About

Number of years practice: 30

Principal practice areas: Project development and structuring, crisis prevention and management, compliance, business and human rights, dispute resolution (including arbitration)

Languages spoken: French and English

What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?

Pan-African practice.

Please describe the most important matters you have worked on in the African market in the last two years, including your role and the significance of the matter (if any) to the development of business and law.

Key matters include advising B2Gold on a broad range of matters arising from its Fekola gold mining project in Mali, including the negotiation of a mining convention with the Malian Government, project structuring, the legal implications of resettlement and compensation activities and associated land aspects prior to implementation of the project. I have also advised B2Gold on its Kiaka project in Burkina Faso, various clients on the impact of DR Congo’s new mining code on their in-country operations, a bidding consortium in relation to the INGA 3 hydro power project in DR Congo and various clients on issues arising from their activities in the energy and natural resources sector in Francophone Africa. This includes multiple claims before local courts arising from transfers of mining rights and OHADA corporate regulations, risk mitigation, crisis management and negotiations with government. I am also regularly asked to sit as an arbitrator on Africa-related disputes.

What differentiates your practice from that of other private practice lawyers?

I have been advising almost exclusively on
matters in Africa for the past 30 years. My practice focusses on project structuring and development, crisis prevention and management, dispute resolution (including arbitration), compliance, business and human rights and other social
issues, principally in the energy and natural
resources sectors, although I also support the
firm’s clients across other industry sectors,
including telecommunications, agriculture and consumer goods. Over this period I have built an extensive network of local contacts in Africa, including with government, and significant negotiating experience “on the ground”. I have also appeared before local courts in a number of Francophone jurisdictions. The scale and reach of
my practice, combined with the cultural sensitivity, in-country knowledge and local connections that
I have built on the continent over a long period
of time, enables me to offer a real “value added” service to my clients when faced with the legal
issues and realities of doing business on the continent.

Why has Africa been a particularly strong focus for you?

I have been drawn to Africa, its people and the diversity of its cultures from the time of the first matter that I handled on the continent in 1989. The continent is an exciting and challenging place to do business, and I have learned many invaluable lessons from the numerous close African business and personal contacts that I have made. I was also attracted by the opportunity to help the continent reach its full potential by promoting Africa to outside investors as an investment ecosystem while encouraging sustainable investment on the continent, including through my work for the African Business Academy, a not-for-profit organisation co-founded by me and a number of African business leaders in 2017. I am also planning to launch an initiative in 2019 to help small and medium-sized businesses in Africa, which I believe hold the key to meeting the challenges and opportunities of Africa’s rapidly growing population and youth unemployment.

What changes have you seen in the appetite for Africa-based ventures and investments over the
last five years?

The drop in commodity prices has had a clear impact on the level and types of activity in the oil, gas and mining sectors in Africa. While we have seen a number of our traditional energy and natural resource clients disposing of their non-core assets in Africa, a number of other new players have come onto the market, including from the private equity sector. The recent trend towards resource nationalism in some countries has made some potential new investors in the sector nervous about moving into Africa, while other already established operators are looking for ways to work with governments through dialogue and trust building. However, recent discoveries in other regions present some exciting new opportunities for the upstream oil and gas industry, the relevant host states and their populations. Finally, advances in mobile technology will play a vital role in improving access to key services in Africa, including healthcare, education, banking and energy, and could make a significant contribution to the continent’s economic growth and development.

Are there any aspects of the African legal market that you would like to see change?

I would like to see a continued commitment
from international law firms to capacity building
in Africa. At Herbert Smith Freehills we are keen
to contribute to the development of the legal skills and expertise of African lawyers, including by working closely with local counsel on client matters and through knowledge transfer. A number of the local lawyers with whom we work in Africa are former associates of the firm who worked and trained with our firm for several years before moving back to Africa to set up their own practices or to join other, already established, local firms. We also work with local African lawyers on capacity building programmes, including via the African Legal Support Facility.

What megatrends do you think will shape the African market over the coming five years? How (if at all) will these trends affect your practice?

Growth opportunities in Africa continue to abound, including in new emerging sectors outside Africa’s core extractives industry. I think the redistribution of Africa’s energy mix will be a key priority in the coming years, with an increased focus on renewable energy. The technology and mobile telecommunications, education, healthcare, banking and agriculture sectors also offer excellent opportunities for growth. I think that there will be a continued high level of Asian investment into Africa, including as a result of China’s Belt & Road Initiative. Finally, the manner in which industry and government addresses business and human rights, environmental, local content and other social issues in coming years will play an increasingly important part in determining the success and “bankability” of projects and transactions in Africa. These issues, together with risk mitigation and the management of crisis situations are areas in which I have built particular expertise in recent years and will continue to be a key area of focus for me. Overall, Africa continues to offer unmatched opportunities for domestic, intra-African and overseas investors, provided it continues to adequately address issues of poor governance and other challenges in some parts of the continent.