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Ex-CMA boss gets top Africa bank job

stella

Ms Stella Kilonzo. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Ex-Capital Markets Authority (CMA) chief executive Stella Kilonzo has been appointed the head of Africa Development Bank’s (AfDB) Africa Investment Forum, a unit whose mandate is to attract investor capital for businesses in the continent.

Ms Kilonzo was previously AfDB’s manager for the Capital Markets Division since 2013.

The Africa Investment Forum (AIF) was established by the AfDB in 2016 to “showcase bankable projects, attract financing, and provide platforms for investing across multiple countries”. The AIF aims to attract global investors looking to put their money in African businesses.

The AfDB said in a statement Ms Kilonzo drove innovation during her time heading its Capital Markets Division. She was involved in AfDB’s issue of a partial credit guarantee to cover the exchange rate risk on foreign currency borrowing for Cameroon, which was issuing its first Eurobond.

READ: Former CMA boss Stella Kilonzo wins appointment at AfDB

Ms Kilonzo quit her position at the CMA in a surprise move in 2012 — she had only served one term.

After quitting, she went on to found her own firm, Astute Capital. She is one of five high-level appointments that have been made at the multinational lender. Another Kenyan, Wambui Gichuri, has been appointed director of water development and sanitation at the AfDB, effective March 15.