Hamdiya Ismaila

Hamdiya is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Savannah Impact Advisory. She has over 22 years of experience in Finance and Investment with over 15 years’ experience in fund of funds investing. Prior to establishing SIA, she was the General Manager of Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF), a Ghanaian based fund of funds vehicle established to support emerging managers investing across West Africa.

Hamdiya has significant experience in Venture Capital/Private Equity (VC/PE) Fund Structuring, fund investing, fund management and understands the entrepreneurial ecosystem development issues at first hand. She has championed and supported PE/VC ecosystem development through education and influencing policy and regulatory outcomes of the industry in Ghana and Africa.

She is an Angel Investor and was instrumental in the design of the Ghana Angel Investor Network (GAIN). She is also a Director of the Ghana Angel Fund and a Founder of the Lady Angel Network, an angel network investing in women owned/led businesses. She is also an impact investor and has led several initiatives on impact investing including serving as the chair of the taskforce that established Impact Investing Ghana; the Ghana National Advisory Board affiliated with the Global Steering Group (GSG) for Impact Investing and also served as a Trustee of the GSG from (2020 – 2022). 

Ms Ismaila sits on several Boards and Councils including the Ghana Alternative Exchange (GAX), a second-tier listing platform for SMEs under the Ghana Stock Exchange and also serves on the Investment Committee of the USD$200 million Mastercard Africa Growth Fund. She is a regular speaker on various Private Equity/ Venture Capital Conferences including SuperReturn Africa, Africa Private Equity and Venture Capital Association Annual Conferences, Global Impact Summits, Ghana Private Equity and Venture Capital Annual Conferences among others. 

She holds an Executive Certificate in Private Equity and Venture Capital from Harvard Business School, a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University in the City of New York, BBA (Honors) from Monroe College and an LLB degree from the GIMPA Law School. Hamdiya is a Finance Leaders Fellow with the Aspen Institute a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.