{"id":25234,"date":"2016-03-29T14:44:51","date_gmt":"2016-03-29T18:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?p=25234"},"modified":"2017-01-24T11:03:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T16:03:00","slug":"from-finance-to-founder","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2016\/from-finance-to-founder\/","title":{"rendered":"From Finance to Founder"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sidney Yankson (LLM\u201910) discusses how BU Law shaped his entrepreneurial journey.<\/h2>\n
\"yankson-sidney-llm'10\"
Sidney Yankson (LLM’10)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sidney Yankson graduated from Boston University School of Law in 2010 with an LLM in American Law<\/a> and a vision to make the world a better place. His academic track record encompasses an LLB in\u00a0law from the University of London (\u201909), an LLM in American Law from BU (\u201910), and a second postgraduate degree in law from the University of Hong Kong (\u201911).<\/p>\n

With over 17 years of global financial experience under his belt, Yankson\u2019s legal work covers diverse areas ranging from terrorism finance to Islamic law; private equity to international corporate finance. He has worked in senior positions in leading international banks and garnered clients across major financial centers such as Tokyo, New York, Singapore, London, and Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

Yankson is the founder of Ghana Capital Partners (GCP)<\/a>, a boutique private equity firm focused on Africa. The company’s\u00a0core focus is in renewable energy, infrastructure, and consumer distribution. GCP Solar, the first portfolio company, was established in September 2012, and aims to help\u00a0the 620 million people in sub-Saharan Africa without electricity.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents were both born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, but I was raised in London where I attended private boarding school.\u201d says Yankson. He earned his first undergraduate degree\u00a0in physics from the University of Durham and began working in London trading fixed income derivatives for a Japanese\u00a0investment bank.<\/p>\n

After over 12 years working in finance in London and Hong Kong, Yankson sought\u00a0to add another dimension to his professional profile by qualifying as a barrister-at-law in Hong Kong. Between 2006 and 2009, he completed his bachelor of laws at the University of London. \u201cAfter some deliberation, I decided on a full law degree, rather than the graduate diploma in law, as I prefer to look at subjects in some depth and wanted a more detailed understanding of the subject matter,\u201d he says. \u201cIt allowed me to use my background in finance when tackling some of those thorny legal issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

BU Law’s influence<\/h3>\n

\u201cUndertaking an LLM degree from BU Law was fundamental to my career trajectory,\u201d says Yankson. When he joined the School, he already had about 16 years of experience in finance. Seeking a \u201cbroader view of the law,\u201d he pursued\u00a0his LLM in American Law.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found the broad range and depth of subjects offered at BU, from an international perspective, incredibly valuable,\u201d he says. \u201cFor example, I was able to undertake the course on the CIA and the National Clandestine Service at the international relations school. This course allowed me to look at national security issues and some of the legal ramifications from the US perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his second semester, Yankson completed an externship that allowed him to work as a legal assistant to Massachusetts Senator Karen Spilka, who was chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies\u00a0for\u00a0the Massachusetts Senate. Yankson assisted with drafting pieces of legislation which were then debated on the senate floor and went on to be enacted as statutes in the state of Massachusetts. \u201cThis experience was extremely valuable and I\u2019m glad that I did it. It was hard work and stressful, but completing 21 credits forced me to be organized and work efficiently, even though\u00a0I lived on very little sleep!\u201d<\/p>\n

At BU Law, Yankson delved into diverse subjects as public international law, intellectual property, human rights, and private equity. In order to consider issues and challenges facing the United Nations, one of his key interest areas, he also completed a course with the International Relations department at BU\u2019s College of Arts and Sciences<\/a>. One of his papers, which examined the role of the United Nations in the Rwandan genocide of 1994, was published in a peer-reviewed legal journal in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

Among the things BU Law instilled in Yankson were the fundamentals of high quality legal research and writing for peer-reviewed journals. Yankson notes, \u201cThe legal writing courses and seminars encouraged me to produce research papers of publishable quality, and opened doors for me to have my articles published by a number of leading journals.\u201d One such paper, which looked critically at the United Nation\u2019s application of international human rights norms while considering the sensitive subject of terrorism financing, was named Outstanding Paper of the Year<\/a> by the Journal of Money Laundering Control<\/em> (2010). He\u00a0has since authored a book chapter on the anti-terrorism and money laundering ordinance (CAP. 615) in Hong Kong and recently published an article on a new project finance model for Africa.<\/p>\n

Ghana Capital Partners (GCP)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

With his ties to Africa running closer to home, Yankson founded Ghana Capital Partners to focus on Africa\u2019s development and sought to address some of the fundamental roadblocks, such as lack of access to power and poor infrastructure, that are responsible for holding back the continent\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch of my thinking in setting up GCP was shaped by my BU Law experience,\u201d he says. Various discussions with his classmates and professors offered him global perspectives about existing issues. \u201cProfessor Charles Dunbar, who taught international relations at BU, was particularly influential in my decision to start GCP. Having had a first hand experience working in the Western Sahara as the UN Secretary General\u2019s special representative, he had a unique insight and understood the challenges prevalent in Africa more than most.\u201d<\/p>\n

At present, the aim of GCP Solar is to use solar power to provide clean, energy efficient power to the people of Africa. It follows a three-pronged approach to address access to energy: utility-scale projects supplying power to the national utility; rooftop solar to schools, churches, hospitals, and businesses to reduce transmission losses and provide electricity directly to the consumer; and finally, providing hand-held solar lanterns directly to the base of the pyramid in remote African villages.<\/p>\n

Yankson\u2019s experience conducting in-depth research in law school prepared him for the months of detailed research alongside various agencies to understand how and where in the African energy sector he could add value. During visits to numerous African villages in Mozambique, Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, and Togo that had no electricity, he explored solar power’s\u00a0potential to help with\u00a0education and lifestyle improvement at the grassroots level. In particular, working with the World Bank\u2019s \u2018Lighting Africa\u2019 team in Ghana helped him understand the research that had already been undertaken and revealed challenges and gaps that could be filled by commercial companies like GCP Solar.<\/p>\n

He\u00a0then implemented these findings in the field. \u201cIt was the challenge of taking the theory and making it a reality that helped me use my on-the-ground experience. My goal was always to help the most people and get the maximum impact with the minimum cost,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Reported by Indira Priyadarshini (COM’16).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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