Dumon Partners expands African practice with new Casablanca office and Dr Alexander Ezenagu joining as Head of its sub-Saharan Africa desk

The appointment of Dr Alexander Ezenagu as a partner and new Head of Dumon Partners’ sub-Saharan Africa Desk reinforces the multinational firm's positioning as a trusted advisor on complex, cross-border matters in Global South markets, where legal, regulatory and institutional dynamics increasingly intersect, says the firm.

“Alexander’s appointment significantly strengthens our Africa practice and reflects our long-term Global South strategy,” says Bertrand Dumon, Managing Partner of the firm, which has seven offices across the EMEA region. “Building from the UAE as a key legal and investment hub, we continue to support clients across interconnected emerging markets, from Africa through the Middle East and into Asia.” 

The move, announced over the weekend, follows on from the multinational firm, established by Dumon in 2012, bolstering its presence in North Africa last month with the opening of a new Dumon Partners office in Casablanca, to be led by returning corporate and cross-border expert Nadia Kawtar Alaoui as Managing Partner. Earlier in her career, Alaoui had been a partner at the firm’s Paris office, before spending the past decade in Morocco, most recently as General Counsel of Azura Group.

The addition of corporate expert Alaoui as a partner in Casablanca, and international tax expert Dr Ezenagu as a partner in Dubai, signals a growing Africa focus. “The firm’s positioning from the United Arab Emirates as a strategic hub connecting Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and its broader Global South strategy, strongly resonate with my professional background and vision,” says Dr Ezenagu. “I am delighted to join Dumon Partners at a defining stage of its international development.”

When the new Casablanca office was announced in January, Alaoui said she was very pleased to be rejoining Dumon Partners, and being able to harness her Moroccan expertise to contribute and actively support the development of the firm in North Africa. The new office, the seventh for the firm across the EMEA region, strengthens Dumon Partners ability to advise Moroccan and international clients on corporate transactions, governance, investments and structuring, cross-border operations, drawing on the firm’s integrated, multi-jurisdictional platform.

Dr. Ezenagu brings nearly 15 years experience as a commercial lawyer, academic. and policy expert to his new role as Head of the sub-Saharan Africa Desk.

Over the past decade he has rendered legal, research, and expert consulting services to international organisations including the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa, along with businesses, governments, and universities across Africa, the Middle East, Hong Kong, Canada and the United States, and the United Kingdom. 

Most recently, Dr. Ezenagu served as Associate Professor and Director of Policy Studies and Co-Director of the Centre for Trade and Regional Integration at the African School of Governance based in Kigali, Rwanda. He has also been Assistant Professor of Law at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Director of the AfCFTA Policy and Development Hub, and Senior Research Fellow at Strathmore Business School.