department: Capital Markets

Cecilia Bjerborn Murai brings 25 years of experience in international and African settings, where she has been involved in developing and implementing programs and projects that focus on sustainable finance policy, investment strategies and instruments, and investor education.  She has been an active player in the global sustainable business and finance sector since its inception and has throughout her career established impactful strategies and partnerships for institutions engaged in sustainable finance.

She has worked for over 15 years with the United Nations and the World Bank Group. During this time, she worked on global initiatives such as the UN Principles for Responsible Investing and at IFC as Global Sustainable Investing Lead with institutional investors in the US, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East and Southern Africa on their ESG integration strategies.  She was part of pioneering projects such as the implementation of the first ESG equity indices in Brazil, MENA, and India. Before her work with the World Bank Group, she gained experience working for specialist sustainability management consulting firms in Sweden and the UK implementing Environmental and Social Management Systems (ESMS) and reporting for clients in the construction, manufacturing, and utilities sectors.

She has spent the last decade living and working in Africa, primarily in transaction advisory for sustainable infrastructure as well as developing the Green and Sustainable Bond Market as a consultant for FSD Africa, creating sustainable bond listing guidelines in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, and the SADC region, and providing training and technical support for green bond issuers, stock exchanges, fund managers, and regulators. She has also authored several market-leading Sustainability and Integrated Annual Reports for private sector companies in Kenya. She was a technical regional advisor for the EU Global Gateway project and led the Climate Finance pillar of the first African Climate Summit. Following that, she developed a program on debt sustainability initiatives and sustainable investment mobilization for UNECA and the African Union.

Cecilia holds an MSc in Environmental Engineering from Imperial College UK, is an Associate Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (AMIEM) UK and holds a certificate in Project Management from George Washington University, USA.

She enjoys spending time in nature with her family and supports the primary school’s extracurricular activities related to conservation and beach sports.

We are glad to announce that Lilian has joined the team in the role of Assistant, Capital Markets within the Capital Markets team. Previously she has interned with FSD Africa and later worked as a consultant for a period of one year. She had also interned with Kenya Power and Lighting Company.

Lilian is a passionate individual with a wide range of interests. She possesses a love for data and its potential to create positive change.

Lilian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Financial Economics from Strathmore University and is a recent graduate of the McKinsey & Co. Forward Programme that equips young talent with must-have practical skills to help them succeed in the future of work. Currently, Lilian is on course to becoming a certified Gender Equality Champion.

Outside of work, her interests include reading stories by African writers, watching National Geographic channel, sports and spending time in the great outdoors.

Evelyne is a passionate Programme Coordinator with over 6 years of experience in coordinating different projects. She previously worked at MicroSave Consulting (MSC) a boutique consulting firm where she was responsible for training and project coordination at The Helix Institute of Digital Finance, the training arm of MSC. Some of her responsibilities included administration, logistics, marketing and communications, relationship management and alumni relations.

She holds a Diploma in Project Management and a bachelors degree in Business Administration from the Kenya Methodist University.

Joy is a Financial Sector Professional with a six years combined experience in banking operations and capital markets.

Joy previously worked at the Capital Markets Authority in Kenya (CMA Kenya). She was charged with reviewing new licence applications and approval requests whilst conducting compliance monitoring on existing market intermediaries. She is passionate about fintech and was a member of the Sandbox Review Committee (SRC) at CMA Kenya.

Prior to joining CMA Kenya, she worked with Citibank N.A as an Operations Assistant, supporting the Cash & Tellers and Operations teams. She is an alumnus of the Equity Bank Leadership Program, which was her entry to the corporate career space. She served at the branch level in different operations departments prior to joining the University of Nairobi.

Joy has a Master of Arts Degree in Economics and a Bachelors Degree in Economics, from the University of Nairobi. She is currently pursuing the CFA qualification (currently a Level 2 candidate). She is also a Certified Bank Graduate from Kenya Bankers Association.

Outside work, Joy loves spending time with family and friends, visiting new places and working on the farm.

Amos has 8 years of experience in investments and capital markets from working in Africa and in the U.S and across the public and private sectors.

He has been working as an investment professional at the Central Bank of Kenya managing the Foreign Exchange Reserves portfolio where he informed the tactical and strategic asset allocation of the portfolio, investment strategy, portfolio construction, analyzed investment risks, created and maintained quantitative models, performed due diligence on investment counterparties and conducted international markets research.

Amos previously worked at CrowdStrike in Silicon Valley, California in the Capital Markets team preparing the company for its IPO listing, debt capital raising, corporate development as well as analysis and investor relations.

Amos holds a Masters degree in Finance and Investments and a Bachelors degree in Finance from the University of Nairobi. He has undertaken a graduate program in in capital markets from the George Washington University. He also holds the Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) and CPA professional designations and is a fellow of the IFC-Milken Institute Capital Markets Program.

Brian is an investment and capital markets professional. At FSD Africa he manages the implementation of capital markets development initiatives and programmes in close collaboration with implementing and strategic partners including; governments, policymakers, regulators, industry associations among other stakeholders. Alongside the various stakeholders, Brian has successfully led in the design and development of some of the innovative capital markets development programmes and projects currently being implemented. Among Brian’s areas of interest are; alternative investments and maximizing their potential especially in Africa, Financial Technology, and leveraging technology to enhance the value proposition in capital markets, debt markets enhancement and sustainability, and sustainable finance.

Brian has previously worked at the Capital Markets Authority Kenya, Kenya Industrial Estates Limited and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

Brian holds two masters level qualifications in Mathematical Finance and Financial Engineering in addition to a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Statistics.

He holds the following professional qualifications; CFA charter and Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) from the CFA Institute (USA), CAIA charter from the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (USA), Diploma in Capital Markets and Certificate in Securities from the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (UK), Certified Expert in Sustainable Finance from the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (GER). He is also a member of the Institute of Certified Investment and Financial Analysts, Kenya.

Jemima has over 15 years of experience in the development sector in Africa, gained from designing, managing and monitoring large development programmes in various countries on the continent. She believes Africa can contribute significantly to the global economy and sees finance as a key enabler for Africa’s growth and its role globally.

At FSD Africa, Jemima is the Head of Programmes, Capital Markets, leading a team of professionals in developing a coherent programme of work in capital markets. She is responsible for programme strategy, project design, project management and implementation, resource planning, budget management, monitoring and measuring results, risk management, knowledge management and communication to drive the impact of FSD Africa’s capital markets work.

Jemima is also the Lead Coordinator for FSD Africa’s work in Ethiopia. She manages FSD Africa’s relationship with FCDO, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other stakeholders in Ethiopia, driving collaboration amongst FSD Africa’s delivery pillars, reporting on the status of the Ethiopia portfolio, identifying strategic opportunities and relationships and identifying and managing emerging country risks. Jemima led the establishment of the FSD Ethiopia entity, launched in May 2022.

Before joining FSD Africa, Jemima was a Senior Manager in KPMG’s International Development Advisory Services practice. She designed and executed development programmes for governments, the private sector, and bilateral, multilateral and philanthropic partners. She managed Africa-focused private sector development programmes in the agricultural and rural finance sectors. Jemima has worked in various African countries and the USA.

Jemima holds an MPhil in Development Finance (Cum Laude) from Stellenbosch University Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She is a Fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA). She also holds various professional certifications in Climate Finance, Agricultural Finance, Digital Economic Development, Results-based Management and Leadership.

Sandy is a Sustainable Finance Expert with over 7 years experience in implementing initiatives and projects in Sub Saharan Africa.

Prior to joining FSD Africa, he was an acting Regional Manager for Sustainable Investments and Regional Sustainable Finance Expert at WWF where he Co-led a Regional Sustainable Investments Programme (UK and Norway donor funded) and led the Africa Sustainable Finance hub. Through the programme he coordinated WWF’s technical input towards development of Green Finance in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar with links to China. At WWF he has additionally served as a project manager supporting the development of multi sector Bankable Nature Solutions (BNS), as part of support to the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD); he was core member of the Africa Sustainable Investment (ASI) programme Technical Advisory Group; a member of the Global Finance Practice Core Team; a member of the Green Finance ACAI community and extensively engaged with the Global Governance Practice supporting sustainable infrastructure work in Africa.

He was previously a Senior Finance Analyst within the Corporate Finance business at Deloitte East Africa; where he supported various buy-side & sell-side transaction advisory assignments including valuation of manufacturing, Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Rwanda, telecommunication, agriculture, energy, banking and automotive sector entities in East Africa; executing deals worth between USD 1M to USD 50M.

He has also worked as a Consultant at UN-HAHBITAT within the Global Urban Observatory (GUO) and was an Investment Analyst at a hedge fund in London Canary wharf.

Sandy possesses a MSc Finance, Investment and Risk degree from the University of Kent (Canterbury, UK), BSc Actuarial Science from Jomo Kenyatta University (JKUAT) and a Certificate in Sustainable Finance from Oxford University (Oxford, UK).

Outside work Sandy enjoys travelling, sports, culture, and innovation.

Adebayo has over ten years of capital markets experience across transaction & advisory, securities regulation, strategy, and regulatory development. He has implemented various capital market regulatory initiatives, including developing market rules, review programs for listed companies and supervision framework for market intermediaries.

Adebayo joined FSD Africa from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Nigeria, a Senior Manager in PwC Nigeria’s Capital Markets Advisory practice. He supported clients in implementing capital raising strategies, including initial public offerings (IPOs), dual-track processes, and debt issuances in domestic and international markets. He worked with clients at every stage of the transaction life cycle, from conducting transaction readiness assessments and due diligence to post-listing support. He also supported capital market stakeholders such as stock exchanges, financial regulators, and development finance institutions to execute market development initiatives, conduct capital market research studies and market assessments, and design a capital market master plan.

Before joining PwC, Adebayo worked as a Team Lead in the Market Surveillance and Investigations Department of the NGX Regulation Limited (formerly the Nigerian Stock Exchange), where he coordinated the Exchange’s investigation activities on brokerage firms across all assets classes. While at the NGX, he developed and operationalised the Exchange’s investigation and enforcement frameworks as part of the new regulatory approach adopted. He also represented the Exchange on market-wide committees and forums.

Before NGX Regulation, Adebayo worked, in various capacities, at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria. He spent almost six years at the SEC, serving in two significant teams the Prudential Supervision and Enforcement Divisions. While at SEC, Adebayo participated in many capital market development projects, policies and programmes. He represented the SEC at various inter-agency programs and supported law enforcement agencies in securities law investigations; he acted as an expert witness in multiple securities litigation cases at the Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC) and the Federal High Court.

Adebayo holds a Masters’ degree in finance from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, and he is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).