Our Team
The PACG team has experience working in Africa in banking and private equity roles. They have strong local networks and knowledge of the key companies and organizations operating in various parts of Africa. In addition, they have significant access to international institutions and financiers focused on Africa.
Stephen D. Cashin
CEO and Founder
Mr. Cashin is the founder and CEO of Pan African Capital Group (PACG). Established in 2004, PACG focuses on three key areas; investment banking and advisory services, asset management, and private equity throughout Africa. PACG has a portfolio of investments primarily in West Africa, with a significant focus in financial services. PACG also advises US and international companies on investments in the infrastructure, natural resources and other areas across the continent.
Mr. Cashin was founder and has served as Managing Director and head of the Washington Office of Modern Africa Fund Managers, LLC from 1998 until 2004. He was responsible for identifying the majority of the investors in Modern Africa Growth and Investment Company LLC, a $105 million fund capitalized by private institutional investors and leveraged with the support of the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Mr. Cashin was integrally involved in identifying and structuring Modern Africa’s investments and management of the portfolio.
Mr. Cashin serves on the boards of International Bank (Liberia) Limited, one of the strongest and oldest bank in Liberia; DataBank, an investment banking group based in Ghana; Feronia Inc, an agricultural business listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and engaged in acquiring and consolidating farm land and operations in Africa; DiscoveryTel, a communications company carrying traffic into and out of Africa from the US.Mr. Cashin serves on the Board of Visitors of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He serves on the boards of Africare, Better Way Foundation, and the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA. Mr. Cashin also served on the board of the Corporate Council on Africa as Vice Chair in 2007 and as a board member from 1999 to 2007; and the African Wildlife Foundation as Chair of the Finance Committee from 2005 to 2008. He is also a member of the Trade Advisory Committee on Africa (TACA), the Council on Foreign Relations and the Bretton Woods Committee. He was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and speaks at numerous events focused on the development of Africa’s financial markets. He has participated in numerous initiatives focused on generating growth in the African Markets.
Mr. Cashin was employed by Equator Bank, a member of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation from 1984-1996. He opened Equator’s office in Nairobi, Kenya, and was responsible for developing the bank’s relationships with central banks, international agencies and corporations, particularly in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. In 1993 Mr. Cashin was appointed as the bank’s representative in Washington, D.C. In that capacity, Mr. Cashin managed the bank’s relationships with United States governmental and international agencies, trade organizations, and financial institutions. Later he assumed responsibility for managing the corporate finance portfolio of the bank, advising investor groups, structuring transactions, devising new financial products, and implementing privatization transactions. Mr. Cashin began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1979-1981 in Zanzibar, Tanzania. He graduated from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and has his MBA from Boston College
Gerald Woels
Senior Investment Analyst
Gerald Woels joined PACG in August 2012. Gerald assists the investment team in monitoring companies within the existing portfolio and those of potential interest particularly those in West Africa. He also assists the team in the development of detailed company financial models and forecasts. In addition, Gerald conducts research and analysis on African markets and industries to better guide the investment team’s decisions.
Gerald moved to New York in 2007 and started his career with ICAP Capital Markets, LLC. He gained valuable insight into the financial markets and business development strategies leading the New York operations of ICAP Media Markets. In 2009, Gerald moved to Maitland Primrose Development and Advisory Group, a firm specializing in research and development of post-conflict environments. Gerald is a South African national and is fluent in German and English. Gerald graduated from The Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University in May 2012, with a Masters’ degree in International Affairs with a focus on Economic Development and a regional concentration in Africa. He holds a bachelors in International Relations from Connecticut College.
Susan Edwards
Fund Manager, LEIF
Mrs. Edwards has extensive experience in the private equity and healthcare industry gained in the US and Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to PACG, Susan worked at the Abraaj Group, a leading emerging-market private equity firm, where she focused on the Africa Health Fund, a US$105 million fund focused on growing private healthcare companies serving low-income populations in Africa. While at Abraaj, Susan led several investment opportunities in East Africa as well as the management of portfolio companies. Prior to Abraaj, Susan managed a small business accelerator program for minority entrepreneurs in Chicago and also spent five years at Abbott Laboratories in a variety of engineering, operations and new product development roles. She earned her bachelors degree in chemical engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Lauren Corke
Investment Analyst
Lauren Corke came to PACG in May, 2016 after graduating from with an MA from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, where she focused on social enterprise and the role of the private sector in developing economies.
At PACG, Lauren supports the investment team in analyzing new opportunities for the portfolio, and works specifically on maximizing social impact within the Liberia Economic Impact Fund.
Lauren spent the summer of 2015 helping the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Liberia launch a new Small Business Association and has past experience working in Marketing and Public Relations. She moved to the DC area from Boston after serving as Peace Corps Volunteer in the Upper East Region of Ghana from 2011 to 2013. She graduated with honors from Colby College with a BA in Visual Arts with a double minor in Economics and Environmental Studies.
DEBORAH JALOTA
Executive Assistant/Office Manager
Deborah Jalota joined PACG in June 2017. Most recently, Deborah has worked in the finance sector and in property management. Originally from the U.K., Deborah came to the U.S. in 2005. Prior to moving, she worked as a translator and educator in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and the U.K.
Deborah graduated with honors from the University of Leicester with a B.A. in German and a double minor in Italian and Music. She earned a Master's Degree with Merit in Technical and Specialized Translation from German, Dutch, and Italian to English from the University of Westminster, London.
GBOLAHAN ANIMashaun
Intern
Gbolahan Animashaun joined PACG in June 2017 as a Summer Intern while completing a Master’s in International Affairs at Columbia University, where he is concentrating in International Finance and Economic Policy. Prior to Columbia, Gbolahan worked as a Portfolio Assistant at Bernard Herold & Co. in New York City, during which time he passed the Level III exam in the CFA Program.
Gbolahan graduated from the University of Central Florida in August 2013, where he was a double major in Economics and Finance.