Papa Madiaw Ndiaye

Papa Madiaw Ndiaye (born 29 September 1965), is a Senegalese economist and investor, who is the CEO of the Advances Finance and Investment Group (AFIG Funds), a pan-African private equity investment firm which he founded in 2005. In addition, since June 2024, Papa Madiaw sits as the Chairman of Ecobank Transnational Inc, a pan-African banking conglomerate, with banking operations in 33 African countries.

Prior to AFIG Funds, based in U.S, Papa Madiaw had a rich career, working at large financial institutions including Salomon Brothers and JP Morgan, since 1988. Between 1996 and 2000, Papa Madiaw served at the IFC’s investment department covering financial institutions in Africa. In 2000, Papa Madiaw was one of the three partners to raise and manage the AIG African Infrastructure Fund, and he was among the co-founders of Emerging Markets Partnership (EMP, now ECP) in Washington. In 2018, he was given the Outstanding Leadership Award by Private Equity Africa Awards.

Biography
Papa Madiaw was born on 29 September 1965; he grew up in Dakar, Senegal and completed his secondary education in Wales. In 1984, Papa Madiaw attended Harvard College in U.S., he graduated with bachelor's degree in economics in 1988. In 1990, Papa Madiaw enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania's Lauder Institute in U.S. to pursue a postgraduate degree, he earned there a master's degree in international affairs in 1992. Papa Madiaw also holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business since 1992.

Career
In 1988, after graduating from Harvard College, Papa Madiaw began his career at the Salomon Brothers and joined the JP Morgan's Emerging Markets Group in 1992. In 1994, he launched JP Morgan's securities trading business in Africa and the Middle East. Between 1996 and 2000, Papa Madiaw held senior positions for the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) equity and debt investment activities, capital markets and financial institutions in Africa.

In 2000, Papa Madiaw was appointed as the Special Advisor for Economic and Financial Affairs to the President of the Republic of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, and the Chairman of the Senegalese Presidential Economic and Financial Advisory Council. In the same year, he launched the MIDROC BVI, a direct investment vehicle for Sheikh Mohammed Al-Amoudi. Papa Madiaw served as director and was one of three partners who raised the $407 million fund of the AIG African Infrastructure, which when launched in 2000, was the largest pan-African fund. Papa Madiaw served on the board of several entities, including the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA) and Nouvelle Mici Embaci among others, and he is currently the chairman of Ecobank Transnational Inc, since June 2024.

AFIG Funds
In December 2005, Papa Madiaw founded the Advances Finance and Investment Group (AFIG Funds). AFIG Funds is a fund management company domiciled in Mauritius with offices in Dakar (Senegal), Johannesburg (South Africa), and Washington, DC (USA), founded to invest in profitable or growing companies in Africa. In July 2008, the first fund was launched by the AFIG team, named Atlantic Coast Regional Fund (ACRF), with total commitments of US$122.5m and covering 29 countries in West, Central, and East Africa. Through ACRF, AFIG invested in multisector companies including FSDH Holding, Primrose Properties, Ecobank Rwanda and Senbus Industries to mention a few.

AFIG's second fund, named AFIG Fund II, was launched in 2016 with total commitments of US$135.1m and covering 32 countries in West, Central, and East Africa. Through AFIG Fund II, AFIG invested in companies like Tecnicil Indústria, First Atlantic Bank, NEM Insurance and Nouvelle Mici Embaci to mention a few.

Recognitions

 * 2004: Papa Madiaw was chosen as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in Davos.
 * 2009: Papa Madiaw was recognized as one of the Frontier 100 CEO's Frontier 100 CEOs.
 * 2018: Papa Madiaw was awarded the Outstanding Leadership Award by Private Equity Africa Awards.