Board

Main One is owned by the Main One Cable Company Mauritius; a company founded by Main Street Technologies. The company was founded with a Pan-African vision to build a private sector led and funded international telecommunications submarine cable between Africa and the rest of the world.

With existing pioneer fiber optic cable licenses in Nigeria and Ghana, Main One is the preferred wholesale international bandwidth provider in the West Coast of Africa. The company in Mauritius serves as the holding company for operational subsidiaries to deliver wholesale international telecommunications services and land the cable in various countries. It has operational subsidiary companies in Nigeria, Ghana and Portugal.

The activities of the company are governed by a Board of Directors led by:

Mr. Fola Adeola Our Chairman is an entrepreneur, private investor and philanthropist who is the founder and chairman of Fate Foundation, a charitable foundation to promote entrepreneurship among the youth of Nigeria. He is the founder and pioneer Managing Director and Chief Executive of Guaranty Trust Bank, Nigeria for twelve years. Mr. Adeola also served in his personal capacity on the Blair Commission for Africa. He sits on the Board as a representative of Main Street Technologies Limited.

Dr. Dapo Oshinusi sits on the Board as a representative of Main Street Technologies Limited. He is the founder and Managing Director of Mansfield Energy. Mansfield Energy is a leading provider of drilling and well completion solutions with sand control services for the oil and gas industry in West and South Africa. He managed the business of Schlumberger for more than 20 years in the Middle East, West and South Africa and Europe. He is an executive member of Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), an association committed to the development of the Nigerian content with the transfer of technology to Nigerians in the oil and gas sector.

Mr. Solomon Asamoah sits on the Board as a representative of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC),an international organization established in Nigeria and operating as a hybrid investment and development finance institution. He has over 20 years experience in Investment Banking and Management and is currently the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Investment Officer of the AFC. He has worked in various investment advisory capacities within the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Softbank Emerging Markets, HSBC Markets and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). He graduated from Imperial College, London and holds a Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering.

Mr. Timothy Oguntayo sits on the Board as a representative of Skye Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s foremost banks. He is the General Manager for the Investment Banking group and has over 10 years of core banking experience, with responsibilities in financial advisory services, market and credit analysis, corporate banking, customer relationship management, and foreign exchange treasury Operations. He is a member of the Executive Committee Asset & Liability Management Committee (ALCO) and an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. He holds a degree in Accountancy and Business Studies, from the University of Uyo, Nigeria.

Mr. Taiwo Okeowo sits on the Board as a representative of First Bank of Nigeria Plc (FBN); one of the oldest banks in Nigeria which has successfully transformed itself to be continually relevant and able to compete with the new-generation banks. Mr. Okeowo is a seasoned professional with over 19 years of investment banking experience. He joined FBN Capital (a subsidiary of FBN) in 2006 from First Bank where he was the Head of the Corporate Finance group. Prior to joining First Bank, he was a pioneer staff of IBTC (now StanbicIBTC). He advised on the two largest non-oil transactions to date in Nigeria namely the $1.2bn acquisition of Vmobile by MTC/Celtel and the $480m project financing of Obajana Cement. He has a first degree in Computer Science and a Sloan Masters (MSc.) in Management) from the London Business School. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

Dr Ini Urua also sits on the Board as a representative of the Africa Finance Corporation, where he heads the Heavy Industry Department. He was previously the manager of the NEPAD Division of the African Development Bank in charge of the development and implementation of multi-country infrastructure projects and programs. He worked for more than 10 years with BOC Group plc, England in Process Development and Design, Technology Marketing and Management, Strategic Planning, and Technology Transfer. Mr. Urua holds a bachelors degree (1st Class honors) in Chemical Engineering from the University Of Ife, Nigeria, a Master’s and Doctorate degree in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London and an MBA in International Business Management from Ecole Europeenne des Affairs (EAP), Paris. He is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineer, a member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, UK, and a chartered and registered Engineer.

Mr. Alwyn Wessels sits on the Board as a representative of the Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund (PAIDF) and is the Chief Investment Officer of Harith. Before joining Harith he worked for over 10 years as a Senior Consultant for Absa Capital, where he was responsible for Project and Infrastructure Finance. Prior to this he enjoyed success in various senior positions in the construction and manufacturing industries.

Mr Sipho Makhubela is an Investment Director of Harith and has over 7 years of structured debt experience. Prior to joining Harith, he worked for Investec Bank, Coronation Capital and African Merchant Bank. He spent the last two years running his own investment company with investments in the ICT, Energy and Manufacturing sectors. He has also been involved in investments in Nigeria and Benin. Mr. Makhubela represents Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund (PAIDF) on the Main One Board of Directors.