Agenda
In 2024, the agenda provided a unique deep-dive into treasury practices across the region. Through a series of debates and interactive roundtables, key topics explored the latest developments and strategies for managing liquidity risks, FX volatility, financing, payments and digitisation and more.
Moderated by:
Simon Jones
Independent treasury consultant
Simon Jones
Independent treasury consultant
Simon has over 30 years of experience in finance, treasury and transaction banking across both developed and emerging markets. Simon was previously Chief Customer Officer at ClearBank and lead the client management, product & marketing teams at the UK’s first cloud based infrastructure clearing bank.
Prior to joining ClearBank in 2019, Simon spent over 20 years at JPMorgan. During his time at the bank, he was responsible for treasury solutions in EMEA, supporting clients around the world. He was also Head of Corporate Sales in EMEA from 2012 to 2015 and Asia Regional Executive for Treasury Services from 2006 to 2010, based in Hong Kong.
Simon is actively involved in UK FinTech as a Mentor for TechStars Accelerator programme.
Registration and light breakfast
Welcome address
Economic and geopolitical analysis of the region in transition in 2024
The Africa region is experiencing slightly higher than global average growth at 3.2 percent compared to 3 percent globally, with North Africa growing at 4.2 percent, and Sub saharan Africa 2.7 percent, according to IMF figures. The picture is mixed however, with Sudan in negative growth and Libya leading at 12.5 percent. Domestic political and economic conditions vary, and leading economies, including Nigeria and South Africa have experienced sharp currency declines. Here we analyse the economic data coming out of the region, in terms of growth, productivity, investment including FDI, currency and commodity prices as well as the geopolitical influences, including Russia and China, that are shaping the economies of nations. We also take in the breadth of new central bank and regulatory policies in major countries, as well as the development of pan African initiatives, including the African free trade area and movements towards further currency and monetary union. In this opening session the Economist Intelligence unit takes in the breadth of change across the region in 2023, including the impact of new conflict in the Middle East and the effects of climate change, and predicts the growth outlook of nations throughout Africa for 2024.
Benedict Craven
Principal economist,
Economist Intelligence Unit
Benedict Craven
Principal economist,
Economist Intelligence Unit
March 21st 2024Benedict Craven has been at the helm of EIU’s coverage for Africa and the Middle East for nine years, with a wealth of expertise straddling politics, the financial landscape and economics. He leads EIU’s analysis on financial risk, and through his insights helps clients to better navigate the region’s most complex economies and prepare for market-moving events on the horizon. He has delivered presentations to a wide range of corporate audiences. His specialisms include currency trends, debt sustainability, the balance-of payments and the interplay between economic policy and investment. Benedict’s analysis is frequently cited in local and international media and he has featured on television and radio numerous times for different outlets. Benedict has a Graduate Diploma in economics from Birkbeck, a Masters in International Development from SOAS and is close to completing a Masters in Applied Economics at the University of Bath.
Navigating foreign exchange volatility and hedging strategies and embedding efficient automated payment platforms
Nigeria’s currency has fallen by 50 percent in 2023 due to domestic political disruption and other factors, whilst pan African basket of currencies has fallen against the dollar by 8 percent on average in 2023. Against this backdrop of volatility in currency markets, hard currency and dollar strategies in the region have also come up against hard currency shortages in markets due to dollar outflows and central banks holding foreign currency reserves. Companies seeking to stabilise currency fluctuations in FX markets might look to hedging currency pairs, especially dollar to local currency exposures to avoid spot rate spikes. Yet hedging is not without risk, and treasurers traditionally tread carefully as losses can accumulate if currency prices fall below derivative values. In parallel, for all the technological advances in the global payments ecosystem, from real time to crypto, and the fact that Africa is a pioneer in mobile payments, cross border payments in Africa are still challenging for treasurers. Cash managers comment that Africa can represent 10 percent of payables and remittances globally, but can take up more than half their time in processing and reconciliation on the cash balance sheet. The latest straight through processing technologies and automated AP/AR systems only work in so far as they are connected, and not met with manual processing bottlenecks. In this session treasurers reflect on the recent market turbulence in foreign exchange, their strategies for navigating fluctuating currency markets, their hedging strategies, and also how technologies such as automated payments and dynamic FX hedging and settlement applications can optimise value. Treasurers also discuss the technologies they use in payment processing, and the fixes required to deliver effective and efficient cross border transactions.
Nassima Boudjemaa
Regional treasurer MEA,
Holcim Group Services
Nassima Boudjemaa
Regional treasurer MEA,
Holcim Group Services
March 21st 2024Neiciriany Mata
Head of financial services,
Angola Cables
Neiciriany Mata
Head of financial services,
Angola Cables
March 21st 2024“I am a Leading the Angola Cables Finance department. I have more that 10 years in the finance area, with large experience in payment process and restructure the finance departme.
All over the year I have being developing the ways to pay and to balance the company treasury, by optimizing the process and always working in a proactive way to prevent any future situation.
I have a doble degree in Finance and managment, and also a Master in Strategy of Investment and Internationalization by ISG- Business School in Lisbon.”
Cash management and forecasting including netting, pooling and strategies for managing trapped cash
Cash forecasting and cash visibility dominate the treasury agenda in the region with a heightened need to source intelligence and data on cashflows throughout the business to create more accurate short and long term forecasts. A core concern for treasurers in producing forecasts in the region continues to be the difficult issue of moving cash receipts generated in the country across borders and repatriating cash in hard currency – dollars or euros. Central banks which dictate foreign exchange controls and how money can be deposited and moved, are beyond the influence of the treasury. Yet multinational corporations can lobby and seek to influence policy in these matters where the cost of doing business can become challenging. Solutions to trapped cash involve the investment in business operations and local assets such as investing in local currency bonds or real assets. In country business operations in the region generating cash pools in local accounts that cannot be repatriated due to limitations on foreign exchange controls for offshore entities, is often described as ‘trapped cash’, but for some treasurers, the term ‘local cash’ is a way of describing local currency to support local business operations. Intercompany netting, where receipts from subsidiaries are offset against payments in intercompany trading is a strategy for ensuring the availability of local working capital, whilst intercompany lending can reduce the requirement for local currency funding. In this session treasurers discuss the cash management and forecasting strategies, and key challenges in supporting the working capital requirements of group entities and subsidiaries in regional markets. We also take a look at treasurer’s ‘trapped cash’ strategies, in both short and long term investment horizons.
Gautam Ghosh
Group treasury,
Mott MacDonald Limited
Gautam Ghosh
Group treasury,
Mott MacDonald Limited
March 21st 2024Kathleen Wyns
Cash manager, FIN ITR cash management infrastructure,
Equinor Energy Belgium NV
Kathleen Wyns
Cash manager, FIN ITR cash management infrastructure,
Equinor Energy Belgium NV
March 21st 2024
Networking break
New regional risks: strategies to manage liquidity through inflationary markets
Risks in treasury are ever changing and the pace of change is ever increasing. Recent events have caused heightened liquidity risks in the region, most recently the Russia Ukraine war and the sanctions that have applied in markets by the West. The closing of markets in the pandemic period, to the supply crisis that followed, the restructuring of business, the rise in the cost of capital, the spiking of inflation and soaring commodity prices have all set the risk dials spinning in the treasury. Yet strategies to mitigate spot price hikes, including hedging with forward contracts, are expensive and commit capital and cash over long periods, in an environment where liquidity and working capital also are a priority focus for the treasury. In this session we ask treasurers how they have recalibrated their approaches to risk through the recent period in several aspects of treasury operations, from cash management and collection, to maintaining working capital ratios, to hedging and financing strategies to mitigate the tide of risks, and the technologies that help treasurers see and act on risk more effectively now and in the future.
Sally Zikri
Chief financial officer,
Decathlon Egypt
Sally Zikri
Chief financial officer,
Decathlon Egypt
- 11:40am -12:20pmNew regional risks: strategies to manage liquidity through inflationary markets
- 04:30pm -5:30pmRegional roundtables
Folake Fawibe
Business service director, Southern and Western Africa,
Danone
Folake Fawibe
Business service director, Southern and Western Africa,
Danone
March 21st 2024Marta de Teresa
Group treasurer,
MAXAM
Marta de Teresa
Group treasurer,
MAXAM
March 21st 2024At the beginning of my professional career, I held different positions at Planning, Controlling and Operations departments. I am currently Group Treasury Director at MAXAM.
As Group Treasurer, and member of the Corporate Financial team, I am involved in the negotiation and allocation of the main Corporate Debt, in the origination or renewal of LT & ST financing facilities, covering Parent Company and subsidiaries’ funding needs, as well as trade financing, derivative & risks management, and cash management solutions together with Bank relationship management. My team also covers the management of the cash position of the subsidiaries and centralizes the back office for Spanish and some other European subsidiaries´ payments. We have undergone efficiency improvement projects (interface automation, RPAs, global communication project, among others)
I hold an Economics and Business Degree by ICADE, an MBA at IDE, PDD by ESADE, and have taken different Treasury and Capital Markets specialization courses at IEB.
Aligning operations for efficient cash management in Africa
Aligning operations for efficient cash management is the central plank in optimal organisational design in treasury. What optimal organisational alignment entails in practice, varies from company to company, and largely focuses on the balance between central and local cash operations. Streamlining treasury in the ‘one treasury many countries’ model, can be complex where cash is generated in several business units and in several currencies. Yet the cash management process is multifaceted, with many moving parts: including structuring banking operations to efficiently move cash across currencies and borders, whilst enabling local payment options, optimising collection processes, and utilising technology solutions, such as banking APIs, to create efficient cash conversion cycles. The benefits of cash efficiencies can be measured in improved liquidity and enhanced working capital flows, across business operations. In this session we hear how treasurers are achieving ever greater efficiencies in the central management of local cash operations and the new solutions that bank partners bring to the treasury process.
Motasim Iqbal
Regional head, transaction banking sales, AME,
Standard Chartered
Motasim Iqbal
Regional head, transaction banking sales, AME,
Standard Chartered
March 21st 2024- 12:20pm -1:00pmAligning operations for efficient cash management in Africa
Motasim Iqbal is the Managing Director & Head of Transaction Banking Sales, Corporate Commercial & Institutional Banking for Standard Chartered Bank in the AME region since August 2020. In this role he is responsible for running the sales team covering Cash Management and Trade Finance products in the region. He is also a member of the Standard Chartered Bank UAE Country Management Team.
Before taking on his current role, Motasim was the Head for Transaction Banking Sales for Global Banking clients in the United Arab Emirates and AME region and prior to that during 2017-19 he was the Head of Transaction Banking in the UAE. Previously he has worked with the Bank in Singapore as head of TB for Singapore, where he worked very closely with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on positioning Singapore as a premier Renminbi clearing market outside China.
Motasim joined the Wholesale Banking business at Standard Chartered in Oct 1997 and was appointed the Head of Transaction Banking for Pakistan in 2003. In 2006, he moved to Dubai to head the Financial Institutions segment within Transaction Banking across MENA & Pakistan. Prior to joining Standard Chartered, Motasim began his career as an Assistant Manager in the Treasury Division of Shell Pakistan Limited.
Motasim holds an MBA degree from the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi, with majors in Banking & Finance. He has also attended various leadership programs including Leading Across Boundaries at Oxford Said Business School, Business Leadership Planning course of the Nottingham Trent University and a senior level executive course at INSEAD Singapore. Motasim spent his childhood in Tanzania, East Africa and his early schooling in the International School of Tanganyika (IST) in Dar es Salaam.
Takachida Kuhudzai
Lead EMEA treasury strategy,
Kimberly Clark
Takachida Kuhudzai
Lead EMEA treasury strategy,
Kimberly Clark
March 21st 2024- 12:20pm -1:00pmAligning operations for efficient cash management in Africa
Bert Heirbaut
Group treasury manager
IHG
Bert Heirbaut
Group treasury manager
IHG
March 21st 2024- 12:20pm -1:00pmAligning operations for efficient cash management in Africa
Bert Heirbaut is the Group Treasury Front Office Manager at IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hotel companies with a diverse portfolio of 19 brands from midscale hotel brands such as Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza up to luxury brands such as InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Regent and Six Senses.
Bert joined IHG in 2004 and is now responsible for the front office operations with a team of 4. The team responsibilities range from the core treasury function such as trading foreign exchange, investments and interest risk management as well as the strategic overview for global cash management in the 100 jurisdiction IHG is operating its brand portfolio of over 6300 hotels. The team implemented a global payment hub and is now fully up and running on Kyriba making payments via their corporate SWIFT code from more than 40 different banks globally.
Lunch
Centralising treasury from devolved and decentralised operations and managing treasury teams
Centralisation of treasury operations has been a core project for many treasurers in the region focussed on delivering efficiencies in key functions in cash and liquidity management, enabled by cloud technologies and integrated bank portals, central treasury tools are now accessible from anywhere. Yet other treasurers take the view that localised treasury operations, especially in supporting local business entities, as well as local suppliers and bank relationships, is an important service to provide in the region. For some businesses, the option to centralise services is challenged by devolved business structures and extensive in country operations. Integral to the strategic model for optimising operational efficiencies and centralisation of services is the question of the role of shared service centres in treasury operations. The answers as to what functions should be devolved to shared services, whether these functions need to be fully or in part outsourced, where the operation should reside, either on or off shore, and how the shared services should be managed and report to the central treasury is all part of the strategic operational complexity. Local boots on the ground in regional treasury to support local business operations especially in cash and foreign exchange is a model that some companies still adhere to despite the drive towards centralisation. Remote and hybrid working practices has also created a treasury everywhere model, where location of treasury talent is dispersed throughout the region, although for tax and visa purposes, regional treasury hubs located in Dubai, London, Lagos or South Africa are common operational centres for multinationals. Local treasury talent, with the required skills and experience for treasury positions in these hubs is in demand, especially with the mix of technical and financial expertise modern treasury demands. Some companies have maintained regional centres to retain local talent to support treasury and business operations. In this session treasurers discuss the optimal ways to support the needs of the business at local level, and ask if the drive to centralisation is a net positive solution, and discuss the role of local and regional treasury teams in supporting business activities.
Jyoti Jiwani
Treasury transformation consultant
Jyoti Jiwani
Treasury transformation consultant
- 02:00pm -2:40pmCentralising treasury from devolved and decentralised operations and managing treasury teams
- 04:30pm -5:30pmRegional roundtables
Esther Chibesa
Managing director, head, treasury and trade solutions for Sub-Saharan Africa,
Citi
Esther Chibesa
Managing director, head, treasury and trade solutions for Sub-Saharan Africa,
Citi
March 21st 2024
Working with banking partners to deliver treasury solutions for local business operations
Treasurers with local business operations in the region rely on the support of international banking partners to provide treasury services in markets, and also local banks for local currency operations, including payments services to local entities and subsidiaries. The integration of local banking partners into a company’s bank panel for local business operations requires active account management and bank relationship management that can be time consuming where additional manual processes are required in the execution of transfers, transactions and remittances and payments in local currencies. Local treasury operations also often face challenges working with local banking partners where there is no integrated or automated solution or compatible connectivity to connect the bank to existing treasury systems. In this session treasurers discuss the challenges in working with local banking partners to support treasury operations and the solutions that they have found in enabling local banks to connect and integrate with their treasury processes.
Sidhanth Hota
Group treasurer,
Airtel Africa plc
Sidhanth Hota
Group treasurer,
Airtel Africa plc
March 21st 2024Noor Shafina Abdul Hamed
Manager banking management, EUR-GDC-banking,
International Air Transport Association (IATA)
Noor Shafina Abdul Hamed
Manager banking management, EUR-GDC-banking,
International Air Transport Association (IATA)
- 02:40pm -3:20pmWorking with banking partners to deliver treasury solutions for local business operations
- 04:30pm -5:30pmRegional roundtables
With a passion for aviation, Shafina holds a master’s degree in international Air Transport Operations and Management from Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile. In her current role as Banking Manager overseeing the EMEA & the Americas region at IATA (International Air Transport Association). She is responsible for crafting meticulous RFPs, orchestrating SLAs, and spearheading seamless KYC implementation ensuring the financial landscape aligns seamlessly with the aviation industry’s demands. Managing daily transactions in the millions, she brings a wealth of experience to the table, providing unparalleled cash management expertise.
Evaluating ERP, TMS, API and AI technologies and fintech, digital currencies in treasury
Building the business case for treasury transformation is increasingly complex in a market full of technology solutions. In the centre of modern treasury technologies, sits the ERP, now with a host of treasury modules, able to connect bespoke or ready made software applications using APIs, and instantly upgradable with the latest tools in payment processing or cash forecasting. Data too feeds ERPs to produce more precise financial reporting across treasury, and data analytics and the skills needed to optimise data systems are in great demand in treasury today. In this session, treasurers talk about the promise of AI, the rise of APIs and connected ERPs, and the future of the TMS systems, sharing their stories of technological transformation, in a regional context. We also look at fintech activity in the region, especially in payments, mobile money and digital wallets. With a young demographic, digital adoption of services is high. Yet where the region has been pioneering in consumer technologies, business to business and financial digital infrastructure, especially in banking and treasury services, has been less developed and is playing catch up with other regions. In this session, we look at the breadth of financial technologies, including crypto, digital wallets, tokenisation, blockchain applications and their applications and use cases in B2B transactions and treasury services. We also take in the development of central bank digital currencies and the challenge to decentralised finance in the region.
Chigbo Enenmo
Treasury manager,
Nigeria LNG Limited
Chigbo Enenmo
Treasury manager,
Nigeria LNG Limited
- 03:20pm -4:00pmEvaluating ERP, TMS, API and AI technologies and fintech, digital currencies in treasury
- 04:30pm -5:30pmRegional roundtables
Chigbo Enenmo is a seasoned finance professional with over 20 years of experience covering accounting and financial reporting, auditing, treasury management, planning and budgeting, finance operations, and business/project finance management.
Chigbo holds a first-class Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from University of Nigeria; a Master of Science degree in Environmental and Resource Economics from University College London; and an MBA from Imperial College London. He is also a Chartered Accountant, with professional qualifications from ICAN Nigeria, ACCA UK, and CIMA UK.
He started his career at KPMG as an Auditor in 2001 before moving to PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2003. He later joined TotalEnergies in 2003, where he worked as a Budget Analyst. In 2006, Chigbo joined Shell, where he has held various roles including Senior Regional Reporting Accountant at Shell EP Africa from 2006 to 2009; Head of Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable at Shell SNEPCO Nigeria from 2009 to 2011; Group Reporting Analyst at Shell Netherlands from 2012 to 2013; and Finance Manager (Wells/Exploration) and Finance Manager (Corporate) at Shell SPDC Nigeria between 2013 to 2019.
He was appointed Treasury Manager NLNG in 2019 at Nigeria LNG Limited as a secondee from Shell. He holds this position to date.
Chigbo is a two-time winner of the Treasury Today Adam Smith Award (2020 and 2022) for leading and delivering world-class business improvement projects.
Royston Da Costa
Assistant treasurer,
Ferguson
Royston Da Costa
Assistant treasurer,
Ferguson
March 21st 2024Royston Da Costa has over 34 years’ experience working in treasury. He joined Wolseley, now Ferguson Group, in April 2002, and was responsible for managing the group’s daily debt and cash requirements.
In 2010, Royston was given the responsibility for driving the automation of Treasury’s processes at Ferguson, which led to the implementation of their current treasury management system in 2015, a cloud-based solution by Coupa.
He was promoted to assistant group treasurer in November 2016, and was made responsible for the middle office, and in November 2019 assumed responsibility for the Front Office. He continues to drive forward the group’s strategy on treasury technology.
Today, Ferguson use 13 cloud based solutions and most of their processes are automated.
Royston previously worked at Sky, Gillette, PolyGram, Seagram, and Vivendi Universal.
Ferguson won the 2020 BELLIN (now part of Coupa) Champions Award for “Best Practice”.
Royston also won the Adam Smith award on behalf of Ferguson for the “Best Cyber-Security Solution” in 2019.
Ferguson won the Corporate Recognition Award for “Future proofing Treasury” at the 2018 TMI Awards for Innovation and Excellence.
Networking break
Regional roundtables
Delegate group discussions on sharing experiences and challenges of treasury operations in specific regions. Choose from:
• North Africa – Sally Zikri, Chief financial officer, Decathlon Egypt
• East Africa – Razia Khan, Head of research and chief economist, Africa and Middle East, Standard Chartered
• South Africa – Jyoti Jiwani, Treasury transformation consultant
• West Africa 1 – Chigbo Enenmo, Treasury manager, Nigeria LNG Limited
West Africa 2 – Noor Shafina Abdul Hamed, Manager banking management, EUR-GDC-banking, IATA
• Middle East – Steve Buonvino, Managing director, treasury and trade solutions, Middle East and Africa large corporate sales head, Citi
Sally Zikri
Chief financial officer,
Decathlon Egypt
Sally Zikri
Chief financial officer,
Decathlon Egypt
- 11:40am -12:20pmNew regional risks: strategies to manage liquidity through inflationary markets
- 04:30pm -5:30pmRegional roundtables
Razia Khan
Head of research and chief economist, Africa and Middle East,
Standard Chartered
Razia Khan
Head of research and chief economist, Africa and Middle East,
Standard Chartered
March 21st 2024- 04:30pm -5:30pmRegional roundtables
Razia is Head of Research, Africa and Middle East, with over two decades of experience covering emerging and frontier markets. She is a well-known commentator on the region and provides regular updates to central banks, finance ministries, institutional investors and corporates in the region. She currently serves as a Trustee of the Royal Africa Society and Save the Children UK, and has been appointed to serve on the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) established by the presidency of the Republic of South Africa. She has previously served on the WEF’s Global Future Council on Migration and the Global Agenda Council on ‘Poverty and Economic Development’. She was named one of the ‘100 most influential Africans’ in 2015 by New African magazine, and one of ‘100 Africa economics leaders’ by Institut Choiseul (2017). Razia holds BSc and MSc (Econ) degrees from the London School of Economics.
Jyoti Jiwani
Treasury transformation consultant
Jyoti Jiwani
Treasury transformation consultant
- 02:00pm -2:40pmCentralising treasury from devolved and decentralised operations and managing treasury teams
- 04:30pm -5:30pmRegional roundtables
Chigbo Enenmo
Treasury manager,
Nigeria LNG Limited
Chigbo Enenmo
Treasury manager,
Nigeria LNG Limited
- 03:20pm -4:00pmEvaluating ERP, TMS, API and AI technologies and fintech, digital currencies in treasury
- 04:30pm -5:30pmRegional roundtables
Chigbo Enenmo is a seasoned finance professional with over 20 years of experience covering accounting and financial reporting, auditing, treasury management, planning and budgeting, finance operations, and business/project finance management.
Chigbo holds a first-class Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from University of Nigeria; a Master of Science degree in Environmental and Resource Economics from University College London; and an MBA from Imperial College London. He is also a Chartered Accountant, with professional qualifications from ICAN Nigeria, ACCA UK, and CIMA UK.
He started his career at KPMG as an Auditor in 2001 before moving to PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2003. He later joined TotalEnergies in 2003, where he worked as a Budget Analyst. In 2006, Chigbo joined Shell, where he has held various roles including Senior Regional Reporting Accountant at Shell EP Africa from 2006 to 2009; Head of Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable at Shell SNEPCO Nigeria from 2009 to 2011; Group Reporting Analyst at Shell Netherlands from 2012 to 2013; and Finance Manager (Wells/Exploration) and Finance Manager (Corporate) at Shell SPDC Nigeria between 2013 to 2019.
He was appointed Treasury Manager NLNG in 2019 at Nigeria LNG Limited as a secondee from Shell. He holds this position to date.
Chigbo is a two-time winner of the Treasury Today Adam Smith Award (2020 and 2022) for leading and delivering world-class business improvement projects.
Steve Buonvino
Managing director, treasury and trade solutions, Middle East and Africa large corporate sales head,
Citi
Steve Buonvino
Managing director, treasury and trade solutions, Middle East and Africa large corporate sales head,
Citi
March 21st 2024- 04:30pm -5:30pmRegional roundtables
Noor Shafina Abdul Hamed
Manager banking management, EUR-GDC-banking,
International Air Transport Association (IATA)
Noor Shafina Abdul Hamed
Manager banking management, EUR-GDC-banking,
International Air Transport Association (IATA)
- 02:40pm -3:20pmWorking with banking partners to deliver treasury solutions for local business operations
- 04:30pm -5:30pmRegional roundtables
With a passion for aviation, Shafina holds a master’s degree in international Air Transport Operations and Management from Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile. In her current role as Banking Manager overseeing the EMEA & the Americas region at IATA (International Air Transport Association). She is responsible for crafting meticulous RFPs, orchestrating SLAs, and spearheading seamless KYC implementation ensuring the financial landscape aligns seamlessly with the aviation industry’s demands. Managing daily transactions in the millions, she brings a wealth of experience to the table, providing unparalleled cash management expertise.