Developing and Financing Infrastructure Projects

Femi is the founder of Brickstone and has practical experience in advising companies and governments on private investments in energy , real estate and infrastructure, including structuring and executing project/structured financings and M&A transactions. He leads Brickstone’s Origination & Commercial advisory team in Energy, Infrastructure and Real Estate. Femi was an investment banking professional with Vetiva Capital Management Limited where he led teams on several M&A transactions, capital raisings programmes as well as structured/project financings of over $500 million. Prior to joining Vetiva Capital Management Limited, he was at the ARM Investment Managers and was part of the private equity real estate team and he assessed potential real estate investment opportunities

Femi has a first degree – B.Sc. Geology from University of Ibadan and Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Lagos Business School, Pan-African University. He was the Facilitator and Lead of the Mining –Manufacturing Policy Commission of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group.

Ibukun is an Innovative and result-oriented sustainability specialist with over eighteen years of development work and environmental management practice in Nigeria. This has provided her with the opportunity to support the development of public policies and regulation as well as deploy relevant tools to assist organizations to improve their environmental performance.

Have championed the application of numerous tools to enable the environmental and social safeguards for over 50 projects and supported about 20 different organization to improve their environmental performance in the last nine(9) years.

Key skills includes performing Environmental and Social Due Diligence, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, Environmental Audit Reports (EAR), Cost Benefit Analysis, Life Cycle Assessment, Resource Management, Environmental Sensitivity Index, Environmental Management Plans, and Stakeholder Engagement etc.

Bunmi is experienced providing a wide range of advisory and consulting services to government, and public and private sector clients on infrastructure projects including assignments related to project development strategies, restructuring of state-owned enterprises, public-private partnerships (PPPs) and privatizations. Successful completion of infrastructure related projects in countries including Nigeria, Ghana, USA, Mexico, Tanzania, Zambia, Papua New Guinea, Bahamas and Aruba.

• Deal Structuring and Financial Modelling for Infrastructure Projects: Completed multiple infrastructure-related financial models and analyses for a broad array of clients. Optimal deal structuring based on the results from financial, risk analysis.
• Project Management: Experience leading teams on infrastructure projects encompassing project development, preparation, procurement, prioritization, improvements, evaluation, implementation and post-implementation monitoring.

Key Roles/Responsibilities: Manage/lead complex consulting projects; Manage internal and external project resources; Design, development and execution of client projects; New and follow-on business development identification; Maintain/improve client relationships; Delivery of on-schedule, on-budget, and profitable projects while maintaining high client satisfaction

Abbas is an environmental and social specialist with multisectoral experience related to environment, social risk assessment and management in Ghana and Nigeria. Trained by Environmental and Social (E&S) Specialists from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Environmental and Social Risk Management (ESRM) and Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS), Abbas possesses in-depth knowledge of IFC Performance Standards and IFC Environmental and Social Review Procedures and had developed ESMS for a variety of clients.

With knowledge and technical expertise in providing a range of environmental services across industries and sectors, Abbas has conducted E&S Due Diligence and Independent E&S Monitoring and Audits for large scale infrastructure projects, applying international and country-specific E&S standards including the IFC Performance Standards, IFC EHS Guidelines, ILO Conventions, the Equator Principles, Nigeria Sustainable Banking Principles, and country-specific legislation in Nigeria and Ghana.

Abbas is the Managing Consultant with ImpactCrest Consulting. He holds a master’s degree in Sustainable Environmental Management from the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom, and bachelor’s degree in Botany from the University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Elizabeth Handley is a Senior Associate with Trinity International LLP and advises lenders, ECAs, developers and contractors with respect to transactions and projects across Africa, Central America and Central Asia.

Prior to joining Trinity, Elizabeth was an Associate at Allen & Overy LLP in the Projects, Energy and Infrastructure team where she trained and qualified as a solicitor.

Her recent work includes advising Globeleq on the development and financing of a 52MW solar project in Kenya with financing provided by CDC and DEG and advising the lender to a company providing lease-to-own solar home systems in Mozambique. Outside of Africa, Elizabeth has been working on a number of projects under the Ukraine’s renewable energy programme; closing two transactions so far this year for Scatec Solar with financing provided by EBRD.

Elizabeth graduated from the University of Manchester with a Bachelor of Laws in 2013 and qualified as a Solicitor in England and Wales in 2016.

Desmond is a Partner in our Finance & Projects practice Groups. He holds a Master of Laws degree from Harvard University, graduated with First Class Honours from the Nigerian Law School, and has a Bachelor of Laws from Ebonyi State University.

Desmond has extensive experience advising project companies, sponsors, borrowers, banks, funds, multilateral finance institutions, export credit agencies, other financial institutions and corporates on diverse transactions including project finance, acquisitions and divestments, power projects and other infrastructure development, strategic investments, international capital markets issuances, corporate finance and alternative funding structures.

He is ranked in several international legal directories including IFLR 1000 Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms and Chambers Global Guide to the Legal Profession with clients and other independent sources describing him as “…a good problem solver and very client oriented”; “very effective… strong and bright”; ”one who delivers excellent work”; and “has a keen eye for the commercial objectives of a transaction”. Desmond has served as a Senior Editor of the Harvard Business Law Review; as Vice-Chairman of the NBA Section on Business Law; and as a member of different technical committees of experts appointed by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to advise its Banking, Finance, and Insurance Committee on much needed financial law reforms in Nigeria.

Adeboye Fowora is currently the Head of Site Operations at Starsight Energy. Prior to this, they were the Head of Project Management for West Africa at Standard Chartered Bank from February 2010 to October 2015. Adeboye was responsible for Program & Project Management during their time there.

From January 2007 to September 2008, they were the Senior Planning Manager at Mace Group. Adeboye then moved on to AFP Consulting for a brief period of time before becoming the Director at Adeoye Fowora & Partners, a civil & structural engineering design partnership for marine infrastructure, from August 2008 to February 2010.

In September 2005, they began working as a Senior Planning Consultant at EC Harris and was there until December 2006. Adeboye then became the Lead Planner at Laing O’Rourke Civil Engineering from January 2004 to September 2005. Their final role before joining Starsight Energy was as the Planning Manager at Bovis Lend Lease from January 2002 to January 2004.

Adeboye Fowora attended Kingston University, where they studied civil engineering. Adeboye then pursued a career in civil engineering and worked for Oxford Brookes University.

Jobalo is Deputy CEO of ARM-Harith.

A commercial lawyer with over 20 years’ experience and extensive exposure to public-private partnership, infrastructure development and infrastructure project finance, Jobalo previously held board roles with energy and transport sector entities.

Previously Executive Director and Head of Legal at Lekki Concession Company, Jobalo led counsel for the team responsible for negotiating the pioneering US$420 million Lekki Toll Road Concession Project.

Jobalo holds a Bachelor of Laws from Ogun State University, a BL from the Nigerian Law School, and is an Alumnus of Cranfield where he obtained an award in Business & Leadership.

Yolanda advises clients on the operation of contracts and the resolution of disputes through negotiation, adjudication, mediation, arbitration and litigation and has experience of working with clients throughout the lifecycle of a project to assist in the management of risk, the avoidance of disputes and to help achieve the best result commercially.

Yolanda has expertise in all major standard forms of contract, including JCT, NEC and FIDIC. Yolanda has advised owners and contractors and employers on a variety of projects. These have included buildings, road projects, tunnels, LNG plants and pipelines. Yolanda’s experience also includes a year-long secondment to Balfour Beatty, an international infrastructure group.

Yolanda is a director of Africa Construction Law, a pan-African thought-leadership initiative operating across Africa and in the diaspora to promote construction law and practice in Africa.

Yolanda regularly presents to various institutions at seminars and training workshops internationally and the UK. Yolanda is also recognised by Who’s Who Legal and is ranked as a “Future Leader in Construction”.