Bristol Who’s Who Recognizes Joseph Makwata-Wambia

 
Joseph Wambia is the Managing Director for Finance, Global Programs & Africa, in the Global Programs division at AECOM, with a mandate to substantially grow AECOM’s infrastructure business in Africa, from $100m to $1 billion in 5 years. A Kenyan-born Naturalized American, he is responsible for arranging trade finance facilities, reviewing routine trade finance transactions, originating large infrastructure deal flows, and arranging financing and risk mitigation and programs in Africa. In 2009, he founded GlobalAfrica Funds (GA Funds), the first Africa-focused mutual funds to be listed on the NYSE(delete, already mentioned at the beginning para); In 2011, he cofounded Linkage Emerging Markets Capital Partners (LEMCP), an emerging markets-focused Hedge Fund.
 
Joseph grew up in Kenya and obtained his BCom (Banking and Finance, from Nairobi University), MBA (International Finance, from Georgetown University in Washington DC), and Masters Degree in Economics (with Distinction, from the University of Nairobi), where he taught briefly before joining the World Bank. In addition to his academic credentials, he holds many esteemed certifications, including a Certificate in Financial Analysis from the CFA Institute and is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) with the Institute of Internal Auditors. He holds many additional qualifications and certifications, including a Certificate in Internal Audit Quality Assessment (QSA) from the Institute of Internal Auditors, is a Certified Financial Services Auditor (CFSA) with the Institute of Internal Auditors, and has a Certificate in Control Self-Assessments (CCSA) from the Institute of Internal Auditors. In addition, Joseph holds Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) from the Institute of Internal Auditors and a Certificate in International Housing Finance from the International Housing Finance Institute (at Fannie Mae), is a Certified Investments and Derivatives Auditor (CIDA) with the Investment Training Institute.
 
Joseph is an expert in trade finance, infrastructure finance (including, but not limited to, guarantees), project finance, international development and risk mitigations using highly sophisticated market mechanisms such as guarantees, hedging, multi-year catastrophic risk insurance programs (CAT-Risk) and weather derivatives to protect a nation’s key infrastructure such as bridges, roads, airports, railways, and harbors. He is a Member of the OECD-AfDB-ICG (International Growth Center) Advisory Board on Private Investment in Infrastructure in Africa. Joseph’s public service to Kenya as a trusted adviser to senior government officials on relationships with the World Bank and IMF was recognized by the Government of Kenya when he received the Head of State’s Commendation (HSC) in December 12th, 2009 from H.E President Mwai Kibaki, EGH. Joseph is a thought leader in the Africa Infrastructure Finance space, and a regular speaker at conferences focused on Emerging Markets, International Financial Institutions, African Infrastructure, Banking and Finance.
 
Joseph served at the World Bank for 26 years before moving on to the private sector in 2005. At the World Bank, he syndicated billions of dollars of capital for infrastructure investments from public and private sectors including US government agencies such as Exim and Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) for investing in infrastructure, and advised governments throughout Africa, East Asia, and South Asia on government budget formulation, and sequencing of infrastructure expenditures. He also evaluated the design and effectiveness of banking, energy and transportation projects in several African countries on behalf of the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) during and after his career at the World Bank. He has managed large budgets, large multi-disciplinary teams, and overseen multi-billion dollar trade finance portfolios, budgets and programs in frontline and backline operations, at the World Bank in the Office of the Managing Director (Operations), the Vice President and Treasurer, Executive Offices, Internal Audit, and Independent Evaluation. After leaving the World Bank, Joseph floated and listed GlobalAfrica Funds – the first Africa-focused mutual funds on the New York Stock Exchange (Fixed Income, Natural Resources, Infrastructure, and Balanced Equity) in 2010. The Fund invested in listed infrastructure, natural resources, fixed income, and global equity with a focus on Africa. The Fixed Income Fund was primarily a bond fund, but with substantial trade finance assets. He oversaw the formulation of the Activity Based Accounting and Budgeting System for the World Bank’s Reserve Advisory Management Program (RAMP) under which the World Bank’s Treasury managed reserves for Central Banks in Africa and other developing countries, the program grew from $500 million at initiation in 2000 to $15 billion in 2013. The ABC system has since been replicated by other Units in the World Bank. He also served as Senior Manager for Capital Markets at Fannie Mae, and as a Senior Consultant to the World Bank where he reviewed the efficiency, profitability and effectiveness of IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program in which many global and African banks participate as Issuers and Guarantors connect. For OPIC, Joseph has arranged project finance and guarantees for clients based in Africa, notably in the hotel, air transport, banking and ICT space. In particular, he achieved great success on behalf of a regional telecom client in West Africa, and international hotel chain in Rwanda, and for an aviation cargo client in Kenya.
 
An active philanthropist, Joseph has served on the Board of Directors and is Treasurer of the Dunstan Wai Memorial Charitable Foundation (DWMCF) for the past 10 years. DWMCF is an organization that supports the education of high school girls in South Sudan. He is a member of the World Bank-IMF Bretton Woods Committee, an invitation-only group comprised of Fortune 500 Corporate CEOs and other international movers and shakers, whose mission is to advocate on behalf of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
 
Joseph’s work has been published in the Cambridge Journal of Environment and Development and he contributed to the Evaluation of IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program for the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank.
 
Mr. Wambia is a member of the prestigious Inanda Club in Johannesburg. A thought leader, he has been a guest panelist on Voice of America in Washington D.C. He appears on the African business program, “Studio 54.”, CNBC, a guest speaker at the Milken Global Conference (2010), the Louis Blouin Creative Leadership Summit (2010). In 2014, he served as AECOM’s Ambassador to the Presidential Precinct in Charlottesville, which had partnered with AECOM to cosponsor the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) President Barack Obama’s signature program to mentor future leaders in Africa.
 
Joseph is keenly interested in networking with colleagues who embrace innovative ways to invest in Emerging Markets of Africa and East Asia through Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Syndication, and Advice. His focus has always centered on learning and education coupled with hard work, a lot of patience, and maintaining a long-term view and perspective. Client focus is a key aspect of his work, along with preserving relationships, and Joseph believes strongly in excellent treatment of staff and colleagues, as well as mentoring junior staff.
 
Joseph currently resides in Johannesburg, South Africa, and divides his time between South Africa, various African countries including Kenya, and Washington, DC – his home base. In his limited spare time, he enjoys the opera and reading a book from his extensive personal library.
 
Bristol Who’s Who member Joseph Makwata-Wambia, MBA, MSc can be found on the Who’s Who Directory where he is looking forward to networking with you.