Group Photograph of the new AADFI Chairman and his delegation with the AADFI Secretariat Staff
Sitting left: Mr. Thabo P. Thamane, AADFI Chairman; Sitting right: Mr. Joseph A. Amihere, AADFI

Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, July 29, 2019 – The new Chairman of the Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADFI), Mr. Thabo Prince Thamane, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), Botswana, visited from July 28 to 30, 2019, the Headquarters of the Association in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Mr. Thamane explained that after his election as the new AADFI Chairman during the 45th Ordinary General Assembly (OGA) Meeting of the Association held on June 12, 2019, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, he decided to pay a visit to the Association’s headquarters and to some Development Partners in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He was accompanied by two of his senior officers, Mr. Tirelo LESHETLA, Head of Human Capital, and Mr. Tlamelo MOELETSI, Head of Internal Audit.

During the visit, the Chairman and his delegation held a meeting with the AADFI Staff at the AADFI’s Headquarters Training Centre, after inspection of the Headquarters premises and installations conducted by the Secretary-General. The objective of the meeting was to meet the staff to find out their needs and requirements to assist them in the performance of their duties, as he was aware that AADFI is a small institution with a very big mandate at a continental level.

Mr. Thamane also had meetings with Heads of some partner institutions at their offices. The Chairman and his delegation met with Mr. Youssouf FADIGA, CEO of the Banque Nationale d’Investissement (BNI), host institution of the AADFI,to renew the Association’s thanks to the BNI for hosting the AADFI and providing continued support, and to strengthen partnership and relationship to move the Association forward.
Mr. Thamane and his delegation also paid a courtesy visit to the Financial Sector Development Department of the African Development Bank (PIFD-AfDB) Director, Mr. Stefan Nalletamby at a meeting organized to welcome the Chairman. The Chairman took the opportunity to thank the PIFD-AfDB Director for the continuous support that the Association was privileged to receive from his department, reassure him of the strong commitment of the Association to collaborate with his department, and inform him that he was in Abidjan to visit the Association’s Headquarters to ensure assistance to the Secretariat and the staff. He appealed for support from PIFD-AfDB in that direction.

Lastly, Mr. Thamane and his delegation visited BDO-SA Côte d’Ivoire, the AADFI’s auditing firm, where he met Mr. Hadi Drame, External Auditor of the Association. The visit aimed at knowing the location of the institution, thanking Mr. Drame for professionally auditing the Association, and inquiring whether Mr. Drame had some recommendations that could help him improve the governance of the Association.

The Chairman wrapped up his visit to the Association’s Headquarters with a meeting with the Secretary-General to discuss the observations and conclusions of his visit, and plan the way forward for the Association over the next four years.