FASA has brought together a distinguished group of experienced investors and finance professionals to form its Advisory Investment Committee (AIC).
The Committee is composed of five independent external experts who provide guidance and recommendations on investment and divestment opportunities, helping ensure rigor, integrity, and alignment with FASA’s objectives.
The Advisory Investment Committee includes:
- Ada Osakwe, a Nigeria-based entrepreneur and investor
- Dieynaba Kamara, a Partner at Joliba Capital
- Paola Ravacchioli, an expert on private equity and venture capital in emerging markets and Europe
- Tom Adlam, a chartered accountant by profession, with more than 40 years of financial and impact investment management and leadership experience
- Yasser Toor, an impact investing and development finance professional with 15 years of experience across emerging markets.
Discover their full biographies below:
Ada Osakwe
Ada Osakwe is a Nigeria-based entrepreneur and investor with deep experience across infrastructure, consumer retail, food and agriculture. For over 20 years, she has developed a unique blend of public and private sector experiences, starting in investment banking, development finance, and private equity, before moving on to public service. She is the founder of Agrolay, a principal investment firm that has made angel investments in 16 early-stage high-growth African companies and is also the founder of Nuli Foods, an innovative restaurant chain with 8 locations in Nigeria that sustainably uses only locally grown agriculture produce grown by smallholder farmers. Ada is a strong advocate for small business finance support, youth and women empowerment in business and climate justice. She focuses her efforts on the food and agriculture sector. Osakwe is the Forbes Africa Business Woman of the year 2021. She is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow. She has an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, an MSc in Economics and Finance from University of Warwick, U.K. and a BSc in Economics (First Class Honours) from the University of Hull, U.K.
Dieynaba Kamara
Dieynaba is a Partner at Joliba Capital, a Private Equity firm launched in partnership with LBO France and dedicated to investing in small and medium-sized enterprises across Francophone West and Central Africa. Of Mauritanian origin and born in Senegal, she was raised in a multicultural environment, having lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Russia. With over 20 years of experience in finance, she has developed strong expertise in structuring complex transactions and leading cross-functional teams. Before joining Joliba Capital, she spent ten years at AXA Investment Managers in senior roles within Structured Finance and Product Engineering (where she led a team of 13 across five geographies) and eight years at Ernst & Young focusing on financial services. Dieynaba holds an Engineering degree in Agronomy and a Master’s in Banking and Finance from the University of Paris Dauphine.
“I joined FASA’s Advisory Investment Committee to leverage my agronomy background, passion for agriculture, and financial expertise to foster sustainable and resilient agricultural value chains across Africa”
Paola Ravacchioli
Paola Ravacchioli is an expert on private equity and venture capital in emerging markets and Europe, with more than 30 years of fund of funds investment and advisory experience. Her strategic advice is regularly sought by fund managers, institutional investors and government agencies. Prior to starting her advisory career, she spent 24 years with the European Investment Bank Group, where she carried out investments in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia in a wide variety of funds, mostly venture capital but also private equity, impact, and climate funds. While at the EIB, Paola also conceived and helped develop the Boost Africa initiative aiming to supporting the emergence of the African venture capital industry through investment in first time VC funds and technical assistance programs. She is a regular speaker at international conferences and facilitates VC/PE Masterclasses for both fund managers and investors. Paola holds a BA, Humanities with Classical Studies (First Class Honours) from the Open University, UK.
“I decided to join the AIC because FASA is managed by a great team, with the right values and a bold investment strategy that drives the emergence of African funds contributing to food security, gender equality and climate resilience.”
Tom Adlam
Tom Adlam is a chartered accountant by profession, with more than 40 years of financial and impact investment management and leadership experience in a range of investing, consulting and not-for-profit organisations in East and Southern Africa. Along with stints at British International Investment (Tanzania and Zimbabwe) and AgDevCo (Rwanda), Tom co-founded and led African Agricultural Capital and Pearl Capital Partners from 2005 to 2016 from offices in Kampala, Uganda, raising more than $70 million from a range of international impact-focused investors and investing in more than 40 agri-SMEs during that period.
“I joined the FASA Advisory Investment committee because I believe very strongly in the positive power of investment to transform Africa’s agriculture sector and create improved opportunities for rural communities.”
Yasser Toor
Yasser Toor reads Economics and Computer Science at Dartmouth College and has worked in impact investing and development finance across emerging markets for 15 years, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. He was most recently Global Head of Food Security & Agribusiness at the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (the US’s $60 Bn bilateral DFI), where he was hired to author the agency’s inaugural Food Security strategy as well as lead its execution. Earlier, Yasser was one of the four co-founding directors of AgDevCo, a specialist agricultural investment fund providing investment capital and strategic advice for catalytic agribusinesses in Africa, which has raised >$500 million from FCDO, BII, Norfund and DFC. Prior to focusing on development finance, he was a General Partner and Managing Director at TSG Consumer Partners (a branded FMCG-focused fund with >$20Bn AUM) where he helped build iconic consumer brands. Yasser is a co-founder of Renaissance Advisers where he focuses on merchant banking and financial/M&A advisory in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
“All my favourite people are farmers – including some who don’t do it anymore – and the chance that FASA offers to keep engaged with their challenges and to work with a team committed to trying to improve and innovate for their benefit is a deep privilege.”
