The Significance of AfCFTA for African Youth & the Diaspora: Maximizing Opportunities in Trade & Investments

Sebastian Spio-Garbrah is Chair of The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business and Global Managing Director & Chief Frontier Markets Analyst at DaMina Advisors. He has been recognized as one of the world’s leading frontier markets analysts, was voted among the ‘Top 30 under 30 Analysts’ by New York’s Institutional Investor Magazine in 2006.

Born in Tsolo, Eastern Cape (the home of Legends), South Africa, Thandiwe Fadane is a mother, a grandmother, sister and aunt to many nieces and nephews. She has passion for youth and women issues.

She recently completed a program on Women in Peace Keeping and Conflict Resolution. She has over 17 years’ experience in the various sections of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation in Pretoria, South Africa, including:
- Chief Director Financial Management;
- Minister at the South African Embassy in Washington DC, USA;
- Chief Director: Latin America & the Caribbean and Acting Chief Financial Officer
- Currently appointed Consul General based in Toronto, Canada
She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Walter Sisulu University and Masters in Business Administration from University of South Africa (UNISA). She has also completed various Executive Leadership Development Programs, recent one in Singapore in 2019.

Sindy is a multiple award-winning humanitarian, social entrepreneur, event moderator, public speaker, and pioneer, focused on empowering marginalized women, girls, and youth. She holds Undergraduate degrees in Business Studies, Social Work, Public Governance and Administration and master’s degrees in International Relations and Public Administration. In 2020, She was nominated for an Honorary Post Doctorate Degree in Public Policy.
A seasoned leader, with over two decades of combined experience in international development and finance sectors in Africa, Europe, USA and Canada, Sindy is a specialised executive and consultant on gender equality, education, youth empowerment, ending gender-based violence, and poverty alleviation. Given her passion for these causes, Sindy is the Founding CEO of the Southern Africa Embrace Foundation (SAE Fdn), an International Development charitable organization located In Toronto, Canada and holds the United Nations ECOSOC Special Consultative Status Accreditation. The SAE Fdn supports the wellbeing of vulnerable women, children, and youth in seven countries in Africa.

Anesu works closely with the Canadian Government to proactively influence policies and practices of Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) through active engagement in various international forums, ranging from technical financial issues to environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters. As an advisor, she supports EDC on a broad range of transaction, strategy, governance, and other aspects of EDC’s business. Similarly, Anesu manages EDC’s relationships with foreign ECAs and multilateral institutions such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD), Paris Club, and Berne Union.

Prior to joining International Financial Consulting Ltd, Anesu gained experience working on trade related issues including services trade with the World Trade Organization and export facilitation with the International Trade Center. She also gained experience in intellectual property disputes while working at World Intellectual Property Organization. Anesu has in-depth knowledge on services trade in Africa from her academic and professional experience.

Emi-Beth Quantson is the Founder, CEO and Chief Caffeination Officer at Kawa Moka Coffee Company, Ghana's leading social enterprise coffee company and roaster, where she leads investment and growth, having raised over $100,000 in debt and equity investments; created over 250 jobs in coffee through farmer partnerships and employment of marginalized groups and established Accra's largest roastery, supplying major supermarkets and cafes across the country and internationally.

Liz Thomas is a double major graduate in Finance and International Business from Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, and an engaged McGill Mastercard Foundation Alumnus. Her keen interest in the private sector and business management has led her to seize opportunities with the Royal Bank of Canada as a Business Operations Intern. She has worked as a Strategy and Communications Analyst with the McGill Mastercard Foundation Transitions Project.

Liz is passionate about African youth involvement in business, and this has led her to take up the opportunity to intern with the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business(CACB) as a Strategy Execution and Analyst Intern for the McGill-CACB partnership.

Liz excels in a team environment and also delivers exceptionally working alone. Personal attributes of accountability, responsibility and goal orientation make her an asset in any professional business setting.

David Akwara is an African Thought Leader and filmmaker who has won numerous awards. Over the years, his films have been screened at over 60 international film festivals. He grew up in the Oil City of Warri, Delta State, Nigeria.
His most recent documentary, THE RISE (A Journey To Africa's Financial Independence), is a pan-African docu-series on the African Single Market as part of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

As the founder and creative director of David Akwara Films, David is passionate about economic development, and his core interest is in telling Developmental Stories.
He seats as a panelist on a variety of topics especially Economy and Youth inclusion.
He was a panelist at the 2021 African Changemakers Leadership Summit, Africa Youth Symposium, Women Lead Forum Tanzania, Envison Democracy Summit as well as APRM Youth Symposium,

The National Action Committee on African Continental Free Trade Area, Nigeria, and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to Nigeria's President on Public Matters, to name a few, have funded David's creative work, outreach, and research.

Ferdinand Ochor is a MasterCard Foundation Scholar at McGill University in the Master of Arts, Educational Leadership programme. His passion for business, economic development and projects emanates from his bachelor's degree in Economics and years of career experience in the corporate sector. Prior to his master’s degree, he worked as a Project Manager for a WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) project in Nigeria through the sponsorship and partnership with Asia Youth International Model United Nations (AYIMUN) in 2019. Most recently, Ferdinand worked as Program Lead at Credoville an organization focused on Education Technology and business solutions.

He is skilled in areas like leadership, effective communication, oral presentation, negotiation, management, and planning. These skills have enabled him to produce the required outcomes in personal and professional settings. Whether working alone or with a team, he always gives his best.

Ferdinand is passionate about African development and has been a key player in various youth-led initiatives championing African Development.

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