and Insurance graduate from INSEC Bordeaux.

After her admission to the Court of Appeal of Bordeaux, Ms Bunduku-Latha joined various law firms in Paris, where she was trained in taxation, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and financial markets.

She returned to Central Africa to join COSUMAF in 2011, where she actively participated in the development of the stock market, first as a lawyer and then as the Chief of Staff to the President of COSUMAF.

Ms Banduku-Latha currently serves as the Secretary General of COSUMAF.

Danielle GUIAKAM K. NGUELA is Deputy Director in charge of Middle-Office in the Financial Operations Department at the Central Bank for Central African States (Banque des Etats de l’Afrique Centrale – BEAC) in Yaoundé. She leads a team in charge of implementing the risk management framework for foreign exchange reserves management and local currency portfolio. Her team also suggests recommendations on risk limits to the Investment Committee. Besides, she is part of the team in charge of developing sustainable finance in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).

During her 17 years at the Central Bank, she worked on settlements, cash management, and accounting within the Back-Office team. She also monitored operations and transactions between CEMAC member countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Danielle holds a Capital Markets Graduate Certificate from George Washington University, a Master’s degree in Legal and Financial engineering from Université de Rennes 1 – Institut de Gestion de Rennes, in France, and a National Diploma in Financial Management and Accounting from Ecole Nationale de Commerce et de Gestion d’Agadir, in Morocco. 

She speaks French (native) and English (proficient user) and is passionate about traveling

A graduate in international banking and finance, Mr Cisse Kouoh has more than 15 years of experience in financial markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria. His career started on the trading floor of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon, where he worked as a trader on foreign exchange and derivatives, and in the field of Asset Liability Management (ALM).

In 2016, Mr Cisse Kouoh joined the subsidiary of Attijariwafa Bank, where he managed collective investment schemes within CEMAC (ASCA Asset Management). In 2018 he was promoted to the position of Managing Director and in 2020 he became the Director General.
He is currently the President of the Professional Association of Asset Management Companies in Central Africa (ASGPAC).

Dr. Olaka was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) in October 2010. He is responsible for the strategic direction of the Association, covering industry advocacy, development, and sustainability.

Previously he was the Director of Operations of the East African Development Bank (EADB) based in Kampala after serving as the Resident Manager in Kenya. He earlier served the Bank as the Head of Risk Management and as the Chief Internal Auditor.

Before joining the Bank, he had been with Banque Indosuez (now Bank of Africa) as the Internal Auditor. He started his career at the PricewaterhouseCoopers, Nairobi in the Audit and Business Advisory Services Division. He sits on a number of boards representing the KBA. These are Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC), Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), National Research Fund (NRF), Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), and the Anti-Money Laundering Advisory Board (AMLAB) as alternate to KBA Chairman.

He is the National President of the Federation of Kenya Employers and the Chairman of the board of the Centre for Corporate Governance (CCG). He also sits on the board of the National Housing Corporation (NHC).

He holds a Doctor of Business Administration from USIU-Africa, a First-Class Honours BSc degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nairobi, and an MBA in Finance from the Manchester Business School in the UK. His DBA dissertation was on the influence of strategic leadership on the implementation of strategy in the commercial banks in Kenya.

He is a member of the Institute of the Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK). He is an alumnus of the Strathmore School of Accountancy, a Certified Executive Coach and has a good command of the French language.

Jean-Claude has been the Director of Multilateral Surveillance of CEMAC since May 2017. Before taking up this position, Mr Nguemeni was Chief of Staff of the CEMAC Commissioner in charge of Economic, Monetary, and Fiscal Policies from February 2013 to October 2017. In this position, he played an important role in setting up the new CEMAC multilateral surveillance system, which came into force in January 2017, and includes a rule of financial savings on oil resources to support CEMAC states to implement counter-cyclical budgetary policies. Since January 2015 Mr Nguemeni is also the Head of Multilateral Surveillance Mission for various CEMAC countries.

Mr Nguemeni has extensive experience in the development of macroeconomic policy frameworks for natural resources- rich countries. In his current position, he coordinates, among other things, the development of the Document of Economic Policies Directions (Document des Grandes Orientations des Politiques Economiques, GOPE) of the Member States and Regional Institutions of CEMAC, which is produced on an annual basis.

Between August 2010 and January 2013, before joining CEMAC, he worked at the Economic Analysis and Policy Division of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development of the Republic of Cameroon. During this time he also held a position of Assistant Researcher (Chargé d’Etudes Assistant n°1) in the Economic Policy Unit from October 2012 to January 2013.

Mr Nguemeni has a background in mathematics and is an engineer specialized in statistics and economics.

Jean Paterne Megne Ekoga is an engineer in polytechnic engineering and a transport economist. He also completed a curriculum in financial management and OHADA accounting. He has 25 years of professional experience, including 18 years in development finance in Africa.
The Vice-President of the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC) since March 31, 2023, he was the Director of Operations of BDEAC for 6 years.
Before joining BDEAC in October 207, Mr Megne Ekoga worked among others at the African Development Bank (AfDB) as Senior Transport Economist. He led or participated in the evaluation of numerous transport infrastructure projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of the Congo, Chad, Niger, Togo, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Burundi, Comoros, Madagascar, Morocco, and Cameroon.

A specialist in structured financing, Mr Megne Ekoga participated in the revitalization of the Community Development Fund (FODEC) and the establishment of the Blue Fund for Congo Basin (F2BC). He also coordinated financial resource mobilization within BDEAC.

He is a Knight of the National Order of Valor of the Republic of Cameroon and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the London Graduate School and Commonwealth University.

Born on December 4, 1983 in Oyem, Gabon, Jean Robert Obiang Obiang is a graduate of Omar Bongo University where he obtained a Master’s degree in Banking, Finance and Insurance. Mr Obiang Obiang is currently enrolled in Doctorate of Business Administration at Paris School of Business.
Mr Obiang Obiang started his career at BICIG, where he undertook a 6-months internship.

In December 2009, he joined a newly established microfinance institution Epargne & Developpement Gabon SA (EDG). He secured the necessary accreditations for the institution, and led two major projects, including the acquisition of the headquarters and domiciliation of the organization’s officials.

In 2014, Mr Obiang Obiang was appointed Deputy Managing Director, and three years later in 2017, Chairman-Managing Director.
As a young reformer, he joined the Professional Association of Microfinance Institutions of Gabon (APEMF-Gabon) in 2018 as a Vice-President, where he successfully led the establishment of a collective agreement for the microfinance sector in Gabon.

In March 2021, he became the first President of the Federation of Associations of Microfinance Institutions of CEMAC (FAPEMAC), where he has led key projects with the highest regional authorities, such as the opening of microfinance institutions accounts at BEAC.

Mr Obiang Obiang serves as the ambassador of the Thematic Working Group on capacity building of stakeholders for the development of CEMAC’s Regional Financial Inclusion Strategy (SRIF).

Joseph is currently the Director of the Project Management Office at the Bank of Ghana and also chairs the Internal Sustainability Committee at the Central Bank.

He was previously a Senior Country Officer at the International Finance Corporation. Prior to that, he also worked for 10 years as Bank Supervisor at the Bank of Ghana. 

Financial markets and green finance specialist, Mahamadi has more than 15 years of professional experience in capital market, corporate finance, equity valuation, mergers and acquisitions, structured finance, sustainable finance, blended finance, impact investment with a deep knowledge of WAMU financial market regulations.

Currently, as the Head of Sustainable Finance, he has actively participated in establishment of green, social, and sustainable bonds framework in WAMU capital market in line with the green bonds principles of the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) and Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) standard. Mahamadi and his team, work for greening economies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of WAEMU countries.

Mahamadi holds a master’s degree in Econometrics from the University of Toulouse Capitol and master’s degree in Finance from KEDGE Business School. He is a CFA Chartholder and obtained a certification in Sustainable Finance and Investment from the Yale School of Management (SOM).

Based in Washington DC, USA, Martine is responsible for global corporate governance investment risk management, the delivery of ESG advisory solutions, knowledge support to IFC staff and clients on best-in-class ESG risk management, and ESG-related technology and tools portfolio.

She also leads ESG capacity-building initiatives globally over various issues such as disclosure and transparency, sustainable finance, corporate governance for small-medium enterprises and women in business leadership.

She joined IFC in 2019 from Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP), where she held the role of Senior Director, Responsible Investment, inaugurating and leading the integration of ESG factors for PSP’s global public equities and bonds portfolio. Before joining PSP in 2016, Martine worked at Toronto Stock Exchange for fifteen years, where she held roles of increasing responsibilities.

In her last role as Director, Listed Issuer Services, she led a multi-disciplinary team of professionals tasked with listing companies and reviewing Canada’s principal stock exchange corporate finance transactions.

Martine is a McGill University graduate and holds a Master of Industrial Relations from Queen’s University and an M.B.A (Finance) from École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) in Montreal.

Mary is Director of the Sustainability (ESG) & Gender Solutions Department at the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
In addition, Mary is co-chair of the OECD-FAO Advisory Group on Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains; a member of the IFC-ILO Better Work Management Committee; and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of the Care Economy.

Mary, a United States national, joined IFC in 2004. Prior to her current role at IFC, Mary was the Director of the Global Advisory Solutions Department. She also previously served as Regional Head of Advisory Services in Latin America & the Caribbean, and Regional Head of Sustainable Business Advisory in the Middle East & North Africa. Before joining IFC, Mary held various positions in the public and private sectors, including Market Access International, an economic development consulting firm; St. Genevieve Group, a group of international mining companies; and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Mary holds a BA from George Washington University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from the University of Oxford.

Mr Ouanzin has been the Secretary General of the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC) since February 24, 2022, after having served as the Deputy Secretary General for nearly 7 years.

Before taking on these important responsibilities in the banking supervisory body of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), Mr Ouanzin had a long and rich career of nearly 30 years at the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), where he successively held the positions of the Head of Department, Deputy Director and Director.

Mr Ouanzin holds a doctorate and a DEA (Diplome d’Etudes Approfondies) in Management Sciences, two specialized graduate diplomas (DESS) in management control and organizational practice, and business administration, as well as a master’s degree in economics obtained from the Regional Institute of Management of the University of Bordeaux 1 and the University of Orleans.

Michel is the current Vice Governor of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC). He was appointed to this position on March 17, 2023 by the Heads of State of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), during their 15th ordinary session in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Mr Dzombala holds a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Monetary Economics, a Master’s degree in Finance and a Diploma of Higher Studies from the Institut Technique de Banque (ITB) in Paris, France.

Mr Dzombala has more than 33 years of experience in the central bank, including in various positions in the BEAC’s headquarters in Yaounde, including as Central Director (investment and heritage, systems and means of payment, IT and telecommunication, and research and financial stability); and in Congo, where he was National Director for 5 years (2017-2022), before joining the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC), as Deputy Secretary General.

Mr Dzombala has, among other engagements, actively participated in the work of reforming BEAC’s monetary policy.

Nuru is a subject matter expert on Sustainable Finance and Responsible Investment in Africa. She has spearheaded strategic initiatives aimed at reinforcing the financial sector’s role of being a core driver of sustainable economic development on the Continent. Her contributions towards Sustainable Finance policy formulation have led several industries through their bankers associations, including in Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania, towards adopting numerous progressive practices. And her Sustainable Finance capacity building work has been modelled by other countries, including Mongolia and Sri Lanka. While serving as director at Kenya Bankers Association, she designed and convened the Kenya Green Bond Program; the multi-stakeholder program resulted in pipeline research and the development of a green bond framework and a tax incentive which supported the first green bond in East and Central Africa that was issued by Acorn Holdings. She also developed KBA’s Digital Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities roadmap.

Dr. Olufunso Somorin is a Regional Principal Officer at the African Development Bank. He leads the Bank’s work on climate change and green growth in the 13 countries of the Bank’s East African region. This includes supporting countries’ access to climate finance for implementing their climate actions, and mainstreaming climate change in all Bank policies and programs.

He also leads policy dialogues with national/regional governments on developing policy frameworks for managing local/regional economic and social issues, climate change, renewable energy, resilience, and inclusive growth.

Between 2013 and 2017, he coordinated the Bank’s work on addressing fragility and building resilience within the Horn of Africa. In the last 12 years in the Bank, he has been directly involved in the design, appraisal, and supervision of more than 200 development projects across multiple sectors, worth about USD 18.5 billion.

Prior to joining the Bank in 2011, Somorin was an Associate Professional Officer with the Center for International Forestry Research, supporting climate-informed policies of six Central African countries through research. He has published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles on climate policy, natural resources management and environmental governance in many scientific journals.

Somorin holds a PhD in International Environmental Policy from Wageningen University, the Netherlands. He is an alumnus of executive education from Bradford, Cambridge and Oxford Universities in the UK. He gives guest-lectures at King’s College London, African Leadership University (Rwanda) and Strathmore University (Kenya).

Somorin is currently a Non-Resident Fellow at the Africa Policy Research Institute (Berlin) and a recipient of the Eisenhower Fellowships (US) for his work on climate change in East Africa.

Pierre Kam holds a doctorate in Economics from the University of Rennes 1 in France, a DEA (Diplome d’Etudes Approfondies) and a DES.

Mr Kam has 29 years of experience in finance and banking, including 14 years as a credit institutions manager (a subsidiary of the Afriland First Bank Group).

As the President of the Cameroon Leasing Association (CAMLEASE), he promoted draft bills for lease-purchase and factoring in Cameroon.

He currently holds positions of the Secretary general of APECCAM, Secretary General of the Federation of APEC CEMAC (since December 2018), and the Permanent Secretary of the Regional Committee for Financial Standardization of CEMAC (CORENOFI).

Mr Kam is also an associate lecturer and a member of the scientific committee of the Pan-African Institute for Development (IPD), and a part-time lecturer at the University of Yaounde II-Soa.

Quyen joined IFC in 2005 and managed IFC sustainability initiatives in the Mekong region, including energy efficiency & clean energy finance and environmental management programs. She has been working in FIG global team since 2012, providing capacity building and climate transaction support for banks in Asia and Africa.

She developed and managed a number of global initiatives, such as the Sustainable Banking Network, the technical assistance programs for green bond market development in relation to the Amundi EGO fund and HSBC’s REGIO Fund, the distributed solar projects for Africa and Asia, the greening financial sector program, and climate risk management advisory services. She led climate transactions and advisory activities with multiple banks in Asia and Africa.

Before IFC, Quyen had ten years of experience in rural development and sustainability initiatives in the Mekong region. She holds a MA degree in International Development/Economics from University of Leeds (UK), and MBA degree from University of Nottingham (UK).

Based in Cairo, Riccardo also leads climate finance advisory in Africa and is a regional coordinator for the Sustainable Banking & Finance Network (SBFN). 

Riccardo supports commercial banks, leasing companies and microfinance institutions on the development of, and funding for, Sustainable Energy Finance products. Over the last few years, he has also led advisory projects for the development of green, social and sustainability bond guidelines in Africa.

In the past, Riccardo had also worked as a regional banker leading business development on direct lending for renewable and energy efficiency projects in the Western Balkans, and as Strategy & Finance advisor in the energy sector.

Rong Zhang leads IFC’s support to the Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Networks and Thought Leadership. In her role, she manages ESG global advisory programs and knowledge products to build capacity of clients and ESG practitioners, and convene networks to support government and market over various issues such as sustainable and climate finance, ESG standards, SDGs, disclosure and transparency, women in business leadership.

Rong Zhang is instrumental to build and expand the IFC-supported Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (SBFN) which is a public-private partnership platform convening financial regulators and industry associations from emerging markets committed to advancing the sustainable finance agenda. The Network was established in 2012 and is currently represented by 47 countries from the emerging markets.

She represents IFC and SBFN in various international sustainable finance fora and networks including the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (G20 SFWG), the EU International Platform for Sustainable Finance (EU IPSF) and the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS).

Prior to joining IFC in 2004, she spent over 10 years in the private sector in various capacities, providing governments and companies with strategic counsel and program implementation across the full spectrum of sustainability issues.

Vincent is the Research Coordinator for the IFC-facilitated Sustainable Banking and Finance Network, a global platform convening 78 financial regulators and industry associations from 63 emerging markets. In his role, Vincent leads the development of knowledge products and thought leadership in collaboration with SBFN member institutions, including SBFN’s Measurement Framework, which serves as the basis for SBFN’s flagship benchmarking of national progress on sustainable finance in emerging markets.

A sustainable finance and ESG policy, standards, and risk management expert working with financial institutions, regulators, and companies on sustainability and climate-related strategies, Vincent has over a decade of experience ranging from high-level policy advice to on-the-ground implementation of climate and ESG policies and standards.

At IFC and in his previous role as a sustainable finance consultant, Vincent has worked on multiple projects involving complex ESG issues, and has supported key sustainable finance initiatives globally.

Wenxin is an Operations Officer in the Climate Business Department of IFC, promoting sustainability and climate finance in the Infrastructure Department and across all other industry departments.

Previously, she worked in the climate business team of Financial Institutions Groups.

Before joining IFC, she was a Program Officer in the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Yaseen Lockhat is a sustainability specialist with a focus on sustainable finance and climate risk. He holds an MSC in Development Planning from the University of the Witswatersand and has been with the Banking Association South Africa for the past five years.

Yaseen provides strategic support to banks with a view of shaping policies and frameworks that mitigate climate-related risks and promote sustainable development.

As a member of the Climate Risk Forum, which BASA is the secretariat of, Yaseen has been responsible for most of the organization’s work in this Forum and represents BASA on both local and international platforms.

Yaseen has a passion for sustainability and believes in the power of finance to drive positive change and is committed to leveraging his skills and knowledge to advance the sustainable finance agenda.

Yasser supervises the approval of issuer prospectuses as well as their compliance with ongoing information obligations. He is also actively involved in many regulatory projects and working groups aimed at market development, such as sustainable finance, where he had a significant contribution in drafting the Moroccan guidelines for Green, Social and Sustainability Bonds.

Yasser joined the AMMC in 2008 where he held several positions before being appointed as Head of Corporate Finance and Financial Disclosure. Prior to joining the AMMC, he was responsible for internal auditing at a multinational company. Yasser serves as the Chair of the Sustainability Working Group of the IOSCO AMERC committee

Yasser holds a master’s degree in corporate finance from Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (Morocco).