Why Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer? 

Notre pratique Afrique de premier plan s'est construite sur plus de 40 ans et est assurée par des associés à travers l'ensemble de notre réseau international de bureaux, dont celui de Johannesburg.

Avec une expérience qui couvre les 54 pays d'Afrique et tous les secteurs-clés de l'économie, nous disposons d'une connaissance approfondie des systèmes juridiques locaux et régionaux, des pratiques commerciales, des cultures locales et des considérations sociopolitiques, ainsi que des problèmes et des réalités propres à la façon de faire des affaires en Afrique.

La combinaison de notre expertise de cabinet  généraliste intervenant dans tous les secteurs de l'économie et de nos expériences et savoir-faire approfondis en Afrique nous permet de fournir à nos clients sur le continent un service avec une véritable valeur ajoutée, qu'il s'agisse de nouveaux entrants sur ces marchés en plein essor ou d'opérateurs établis.

Notre cabinet est classé par Chambers Global parmi les cabinets de première catégorie pour les activités Africa-wide Projects & Energy, Mining & Minerals et Dispute Resolution. Cinq de nos associés ont également reçu des distinctions par Chambers Global 2021 en tant que leaders pour l'activité Africa-wide Projects & Energy – plus que tout autre cabinet dans cette catégorie.

Experience

A confidential client

Advising on a substantial financing for Afrimax relating to the rollout of 4G networks in multiple African jurisdiction

A French telecom company

Advising in a dispute against the State of Niger arising out of new regulations in the telecoms sector which severely interfered with the client's rights

An African telecommunications company

Advising in relation to assisting in the final stage of its 3G network procurement tender and the assignment of Passive Element Warranties

OneWeb

Advising in relation to the commercialisation of its low earth orbit (LEO) satellite capacity in the Middle East and North Africa through a joint venture with NEOM

Africa50

Advised on its investment in Raya Data Center, a leading Egyptian provider of colocation and cloud services 

Axiata

Advised in relation to a successful settlement of a $170 million dollar BIT dispute with the government of the Republic of Ghana concerning its investment in Ghana Telecom pursuant to a bilateral investment treaty between the governments of Malaysia and the Republic of Ghana and in respect of enforcement and asset freezing proceedings in England and Singapore, following an ICC arbitration award in the sum of US$200 million 

Our wider commitment to Africa

The Fair Deal Sierra Leone Pro Bono Initiative

Since 2010, we have partnered with the Government of Sierra Leone on our Fair Deal Sierra Leone ("FDSL") pro bono initiative. Through FDSL, we leverage our international and cross-practice experience to deliver free legal advice to the Government, supporting the West African nation on its continuing efforts to harness its resources for sustainable growth and development.

We value the Government of Sierra Leone as a key global client, offering a dedicated relationship team and access to our full range of services.

Through FDSL, our lawyers have advised on landmark transactions across various sectors, ensuring Sierra Leone’s interests are well represented in negotiations with international investors. To assist the Government in its efforts to improve the investment landscape in Sierra Leone, we produced a detailed online guide to investing in Sierra Leone, in collaboration with Standard Chartered Bank, Prudential and the UK and Sierra Leonean Governments. The guide, most recently updated in 2019, provided key insights into the commercial, social and investment implications of ongoing events in the country, such as the Ebola crisis.

As part of our long-standing support, we host investor conferences including, most recently, the 2025 Sierra Leone Investment Forum at our offices in London. The event showcases a pipeline of projects and brings together government officials, DFIs, and private sector leaders to discuss the evolving financial ecosystem.

Notably, our work goes beyond investments as we have supported the Government with rule of law and capacity building initiatives through providing guidance on important policy and legislative reforms such as our work on facilitating the country's accession to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in 2020 and modernising its arbitration act.

In the past, our support through FDSL included secondments from HSF Kramer to the Government, and vice versa, and in more recent years has involved: 

  • legal training on several topics to law officers of the Attorney General's Office, the Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court judges and other members of Sierra Leone's judiciary;
  • events both in Sierra Leone and elsewhere, hosted in collaboration with partners such as the Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator, Invest Salone and the UK Sierra Leone Pro Bono Network;
  • advice on international best practices and regulatory frameworks in several ESG areas critical to sustainable development, including carbon credits, carbon markets, environmental management and responsible mining. 

For more information, please contact [email protected].

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Key contacts

Martin Kavanagh photo

Martin Kavanagh

Partner, Head of Projects, Energy and Infrastructure, UK and EMEA, London

Jean Meijer photo

Jean Meijer

Managing Partner, Johannesburg Office, Johannesburg

Nina Bowyer photo

Nina Bowyer

Managing Partner, EMEA, Paris