Stephen Tio Kauma

Stephen Tio Kauma is a 43 year old Ugandan national who lives in Cairo, Egypt. He is currently employed as the Director of Human Resources for the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank), a pan African multilateral Bank devoted to financing and promoting intra and extra African trade. Since 1994, Afreximbank has approved over $35 billion in credit facilities for African business, including about $4.5 billion in 2014. Afreximbank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt (www.afreximbank.com).

Mr Kauma attended the renowned boarding schools Budo Junior School and King’s College Budo outside Kampala from 1979 until 1991 when he joined University. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Makerere University, Kampala (1995), an MBA (Finance) from Makerere University Business School, Kampala (2004) and a Diploma in HR from the Uganda Management Institute, Kampala (2005).

He joined Afreximbank in November 2008 as an HR Officer, rising through the ranks to the current position he holds as a Head of Department and a member of the Management team.

Mr Kauma started his career with SA Alliance Air, a subsidiary of South African Airways in 1995 before he joined the Uganda office of KPMG, the global audit and consulting firm, in November 2000 as a Business Advisor in their Consulting division. During this time, he consulted for some of the largest organisations in the private and public sector across East Africa, covering the areas of financial advisory services, human resources and public sector consulting.

In 2004, Mr Kauma joined PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) another global audit and consulting firm as an HR Advisor, focusing primarily on HR consulting for both the private and public sector. Over three years he rose through the ranks to become the business leader for PwC’s HR Advisory business in Uganda, while also providing support to PwC’s public sector teams in East Africa.

In March 2008, Mr Kauma joined Hima Cement Ltd, part of LafargeHolcim, the world leader in the building materials industry, as HR & Organisation Manager. In this role, he took primary responsibility for the company’s HR and Administration functions, covering multiple sites and over 300 employees and 500 contract workers. He left Hima Cement Ltd in October 2008 to join Afreximbank in Cairo, Egypt.

Mr Kauma is married to Kathy (nee Kikomeko) and together are blessed with two children Tendo (son, 13 years) and Kirabo (daughter, 9 years). He is an avid golfer, dabbles in amateur photography, and enjoys a regular game of lawn tennis. He is also an enthusiastic reader and collector of books.