Nairobi, Kenya, June 2018: The Chair of the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF), Lord Paul Boateng, has announced the appointment of Mr. Daniel Ohonde, as the new CEO. He succeeds Dr. Paul Greener who is retiring.
“Daniel Ohonde has a distinguished track record as a development finance specialist, strategist and resource mobiliser, making him the ideal candidate for the position. The AECF Board thanks him for taking up the CEO role,” said Lord Paul Boateng.
Until his appointment, Mr. Ohonde was the Deputy CEO and the Chief Operating Officer at Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF), where he played an instrumental role in building AECF’s team, setting up the processes and policies to guide the operations of the new organisation. Daniel also spearheaded the development of the new strategy which will chart the next ten years of AECF’s work.”
Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Ohonde said: “AECF has made significant strides in the last 10 years. I feel privileged to be taking up the position of CEO at a time when AECF is starting to implement its new strategy. I am excited to be part of the journey to ensure a prosperous and enterprising rural Africa, and I look forward to working with you to make this happen.”
Mr. Ohonde’s career spans over 25 years, most of which were spent in senior leadership positions at the global level, including private sector enterprise development, partnerships and resource mobilization, management consulting, manufacturing, logistics and the oil & gas industry across Africa. He has held senior positions in a number of successful international corporate entities, among them, the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), Coca Cola, as well as SME funding and the micro-finance sectors. Mr. Ohonde is a mechanical engineer by profession and holds an M.B.A. in strategic management and an MSc. in finance.
“I would like to thank Dr. Paul Greener for his role in ensuring a successful transition for AECF’s from a program of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) into an independent entity. Under his leadership, AECF made significant strides,” said Board Chair, Lord Boateng, in acknowledging Dr. Greener’s contribution towards AECF.
AECF is a development institution supporting businesses to innovate, create jobs, leverage investments and markets in an effort to create resilience and sustainable incomes in rural and marginalized communities in Africa. Launched in 2008, the AECF has mobilized over US $310 million to date, leveraging more than US $680 million in matching capital and improving the lives of more than 16 million people in 2017 alone through jobs and increased household incomes. AECF has supported 267 companies in 24 countries in sub-Saharan Africa across 40 value chains in our focal sectors of agribusiness and renewable energy.