Our Team
At Ivy Crest Advisory and Consulting, our team is a dynamic ensemble of industry experts committed to driving excellence in every project. Led by Michael Uwaechie, our Managing Consultant, we bring a wealth of experience and a passion for innovation to the table.
Nufi Barnabas Yohanna is a lawyer, private sector development expert, infrastructure specialist, and certified PPP practitioner with over 15 years of experience in regulation and compliance, resource mobilization, project development, contract management, public policy, capacity building, and climate-resilient development. He has worked as part of the multi-disciplinary team that established the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) and its PPP and Privatization Department, championing reforms that led to its recognition as an investment destination of choice in Nigeria.
Until recently, he served as the Director of Public-Private Partnerships and Privatization at KADIPA after initially serving as its pioneer Legal Adviser. In this role, he successfully established the department, initiated and coordinated the development of a robust legal and institutional framework, created a PPP project pipeline and prioritization strategy, and oversaw project preparation and development at various implementation levels in the state. Nufi also supervised the privatization and commercialization of government commercial assets in Kaduna State.
He is an alumnus of the Institute of Public-Private Partnerships in Washington, DC, a certified Public-Private Partnerships Professional (CP3P) from APMG International, a Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Officer (CRIO) from the Global Centre on Adaptation in the Netherlands, and holds a Climate Law and Governance Specialization Certificate, University of Cambridge. Additionally, he is a Sustainable Infrastructure Fellow of the Investor Leadership Network (ILN) and holds an MBA from the Malaysia University of Science and Technology, as well as a Master’s in Sustainable Infrastructure Development and Finance from York University in Canada.
Nufi is passionate about working with multi-sectorial stakeholders across the public, private and development sectors to drive private sector-led growth and sustainable investments in infrastructure across Africa and beyond.
Michael Uwaechie is a Senior Consultant at Ivy Crest Advisory and Consulting. He is a commercial lawyer with expansive experience working with private and public sector clients. Michael is a certified PPP professional with the CP3P credential, having a background in structuring policy, legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks for PPPs. His expertise extends to capacity building, bringing practical insights to the learning process.
Michael previously worked with the United Nations on macro-economic policy, international finance, and sustainable development in Africa and emerging economies. His diverse experience includes roles in turnkey infrastructure projects, involving contract
structuring, legal due diligence, and corporate finance.
He holds an LL.M in Banking, Corporate, and Finance Law from Fordham University Law School, New York, and an LL. B from Ambrose Alli University, Nigeria. Michael is an alumnus of the Institute of Public-Private Partnerships (IP3) in Washington, DC. He has a legal background, having been called to the Nigerian and American bars.
Uwadiale provides expert advisory and consulting services in oil and gas law, technology and maritime space, leveraging his industry knowledge and experience in the sectors.
Uwadiale routinely provides advisory services to public authorities and multinational businesses in areas including mergers and acquisitions as well as transaction advisory. In his capacity, he passionately represents our clients, assisting them through each step of their corporate/organizational needs and requirements.
He has successfully supported clients in capitalization, secured lending, equity/debt investments and advised in appropriate transaction structure to ensure regulatory compliance. Uwadiale is a law graduate from the University of Benin and has been called to the Nigerian bar. He is also a member of FINTECH Association of Nigeria as well as member of the Compliance Institute of Nigeria.
With a strong foundation in Oil & Gas as a Process Engineer and Project Manager, Mubarak has amassed several years of industry experience. He has garnered experience at every stage of the project lifecycle from feasibility studies, FEED, Detailed Engineering Design through to commissioning.
He has worked on both upstream and downstream projects for companies such as Dangote, Seplat, Chevron and Rain Oil.
Additionally, he is the Co-founder of H2Source Energy; a sustainable energy company committed to accelerating the development of renewable energy projects, especially as it pertains to Green Hydrogen.