Gilead Teri is the Executive Director of the Tanzania Investment Centre. He is a development economist who works with investors, academics, policymakers, and business leaders and engages with the general public in contributions to make sense of the world around us.

He is credited with reactivating the private sector development agenda while working at the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation and later re-engagement with the government of Tanzania on private sector development while at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank. He chaired Tanzania’s WTOs National Trad Facilitation Committee, served as Board Director at the Business Registration and Licensing Agency (BRELA) and served in numerous reform committees.

At the global level, he was part of the US State Department Leadership program for strengthening US-African trade and investment relations, EU’s – Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) trade relations post-GSP 2020, and WTO Global trade facilitation discussions, among others.

At the community level, he’s passionate about agriculture, democratising economic opportunities for the poor and livelihood safety nets. His initial work involved creating markets for the poorest regions of central Tanzania. He is active within political and policy circles in Tanzania and the broad East African region.

A Tanzanian national as well as a citizen of the world who spent considerable time in the UK for his PhD research, Teri also earned a master’s degree in International Development from the University of Edinburgh and earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science (and economics) from University of Dodoma in Tanzania.

Lawrence Nyasebwa Mafuru is the Deputy Permanent Secretary – Economic Management Policies, Ministry of Finance and Planning, Government of Tanzania. He is the Founder and former Managing Partner at Bankable. He started his career at Standard Chartered Bank in 1998 in International Trade Finance.

Lawrence has varied experience in the Banking and Finance industry over the last 19 years, which includes roles such as Head of Treasury at the National Bank of Commerce (NBC), CEO of NBC, Chairman of the Tanzanian Bankers Association and Treasury Registrar at the Ministry of Finance. He is a notable figure and sought-after speaker on matters related to banking and finance. Lawrence is a Certified Chartered Banker by the Chartered Institute of Bankers London and a Certified Financial Markets Dealer by ACI Financial Markets.

Santina Benson is the Executive Director of the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania (CEOrt), which brings together 200 CEOs of leading companies in Tanzania and provides a platform for regular engagement with the government and key stakeholders for the country’s sustainable economic development. Prior to her role with the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania, she held senior positions at various multi-national corporations within the Telecoms, ICT and Financial sectors. Her experience includes programme management, strategic planning, team building and business development.

As the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania, Ms Benson has led key initiatives, including driving the organisation’s business and sustainability agenda with a focus on the implementation of Sustainable Finance Principles and Private Sector led Climate Action initiatives. She also spearheaded the Ethical Leadership, Good Governance and Responsible Business agenda as part of Tanzania’s National Anti-Corruption campaign in collaboration with the Government of Tanzania.

John Ulanga is the Regional Director of East and Central Africa of TradeMark Africa.

Prior to joining TradeMark, John was the Vice President, External Affairs and Sustainability for BG East Africa (Tanzania and Kenya). Prior to that, he was the Executive Director of the Foundation for Civil Society, and the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF). Mr Ulanga was also previously the Executive Director of the Foundation for Civil Society, the largest support mechanism for civil society organisations in Tanzania. Prior to joining the Foundation for Civil Society, Mr Ulanga worked with the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF), one of the leading Policy Research Think Tanks in Tanzania.

John sits on several boards, including as chairman of the University Council of the Hubert Kairuki Memorial University, Dar es Salaam; the chairman of the Board of Directors of Tanzania Financial Services for the Underserved Settlements (TAFSUS); member of the Board of Directors of Mwananchi Communications Limited (publishers of The Citizen, Mwananchi and Mwanaspoti Newspapers); member and vice chair of the Board of Directors of Tanzania Media Foundation; a Board member of KCB Bank Tanzania and a member of the USAID Tanzania Advisory Group. Ulanga is also a member of the ONE Campaign Africa Policy Advisory Board.

Karim Anjarwalla is a Director and a founder of ALN, an alliance of leading corporate law firms currently in fourteen key African jurisdictions and the UAE. Through his leadership, ALN has continually promoted Africa as an investment destination through various initiatives by showcasing investments and business opportunities for investors looking into Africa.

Shemane Amin is a Partner within the Corporate Department at ALN Tanzania. She also manages the firm’s client experience and is responsible for overseeing operations. Shemane is a corporate lawyer. She advises international and local acquiring firms and targets in various commercial transactions, including structuring joint ventures, asset purchase acquisitions, disposals of businesses, and share purchase acquisitions. Particularly in highly regulated Tanzanian sectors such as natural resources, insurance, financial services and telecommunications. Shemane guides clients through relevant comprehensive due diligence investigations, pre-transaction structuring, drafting and negotiation of transaction documentation, and regulatory clearances. Shemane also specialises in guiding foreign investors entering the Tanzanian market on the establishment of their business structures, strategic fiscal and non-fiscal investment incentives, access to land, employment considerations, and the relevant legal and tax frameworks.

Shemane is one of Tanzania’s few US-Tanzanian dual-qualified lawyers, having been admitted to practice in both Massachusetts and Tanzania. She started her legal career in the United States with Brown Rudnick LLP, in their Boston and New York offices. After returning to Tanzania, she worked with ATZ Law Chambers briefly and then proceeded to expand her commercial and operational experience by taking an in-house position as a Corporate Advisor to the MeTL Group. Thereafter, Shemane held a dual-management role at Philip Morris Tanzania, where she was Manager of Corporate Affairs and Manager of Commercial, Strategy & Planning. The experience of having filled various legal and non-legal management roles in domestic and large-scale multinational companies, as well as establishing her own business ventures in Tanzania, brings a practical and commercially sensitive approach to her legal practice.

Geofrey Dimoso is a Partner at ALN Tanzania with over 15 years of experience in private practice having previously worked as an in-house lawyer in the banking sector. He specialises in corporate, finance and banking, employment, competition, and conveyancing laws. He has also gained experience in acting as an insolvency practitioner in Tanzania. Geofrey has regularly advised domestic and international clients on the full range of financial, banking, employment and corporate & commercial laws issues. He has also been actively involved in a number of cross-border transactions which involve engagement with various regulators in Tanzania, including the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), Fair Competition Commission (FCC), Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA), Mining Commission, Capital Market, and Securities Authority (CMSA) and Registrar of Companies (BRELA). He is representing various clients in commercial disputes instituted in various courts in Tanzania, including insolvency matters.

Geofrey is a practising Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania and a certified director by the Commonwealth Centre for Corporate Governance (Kenya) and the Institute of Directors Tanzania. He serves as a member of various professional bodies, including the Tanganyika Law Society and East African Law Society. He has also been representing the Law of Society of Tanzania and Tanzania Bankers Association on various technical groups which have been closely working with the Government of Tanzania in the reform of various sectorial laws.