Samuel Akyianu

Managing Director, Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund at MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates)

Moderator

Samuel Akyianu is the Managing Director of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund (the “Fund”), representing MEDA as the lead implementing partner. In this role he leads a consortium of five partner firms to deliver catalytic capital and technical assistance through a Fund of funds and Gender Lens investing approach to investment vehicles (“IVs”) across sub– Saharan Africa. Since its launch in June 2022, the Fund has committed and otherwise allocated close to 80% of its US$150 million capital to eight (8) IVs and provided working and warehousing capital to eight (8) more early-stage IVs. The Fund intends to reach 20 female and diverse led IVs with its catalytic capital alongside technical assistance to ensure Gender Lens Investing, and support to a target portfolio of 200 SMEs – all towards our ultimate goal of jobs for women and the youth. More on the Fund Here

Sam is currently an independent board member of GCB Capital Ltd and has over 25 years of experience in designing, implementing, and leading delivery of financial advisory solutions across Africa and Asia, including coverage of Private Equity (PE) funds, Startup ecosystems, export agribusinesses, SMEs, private education, health insurance & services, and business sustainability.

Prior to the Fund role, Sam worked with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for about 16 years, and has held various roles across several sectors. In his most recent role as Global Head, Samuel managed the investment advisory for IFC’s global portfolio of SME Ventures funds, providing investment and technical assistance advice at fund manager, portfolio company levels and to regulatory ecosystems.

Prior to IFC, Sam was a Director of Investment for TechnoServe where he managed an investment fund to sustain TechnoServe's operations and financing guarantees for SMEs. In this role, he also managed a team to deliver Business Development Services and investment readiness/business plans for agribusiness SMEs. Sam also worked as a Corporate Finance Consultant with EY Ghana, formerly PKK Consulting.

Sam has a Master of Business Administration degree, (Finance option) from the University of Ghana Business School, is a Chartered Accountant (ACMA/UK), has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and a post graduate diploma in Strategic Agri-Marketing, Agricultural Business and Management from Purdue University. During his time with IFC, Sam benefitted from several certifications on Investment, Technical Assistance, Sustainability and graduated from the IFC/Insead Global Business Leadership Program