Dr. Frank Aswani is the CEO of Africa Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), a network of social investors who are collaborating to increase the flow of capital (grants, debt, or equity & non-financial capital) into social investments across Africa and ensure that the capital is deployed for maximum social Impact. He’s Kenyan, living in Johannesburg and holds a Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Nairobi and an MBA from GIBS (Gordon Institute of Business Studies), University of Pretoria, South Africa.
He presents extensive Private and Social sector experience. His previous roles including 14 years in Healthcare with Eli Lilly where he worked in Kenya, England, Switzerland and South Africa. His last role at Lilly was the Sales Director for South Africa and Regional Director for Sub Sahara Africa where he managed over 25 countries in Anglo Phone and Luso-phone Sub Sahara Africa. His other stints included being the VP and Director of Strategic Relations at African Leadership Academy (ALA) in Johannesburg where he led ALA’s corporate partnerships, Business development and Fundraising across Africa, Europe, Middle East and the US, African Regional Director with ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) and time running his own consultancy in Innovation.
Frank is a visiting faculty in oxford said business school social finance and impact investing programmes. He is also a member of the Investment committee of the MasterCard Foundation Africa Growth fund and is the founder and host of Afropact Podcast series, a podcast showcasing stories of African Impact by highlighting African solutions to African problems.
Frank is a passionate pan-African and perennial Afro-optimist who believes that Africans should be at the forefront of solving our own problems.
