Who we are
Board of Directors – Pecan Energies AS
Our board members have extensive global experience from the entire E&P value chain.
Sameh Shenouda
Chair
Mr. Sameh Shenouda, Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer at AFC, leads origination, execution and portfolio management of transactions across a wide range of sectors and products. With over 27 years of experience in infrastructure investments, project development and fundraising in international capital markets, Mr. Shenouda has a deep knowledge of African markets, with specific experience in Power, Transport & Logistics, Industrial and Oil & Gas sectors.
Osam Iyahen
Board Member
Mr. Osam Iyahen is a Senior Director at AFC. He is responsible for the natural resources sector where he leads client coverage, transaction origination, in addition to providing technical advisory in deal execution.
Amadou Soumano
Board Member
Mr. Amadou Soumano, Deputy Director & Lead Counsel at AFC, has over 15 years of transactional and investment experience. He provides legal oversight of the Company’s operations, as well as assisting with compliance and regulatory matters.
Sameh Shenouda
Chair
Mr. Sameh Shenouda, Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer at AFC, leads origination, execution and portfolio management of transactions across a wide range of sectors and products. With over 27 years of experience in infrastructure investments, project development and fundraising in international capital markets, Mr. Shenouda has a deep knowledge of African markets, with specific experience in Power, Transport & Logistics, Industrial and Oil & Gas sectors. Prior to joining the Africa Finance Corporation, Sameh was the Chief Executive Officer of Zarou, a US$1 billion developer, owner, investor and operator of infrastructure projects in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Zarou was 100% owned by the Blackstone Group, one of the world’s leading private equity investors. He previously served as Head of Infrastructure at CDC Group Plc now known as the British International Investment (BII), the UK government owned development finance institution. He built the institution’s direct infrastructure equity business, investing over US$2 billion in Africa and South Asia across manufacturing, infrastructure, financial institutions, power and other sectors. Sameh was the Natural Gas Industries Director at Orascom Construction Industries and Investment Principal at Actis, a leading US$15 billion emerging markets private equity fund management business, with investments in 50+ countries. Sameh holds an MBA in Financial Management from the University of Exeter, UK and degrees from the American University in Cairo, Egypt in Development Studies and Economics. He is a graduate of INSEAD’s International Executive Program and a member of the institute of Directors, United Kingdom.
Osam Iyahen
Board Member
Mr. Osam Iyahen is a Senior Director at AFC. He is responsible for the natural resources sector where he leads client coverage, transaction origination, in addition to providing technical advisory in deal execution. He has about twenty years of international energy & resource finance experience, including involvement in multi-billion- dollar development projects with international institutions. He has led AFC in developing a rapidly expanding Natural Resources sector franchise in Sub Saharan-Africa, with over US$3 billion valued landmark transactions in final credit and investment approvals in the last 15 years, with leading sponsors seeking to undertake financing transactions in the oil, gas, mining and associated infrastructure space. Osam obtained his MBA from the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University (Johnson School of Management) in New York State. He is bilingual, and has presented and moderated various topics at international oil & gas, mining and infrastructure conferences.
Amadou Soumano
Board Member
Mr. Amadou Soumano, Deputy Director & Lead Counsel at AFC, has over 15 years of transactional and investment experience. He provides legal oversight of the Company’s operations, as well as assisting with compliance and regulatory matters. He has extensive experience in transaction structuring and negotiation and in resolving investment legal issues. Prior to joining the AFC team in 2019, Amadou gained substantial Africa market and private equity experience while at Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), where he worked in Abidjan, Tunis and Paris as a Principal Legal Counsel. He is a lawyer admitted to the Bar of Paris. He previously practised corporate, banking, project and project finance laws at Linklaters (Paris) and White & Case (Paris). Amadou speaks English and French.