Samaila Zubairu is new chief at the Africa Finance Corporation as veteran Andrew Alli steps down
The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), has a new President and Chief Executive Officer – Samaila Zubairu. He succeeds Andrew Alli who was at the helm for 10 years, the infrastructure development finance institution has announced.
The appointment of Samaila Zubairu comes after a rigorous six-month process that saw over 100 candidates apply for the role, the AFC explained in a media release, which also describes the incoming CEO as a “person of exceptional qualities.”
Zubairu, a former CFO for Dangote Cement Plc, where he pioneered the launch of Africa’s largest syndicated project finance facility for a local corporate, which actualized the Obajana Cement project and managed the watershed unbundling of Dangote Industries Limited to listed subsidiaries on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. He has led finance transactions of over $3 billion covering green-field project finance facilities, acquisitions, corporate transformation initiatives, privatization and equity capital market transactions.
He also recently coordinated the US$300 million acquisition of Eko Electricity Distribution Plc.
“In Samaila, we have identified an individual with the exceptional qualities across deal origination, execution, and capital raising that will continue to facilitate AFC’s ability to deliver transformational change through infrastructure investment as it moves into a new era,” says Dr. Okwu Nnanna, Chairman of AFC.
Outgoing CEO Andrew Alli
Zubairu who is also an advisory Board member for KSE Africa, a leading Operations and Management provider of captive power plants in the mining sector of Botswana and Nigeria and is the Chair of MDSA Nigeria Limited, a fintech company providing micro loans across sub-Saharan Africa, bring to AFC 29 years of experience to which his predecessor alludes to: “the Corporation will gain a truly confident self-starter and an industry heavy-weight,” says Andrew Alli.
But Zubairu is mindful of keeping atop the firm he will now head: “In the last decade, the AFC has grown its balance sheet by a remarkable 400%, produced competitive returns, whilst transforming African economies through innovative infrastructure development and financing. I am therefore immensely humbled by the distinct honour of this appointment to lead such a distinguished organisation.”
