Africa50 appoints Zurina Saban as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Casablanca, 2 December 2021 - Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform, is pleased to announce the appointment of Zurina Saban as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Her appointment takes effect from December 1, 2021. As a member of Africa50’s senior leadership team, Ms. Saban will be the principal advisor of the firm for all legal and corporate secretariat matters. 

Before joining Africa50, Ms. Saban was the General Counsel of Absa Corporate and Investment Bank in South Africa, where she served on the Executive Committee and other strategic committees of the company. She led a large team of multi-sectoral professionals responsible for all legal services related to investment, regulatory and corporate activities. 

Prior to Absa, Ms. Saban held several leadership positions at the International Finance Corporation, where she served in numerous roles including as Counsel in Washington D.C, and as Principal Counsel for Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia based in Cairo and Istanbul, and then as Assistant General Counsel for Africa, leading a team of lawyers across markets in South Africa, Senegal, and Kenya and managing legal risk on all new and portfolio business in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ms. Saban started her legal career at White & Case in South Africa and in the UK, focusing on project finance transactions in emerging markets. 

 “I am thrilled and honored by the opportunity to join Africa50 and lead its Legal Department,” said Ms. Saban. “I look forward to working with the teams, the Board and shareholders, to support Africa50’s ambitious infrastructure development mandate”. 

Commenting on Ms. Saban’s appointment, Mr. Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50, added “I am delighted to welcome Zurina into our senior leadership team. She is a seasoned lawyer with a solid track record and great leadership qualities. Her extensive experience managing legal, corporate governance and enterprise risk across multiple continents, will make her a great asset for the company and our Board”. 

A native of South Africa, Zurina holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Cape Town. She was admitted as an attorney to the High Court of Cape Town and as a solicitor under the laws of England and Wales. 

Media contact: Fleur Tchibota, Africa50 Director of Communications: +212 666 171 099; f.tchibota@africa50.com 

Category: Press Release