Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a development finance institution for infrastructure projects in Africa, has appointed David Johnson to take up the position of Chief Risk Officer for the Corporation.

Previously AFC’s Vice President responsible for Market Risk Management, David Johnson succeeds Roger Ellender, who reached the mandatory retirement age, after serving as AFC’s Chief Risk Officer for 6 years.

In his new role, Mr. Johnson will be responsible for continuous review, implementation and enhancement of AFC’s Enterprise Wide Risk Management Framework, which comprises of Credit, Market, Operational, Environmental and Social Risk Management.

Mr. Johnson has been employed at AFC as Vice President for Risk Management for the past 5 years. During this period, he contributed to the avoidance, mitigation and management of risks in AFC’s investments, enhancement of policies, procedures and information technology systems for Market, Credit, Operational, Environmental and Social Risk Management.

Prior to joining AFC, he spent fifteen years working as a Risk Manager, Trader and Structurer at various international banks including Stanbic IBTC Bank, where he was Regional Head of Market Risk for West Africa, and Risk Manager for the Credit Derivatives Group at WestLB AG and the Asset Backed Commercial Paper (ABCP) conduit at Abbey National Treasury Services (ANTS).

Andrew Alli, CEO of AFC, commented on the announcement:

“David Johnson has made an invaluable contribution to the corporation as Vice President and will continue to do so in his new role.

“Infrastructure financing is by its very nature a risky business. Projects can take years to develop, meaning a long wait for return on investment. Additionally, the high impact projects that AFC undertakes require large volumes of capital so the corporation always conducts careful evaluation of the risks before embarking on any new project. We welcome David to his crucial new post and wish him every success with it.”

AFC’s mission is to address Africa’s pressing infrastructure needs and build the foundations for robust economic development across the continent, all the while seeking a competitive return on investment for its shareholders. To date the Corporation has invested US$3.2 billion in projects across 24 African countries and in a wide range of sectors including power, telecommunications, transport and logistics, natural resources and heavy industries.