Speaker details

Biography

Michael Sudarkasa is the CEO of the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership and also the founder and Chairman of Africa Business Group (ABG). Established in 2012, AFAP as an independent non-profit organization, launched by a partnership of African and international development organizations. AFAP has since evolved into a dynamic and market leading social enterprise and service provider to an array of clients and partners from the continental and international public and private sectors. Primarily focused on the design and implementation of sustainable developmental projects that support policy and regulatory reform, capacity development, financial credit provision, last-mile data gathering and market intelligence development and dissemination, AFAP provides market-driven business solutions in agricultural inputs and agribusiness value chain sectors. AFAP combines technical expertise, entrepreneurial innovation and a unique, continental perspective derived from its expansive footprint across the continent of offices in East (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda); Southern (Malawi, Mozambique, and South Africa (HQ)) and West Africa (Ghana and Nigeria). ABG is a South Africa based continentally active, African economic development company specializing in the areas of private sector development, capacity building, and trade and investment. A U.S. commercial attorney by training, Michael has lived, travelled, and worked in 50 countries around the world (including 35 in Africa), and is the author of several publications, including: The African Union Commission’s Africa Business Directory: Toward the Facilitation of Growth, Partnership and Global Inclusion (African Union, 2014), A Field Guide to Inclusive Business Finance (UNDP 2012) and Investing in Africa: An Insider’s Guide to the Ultimate Emerging Market (John Wiley & Sons, August 2000). Michael also currently serves as the Chair of Impact@Africa, a continentally focused impact investment ecosystem development platform, sits on the global board of the UNDRR’s Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies (ARISE), is a member of the University of Michigan Provost’s Advisory Committee, sits on the Advisory Board of the African Center for the Study of the United States of the University of Witwatersrand, and as also Chair of the Advisory Board of the African Studies Center of the University of Michigan. He holds a B.A. degree from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (High Honors in History) and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School. Before relocating to South Africa, he was a member of the State of Florida Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of International Trade. He is also a former Chair of the American Bar Association, Section on International Law and Practice, African Law Committee.