ACIS 2026 speakers.

Aleksejs Kornejevs is an accomplished digital solutions leader and Managing Director of X Infotech Africa, based in Nairobi, where he leads business development and supports the delivery of banking and government technology projects across African markets.

His expertise spans digital identity, biometrics, payment solutions and secure digital platforms, with extensive experience delivering complex technology projects across Africa and Europe.

Aleksejs has contributed to the successful implementation of 20+ projects across more than 10 countries, including national payment switches, passport production systems, instant card issuance and biometric registration solutions. His international project experience spans Kenya, Angola, Zimbabwe, Cameroon and Ireland, among other markets.

He brings a practical perspective on how digital infrastructure, trusted identity and payment technologies can enable more connected, secure and competitive economies.

Dr. Patricia Nzolantima is an entrepreneur, investor, governance strategist and international policy advocate with over 24 years of experience spanning business, finance, mobility, infrastructure and public-private partnerships. She is the Founder and Chairwoman of Bizzoly Holdings, Co-founder of EXP-Comuni-cart and Founder of Ubizcabs.

A passionate advocate for African ownership and women's economic empowerment, she works to expand access to capital, strengthen investment ecosystems and help African governments structure sustainable infrastructure partnerships.

Dr. Nzolantima serves on the Executive Board of the International Chamber of Commerce World Business Organization and is Co-Chair of the Harvard University Center for African Studies Leadership Council. She has also led B20 task forces under three consecutive presidencies.

Her vision is to help build an Africa where businesses and communities move beyond participation to ownership, wealth creation and lasting economic value.

Dr. Henry K. Murigi is an arbitrator, academic, author and Advocate of the High Court of Kenya with over a decade of experience spanning arbitration, mediation, alternative dispute resolution and complex commercial and economic litigation. He currently serves as Registrar/CEO of the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA), where he provides strategic leadership in the administration and promotion of alternative dispute resolution and the advancement of access to justice.

His multidisciplinary experience in commercial dispute resolution brings an important perspective to ACIS 2026 as African businesses increasingly trade, invest and build partnerships across borders.

At NCIA, Dr. Murigi is focused on strengthening institutional capacity, expanding international partnerships and positioning Nairobi as a leading hub for international arbitration and alternative dispute resolution in Africa and beyond.

Dr. Murigi holds a PhD in International Relations, an MA in Peace and Conflict Studies and a Postgraduate Diploma in Law. He has published peer-reviewed research on prosecutorial powers, corporate crime and arbitration and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Law Society of Kenya.

About NCIA — The Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration is an arbitral institution established under the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration Act, 2013. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, the Centre is strategically positioned as a gateway between Africa and the global business and legal community.

NCIA administers domestic and international arbitration, mediation and other alternative dispute resolution processes, providing businesses and other parties with predictable, efficient and flexible frameworks for resolving disputes. Its services include dispute administration, appointment of arbitrators and mediators, hearing facilities, professional training, capacity building, research and advisory services.

NCIA's vision: “The Premier Centre of Choice for Alternative Dispute Resolution.”

Dr. Krishantha Pathiraja is a distinguished senior professional with over two decades of experience spanning the public and private sectors since 2004, with extensive expertise in corporate governance, strategic management, public administration, international relations, diplomacy, academia, information technology, and international business development.

Board & Corporate Governance Leadership

Dr. Pathiraja currently serves as a Director of HDFC Bank, a position he has held since 2022. In March 2025, he was appointed Chairman of the Board Human Resource & Remuneration Committee (BHRRC), as publicly disclosed through the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). In August 2026, he was also appointed Chairman of the Board IT Steering Committee, further strengthening his role in providing board-level oversight of information technology strategy, digital capabilities, technology governance, and organizational capacity.

His board responsibilities reflect his extensive experience in strategic human capital management, remuneration governance, technology governance, risk oversight, organizational development, and institutional transformation.

In the private sector, Dr. Pathiraja has held senior advisory and leadership positions across a range of reputed companies and business groups. He serves as an External Director of Wardhana Venture Holdings and has undertaken strategic consulting and advisory responsibilities with several established organizations, including:

Prime Group of Companies, including Prime Lands and Prime Residencies – Strategic Consultant

JAT Holdings PLC – Strategic Consultant

Solex Group of Companies – Strategic Consultant

Through these engagements, he contributes to strategic planning, corporate governance, organizational development, business expansion, leadership, and transformation initiatives.

Public Sector & Institutional Leadership

Dr. Pathiraja currently serves as a Member of the Governing Council of the Industrial Training Institute, Katubedda, under the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA), contributing to national-level vocational education, industrial training, skills development, and workforce capacity building.

He also serves as an External Faculty Board Member of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Languages, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, contributing to academic governance, strategic development, and policy-oriented initiatives.

From 2019 to 2024, Dr. Pathiraja served as Chairman of the Palmyrah Development Board under the Ministry of Plantation Industries, where he provided strategic leadership in institutional development, sector advancement, organizational strengthening, and transformation.

He has also served as a Consultant to the State Ministry of Foreign Affairs, supporting matters relating to international relations, diplomatic engagement, strategic coordination, and external stakeholder relations.

Dr. Pathiraja previously served as a Board Director of the Sugathadasa Sports Complex Authority under the Ministry of Sports, contributing to institutional governance and strategic oversight.

Diplomatic & International Relations

Dr. Pathiraja has developed extensive professional relationships with foreign diplomatic missions, local diplomatic institutions, international organizations, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations.

His professional engagement has included relationships with internationally recognized organizations such as UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, and WFP, as well as foreign and local missions.

He has established significant professional and diplomatic networks across the East African region, particularly with Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Burundi. His engagement has supported the development of professional and commercial relationships between Sri Lanka and Kenya, particularly in areas of investment, business development, institutional cooperation, and international trade.

His professional network in Kenya includes relationships with organizations such as the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) and the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), together with established financial institutions including Diamond Trust Bank (DTB Bank) and Equity Bank.

These relationships reflect his broader expertise in international business diplomacy, investment facilitation, cross-border commercial engagement, and strategic international partnerships.

International Academic & Professional Engagement

Internationally, Dr. Pathiraja holds several academic, professional, and research-related appointments.

He serves as a Scientific Advisory Board Member of the DK International Research Foundation, India, and has been appointed Executive Director of the International American Council for Research and Development (IACRD), USA.

He is also recognized as a Fellow Member of California Public University, USA, and a Fellow Member of the African Councils for Higher Education Commission (ACHEC), Ghana, West Africa.

In recognition of his contribution to research and academic excellence, Dr. Pathiraja was awarded the prestigious Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Research Fellowship Award by the European Council for Higher Education and Accreditation Board, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Academic & Professional Qualifications

Dr. Pathiraja's professional expertise encompasses business administration, strategic management, corporate governance, information technology, IT governance, organizational transformation, international relations, leadership, and institutional development.

He holds a PhD in Strategic Management, together with Honorary Doctorates in Business Administration and Information Technology.

He is also a Professional Member of the British Computer Society (BCS), United Kingdom, and a member of the Chartered Institute of Information and Communication Technology.

Strategic Advisory & Leadership

Beyond his formal board and institutional appointments, Dr. Pathiraja continues to serve as a strategic consultant and advisor to reputed organizations in Sri Lanka and internationally.

His broad professional portfolio combines board-level governance, strategic management, human capital leadership, information technology governance, diplomacy, international business development, academia, and institutional transformation.

With more than two decades of multidisciplinary experience, he brings a distinctive combination of corporate, public-sector, diplomatic, academic, and international business expertise, enabling him to contribute effectively to boards, institutions, government organizations, international engagements, and private-sector enterprises.

Dr. Pathiraja's career reflects a sustained commitment to strategic leadership, good governance, institutional excellence, international cooperation, innovation, and organizational transformation.

Jonathan Jackson was born and raised in Kenya as the son of an AIC missionary teacher. He was schooled at St Andrews School (Turi) and obtained his BSc degree in Business Management with Distinction at London South Bank University.

He is the Founder and Chairman of the Lordship Group, with offices in the Czech and Slovak Republics and Kenya. In 1989, Jonathan led the group from inception to its current prominence in Central Eastern Europe and Kenya, with a value of over $1 billion and mixed-use space of over 600,000 m² (6 million square feet).

After 20 years developing real estate in Central and Eastern Europe, Jonathan has returned home as a citizen of Kenya and built up a portfolio of properties and development opportunities in the country. These include Karen Hills, a 64-acre exclusive residential community, and 88 Nairobi, a 44-floor high-end residential building set to become Nairobi's icon. He also won an award for the development of low-income housing estates with the Nairobi County Government.

While in Prague, Jonathan gained first-hand experience of the CEE region's transformation and the growth of its property development and investment markets — from an emerging economy after the fall of Communism to a significant contributor to the European economy today. He is now seeking to replicate that success in Kenya.

He has also invested heavily in various industries, including IT, biotechnology and investment financial systems. Beyond his own group, he is a board member and investor in Histogen, a publicly listed biotechnology company based in San Diego (USA), and Audacity Capital Limited, a financial trading company based in Amsterdam.

Jonathan is deeply involved in fostering youth empowerment, which led to the establishment of the Jonathan Jackson Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation building youth teams, seed funding their businesses and providing training to help them grow. He also supports football and basketball among youth in Nairobi's poorer communities through an initiative dubbed Bakee Mtaani.

In 2019 he purchased Nairobi City Stars football club, then at the bottom of the second division. With excellent management and zero corruption, the team became Super League champions within a year and reached the top five of the Premier League a year later.

Dr. Maria Bayerl is a Kenyan-born medical doctor, entrepreneur and founder of Bayerl Beauty Clinic in Bucharest, Romania, with professional interests spanning medicine, aesthetic healthcare, entrepreneurship and international business development.

Having built her professional career in Europe while maintaining strong ties to Africa, Dr. Bayerl brings a distinctly international perspective to the intersection of healthcare, private enterprise, investment and Africa-Europe collaboration.

As a physician and business owner, she has first-hand experience building and operating within the European private healthcare sector. Her work has given her particular insight into professional standards, innovation, patient-centred healthcare, brand development and sustainable business systems.

Beyond clinical practice, Dr. Bayerl is increasingly focused on strengthening connections between African and European professionals, businesses, institutions and investors, creating platforms through which expertise, capital, technology and strategic partnerships can contribute to sustainable African economic development.

She is also developing healthcare outreach activities in Africa, with a particular interest in women's health, preventive medicine and improving access to screening and early intervention.

Dr. Bayerl believes Africa's next phase of growth will require more than investment alone. It will depend on credible institutions, globally competitive African enterprises, stronger intra-African networks, diaspora engagement and strategic partnerships capable of translating opportunity into measurable economic and social impact.

Helen Malinowskaya is the Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where she has served since 2024, supporting the development of trade, investment and business cooperation between Belarusian enterprises and international partners.

From 2020 to 2024, she served as Counsellor for Trade and Economic Issues at the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in Georgia, promoting bilateral trade and economic relations. Prior to that, she spent 14 years at the Belarusian state concern of food industry Belgospischeprom, holding various positions including Head of the Department for Coordination of Domestic Market Supplies and Foreign Trade Activities (2014–2020).

She began her career in 2004 as a Foreign Economic Relations Specialist at the Minsk Crystal State Unitary Enterprise, building a strong foundation in international trade practice.

Helen holds a degree in Modern Foreign Languages from Envila Women's Non-Governmental Institute (1999) and a degree in International Economic Relations from the Belarusian State Economic University (2006). She has received commendations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus (2021, 2022) and speaks English and German.

Florin C. Pîrlea began his career in information technology, where he built and led a successful IT business, before extending his work into the cultural and social sectors.

He currently heads an association and a foundation dedicated to strengthening Romanian cultural identity through projects with community impact.

As President of ROKECC, he sets the organisation's strategy and leads its work in opening high-level dialogue between economic partners in Romania and Kenya.

Ms. MA Yuhong is the Chairperson of the Shaanxi Federation of Industry and Commerce and President of the Shaanxi Provincial General Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

She leads the Shaanxi delegation to the Africa Commerce & Industry Summit 2026.

Nelson Ashitiva is a lawyer and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) consultant in Kenya with over eighteen (18) years of experience advising on complex infrastructure, energy, and investment transactions across Africa. His expertise spans renewable energy law, including solar, small hydro projects, and battery energy storage systems; infrastructure projects involving roads, airports, ports, and maritime facilities; project finance and capital raising; project structuring; capital markets; corporate and commercial transactions; sustainable extractives and mining; and strategic investments. He is widely recognised as a leading professional in these fields.

Nelson advises governments, state departments, and public agencies, particularly the PPP Directorate, the State Department for Mining, and the Energy sector, on project structuring, regulatory compliance, and investment facilitation. He also advises private institutions, boards, and the management of private and publicly listed companies on capital raising, business strategy, transaction structuring, and regulatory matters.

He is recognised by IFLR1000 for his work in project finance and infrastructure, while his firm has been recognised by The Legal 500 as a “Firm to Watch.” Nelson has also been recognised by Chambers and Partners as a PPP and Infrastructure Advocate to Watch, reflecting his growing influence in infrastructure development and project advisory across Africa.

Nelson is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, a member of the Law Society of Kenya, and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK). He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree from the University of Nairobi and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Nairobi.

Beyond legal practice, Nelson actively contributes to thought leadership and capacity building in PPPs, infrastructure development, mining, and dispute resolution across Kenya and the wider African region. In April 2026, he participated as a speaker at the “Partnership for Prosperity: Advancing Value-Led Mining in Kenya” held on 28–29 April 2026. More recently, on 8 May 2026, he served as a presenter during the LSK CPD Presentation on “Public Private Partnerships (PPPs): A Review of Practice and Related Litigation”, where he shared insights on PPP practice, governance, and related litigation trends.

Nelson has also participated as a speaker during Dubai Arbitration Week, where he spoke on the topic “Lessons from the Ground: Navigating Challenges on Mega Projects in the Middle East and Africa,” drawing from his practical experience in infrastructure delivery, dispute resolution, and cross-border project execution. Through his work and engagements, he consistently champions frameworks that balance public interest with private investment certainty.

Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa is the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Nigeria, with a distinguished public-service career spanning executive governance, legislative representation and public administration.

He previously served as Commissioner for Investments and Public-Private Partnerships in Edo State and later on the National Council on the Great Green Wall.

In 2019, he was elected to Nigeria’s House of Representatives, representing the Ovia South-West/Ovia North-East Federal Constituency, and was re-elected in 2023.

In 2024, Rt. Hon. Idahosa assumed office as Deputy Governor of Edo State, serving alongside Governor Monday Okpebholo.

His experience encompasses governance, investment and public-private partnerships, legislative representation, community development and public-sector leadership. He brings to the conference a valuable perspective on strengthening institutions, fostering investment and advancing sustainable development through collaboration between government, the private sector and communities.

Kohe Hasan leads M Kapital Holdings, a privately held investment group with interests spanning energy transition, commodities trading, digital infrastructure and business advisory. As Group CEO she sets strategy across the group's subsidiaries, builds new business lines, and cultivates the government and industry relationships that open doors across Southeast Asia and, increasingly, Africa.

Before moving into business leadership, Kohe spent over 20 years as a senior lawyer, culminating as Equity Partner at Reed Smith — the first female partner in the firm's Singapore office. She is widely recognised as an authority on energy and infrastructure projects across emerging Asian markets, having advised governments, sovereign entities and multinationals on complex cross-border matters.

She serves as Honorary Consul of the Republic of Ghana to Singapore, and was instrumental in Ghana's decision to open a permanent mission. Her board and public roles include the Central Provident Fund Board (Singapore), Housing Development Finance Corporation (Maldives) as nominee director of the Asian Development Bank, AMP-lify Co., Ltd (Japan), Nanyang Polytechnic, the Singapore College of Islamic Studies and the Singapore National Employers' Federation.

Kohe holds an LL.B. (Hons) from the National University of Singapore and is admitted in Singapore and in England & Wales.