About Us

Hakeem Belo-Osagie is a prominent figure in the Nigerian business landscape, boasting a diverse career spanning sectors, including financial services, energy, telecoms, and real estate. He is the chair and main stakeholder of Metis Capital Partners, focused on delivering large ticket transactions in Africa to international investment partners. Duval Properties Ltd, engaged in real estate development, and FSDH Holding Company, a financial services holding company.

He currently lectures at both Stanford Business School and Harvard Business School, where he co-designed the first course on Africa within the MBA programme. Internationally, Mr. Belo-Osagie advises prestigious institutions including Brookings Institute, Harvard University’s Global Advisory Board, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He chairs the Advisory Board of SEED at Stanford University. He is also a member of Yale University President’s Council on International Activities and serves as Chair of the Nigerian National Committee for the United World Colleges (UWC).

Mr. Belo-Osagie’s career began as a civil servant, serving as a special assistant to the Minister of Petroleum. He founded CTIC, an energy consultancy firm that became a leader in Nigeria’s energy markets, working with clients including Itochu, Marobeni, Chiyoda, Bechtel, and Chevron. He served as Chairman and majority shareholder of the United Bank for Africa Plc, one of the largest commercial banks in Nigeria as well as the local partner for Etisalat, bringing the global telecoms company to Nigeria and serving as its local chairman for seven years.

Previously, Mr. Belo-Osagie has been a member of the global board of advisers for the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the board of Andela Inc., the New York University President’s Global Council, the International Advisory Group of Equinor, and the board of Alfanar. He chaired Vitol Nigeria and was the founding chairman of Junior Achievement Nigeria. He was Chairman of the board of trustees of Harvard’s Centre for African Studies, where he and his wife have endowed the Hakeem and Myma Belo-Osagie Distinguished African Entrepreneurship Lecture series.

Mr. Belo-Osagie holds an MA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from Balliol College, Oxford University, a law degree from King’s College, Cambridge University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Kipkorir Koskei is the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Policy at the Insurance Development Forum (IDF). The IDF is a public-private partnership led by the insurance industry and supported by the World Bank and the United Nations, dedicated to enhancing the use of insurance to build greater resilience against disasters.

Kipkorir brings over 15 years of extensive experience in financial and disaster risk management, debt underwriting, and country risk assessment. His career has spanned a range of global and regional financial institutions, with professional posts in Nairobi, Johannesburg, London, and Tokyo.

He has a proven track record of working with governments, the private sector, and multilateral agencies to analyze, structure, and underwrite financing solutions and derivative transactions. His clients include insurance companies, government entities, supra-nationals, and banks. Kipkorir holds an LLM (Master of Laws) with a Finance Concentration from University College London (UCL) and an undergraduate Law degree from the University of Warwick. He is also a graduate of the University of Oxford’s Climate-Related Financial course.

Jay Karia is a strategy leader and advisor focused on Africa’s finance ecosystems. Over the past 15 years, he has worked with governments, insurance companies, development banks, and innovation institutions to reimagine how capital, technology, and institutions can drive inclusive and resilient economic growth across the continent. His expertise encompasses corporate strategy, organisational reform, investment structuring, and large-scale
transformation programmes.

Jay’s career demonstrates a commitment to strengthening African financial systems that can unlock entrepreneurship, provide risk protection, create jobs, and foster sustainable development. He has played a key role in some of East Africa’s most significant strategic shifts, enhancing institutional capacity, market systems resilience, and the role of finance in promoting equitable growth. His advisory work has included restructuring insurance markets in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia; facilitating the creation of new investment vehicles across East and West Africa; and bolstering the capacity of emerging innovation ecosystems to support small and growing enterprises.

Jay began his career in Deloitte’s Strategy practice in the United Kingdom and has since worked across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, advising CEOs, boards, and senior public-sector leaders. He is currently an Associate Director at Deloitte East Africa. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Business, Finance, and Economics from the University of
Manchester.

Sarah Watson has dedicated over two decades to conservation in Africa, building a career at the intersection of strategy, funding, and on-the-ground impact. Her early work in Kenya sparked a lifelong commitment to the continent’s wildlife and communities, evolving into a leadership role shaping large-scale conservation initiatives across Africa.

She has played a central role in scaling conservation programmes across 25+ countries, supporting more than 70 high-impact projects that integrate biodiversity protection with community resilience. Her work has focused on developing strategic frameworks, strengthening governance, and creating robust monitoring and evaluation systems that link investment to measurable outcomes. She has also been closely involved in mobilising significant philanthropic funding, including support for ranger welfare and frontline conservation efforts.

Sarah currently serves as Head of Conservation Strategy for ACCF and Karingani, where she helps guide landscape-scale conservation models spanning over one million hectares. Her work brings together sustainable finance, community development, and science-led conservation to deliver long-term impact for people and nature.

She holds a BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences from the University of Bristol and an MSc (Distinction) in Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health from the University of Edinburgh.

Outside of work, Sarah operates from a garden office surrounded by her children and an eclectic mix of animals. She is also an avid ultramarathon runner – her preferred way to escape emails!

Dr Irene Amoke is a landscape ecologist with over twenty years of practical experience in conservation. Her work focuses on developing and implementing strategies for sustainable coexistence between humans and wildlife, particularly in ecologically fragile ecosystems. With a background spanning conservation science and policy, strategic leadership, and programme management, she has worked across academia, government, and the private sector in Kenya, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

As Founder of ConserveAbility Pathways Ltd, a Kenyan-based consultancy, Irene partners with conservation organisations to turn broad goals into measurable outcomes, bridging the gap between strategic vision and effective implementation. She advises on programme design, organisational development, and sustainable financing. Irene also serves as a Strategic Advisor to the Kenya Wildlife Trust (KWT), supporting efforts to strengthen conservation impact and institutional sustainability. As former Executive Director of KWT, she led strategy development, deepened partnerships and stakeholder engagement, and oversaw fundraising efforts.

Irene holds a PhD in Landscape Ecology, an MSc in Environmental Assessment & Management, and a BSc in Zoology. She is a Senior Associate of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), an Eisenhower Fellow (2022, Africa Climate Change Programme), and a Women in Environment Africa Fellow (2023). Passionate about natural capital and nature-based solutions, Irene sits on several national and international boards and is also a mentor and facilitator, supporting conservation leadership across Africa.

Fiona Wanjiku Moejes (PhD) is a marine biotechnologist passionate about African-led innovation and inclusive development. With more than 12 years of experience across academia, research, nonprofit leadership, policy, and ocean-based enterprise, she works at the intersection of science and impact.

She is the CEO of the Mawazo Institute, a pan-African nonprofit that partners with women researchers at universities and research institutions across the continent. Through skills training, resources, and networks, Mawazo helps African women researchers thrive in academia, shape policy, and turn their ideas into solutions that create real change. Fiona is also
the co-founder of Mawimbi Ocean Innovations, a social enterprise pioneering climate-smart, inclusive, and traceable seaweed farming in tropical regions.

Grounded in a people-centered approach to leadership, Fiona is committed to advancing women in research and driving sustainable development for Africa and beyond. She is a 2025 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow, a Women for the Environment Africa Fellow, a Prometheus X Awardee, a 2025 Women’s Top 40 Under 40 winner, and she serves on several Boards.

With more than 25 years of experience across Africa and the international development landscape, Beatrice works at the intersection of conservation, climate action, diplomacy, and systems change. Her career has been dedicated to building the partnerships, strategies, and narratives that enable people, nature, and economies to thrive together.

Her expertise spans strategy, international relations, communications, resource mobilisation, and institutional partnerships, with a particular focus on nature-based solutions and sustainable development. Having worked across complex political and cultural environments, she brings a deep understanding of how governments, philanthropy, multilateral institutions, civil society, and the private sector can be aligned around shared ambitions for lasting impact.

Over the course of her career, Beatrice has held leadership and advisory roles with the BBC, Reuters, UNICEF, Oxfam, the African Wildlife Foundation, Northern Rangelands Trust, and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and has advised institutions including the Kofi Annan Foundation, The Elders, Eastern Congo Initiative and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. These experiences have shaped a leadership approach grounded in strategic influence, diplomacy, collaboration, and a belief that enduring change is built through trusted relationships and bold partnerships. She also serves as consulting Partnerships, and Fundraising Advisor for FSD Africa.

Beyond her executive roles, Beatrice contributes to the governance of several leading conservation organisations. She serves as Board Chair of the Mara Elephant Project, Trustee of Tusk Trust and Natural State, a judge for the Tusk Conservation Awards, and a member of the Advisory Council of the Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association. She holds a BA in Communications from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development at SOAS, University of London.

Throughout her career, Beatrice has remained committed to advancing African-led solutions to global environmental and development challenges. Her work is driven by the conviction that transformative, lasting impact is achieved by combining visionary leadership, trusted partnerships, and innovative approaches that place people and nature at the centre of sustainable prosperity.