Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u

CS, National Treasury & Economic Planning.

Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u is the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury & Economic Planning. He was appointed Cabinet Secretary by President William Samoei Ruto on September 27, 2022. Prior to the current appointment, Prof. Ndung’u was serving as the Executive Director of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), a Pan African premier capacity building network of researchers, trainers, students, universities, policy makers and international resource persons. He is an associate professor of economics at the University of Nairobi, Kenya and the immediate former Governor, Central Bank of Kenya.

Kelvin Massingham

Director, Risk and Resilience, FSD Africa.

A qualified Actuary by training, Kelvin brings to this role over 20 years’ experience in inclusive insurance and in leading and growing financial services organisations in complex environments. He is a financial services professional and entrepreneur with a passion for accelerating financial and health inclusion. Prior to joining FSD Africa, Kelvin started several companies in East Africa and Asia with a focus on addressing the needs of emerging consumers through digital financial solutions.

As Director of Risk, Kelvin is responsible for driving market innovation in Africa in risk management and transfer.

Kelvin is a South African but has spent the last 7 years living in Tanzania and Kenya. He is married with 3 children and loves training for and competing in triathlons.

Elias Omondi

Principal, Innovation for Resilience, FSD Africa

Elias has over 10 years of experience in developing policies and regulations in the financial sector. He leads the development and implementation of programmes that work to improve the enabling environment for risk markets in Africa to drive systemic change in the market for insurance and other risk management instruments at FSD Africa.

Previously, Elias worked as an Actuary at the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) of Kenya where he was instrumental in the development and implementation of risk-based regulations and automation of supervisory processes and tools in the insurance sector. He also supported market innovation, designing, and testing innovative mechanisms of risk management through the formulation of the Regulatory Sandbox (BimaBox) and InsurTech Accelerator Platform (BimaLab)

Elias worked on various international technical assistance projects for the World Bank, IMF and GIZ assisting over 15 regulatory bodies in the insurance, pensions and capital markets sector in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean to strengthen their regulatory and supervisory frameworks.

Elias holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Actuarial Management from Cass Business School, United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Actuarial Science, with IT from Maseno University. He is an Associate Actuary of The Actuarial Society of Kenya (TASK) and Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFOA), United Kingdom.

Mark Napier

CEO, FSD Africa.

Mark is the CEO of FSD Africa.  Mark’s early career (1989-2003) was in investment banking in the City of London where he advised growth companies on M&A and capital raising. He has now been involved in financial sector development in Africa for well over a decade.

From 2004-2009 he was CEO of FinMark Trust, based in Johannesburg. He then moved back to London where he became an independent consultant specialising in financial sector development in developing countries, mainly in Africa.  He joined CDC, the UK’s development finance institution, as Director of Investment Innovation from 2011-2012 and moved to Nairobi to set up FSD Africa up in December 2012.

Mark has written papers and articles on financial sector development and was commissioning editor for a 2010 book of case studies on financial innovation in Africa – Real Money, New Frontiers. He has an MA in modern languages from Cambridge University.

Leigh Stubblefield

Deputy British High Commissioner to Kenya.

Leigh Stubblefield is Deputy High Commissioner and Development Director to Kenya.

Other senior roles include Acting Director of the FCDO’s Office for Conflict, Stabilisation and Mediation and Deputy Director in the cross-Government Stabilisation Unit. She had an earlier posting with DFID in Kenya (2006-11) as well as Mozambique, Malawi and Bangladesh.

Prior to joining the Civil Service she worked for environmental research and international development organisations in East Africa and South-East Asia.

She is married and has two children.

Stefan Huber

Director, Swiss Re Foundation.

Stefan has a master’s degree in geography from the University of Zurich. From 2001 to 2005 and from 2008 to 2015, he worked as a corporate social responsibility consultant at BHP-Brugger and Partners, in 2012 becoming both an executive committee member and company partner.

From 2005 to 2008, Stefan served as a project manager and an executive committee member at a foundation in Quito, Ecuador, to help a local social entrepreneur launch a recycling business.

As a consultant, Stefan developed tailor-made corporate social responsibility strategies for businesses and corporate foundations, taking account of the specific value chain of each client. He also designed impact management systems in his focus area of strategic corporate philanthropy. Stefan joined the Swiss Re Foundation in 2016 as Deputy Head and Senior Manager Operations and Portfolio.

Godfrey Kiptum

Commissioner of Insurance & CEO, IRA Kenya.

Mr. Kiptum is the Commissioner of Insurance & Chief Executive Officer. Prior to his appointment, he was the Authority’s Chief Manager for Human Capital and Administration- a position he held for 10 years and implemented various Human Resource Systems and Processes.

He sits on the Boards of the Retirement Benefits Authority and Policyholders Compensation Fund. He is also a Trustee of the Insurance Training and Education Trust and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors.

Ted Pantone

Co-founder & CEO, Turaco.

Startup leader with a tenacious appetite to get things done. Proven track record of helping young business and entrepreneurially minded teams getting their projects to the next level.

Launched 4 startups, raised $20M+, invested in 50+ businesses

Passionate about achieving results and delivering the numbers by unlocking the brilliance in people.

Strengths: Leadership and Influence, Excellent Communicator and Negotiator, Customer Experience, Product Development, Business Case Development and Vetting, Inquisitive, Conscientious, People Oriented, Presentation, Planning and Organizing, Coach, Mentor, Motivator

Donald Were

Head of Actuarial and Financial Services, Acentria Group.

Donald is the Head of Actuarial and Financial Services at Acentria Group. He is a qualified actuary and a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in United Kingdom. He holds an MSc in Actuarial Management from Bayes Business School in London, and a Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science with Information Technology.

He is an expert in actuarial techniques and risk management, with great interest in innovation and how tech and finance can be merged to deliver sustainable financial solutions. He has worked on numerous innovative projects, including development of a reinsurance pricing and optimization tool, to guide (re)insurance companies in impact assessment of reinsurance and retro structures.

He is also an expert in the IFRS17 reporting standard and the current secretary to the TASK IFRS Working Party. Before joining Acentria, Donald was responsible for guiding Jubilee Holding Limited in transitioning to the IFRS17 reporting standard across 4 countries in East Africa, namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi. He also worked for the Insurance Regulatory Authority in Kenya, where he was responsible for actuarial analytics and driving innovation.

Dr. Isaac Nzyoka

Group Chief Operations Officer, Old Mutual East Africa.

Dr.Isaac Nzyoka is the Group Chief Operations Officer - Old Mutual East Africa. Previously he held the OML Executive Head of Digital and Data position at Old Mutual Africa Regions (OMAR) where he led the work on digital strategy across the group’s 12 countries in Africa.

He has over 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry, 13 of those with the Group rising from the role of a Claims Analyst in the Medical Section of UAP Insurance to hold key leadership positions including General Manager - Health & Customer Experience for UAP Insurance, Group Managing Director - Health Business and Acting Managing Director - UAP Insurance Kenya. In these roles, he has been instrumental in driving a customer experience strategy for the East Africa region. In between his tenure with the group, Isaac spent eight years at Aon, the leading insurance broker in Kenya, rising to the position of a Divisional Director, before returning to the group in 2011.

Isaac has also held industry leadership positions including being a member of the General Insurance Council and Chair of the Medical Committee of the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI), and Chair of the Healthcare Financing Committee of Kenya Healthcare Federation. He’s also a member of the Institute of Directors and is a director in several companies in Kenya & Malawi.

He has a wealth of experience and holds several professional qualifications which include Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) - Paris School of Business, Corporate Governance, Centre for Corporate Governance, among others.

Evah Kimani

Director, Partnerships & Digital

Evah is a passionate and experienced products & partnerships expert with over 15 years’ experience and a strong footprint in ICT, Digital Channels, and Products Marketing roles. She has worked across telco, ICT and FSI industries leading teams and portfolios responsible for building and growing new revenues, customer-focused digital solutions and channels, and cross-sector shared-value partnerships. She has a postgraduate degree in Business Administration (MBA) and a Bachelor’s degree in computer Science from the University of Nairobi.

Mario Wilhelm

Head Middle East & Africa, Public Sector Solutions, Swiss Re Foundation

Mario Wilhelm is Head Middle East & Africa with Swiss Re's Public Sector Solutions team, a unit dedicated to supporting governments at all levels to strengthen their resilience strategies. Mario helps public sector stakeholders to address their risk management needs by co-creating innovative insurance solutions within a public- private-partnership framework.

Mario joined Swiss Re in 2011 and until recently, he was leading the Emerging Consumer / Microinsurance unit. He has several years of experience with different international insurance and reinsurance companies. He started his career as a banker with a regional bank in Germany.

Mario completed his Ph.D. studies at the University of Passau, Germany. His thesis focused on the adaptation strategies to disasters and climate change in megacities. He holds a degree in Southeast Asian Studies and a degree in Business Administration from the Baden- Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University.

The Swiss Re Group is a leading wholesale provider of reinsurance, insurance and other insurance-based forms of risk transfer. Swiss Re deploys its capital strength, expertise and innovation power to enable the risk taking upon which enterprise and progress in society depend.

Sibongile Siwela

Director of Insurance and Microinsurance at Insurance and Pensions Commission(IPEC) ZIMBABWE

Sibongile Siwela is the Director of Insurance and Microinsurance at the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) in Zimbabwe. She has over 30 years working experience in the insurance industry.

Sibongile joined the Insurance and Pensions Commission in 2019 as the Director of Insurance and Microinsurance. Prior to that she worked for a leading life insurance company for 27 years, where she served in various managerial positions in the insurance value chain and gained invaluable experience in insurance business. She has 4 years insurance regulatory experience.

Her responsibilities at IPEC include among others: Prudential Supervision and Market conduct regulation to ensure financial soundness of the insurance industry and the protection of policyholders as well as development and innovation of the insurance industry.

She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Risk Management and Insurance from the National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe (NUST). She also holds a Diploma in Insurance with the Insurance Institute of Zimbabwe (IIZ).

Kato Kepha

Research Officer, IRA Uganda

Kato Kepha is a Research Officer and a member of the sandbox committee at the Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda. He has a strong academic background in Economics, with a master’s degree from Makerere University, a postgraduate diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation from Uganda Technology and Management University, and a first-class bachelor’s degree in Economics from Kyambogo University. He is also pursuing a diploma in insurance from the Insurance Training College. He has lead and participated in over five insurance related research projects at IRA. He has worked as an Assistant Lecturer in Economics at Kyambogo University for nine years and has published one paper. He is a distinguished economics researcher, passionate for innovation in insurance.

Robert Kuloba

Director – Research, Innovation, Policy and Strategy, Insurance Regulatory Authority, Kenya.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: Robert is currently the Director, Research, Innovation, Policy and Strategy at the Insurance Regulatory Authority, Kenya. He has previously served as Senior Officer, Policy and Strategy at the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commissioner, Assistant Director, Research and Corporate Planning, Kenya Utalii College, Senior Lecturer and Manager, Research and Consultancy at the Kenya School of Government and Research Officer and Socio Economist at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute – Trypanosomiasis Research Centre. He has been previously recognized and commended by the Prime Minister Kenya for unfading loyalty to serving the Nation when he served as a member of the National Organizing Committee during the Africa Public Service Day celebrations held in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania in 2009. Robert is an Economist and has attended various leadership, management and policy trainings.

In addition, he has knowledge and experience in various sectors – Governance, Tourism and Hospitality, Public Administration, Agriculture and Health. Robert has public sector knowledge spanning 28 years with 13 years of which has been in the financial sector/insurance industry. Within the insurance industry, Robert has been involved in various assignments touching on strategy, policy, and regulatory framework for the insurance industry in Kenya with key initiatives touching on promoting development of the insurance industry.

Salma Berrada

Head, Innovation & Insurtech, ACAPS, Morocco

Salma is an engineer and actuary. She currently leads the Innovation & Insurtech unit at ACAPS. Previously, she served as the project manager for the chairman and conducted the Risk-Based Solvency (SBR) reform project, especially on Pillar 1 and Pillar 3 aspects. Salma also coordinated the Inclusive Insurance Working Group as part of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy. A notable achievement was the regulation of the micro-insurance definition and enabling payment institutions to distribute micro-insurance.

Helen Osore

Head of Inclusive Finance, APA Insurance

Helen is a seasoned Microinsurance practitioner with over 20 year’s experience in both urban and rural set-ups backed with successful turnaround initiatives. Her focus on innovation and market-led solutions has seen her pioneer many firsts in the mass market space: among them, the first 100% cash free microfinance in the World and the Pioneer Manager of the first Deposit Taking Microfinance Bank in Kenya. Helen’s experience in Microfinance, Bancassurance and Microinsurance has given her the opportunity to develop microinsurance solutions, frameworks and processes that improve the competitive positioning and promote the brand value of Organizations. Helen holds an MBA in Strategic Manager and BCOM Honors in Marketing.

Adelaide Odhiambo

Founder & CEO, Bluewave

FORBES AFRICA TOP 20 WOMAN MAKING AN IMPACT IN AFRICA

Adelaide Odhiambo is a leading insurance expert with close to 20 years experienced in designing, developing and managing both conventional and micro insurance products.

An actuarial science graduate of the University of Nairobi, Adelaide launched her career in the insurance industry where she went on to work with top brands designing innovative insurance products for them. She has developed her 20 years expertise on Insurance related issues having worked with top brands including Airtel, Jubilee Insurance, AIG, APA and Barclays globally. Adelaide is currently the Partnership Lead for AIG's leading 8 markets in Asia Pacific.

An inherent creative, Adelaide founded Bluewave insurance in 2016, a start-up Insurance company that creates innovative Microinsurance solutions for the mass market that are accessible and affordable. By providing Micro insurance products accessible through mobile technology, Bluewave is disrupting the Insurance industry and serving underserved markets that have yet to be addressed by insurance companies because they tend not to focus on the low-income earners. As a result, Bluewave seeks to play a key role in improving Insurance uptake and penetration in Kenya, then Africa which is currently at 3% and 6 % respectively. Adelaide's vision is to use her experience to create innovative insurance products that are affordable and accessible to the very people who need it most and thereby help eradicate poverty in Kenya

Adelaide is driven by a personal sense of responsibility to change the world; one person's life and leave them better than she found him/her and therefore she look out for opportunities where a relatively small effort will make a large impact. It is this personal sense of responsibility that she has built her company on.

Hazel King'ori

Lead, PR, Research & Education AKI

With a career spanning over a decade in strategic communications and public relations in both the public and private sectors, Hazel Kingóri is a seasoned professional known for driving impactful campaigns ad fostering stakeholder engagement. Currently serving as the Manager of Public Relations and Research at the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI), Hazel plays a pivotal role in shaping the industry narrative, enhancing brand visibility, and contributing to AKI’s success.