Hamdiya Ismaila

CEO at Savannah Impact Advisory

Discussion leader

Hamdiya has over 24 years’ of experience in Finance and Investments and over 17 years of experience in Venture Capital and Private Equity investing. Over the period she has led Venture Capital and Private Equity ecosystem development through education and influencing policy and regulatory outcomes for the industry.

She is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Savannah Impact Advisory (SIA), a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Licensed Investment Advisor. As the General Partner, SIA is managing the first West African Fund of Funds domiciled in Ghana and investing across the region with a Pan-African outlook.

Prior to establishing SIA, Ms. Ismaila was the General Manager of Venture Capital Trust Fund (V.CTF), a government-backed Fund of Funds, where she oversaw the investments and general operations of the Trust. She also managed the Venture Capital Trust Fund Technical Assistance Facility, which was designed to support emerging fund managers and build the capacity of investee companies.

She is an angel investor and was instrumental in the design of the Ghana Angel Investor Network (GAIN). She is also a Director of the Ghana Angel Fund and a Founder of the Lady Angel Network, which invests in women-owned/led businesses. She chaired the Ghana Taskforce, which successfully led to the establishment of Impact Investing Ghana (IIGh), the National Advisory Board (NAB) for Impact Investing in Ghana, and a member of the Global Steering Group (GSG) Impact. She has been at the forefront of impact investing over the last 14 years, working closely with key stakeholders in promoting impact investing, including gender lens investing. Ms. Ismaila is a Member of the Governing Council for the Ghana Alternative Exchange (a second tier listing platform for SMEs on the Ghana Stock Exchange), an Investment Committee member for the Mastercard Africa Growth Fund, Chair of the Governing Council of the Star Ghana Foundation, and a member of the Gender Lens Advisory Board of the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA). She was formerly a member of the Board of Trustees for GSG Impact.

Ms. Ismaila holds an Executive Certificate in Private Equity and Venture Capital from Harvard Business School, a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University in the City of New York, a BBA (Sum Cum Laude) from Monroe College and an LLB degree from GIMPA Law School. She is a Fellow of the 2019 Class of the Aspen Finance Leaders Fellowship and a Member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.