InfraCredit appoints Gupta as Chairman, Umar-Sadiq, Ihebuzor as directors

InfraCredit, a specialised infrastructure credit guarantee institution, backed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Private Infrastructure Development Group companies GuarantCo and InfraCo Africa, KfW Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and African Development Bank, has announced the appointment of Sanjeev Gupta of AFC as Chairman, replacing the outgoing Chairman, Uche Orji, of NSIA.

In addition, InfraCredit welcomes Aminu Umar-Sadiq and Reginald Ihebuzor to the Board as Non-Executive Directors representing NSIA, replacing Orji and Ms. Stella Ojekwe-Onyejeli of NSIA.

The Board and Management of InfraCredit thanked Orji and Ojekwe-Onyejeli for their manifold contributions to InfraCredit’s development since their appointments as pioneering members of InfraCredit’s Board of Directors in 2016.

Gupta has been a Non-Executive Director of InfraCredit since 2018, chairing the Board Risk & Capital Committee and the Board Remuneration Committee. Mr. Gupta is the Head of AFC’s Financial Services division and a Member of the Board of Directors, where he oversees the Corporation’s Treasury, Trade Finance, Syndication, Country Relations and Advisory business units.

Sanjeev has a wealth of experience in working across various emerging markets, especially in India, GCC and Africa for over 30 years. Mr. Gupta is a Fellow of the ICAI (India), an alumnus of the Oxford University Said Business School (UK) and MIT Sloan School of Management.

Umar-Sadiq is the MD/CEO of NSIA and has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services sector – spanning public finance management, mergers & acquisitions, private equity and asset management. Prior to this year, Mr. Umar-Sadiq had been an Executive Director of NSIA since 2019, serving as the Head of Direct Investments and leading NSIA’s multi-strategy infrastructure activities.

He commenced his professional career in the mergers & acquisitions division at Morgan Stanley, subsequently proceeding to Denham Capital Management and Société Générale.

He serves on numerous Boards in a non-executive capacity including the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria, NSIA Healthcare Development and Investment Company and the Multipurpose Industrial Platform Limited. Aminu attained his bachelor’ and Master’ degrees in Engineering Sciences from the University of Oxford (St. Johns College) and is an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow.

Ihebuzor has over 20 years of wide-ranging management-level experience that spans the development banking and public reform sectors. Previously in his career, he worked for five (5) years as the World Bank Independent Transactions Advisor at the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and had other stints at United Bank for Africa, Pan-African Infrastructure Development Fund (on secondment) and in the Imo State Government.

He is also the Project Director of the Niger Delta Development Bank project (ongoing) for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Mr. Ihebuzor completed a Robert S. McNamara Research Fellowship at the World Bank Institute. He earned a BSc, MSc and MBA from the University of Nigeria, University of Lagos and Enugu State University of Science & Technology.

In accepting his appointment as Chairman of InfraCredit and welcoming the new NSIA representatives to the Board, Mr. Sanjeev Gupta said, “I am honoured to assume the role of Chairman of InfraCredit, a truly unique institution whose impact in using credit enhancement to facilitate access to long-term, local currency financing for infrastructure projects is noteworthy. I look forward to continuing to work with management and esteemed board members to unlock new growth opportunities which are beneficial to all stakeholders. We are grateful to outgoing directors Mr Orji and Ms. Ojekwe-Onyejeli for their selfless contributions to the organisation and happy to welcome Mr Umar-Sadiq and Mr Ihebuzor to the Board.”

The Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of InfraCredit, Chinua Azubike, noted, “We are pleased to welcome Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq and Mr Reginald Ihebuzor as new board representatives from our founding shareholder, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, and look forward to leveraging their depth of domestic and international experience.

The management team is particularly thankful to Uche Orji and Stella Ojekwe-Onyejeli for the foundational role played over the past 5 years from the inception of InfraCredit. We are equally excited to continue the close working engagement with Mr Sanjeev Gupta to support our strategic growth initiatives as he transitions into the Chairman role.”

Speaking on the appointment, Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq said, “As one of those who had worked on InfraCredit at the concept phase and an ardent believer in its catalytic impact and its potential to serve as an enabler for attracting long-term capital into the domestic infrastructure development sector, I am delighted to be appointed as a non-executive director and look forward to contributing to the next phase of this value-led organisation’s evolution.”