Kemi Ajumobi 
Ibrahim Sagna
Executive Chairman of Silverbacks Holdings
Ibrahim Sagna is the Executive Chairman of Silverbacks Holdings, a private investment firm allocating capital and resources to technology, entertainment, sports and other creative industries. The firm prioritises tech enabled businesses able to capture growing pools of export oriented revenues. He directs the firm’s strategy, investments and investors’ relations in accordance with its board’s principles.
Mauritius based Silverbacks Holdings’ investment programmes primarily target Africa and its diaspora. Ultimately, Silverbacks’ objective is to expand Africa born businesses beyond the continent – while improving job opportunities available for the youth and to support more woman led enterprises.
Ibrahim’s interest in Africa’s growth is evident in his views. According to him, while the world debates the future of digital banking, Africa has already built it on mobile phones. Ibrahim insists that mobile money is not a niche innovation here, but the backbone of commerce, connecting farmers, traders, and entire economies.
“With over 74% of the world’s mobile money transactions happening in Africa, the continent has become the undisputed global leader in mobile financial inclusion.” He said.
Giving an example of one of such African countries, Ibrahim says, for instance, the launch of M-Pesa in Kenya transformed that landscape, turning basic mobile phones into tools for sending, receiving, and managing money, and in 2025, M-Pesa has grown to more than 60 million users.
This growth is spreading across Africa and certainly contributing to economic growth. “Today, mobile money platforms in Africa serve over 1.1 billion registered accounts across 40+ countries, processing over $1.1 trillion annually.” Ibrahim stated.
Ibrahim was named in 2023 as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Leaders in Africa by New African Magazine. He is an institutional platform builder, technology enthusiast and prolific private investor. He is a seasoned executive with various board governance roles and the privilege of close to three decades’ track record enabling over $30bn of company related financings throughout 40+ African and emerging economies covering consumers, infrastructure and natural resources.
The spectrum of his former employers spans from global Private Equity (PE) portfolio companies to international PE groups and Hedge Funds (HF) management firms as well as leading Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). In his fulfilling journey across the value chain of private capital, he also led a few award winning transactions in publicly listed markets.
Silverbacks’ purpose is to accelerate the corporate maturity of select private companies. The firm dedicates its funding and resources to the delivery of attractive capital gain opportunities for investors while unearthing outliers operating in underserved industries. Ultimately, the goal is to create jobs for youths and opportunities for women-led enterprises by backing dominant platforms’ builders ready to expand well beyond their original jurisdiction.