Anne Mulama is a Senior State Counsel at the State Law Office in Kenya, she presently assists in the ongoing negotiations for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Prior to her position in the State Law Office.

Ms. Mulama worked and consulted on a range of corporate law matters including trade, investment, natural resources and environment at the National, Regional and International level, She also worked in the Human Rights Sector where she coordinated the development of various reports for submission to treaty bodies, e.g. Universal Periodic review-UPR, African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights-ACHPR, East Africa Court of Justice-EACJ and United Nations Human Rights Council-HRC.

Ms. Mulama’s areas of interest are on research and analysis on a range of economic policy issues affecting Africa. She has participated in various training courses focusing on WTO Agreements and matters related to International Trade offered by the WTO and the Trade Law Centre (tralac).

She holds a Bachelor of Laws from Moi University, Kenya and a Post Graduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law.

Asindi Akaniyene Eshiet is very passionate about Democratic Governance, Conflict Resolution, AfCFTA Intra African Trade and African Regional Integration.

He is the Director of Trade and Advocacy and a principal partner Society for a United Africa (SOFUA) a non – governmental organization, purposed at engaging in every activity that promotes civic participation, educational and economic advancement of Africans and strengthening cooperation among African states.

Asindi Akaniyene Eshiet holds an LLB Hons. from the National Open University of Nigeria, and a B.Sc. Policy Studies and Administration from the Institute of Public Policy and Administration, University of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.

He is currently a participant in an ongoing 2023 certificate course training on International Trade Law and Policy for Africa’s Development sponsored by Trade Law Centre (tralac). He has numerous training certificate geared towards trade preparedness for African market, trade policy advocacy and the implementation of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) organized by ITC SME Trade Academy and the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP) respectively.

Asindi Akaniyene Eshiet has written several developmental projects yet to be actualized but a few to mention is a Proposal on Youths Engagement against Drugs and Child Terrorism. He again presented a Development Training Material for Peace Building and Conflict Responses – Targeting Women as Peace Advocates in Africa.

He was nominated by The Savannah Centre for Democracy Diplomacy and Development (SCDDD) in 2019 to participate as a stake holder in an Impact Assessment on Conflicts Escalation in the middle belt region of Nigeria organized by Mercy Corps, sponsored by USAID. He has participated in several capacity building programs all geared towards the development of Africa.

Average Chikowore holds a Bachelor of Honours Degree in Accountancy from Bindura University of Science Education. He also holds a Master of Commerce in Professional Accounting and Corporate Governance from Great Zimbabwe University in collaboration with the Chartered Governance Institute of Zimbabwe.

He has several certificates including Customs Risk Management, Public Financial Management, Building Port Resilience against Pandemics, and Climate-Smart Trade and Investment for Sustainable Development.

He works for Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) since 2012 and has been under several sections which include commercial cargo clearance and customs enforcement. He was once a tax and financial accounting consultant and auditor before joining ZIMRA. He has a special interest in trade and gender, trade facilitation, and regional integration, especially the AfCFTA.

Deric Pascal Tafadji holds a Bachelor’s degree (International trade) from the Ascencia Business School France and is completing a Master's degree ( Transport & Supply Chain Management) from the Graduate School of Management Pigier Cameroun.

As a results-driven leader with a track record of optimizing efficiency and profitability, he is a member of ACODAF (Action pour le Commerce et le Développement en Afrique) whose principal mission is to reduce poverty in African countries in a sustainable manner through a greater contribution of trade and investment to their GDP growth. He expects that this association will be a motor of development for the implementation and the enforcement of the AfCFTA.

Kefelegn Tesema received a B.A in Business Management from Jimma University, Ethiopia (2003), M.A in Commerce from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), India (2013), and MSc in International Trade Policy and Trade Law from Lund University, Sweden (2019). My dissertation focused on the effect of Customs and administrative procedures on Intra-COMESA trade. He joined Ethiopia Customs Commission in 2005, as Tariff and Valuation officer, and in 2011 was promoted as Post Clearance Audit (PCA) team leader in 2011. In 2016, he was also promoted as Customs Compliant Review Office Head. His research interest includes trade facilitation, regional integration, trade policy analysis, supply chain management, international trade and customs regulations, and customs compliance.

Latifa Said Omar is a Customs trainer at Kenya School of Revenue Administration (KESRA). She holds a Master of Science in Mathematics (Biostatistics), a Bachelor of Science (Statistics) from Moi University, a Professional Certificate in International Trade from University of Adelaide and Certificate in Customs and Tax Administration.

Ms. Latifa Said has vast interest in Rules of Origin, Regional integration, International Trade, Intellectual Property Rights, Customs Valuation and Risk management. She has written articles demystifying international trade for a better tomorrow. She is also a National Trainer on AfCFTA Rules of Origin.

Mutende Kawimbe works for the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry in Lusaka, Zambia as a Senior Technical Regulations officer under the Department of Technical Regulations. Her experiences include facilitating public-private dialogue, auditing of technical regulations, providing recommendations for business reforms in various sectors of the economy as well as monitoring and evaluation She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Development Studies and Economics from the University of Zambia. Her interests are in trade policy, gender equality as well as Women Empowerment.

Mwanaulu Issa Mwajita is the Director, Trade Facilitation and Policy Harmonization for the Intergovernmental Standing Committee on Shipping (ISCOS) Secretariat. Her leadership roles include serving as a Board Member for the World Maritime University Women’s Association, Secretary to the Mentorship Committee of WOMESA Kenya and Chairperson of the Technical Committee on Shipping, Ports and Logistics for the Association of Maritime Professionals Kenya (AMPK).

She brings to the table a wealth of experience spanning over 15 years in the Port and Shipping Sector specializing in maritime sector system automation projects for Shipping, Port, Trade and Logistics stakeholders with a key specialization in Single Window Systems and trade facilitation.

Previously she worked for the Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) as a Principal Business Analyst where she conceptualized and spearheaded the delivery of the Maritime Single Window Project for Kenya’s maritime stakeholders.

She holds an MSc Degree in Maritime Affairs specializing in Shipping Management & Logistics from the World Maritime University (WMU), Sweden, MSc Degree in Information Systems (Lund University, Sweden), and a BSc Degree in Computer Science (Kampala International University, Uganda). Mwanaulu is certified in PRINCE2 project management and is a member of the Nautical Institute (MNI) and the Women in Maritime East and Southern Africa (WOMESA) – Kenya Chapter.

Passionate about female participation in the maritime world, Mwanaulu has been a convenor/moderator and speaker in forums including World Maritime Day, IMO – International Day for Women in Maritime, the 6th Assembly of the Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) and the United Nations 4th Oceans Forums.

Ndakaziva Makoka is a Customs & Excise Training Officer at the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. She is a holder of a Masters Degree in Business Administration and Bachelor of Business in Administration – Accounting Degree. With over 14 years’ experience in Customs and Excise, she has a passion for international trade law and policy as well as Trade and Gender issues.

Dr Pinkie Kebakile is Acting Senior Research Fellow at Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA), with 18 years of providing policy advice and contributing to policy debates on international trade, macroeconomics as well as poverty and welfare topics. She is the current Head of the Trade, Industry and Private Sector Development Unit and also serves as the Chairperson of the BIDPA Research Committee, the positions she has been holding since October 2020.

Dr Kebakile graduated with a Master of Commerce Degree in Economics from the University of Cape Town, South Africa in 2003. She completed her PhD training from the same university and her thesis is entitled “Dynamics of Firm-level Export Diversification in Botswana”. The thesis specifically focused on trading firms in Botswana, in relation to their export diversification behavior, using exports and imports transaction level data from Statistics Botswana. Dr. Kebakile has vast experience in consultancy work and her previous record as a team member is that of a dedicated and time conscious consultant. She has done well in several research and consultancy projects at BIDPA which include, inter alia, the recently completed projects on “The Assessment of Investment Opportunities within the Manufacturing Sector in Botswana” for the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) as well as “The Review and Revision of the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme for Botswana” initiated by the Ministry of Finance. Dr. Kebakile’s experience with consultancy work also includes sitting as a member of various Reference Groups that included, amongst others, for studies such as “The Export Audit” for the Botswana Exporters and Manufacturers Association and the “Bee Keeping Feasibility study for Bee Farming Commercialization in Botswana” for the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security.

She also provides technical advice on trade policy and market access issues through her membership in the following committees; Technical Committee on Market Access; SADC’s Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (TIFI) Cluster; Technical Committee on Empowerment of Women in Trade; SADC’s Industrial Development Forum; as well as the SACU Technical Committee of Senior Officials on Industrialisation, Export and Investment Promotion. Dr Kebakile also sits in the Board of the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS).

Sheila Nekesa Wafula is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. She was admitted to the Kenyan Bar on 9th May, 2022 and has a background in data protection and privacy and cybersecurity. She is also interested on how the use of Automated technologies will have an impact on data subjects with regards to the AfCFTA. She is interested in Artificial Intelligence policy, the ethical concerns of the use of technology and how best entrepreneurs’ digital rights will be protected. Further, she is open to opportunities in acquiring knowledge and expertise on the policy and legal aspects of international trade law as it marries with data transfers continentally.

Sylvia Umealakenyi is a Trade Facilitation officer at the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS). She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of the People, Pasadena California, USA, and a Global Health Project Management certification from the University of Washington, USA.

Her experience includes Agricultural market access strategy through improved food safety systems and quality, project/programme designing and scheduling, stakeholder engagements, bilateral agreements, mutual recognition agreements (MRAs), trade policy analysis, and trade negotiation.

A subcommittee member on trade policy and market access technical working group that set out policy frameworks and commitments for proposed sectors of interest for the Nigeria-UK Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership.

Sylvia is a member of the AGOA committee that drafted Nigeria’s AGOA strategy/work plan for the utilization and increase of exports to the USA. She is also a part of the SPS subcommittee working on the WTO MC12 SPS Declaration work plan.

Her interests include agricultural market access strategy, international development, food safety, trade data collection and wishes to attain a leading position in a multilateral organization that facilitates international trade in agriculture and technical capacity building in Africa.