A Broadcast Journalist, formerly with Accra based Citi FM and Citi TV. He is currently the Regulatory and Research Manager. He is also responsible for managing and controlling the process of all activities that are related to the Regulatory Relations, Research and External Communications of the Chamber.

Mr. Osei, until his appointment, was a key member of the Citi News team, playing important leadership roles in the gathering, editing and dissemination of up-to-date news on TV, Radio and online.

 His versatility and work ethic, over the years have endeared him to different audience segments across the country, including business, politics, and lifestyle among others.

 In addition to his decade long experience in the media space from 2012 to 2022, Mr. Osei also brings to the new role, his years of experience working as a Marketing Communications executive with Origin8 Saatchi & Saatchi from 2008 to 2012.

 He is a graduate of the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa Financial Journalism course from 2019 to 2020.

 He also holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Music from the University of Ghana, Legon.

Kwamina was appointed to the Stanbic Bank Board in 2010. He is currently the Chief Executive after serving as the Head of Corporate and Investment Banking for eleven years.

Career Highlights

Kwamina began his professional career in 1997 at Cal Merchant Bank in Accra, where he was a member of the Corporate Finance and Private Equity team developing financial models to analyze acquisitions, mergers and divestitures. In 2001, he joined J. Kofi Bucknor and Associates, where he provided strategic and financial advisory services to multinational corporations, Governments and high net-worth clients. He also had a stint with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Washington, DC while pursuing his MBA at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. In 2004, Kwamina joined JPMorgan Chase Bank in New York as an Associate, High Yield Credit Research. He moved to the Leveraged Finance Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co in New York in 2006 and was later promoted to Vice President in 2007.

He is an Independent Non-Executive Director of Chirano Gold Mines (a subsidiary of Kinross Gold Corporation, Canada) and a former member of the Management Committee for the University of Ghana Business School.

Kwamina, who is a qualified Chartered Certified Accountant, holds a Master’s Degree in Finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration (Accounting) from the University of Ghana. He has also completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard Business School.

Patricia Obo-Nai is an experienced leader in Ghana’s telecommunications industry. Appointed CEO of Vodafone Ghana in April 2019, she became the first Ghanaian female to hold the position. Patricia has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical/Electronic Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), an Executive MBA in Project Management from the University of Ghana Business School, and executive education from the Kellogg School of Management, London Business School, and INSEAD in France. She is passionate about the future of young people and women in the digital age and is a vigorous advocate for STEM. She has advocated for youth and women on a variety of local and international platforms, including the UN General Assembly panel sessions.

Entrepreneur creating solutions to improve production, lower costs & increase the scalability of companies 12+ years management & technology consulting,
building complex software solutions & enabling automation adoption into client processes

Expert in product management, business process redesign & systems architecture Davidson College (French & Econ.)

Position: Chief Solution Architect and Head of Operation, Huawei FinTech Southern Africa Region

Description:
Chief Solution Architect, with more than 15 years of experience in the FinTech and VAS industry. Possess an extensive experience across most technologies having worked in a variety of senior capacities across Operations, Commercial, Strategy, Business Management, Sales and Marketing.

Involved in digital services, Mobile Money, Micro Lending, Mobile Payments and mobile banking roll out initiatives in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique, Malawi and South Africa giving him broad and deep insights on the industry climate, trends, consumer habits/behaviors and legal framework in the African region as well as product strategy.

Rev. Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko is an electronic communications engineer with depth of experience in radio frequency spectrum management, telecom and broadcasting regulation, policy formulation, change management, ICT industry research, writing, publishing, teaching and public speaking. He has been actively involved in the electronic communications’ regulatory environment in Ghana and within the Africa region over the last fifteen (15) years.

He was appointed Acting Head of the Engineering Division of the National Communications Authority on 2nd June, 2021.

As the head of the Engineering Division, he is charged with the responsibility of leading a team of engineers and other professionals to plan, administer, manage, license and monitor the radio frequency spectrum for telecommunications and broadcasting services in Ghana.

He started his career with the NCA as a National Service Person in 2004 and was thereafter engaged as a Frequency Management Officer. He has since served the Authority diligently, rising through the ranks to become Ag. Head of the Engineering Division.  Over the period, he has served as a Chairman or Member of several Technical and Regulatory Committees which formulated standards / guidelines /procedures for industry regulation and made far reaching recommendations which have impacted the strategic direction of the Authority to date. For over eight (8) years Edmund served as the Recorder for the Technical/Operations Sub-Committee of the NCA Board of Directors.

At the international front, he is the current Chairman of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) Task Group on Development of Spectrum Recommendations for Rural Connectivity and a member of the Technical Committee of the ITU Policy and Regulation Initiative for Digital Africa (PRIDA). He previously advised the Administrations of Benin and the Gambia on Digital Broadcasting and LTE licensing respectively. He also served as a Consultant/Resource person to the ECOWAS Commission on Broadcasting and Spectrum Management on multiple occasions. 

As Secretary to the Digital Broadcasting Migration Committee (DBMC) from 2010 to 2016, he coordinated the work of a multi-stakeholder national body to formulate and implement policy on the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting. He initiated several interventions in the transition process including the development of minimum specifications for DTT receivers which were adopted as an ECOWAS specification in 2013.

He played a key coordinating role in major licensing processes in Ghana including the 6th Mobile License in 2008, the Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) Licenses in the 2600MHz band in 2010 & 2012 and the 800 MHz spectrum licenses in 2015 & 2018/19, etc. 

Edmund has served as a speaker or facilitator for various telecom/spectrum management/broadcasting conferences and workshops organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), Southern Africa Digital Broadcasting Association (SADIBA), Multichoice Africa, West African Telecom Regulators’ Association (WATRA), African Communications Regulators Network (ACRAN) for Anglophone Countries, Kemilinks International and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

Edmund obtained his first degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and a Masters in Communications Management degree from the Buckinghamshire (Bucks) New University, England.

He is a member of the Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE) and a Member of the Institute of Electrical Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

Edmund is a Minister of the Methodist Church Ghana, a published author and the founding leader of the evangelistic outreach ministry, Nkwa.Life.

Ing. Dr. Lucy Agyepong is the Associate Dean of Engineering at Academic City University College, a premium tertiary education institution offering holistic education to create world-rounded minds.

With a Masters in Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering followed by a PhD in Mechanical Engineering with an Aerospace Design focus, Dr. Agyepong has over 10 years’ specialist experience in conducting advanced research on both Academic and Industrial levels. Her research has spanned Aircraft Design, with focus on alternative weight estimation and reduction methodologies. 

Prior to joining Academic City University College, Dr. Agyepong was the Technology Manager of the Design and Build Group at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), UK, where she was responsible for a strong team of 45 engineers with over 250years of combined experience, with skills ranging from end-to-end design of parts for additive manufacturing, design for X through to advanced design to overcome manufacturing or assembly challenges. She has successfully project managed and delivered high value projects circa €4M. She has actively worked with a range of industrial partners including Airbus, GKN Aerospace, BAE and Rolls-Royce. 

She is a strong advocate for Women IN Engineering, a professional member of the Ghana Institute of Engineering (GhIE), a Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) ambassador, and was recently appointed as the first and only woman to sit on the African Asian Pacific Engineering Education Council.

Ernest Osei-Poku is the Head of External Affairs and Regulatory at Vodafone Ghana. With over 17 years of leadership in technology, operations, and telecommunications. He is passionate about the transformative role technology can play in positively shaping the developing world by solving some of its most challenging issues. He has worked with companies including Ericsson, Esoko, and Identity Management Systems.

Ernest holds a master’s degrees in Information Technology and Information Systems, broth from the University of Salford, is a certified privacy professional and a KNUST graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences.

In his spare time, Ernest is an advanced long-distance swimmer, horticulture enthusiast and ardent foodie.

Samuel Bartels is a lawyer who specialises in Information Privacy, Telecommunications, Media, and Technology law. He has extensive experience and insights on Regulatory compliance and Government stakeholder management strategies and is currently the Senior Manager for Regulatory and Government Affairs at MTN Ghana, having previously worked with Vodafone Ghana. He lectures on technology and telecoms regulation at the Ghana Communication Technology University College. He is also a journalist with extensive experience working with local and international media organisations.

Archie Hesse is the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) Limited – a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana, mandated to transform Ghana into an electronic payments society. He joined GhIPSS in 2007 as a General Manager in Charge of Projects and Business Development before his appointment as CEO in July, 2012.

Archie Hesse’s immense contribution to the improvement and development of Ghana’s Payment Systems Landscape has been recognized by some prestigious institutions:

• 2022 – Top 20 Tech Leaders Award at the 12th GITTA Awards
• 2020 – Payment Systems Personality of the Year at the 10th GITTA Awards
• 2019 – Payment Systems Personality of the Year at the 10th GITTA Awards
• 2018 – Man of the Year, Technology at the 2018 EMY Africa Awards & Payment Systems Personality of the Year at the 9th GITTA

Archie Hesse serves on the GhIPSS Board as Executive Director. He is also a member of Ghana’s Payment Systems Advisory Council. With 15 years in the Payment Systems industry, Archie has leveraged his knowledge and experience in Payment Systems to support a number of countries in Africa. He has helped shape policy and strategy in the deployment of national payments system infrastructure in these countries.

Under his leadership as CEO, Archie Hesse has led the GhIPSS team to develop several payment solutions for the Financial Services Sector. In June 2022, he led the launch of Africa’s first Universal Bank-led Mobile Wallet service for the financial services industry. He also led the development and implementation of Ghana’s Universal QR code solution, GhQR and the Proxy Pay service in 2020. In 2018, Ghana launched its Mobile Money Interoperability service, following the successful launch of Ghana’s Instant Pay platform in 2015. GhIPSS Instant Pay is Ghana’s instant interbank transfer service. In 2012, he led GhIPSS to commission gh-link™- an interbank switching and processing system that interconnects the systems of all universal banks in Ghana. On the back of the gh-link network, Ghana’s domestic card, the gh-link EMV card was also introduced.

In December 2007, as General Manager in charge of Projects and Business Development, he project managed the implementation of the ‘e-zwich’ Biometric Smart Card and was at the forefront of a nationwide campaign to educate the Ghanaian populace on the e-zwich system. He also led the digitization of Ghana’s Cheque clearing process in 2009 and successfully added on the implementation of the ACH Direct Credit and Debit systems in 2011.

Archie Hesse is an accomplished event and conference speaker and has spoken at many conferences such as: PowerCARD Users Meeting (A global meet of users of the PowerCARD switch by Hightech Payment Systems of Morocco), Annual ID4Africa Conference, Cartes Afrique, Ghana Economic Forum, Yamson and Associates Business Roundtable among others.

Prior to joining GhIPSS, he worked with the BMW Group in Munich, UK, South Africa and the US for over a decade on various IT transformation initiatives in the Logistics, Manufacturing, Sales and Marketing divisions. He supported the production of BMW and Rolls Royce automobiles, as well as the MINI.

Archie Hesse spent nine years as a professional educator in the UK before joining the BMW Group. He has a degree in Physics and Computing, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance. He also holds a professional qualification in Project Management and IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL).