UK Export Finance Supplier Fair: Ministerial City Project, Benin

A civil engineer with two decades of experience in the construction industry in regional and international roles, Aaron is in charge of client relations, new markets and ECA transactions.

Director-General of the Public Debt Management Office under the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Benin.

David Jamieson has been the UK’s Honorary Consul to Benin since 2016. He previously worked in the oil & gas sector before moving into General Management in the cement manufacturing Industry mainly in Francophone West Africa. He has worked as a Country Manager/ Managing Director in Benin, Congo Brazzaville, Ghana, and Gabon where he was also the Norwegian and Swedish Consul General. He has an MBA from the University of Essex and is a member of the Institute of Leadership and Management(ILM).

Having worked for UK Export Finance for seven years, Jane has recently joined the London and South East team of Export Finance Managers. Her focus is to identify opportunities for companies to win contracts, raise finance and ensure they get paid. She previously worked as a credit analyst and a relationship manager in the banking sector, supporting internationally trading companies. Jane has also held a number of finance and risk management roles in both the construction and energy sectors for Tarmac and Transco. Whilst working for Transco she was also responsible for managing the credit risk arising in the gas shipper community, working closely with Ofgem, through an industry credit committee. Jane is a graduate member of the Institute of Export.

Steven, based in Ghana, is an accomplished senior manager, seasoned in 30+ years of demanding multinational roles spanning challenging societal and economic environments across Africa and the Middle East within the trading, logistics, construction, infrastructure and mining sectors. As UK Export Finance representative in West Africa, Steven is responsible for originating a pipeline of new opportunities across the West African sub-region. Steven has held a number of non governmental organisation board positions, including Vice Chairman of the UK Ghana Chamber of Commerce, UK, 2016–Present; as the Governing Board Member of the Western Regional Coastal Foundation, Ghana, 2015–2017; and as Board Member of Invest In Africa, Ghana, 2013–2016. Mr Gray has a MBA from Heriot Watt University; and has completed an Executive Leadership Program on Oil, Gas and Mining Governance from the University of Oxford, The Blavatnik School of Government.

Doing business in Africa for the last 21 years, Geoffrey founded Dints International in 2007 which is a rapidly growing supply chain business and technology business with sustainability at its core. Geoffrey is passionate about international trade and the potential it has to drive sustainable development. As the Co-Chairman of the British Exporters Association he represents the interest of SMEs and our financial partners to UK Government.

The first ever UK Trade Commissioner for Africa, leading UK Government trade and investment teams located in 23 African countries, representing over 80% of Africa's GDP. Our task is to increase the value and volume of UK-Africa trade and investment, including through establishing enabling trade policy arrangements and addressing market access barriers, to support UK companies to trade and invest more in Africa.

Nick is a fellow of the ICAEW and of the Association of Corporate Treasurers. Nick has been CFO of ACC Group since April 2016 and is responsible for all financial reporting , accounting , audit and risk functions of the group. He has experience across multiple geographic regions and with multinational listed and private entities.

Vomic Nur Shah is the Head of Origination at UK Export Finance (UKEF), leading UKEF’s international business development activities. UKEF is the UK’s export credit agency with a mission to ensure that no viable UK export falls for lack of finance or insurance. It supports long term economic growth and competitiveness by complementing the private market with insurance for exporters, loan guarantees to banks, and support for and provision of loans to overseas buyers of UK goods and services. Vomic is a seasoned professional in international finance with a career spanning over 15 years. Before moving to public service in Her Majesty’s Government, Vomic held various leadership positions in investment banking in international financial institutions in London. During his career, Vomic has originated and executed cross-border transactions globally, and has worked closely with both the private sector and state authorities. He has had a particular focus on emerging markets providing both strategic advice as well as delivering structured financing solutions for projects across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.

Based in Dubai, Humaya Harati is part of Deutsche Bank Structured Trade Export Finance team. In her role, she works closely with borrowers and exporters to structure ECA backed financings to support infrastructure projects and development in the Middle East and Africa. With 15+ years of experience in the financial industry, Humaya believes that international banks can play a key role in channeling liquidity and adequate funding to support nations in Africa achieve sustainable economic development. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, she worked as coverage at Citi where she was responsible for a portfolio of Middle-Eastern financial institutions and corporate clients, helping them raise debt in various forms (including capital instruments) as well as supporting their day to day commercial banking needs. Originally from Brazil, Humaya grew up in Senegal and is fluent in Arabic, English, French and Portuguese. She holds a BA in Finance and an MBA. Humaya is married and has two young boys.