Mr. Darren K. Smith, Board Member of BK Group Plc
Darren is the co-founder of 337 Frontier Capital, one of the largest institutional investors across Africa, and has been involved in frontier markets for 14 years. Prior to founding 337 Frontier Capital, Darren worked for The Rock Creek Group and helped established the Kimberlite Frontier Africa Strategy.
Previous to Rock Creek, he spent three years investing in Frontier Africa at Ashmore Equities Investment Management (US) LLC, where he was as a Co-Portfolio Manager for the Africa Emerging Markets Fund.
Prior to joining Ashmore, Darren spent five years in Dubai researching Middle East and North African stocks for Credit Agricole Chevreux as their Head of Research, Economist & Strategist.
Darren began his career as an investment banker with CIBC World Markets in Toronto. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Bishop’s University in Canada and is a CFA charter holder.
KUBWIMANA Masimbi Sonia, Board Member of BK Group Plc
Sonia is a Rwandan business executive with a career in Finance, Human Resources and General Management spanning over 25 years. Throughout her career, she has served in Senior Management Finance and Executive Human Resources roles for Bralirwa Plc, the Heineken operating Company in Rwanda.
During her tenure as Human Resources Director of Bralirwa ( 2009-2017), Sonia successfully led the People and Organizational agenda which was required to support the Company evolvement from an earlier dominant position in the market to a competitive and consumer facing Company. Changes made involved restructuring the Organization across all departments, developing functional, managerial and leadership capabilities within the Organization as well as equipping employees with needed behaviors required to win as a Business. Furthermore, during the same period, despite an increasing scarcity for talents in Rwanda and outside, Bralirwa was able to sustain its position of “Employer of choice” and attract and hire talented professionals at junior, middle and senior levels while also keeping good engagement levels within the Organization. Alsoas a member of Bralirwa Executive committee, she played an important and valued advisory role.
Sonia is currently a business leader in the coffee and tourism sectors in Rwanda, a mentor and a certified professional independent coach providing Executive coaching and facilitation services through Breakfast Club Africa, a Panafrican CEO membership organization which was created with a singular purpose of helping heads of organizations to become better leaders, thus benefitting their organizations and employees. BCA has presence in multiple African countries including Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, and a vision for further expansion to the entire African continent
Furthermore, Sonia belongs to various professional membership organizations including the International Women Coffee Alliance(Rwanda Chapter), the Rwanda Tourism and Travel Association(RTTA), the Rwanda Hospitality Association(RHA), the African Women Entrepreneurship Program(AWEP) and the Rotary International(RI). She also serves on the General Assembly of SOS Children’s Villages Rwanda and is a former board member of the Rwanda National Labor Council.
Sonia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Administration from the University of Burundi and Executive Education from INSEAD , IMD, London Business School and Harvard Business School.
She is fluent in Kinyarwanda, French and English.
www.linkedin.com/in/sonia-kubwimana-42288b9
Uwamahoro Roselyne, Board Member of BK Group Plc
Roselyne has been working in the financial sector for more than fifteen years, focusing on Inclusive Finance and Digital inclusion to “leave no one behind”. She specialized in projects management where she implemented various complex projects contributing to the improvement of the livelihood and financial health of marginalized people: women, youth, refugees, and people with disabilities through access to and usage of appropriate and customized financial and non-financial services and products.
Currently, working as the Program Specialist, IDE Country lead at the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), implementing the program of Inclusive Digital Economy contributing to SDG 1,5,8 and 17. Previously she worked as the Head of Microfinance at Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR), a not-for-profit multi-donor funded company (DFID, MasterCard Foundation, USAID) with a mandate to stimulate the Microfinance Sector Development.
She also worked for the second largest Commercial Bank in Rwanda, I&M Bank Plc. She was also a board member of a Network of six countries (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia and Ethiopia) supporting access to finance to saving groups.
Roselyne holds an MBA in Project Management from Maastricht School of Management (MsM); she is a certified trainer by the House of Training Luxembourg that funded the 1st Rwandan Academy of Finance (RAF) and an Alumni from Harvard Kennedy School on rethinking financial inclusion.
She is fluent in Kinyarwanda, French and English.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/roselyne-uwamahoro-2875b29/
Francis GATARE KABERA, Board Member of BK Group Plc
Mr. Francis is a professional Economist, and graduate of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Windsor University in Canada & Makerere University in Uganda.
He has a long public service background, always at the intersection of the private & public sector, aligning private investments with public policy objectives.
This includes his current role as a senior economic & policy advisor to the President, and previously as CEO at Rwanda Mines, Petroleum & Gas Board (RMB), as well as Rwanda Development Board (RDB).