Brendon Jones
Saikat Chowdry
Shabbir Hassanbhai
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Srivathsan (Sri) currently serves as Director in Arise IIP and holds directorship positions in various subsidiaries of the Olam Group.
Chartered Accountant, Srivathsan (Sri) started his career as a Finance Professional in India and later moved to General Management where he gained significant experience managing businesses in Africa.
Sri ran the Africa and Middle East Business as CEO Africa & Middle East for Olam International, a USD40 Billion Singapore listed Agri-Business Company having operations in more than 60 countries. For three decades till 2023, he has help built USD20 Billion business for Olam in Africa and the Middle East. His contributions to African Agro sector have been recognized in many International Forums like UNDP and was conferred with the Prestigious “Business for Peace” award by the Oslo Business for Peace in 2010 for his pioneering work with small holder farmers in Nigeria.
Other appointments include:
Shabbir has over 50 years of business experience, providing strategic leadership and financial oversight at all levels of management. He has held board and governance roles as an independent director, chairing key committees for publicly listed companies in Singapore and India spanning across logistics, cold chain, and technology sectors.
Shabbir served as Singapore’s Non-Resident High Commissioner to Nigeria for a decade (2008-2017), representing the nation’s economic interests. He also played a pivotal role in facilitating major Singaporean investments into Oman and was the Founding Chairman of the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies, a first business think tank on Africa. Held significant leadership roles with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) as Vice Chairman and Chairman of its Africa and Middle East forums. He was Chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce from 2002-2004.
He has been the Public Service Medal (PBM) as well as distinguished service awards from the Ministries of Finance, Education, Foreign Affairs and Singapore Business Federation.
Saikat is the founder and managing director of NiveSal, a Singapore based engineering company engaged in providing complete manufacturing solution for small and medium enterprises in developing countries. From project evaluation to equipment selection, supply and commissioning, NIveSal is a single-window service provider for setting up manufacturing units for almost all products of daily use.
Saikat has over 30-year experience in international business and he has travelled to more than 120 countries. He has deep connection with Africa, Latin America and most developing countries in Asia. With his engineering background and vast trading experience, he is passionate about providing low-cost manufacturing solutions to the entrepreneurs from developing countries. He advises several African govt agencies for their SME manufacturing sector development programs and entrepreneurship development programs for youth and women.
Brendon Howard Jones is a distinguished financial services leader with over 30 years of experience navigating developed and emerging markets, with a specialized focus on cross-border transactions and private equity across the Africa-Asia-Middle East investment corridors.
He began his career in investment banking in London, spending six years working with major global financial institutions, including J.P. Morgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, and Citibank. In 2006, Brendon relocated to Mauritius, where he stepped into executive leadership as the Managing Director and shareholder of Inter-Ocean Management Limited, successfully driving its growth prior to its acquisition by the Maitland Group.
In 2015, Brendon co-founded the Ailura Holdings Group, an international financial services platform providing corporate secretarial, administration, and fund administration solutions to global corporates, private equity funds, and family offices. To spearhead the group’s strategic expansion and anchor its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, he relocated to Singapore in 2021.
In addition to being a Director on Ailura Holdings (Singapore) Private Limited, Brendon serves as the CEO of Adansonia Fund Manager Private Limited, a Licenced Fund Management Company licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”). In this capacity, he oversees regulated fund structures, including the Adansonia PE Opportunities VCC. He also brings deep corporate governance experience to the ecosystem and has served on the boards and investment committees of several international firms.
Driven by a commitment to fostering cross-border synergies, Brendon founded Connect Africa Southeast Asia, a business networking initiative dedicated to linking human and monetary capital between Southeast Asia and Africa.