Governance

Independent Oversight. Institutional Discipline.

Sound governance is central to how NiS Africa operates. Our Advisory Committee brings independent, senior expertise to the group's strategic thinking — reinforcing rigour, objectivity, and accountability.

The Committee

Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee is an independent advisory body supporting the NiS Africa group. It brings together seasoned professionals who provide impartial guidance and challenge — helping ensure that key decisions are made with discipline, sound judgment, and the long-term interests of clients and stakeholders at their core.

Independent perspective

Senior, external voices who bring objectivity and constructive challenge to the group's strategic thinking, free from day-to-day operational bias.

Specialist expertise

Deep, sector-specific knowledge — from applied artificial intelligence to the blue economy — informing how the group evaluates opportunities and risk.

Accountability

A governance layer that reinforces transparency and the highest professional standards in how the group advises and operates.

The Members

Independent Advisers

The committee is supported by two independent advisers, each bringing globally recognised expertise in fields central to Africa's next phase of growth.

Prof. Dr Ashwin Ittoo

Prof. Dr Ashwin Ittoo

Independent Adviser — Artificial Intelligence & Digital Transformation
Full Professor of Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence, University of Liège · Co-founder, AIASHI · Belgium
Artificial IntelligenceAI GovernanceDigital TransformationFinancial Services
Experience across BelgiumNetherlandsJapanIndiaVietnamSingaporeUAEEU-wide

Prof. Dr Ashwin Ittoo is an international AI researcher, strategist and advisor with extensive experience translating cutting-edge AI research into production-grade enterprise solutions across highly regulated industries. He is Full Professor of Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence at the University of Liège, Belgium, and Vice-President of its Doctoral School (HEC Liège), and holds adjunct and invited professorships at JAIST (Japan), Ton Duc Thang University (Vietnam) and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (India). He is co-founder of AIASHI, an AI research spin-off specialising in enterprise AI solutions.

He has served as a strategic AI advisor to public and private organisations including the European Commission (DG FISMA, DG CONNECT and DG DIGIT), KPMG, insurers and university hospitals. His expertise spans AI strategy and transformation, AI governance and EU AI Act compliance, generative AI and machine learning, and ERP-enabled digital transformation — with applied work across financial services, regulatory technology, healthcare and the public sector. For the NiS Africa group he brings a global perspective on responsible AI adoption, data-driven decision-making, and the governance frameworks that underpin them.

  • Full Professor of ML & AI, University of Liège; Vice-President, Doctoral School (HEC Liège).
  • Strategic AI advisor to the European Commission, KPMG and leading insurers and hospitals.
  • Specialisms: AI strategy, AI governance & EU AI Act compliance, generative AI, and RegTech.
  • Co-founder of AIASHI; secured over €2m in competitive research funding.

Academic leadership

  • Full Professor of Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence, University of Liège, Belgium.
  • Vice-President, Doctoral School, HEC Liège, University of Liège.
  • Adjunct Professor, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), Japan.
  • Adjunct Professor, Ton Duc Thang University, Vietnam.
  • Invited Professor, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), India.
  • Assessor & Programme Auditor, Higher College of Technology, Dubai, UAE.
  • Secured over €2 million in competitive research funding.

Advisory & executive consulting

  • European Commission — DG FISMA, DG CONNECT and DG DIGIT.
  • KPMG.
  • Ministry of Internal Affairs.
  • Ethias Insurance and Partenamut Health Insurance.
  • University Hospital of Liège (CHU Liège).

Industry expertise

  • Finance — customer profiling, AML, fraud detection and risk analytics.
  • Regulatory & compliance — AI-enabled regulatory reporting and compliance automation.
  • Legal & governance — EU AI Act compliance, explainable AI (XAI), AI governance.
  • Insurance — risk prediction and uncertainty quantification.
  • Healthcare — automated medical report coding and healthcare operations.
  • Customer service — intelligent agents and AI-powered service automation.
  • Climate — green AI and energy-efficient large language models.
  • Defence & internal security — AI strategy and intelligent decision-support.
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Dr Charlie Bavington

Dr Charlie Bavington

Independent Adviser — Marine Biotechnology & the Blue Economy
PhD · Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) · Founder, Oceanium & GlycoMar · United Kingdom
Marine BiotechnologyBlue EconomyBioprocessingCommercialisation
Experience across United KingdomScotlandEurope-wide

Dr Charlie Bavington is a biochemist, entrepreneur and technical advisor with over two decades' experience discovering and developing high-value products from marine bioresources — from early-stage R&D through to industrial-scale biorefinery deployment. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, he was Founder & CTO of Oceanium Ltd (2018–2025), where he directed the development of a seaweed cascade biorefinery and its scale-up to an industrial demonstrator plant, producing multiple co-products from a single feedstock stream.

Earlier, as Founder & CEO of GlycoMar Limited (2005–2019), he built a marine biotechnology company developing novel glycomolecules for healthcare and nutrition, leading fundraising, IP strategy and R&D across the full company lifecycle. He is the author or co-author of more than 20 peer-reviewed papers and seven patent families in marine natural products, polysaccharide chemistry and biorefinery processing. For the NiS Africa group he brings deep expertise in the blue economy — species and product selection, process design and technical due diligence, intellectual-property strategy, and access to European technology providers and investors.

  • Founder & CTO, Oceanium Ltd (2018–2025) — seaweed cascade biorefinery, scaled to an industrial demonstrator.
  • Founder & CEO, GlycoMar Ltd (2005–2019) — marine biotechnology for healthcare and nutrition.
  • Author/co-author of 20+ peer-reviewed papers and 7 patent families.
  • Focus: blue-economy strategy, biorefinery process design, IP protection, and investor access.

Selected experience

  • Founder & CTO, Oceanium Ltd (2018–2025) — directed a seaweed cascade biorefinery scaled to an industrial demonstrator, producing multiple co-products (fucoidan, laminarin, seaweed fibre, seaweed ink) from a single feedstock stream.
  • Founder & CEO, GlycoMar Ltd (2005–2019) — marine biotechnology developing novel glycomolecules for healthcare and nutrition; led fundraising, IP strategy and R&D across the full company lifecycle.
  • Freelance advisory across seaweed cultivation, biorefinery process development, IP protection and investor technical due diligence in the UK and Europe.
  • Wide network of processing-technology specialists, equipment suppliers and off-take contacts across the global seaweed and marine-ingredients sector.

Published work

  • Author/co-author of 20+ peer-reviewed papers and 7 patent families in marine natural products, polysaccharide chemistry and biorefinery processing.
  • Adams et al. (2021), Food-Grade Biorefinery Processing of Macroalgae at Scale, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering.
  • Garcia et al. (2025), Gut Microbiome Modulation and Health Benefits of a Novel Fucoidan Extract — double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, Microorganisms.

How he supports NiS Africa

  • Species and product selection — prioritising higher-value fractions and avoiding the low-margin commodity-biomass trap.
  • Technical due diligence and process design for demonstration farms and processing facilities, for both large investors and SMEs.
  • Introductions to European biorefinery technology providers, equipment suppliers and buyers of value-added ingredients.
  • IP-protection strategy for novel products and processes.
  • Access to family-office, high-net-worth and venture-capital investors.
Governance Framework

Built on Trust, Transparency and Merit

NiS Africa is committed to the highest standards of corporate governance. The Advisory Committee complements the group's leadership and operating structure, providing independent counsel that helps protect the interests of clients, partners and investors across every market we serve.

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