Halima Ibrahim Abba

Halima is a development and finance expert with 13+ years experience. She is an investor, executive and non-executive director, mentor and advisor.

Halima is the Chair/Founder of a leading pan-African education, employability and entrepreneurship organization, Skills Outside School Foundation, leveraging on data, advocacy and interventions, with 150+ partners & 50,000+ beneficiaries across Nigeria, West Africa, Latin America & South Asia.

She is an Associate Vice President at the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a pan African US$8.7bn multi-lateral development finance institution focused on infrastructure and industrialization. She has led, closed and portfolio managed US$1.7bn+ in landmark award winning high impact transactions across power, industry and transport & logistics including ARISE Group of companies and M&A on power assets across 5 countries. She is leading the structuring, launch & operationalization of the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria, supporting the promoters – AFC, Central Bank of Nigeria & Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority. She has worked in global investment banks, multi-lateral financial institutions & public sector organizations including Goldman Sachs, Nomura, JP Morgan & Bureau of Public Enterprises.

She is a mentor for the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity Africa, Opportunity Desk, Skills Outside School Foundation, Tony Elumelu Foundation and Women in Africa. She is an avid investor across various sectors including financial services, education, oil & gas, technology and agriculture.

She holds an undergraduate degree in Law (First Class Honors) from Kings College London & a master’s in philosophy in Development Studies from Cambridge University. She is an alum of Harvard Business School, Yale School of Management, Common Purpose Leadership Program, International Finance Faculty, AMT Training and Euromoney. She is a member of the Institute of Directors, Women on Boards UK, Young Directors Forum (IODnig), Young CEO Club (ACCI) & International Institute of Directors and Managers.