OUR TEAM
Meet the Experts Behind Africarta Advisory Group
Our diverse team of professionals brings together decades of experience, deep local knowledge, and a shared commitment to client success.
Senior Advisor
Princess Tirelo Molotlegi
Princess Tirelo Molotlegi is a Senior Advisor at Africarta Advisory Group, supporting the firm’s legal, tax, and transactional advisory work through senior-level strategic counsel, stakeholder navigation, and relationship-driven execution. She brings a distinctive combination of high-trust convening capability, cross-sector perspective, and governance sensitivity, particularly valuable in matters involving government interfaces, regulated industries, complex negotiations, and the oversight of multi-stakeholder, high-complexity projects across the African continent. Princess Tirelo comes from the Royal Bafokeng Nation, one of Africa’s most prominent and institutionally sophisticated traditional communities, internationally recognised for its early assertion of land and mineral rights, disciplined stewardship of resource revenues, and long-term approach to community-owned capital. The Royal Bafokeng Nation has developed a globally respected model that integrates traditional leadership with modern constitutional governance, corporate structures, and regulatory compliance, demonstrating how indigenous institutions can operate credibly within global financial, legal, and policy systems. Princess Tirelo’s professional foundation is in the premium hospitality and events industry, where she has over 15 years of experience, including formal training in Switzerland, a global benchmark for excellence in hospitality, service standards, and operational discipline. Operating in environments requiring absolute discretion, protocol fluency, and precision execution, she developed a deep capability for coordinating diverse stakeholders, managing delivery risk, and maintaining performance under pressure. Building on this foundation, Princess Tirelo has developed extensive experience in complex project management, particularly in initiatives involving multiple institutions, cross-border stakeholders, public-sector interfaces, and heightened reputational or regulatory sensitivity. Her project oversight experience includes guiding initiatives through planning, sequencing, stakeholder alignment, and execution phases, ensuring that strategic intent is translated into credible, deliverable outcomes. Princess Tirelo is a recognised advocate for sustainable development, strategic philanthropy, and impact investment across Africa. She advises on how legal, tax, and governance structures can be deployed not only for compliance, but to strengthen credibility, trust, and long-term sustainability in impact-oriented initiatives. Her work focuses on embedding accountability, robust governance, and transparent reporting into projects and investments from inception through implementation. In addition to transaction and project oversight, Princess Tirelo provides strategic counsel in contexts requiring heightened sensitivity and judgment, including: Navigating sovereign, sub-sovereign, and traditional authority interfaces; Advising on social licence to operate, community benefit frameworks, and local participation models; Supporting dispute prevention, de-escalation, and resolution where legal, political, and community interests intersect; Assisting clients during reputational, regulatory, or stakeholder-sensitive situations where discretion and trusted engagement are critical. Her international speaking engagements and participation in cross-border policy, investment, and development forums reflect a sustained focus on responsible capital deployment, inclusive growth, and Africa’s evolving role in global markets. She is frequently sought for insight on aligning investor, government, and community interests to achieve durable outcomes. At Africarta, she advises on: Stakeholder, community, and government engagement strategies for transactions, projects, and disputes across African jurisdictions; ESG, impact investment, and blended-finance positioning, including governance design, accountability mechanisms, and implementation oversight; Strategic partnerships involving investors, corporates, governments, development institutions, and traditional leadership structures; Cross-border relationship management and execution support for Africa-focused transactions, projects, and expansion strategies; Reputational risk, protocol-sensitive engagements, and trust-based negotiations in regulated or politically exposed environments; Community-linked investment frameworks and long-term value alignment in resource, infrastructure, and development projects. She is also a licensed helicopter pilot, an achievement reflecting disciplined execution, situational awareness, composure under pressure, and principled leadership
Managing Partner - Ghana
Maryam Kamara
Maryam Kamara is a corporate lawyer with 12+ years of practice experience. She has garnered significant deal experience at leading Ghanaian law firm and as Head, Legal & Company Secretary of a major oil marketing company, advising on commercial, employment, intellectual property, and company law matters. Maryam also brings significant boardroom experience, having served as a director and board secretary. She has held executive leadership roles including as Chief Operating Officer of SPACE Accra, and she is Board Member of Amantin & Kasei Community Bank. At Africarta, Maryam leads the Ghana practice, bringing practical governance insight and rigorous legal execution to complex, cross-sector mandates.
Africa Tax Lead
Akindele Phillips
Akindele is an experienced tax and advisory professional who began his career at KPMG Nigeria, working on audit, tax, and advisory engagements with a strong focus on the energy sector. He is the founding partner of Phillips Akindele & Co., advising clients across energy, financial services, and technology. He leads Africarta’s continent-wide tax practice and has previously coordinated the Africa Tax Desk at a leading advisory firm, supporting multi-jurisdictional tax structuring, compliance, transfer pricing, and dispute resolution. With prior experience as a Chief Executive Officer, Akindele brings a pragmatic, results-driven approach to navigating complex African tax and regulatory environments.
Africa ESG Lead
Dr. Tejiri Digun-Aweto
Dr. Tejiri Digun-Aweto is an experienced ESG and sustainability professional with a PhD and over thirty publications focused on sustainability, conservation, tourism, and community impact across Africa. His work combines academic research with practical, impact-driven implementation. As Africa ESG Lead at Africarta, he leads ESG strategy development for energy and infrastructure projects, strengthening materiality analysis, stakeholder engagement, and evidence-based program design to support long-term value creation. His experience includes work on World Bank–funded initiatives, collaboration with the UK Department for International Development (DFID), and academic research affiliations with University College London (UCL) and North-West University, South Africa.
Managing Partner - East Africa
Brenda Wagura
Brenda Wagura is the Managing Partner for East Africa at Africarta Advisory Group, where she leads the firm’s regional strategy, client engagements, and delivery of integrated legal and advisory services across East Africa and key cross-border corridors. She is a highly accomplished legal practitioner with strong expertise spanning corporate and commercial law, international trade and investment, energy and infrastructure projects, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and international dispute resolution. Brenda brings a sophisticated, commercially grounded approach to legal advisory, combining technical legal excellence with a deep understanding of policy, investment frameworks, and sustainable development imperatives. Her practice is particularly distinguished in international commercial arbitration and investor-state dispute resolution, where she regularly advises clients navigating complex, multi-jurisdictional disputes and high-value cross-border transactions. Prior to assuming her leadership role at Africarta, Brenda worked with international and Africa-focused law firms, advising on cross-border transactions and disputes at the intersection of energy, infrastructure, trade, and investment law. Her experience includes extensive work under ICSID, UNCITRAL, and the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, positioning her as a trusted advisor to corporates, investors, and institutions operating across emerging and developed markets. As Managing Partner – East Africa, Brenda oversees Africarta’s regional growth strategy, client relationship management, and delivery of complex advisory mandates, while also playing a central role in building partnerships with governments, investors, development finance institutions, and multinational clients. Her work reflects Africarta’s philosophy of providing seamless, commercially astute, and regionally informed advisory solutions.Brenda is an active member of the Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN), where she serves as the Africa Regional Representative for the Women Negotiators Group (WNG) and contributes to the AIEN Carbon Capture and Storage Taskforce, reinforcing her leadership in energy transition, climate-aligned investments, and emerging energy technologies. She holds an LL.M in International Trade and Investment Law from the University of Pretoria, an LL.B from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb). She is also a Certified Professional Mediator, and has completed advanced training in Trusts and Taxation (University of Cape Town) as well as Real Estate Economics and Development (University of Nairobi). Brenda’s leadership is defined by intellectual rigour, strategic clarity, and a strong commitment to advancing investment-ready, resilient, and sustainable business environments across East Africa and the wider African continent.
Managing Counsel - West Africa
Damilola Laniyan
Oluwadamilola Laniyan (Damilola) is a seasoned legal strategist and corporate governance professional with over 14 years’ experience advising organisations across the energy, infrastructure, financial services, and regulatory sectors. He brings to Africarta Advisory Group a rare combination of deep legal expertise, strategic advisory capability, and operational leadership, supporting clients navigating complex regulatory, commercial, and institutional environments across Africa.Damilola’s practice is distinguished by his ability to integrate legal analysis with data-driven business intelligence and financial insight, enabling clients to align legal compliance with growth, transformation, and value creation. He has advised and worked closely with C-suite executives, boards, regulators, and development finance stakeholders, contributing to the design and implementation of robust corporate governance frameworks and high-impact change management initiatives. He began his legal career in corporate and company secretarial practice before moving into strategic and operational roles within the power sector, where he played a key role in the corporatisation and restructuring of a legacy government utility. During this period, he supported large-scale transformation programmes, performance management frameworks, and commercial restructuring initiatives, and contributed to the structuring and preparation of bids for international development finance, including multilateral and bilateral funding for power infrastructure projects. In addition to his advisory work, Damilola has extensive experience in contract management and regulatory compliance, including the negotiation and review of complex commercial agreements, procurement contracts, power purchase arrangements, and embedded generation projects. His exposure spans both transactional advisory and contentious practice, having previously practised litigation while maintaining a strong corporate advisory portfolio, including regulatory advisory for fintech and payment service providers. Before joining Africarta Advisory Group, Damilola led a private legal practice, advising corporates, entrepreneurs, and institutions on corporate structuring, regulatory compliance, risk management, and dispute resolution. His broader skill set encompasses project management, risk analysis, AML/KYC frameworks, data governance, and commercial banking principles, allowing him to provide holistic, commercially grounded legal advice. Damilola holds an LL.B from the University of Ibadan and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2012. He also holds professional certifications in Commercial Banking and Credit Analysis, Project Management, and Agile methodologies, and has undertaken specialised training in capital markets, project finance, mergers and acquisitions, and alternative financing structures. At Africarta Advisory Group, Damilola serves as Senior Counsel, advising clients on complex regulatory matters, corporate governance, energy and infrastructure projects, commercial transactions, and strategic legal risk, supporting Africarta’s mission to deliver integrated, high-impact advisory solutions across Africa and internationally.
Business Development Lead
Soji Koledade
Soji Koledade is a results-oriented business development executive with over a decade of experience driving strategic growth, commercial partnerships, and market expansion across Sub-Saharan Africa. He serves as Business Development Manager at Africarta Advisory Group, where he leads the identification and execution of value-creating initiatives that strengthen the Group’s footprint across its priority markets. Soji’s professional focus centres on helping organisations unlock sustainable growth through strategic opportunity identification, stakeholder engagement, and collaborative commercial structuring. He is recognised for his disciplined approach to market development, his ability to align business objectives with pragmatic execution frameworks, and his commitment to delivering measurable impact for clients and partners. Over his career, Soji has worked closely with stakeholders across private and public sectors, spanning regional consultancies, multinational firms, and entrepreneurial ventures. His work combines market intelligence with practical strategy implementation, enabling organisations to enhance competitive positioning and achieve long-term strategic objectives. He has successfully developed and strengthened cross-functional partnerships and commercial ecosystems that catalyse growth outcomes and promote operational resilience. Soji’s professional repertoire includes client engagement, strategic partnership negotiation, and cross-sector collaboration, supported by deep insight into the dynamics of African markets. He continues to advise businesses on strategy execution, market entry considerations, and performance optimisation, drawing on his extensive network and multi-jurisdictional exposure. Based in Johannesburg, Soji’s leadership in business development reflects Africarta Advisory Group’s commitment to integrated advisory excellence, combining strategic foresight with operational pragmatism to support clients navigating complex commercial landscapes in Africa.