Summary

A Nigerian citizen with over twenty years of private equity investing experience, of which the last seventeen have been focused on Africa.

Experience

• Previously a Partner at Alterra Capital Partners, a spin-out of the Africa team at The Carlyle Group, where Idris was a Managing Director/Partner with responsibility for West and North Africa.
• Prior to joining Carlyle/Alterra in 2017, Idris was a Partner (from inception) at Africa-focused private equity firm DPI.
• Idris began his private equity career in 2001 with Goldman Sachs’ Special Situations Group, where he helped build the firm’s clean-energy investing business before pivoting “home” to invest in Africa.
• In previous roles, led all aspects of the investment process including deal sourcing, execution, and portfolio management and was actively involved in managing the business including investment decision making, talent management and recruitment, and investor relations and fundraising.

Education

• B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University
• M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Summary

A Nigerian citizen with over twenty years of private equity, investment banking and consulting experience, of which the last twenty have been focused on Africa.

Experience

• Previously, founding partner of Cayor Capital, a principal investment firm focused on Africa. Prior thereto, head of Africa Private Investments at The Rohatyn Group (TRG), an emerging markets specialist asset manager with AUM of approximately US$5 billion, and previously at CVCI Private Equity, the emerging markets private equity division of Citibank, which was acquired by TRG in 2013
• At CVCI/TRG, over a 10-year period, responsible for investing and divesting the CVCI/TRG Africa Fund, a US$100 million sector and geography neutral private equity fund.
• Principal at AIG Private Equity in New York, and founding member of AIG Horizon Partners, an AIG sponsored US$400million mid-market private equity fund focused on US and European markets.

Education

• BA in Economics from Harvard University
• M.B.A. from Harvard Business School
• Master of Science in Development Economics from Oxford University

Summary

A Nigerian citizen with over twenty years of private equity, corporate transactional, and impact investing experience, of which the last fifteen have been focused on Africa.

Experience

• Verod Capital & Verod-Kepple – Vice President, General Counsel & Head of Impact Investments: Led fundraising for Verod’s first two funds (AUM: $350M), both oversubscribed with 95% returning investors. Secured the first commitment from a leading US commercial bank to an Africa-focused fund and domestic sovereign wealth fund.
• Prior, was Head of Impact Investing / Head of Partnerships of leading US-based African Cleantech Fund and directed climate and gender-focused investment strategies, mobilizing funding through blended finance facilities such as the Climate Gender Equity Fund (Visa Foundation, Amazon, USAID), the Green Outcomes Fund (World Bank, UNPRI) and the Kenya Green Fund (funder World Bank).
• Early Career – M&A and Regulatory and Transaction Advisory: Began her career advising on major M&A and private equity transactions at leading Wall Street and London law firms before serving as a Senior Adviser at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (designated a ‘UK M&A National Expert’) and was the UK representative on the European Commission’s Advisory Committee on Concentrations panel.

Education

• MBA, Columbia Business School (‘CBS’)
• LLM, Harvard Law School
• Certificate in Impact Investing & Climate Finance, CBS
• Board Director, Columbia Business School Women’s Circle
• President, Advisory Council Alumnae-i Network for Harvard Women
• International Fellow of the American Association of University Women