Bridging the Gap: What Lawyers Need to Know About Impact and Key Areas for Improvement

Demilade Banjoko is a dual qualified international project finance lawyer with experience advising finance parties, project sponsors and governments on the development and financing of complex international energy and infrastructure projects, particularly in Africa and other emerging markets. In addition, Demilade advises finance parties and borrowers in relation to agribusiness financings across Africa. She is currently an associate at Trinity International LLP. Prior to joining Trinity, Demilade trained and qualified as a solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP.  She graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) in 2014. She qualified as a solicitor and barrister of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2015 and as a solicitor of England & Wales in 2018.

Richard is currently Senior Legal Counsel at AgDevCo, a specialist impact investor in African agribusinesses with ESG at its core. AgDevCo makes debt and equity investments to grow sustainable agribusinesses, in-order to achieve long-term development impact and food security, which benefits both people and the planet. Richard was previously a solicitor at Michelmores LLP.

Frances is a Partner and General Counsel for LeapFrog Investments, responsible for the firm’s legal functions across its global team and almost 40 portfolio companies. She plays a vital role in crafting all of LeapFrog’s deals, exits, fundraises, compliance processes and strategic partnerships. Frances serves on the management board and executive committee, and attends all investment committees.

Frances is a member of the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association’s Legal and Regulatory Committee, and a regional board member of the Global Association of Impact Lawyers.

Frances has more than 20 years of diverse high-level legal experience. As General Counsel at Kazimir Partners, an asset manager focused on emerging markets, she drove complex deal structuring, fund formation and cross-border investments in emerging markets including Africa and Asia. Prior to that, she was a specialist mergers and acquisitions lawyer at Slaughter and May, a top-tier global law firm leading large-scale transactions for the public and private sectors.

Frances holds a BA in Oriental Studies from Oxford University, where she was also awarded a travelling fellowship to the United Nations Sub-Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, and a Post-graduate diploma in Law and Legal Practice from Nottingham Law School. She is fluent in Japanese, Russian and French.

Kushal Bhimjiani serves as South Pole’s Group General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, reporting to the CEO as a key member of the Group’s executive leadership team. With a mandate spanning strategic and operational excellence, Kushal advises on critical areas including fundraising, board management, and corporate governance while overseeing regulatory compliance and legal strategy, and across South Pole’s global operations in 20+ countries. Her responsibilities encompass high-stakes activities such as M&A, JVs, restructuring, public affairs, critical litigation, regulatory and governance transformation, overseeing a team of 20 acting on BAU matters such as employment, IP and commercial contracts as well as the development of innovative carbon funds and climate tech investments.

In her role as Corporate Secretary, Kushal acts as the vital liaison between the Board of Directors and company stakeholders, guiding corporate governance and ensuring robust decision-making at the highest levels of the organization.

Kushal brings over 12 years of experience from elite international law firms including Milbank, Herbert Smith Freehills, and Norton Rose Fulbright, as well as in-house leadership at South Pole. She has represented and negotiated with a broad range of financial institutions, including global banks, DFIs such as the World Bank, IFC, and KfW, and private credit funds, as well as corporate stakeholders like renewable energy developers, infrastructure funds, and energy majors. She has executed transactions exceeding $32 billion across 40+ jurisdictions, leading multidisciplinary teams and delivering pragmatic, commercially driven counsel on complex cross-border deals.

Kushal is qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales.