Joshua Siaw, MBE

Joshua Siaw MBE is a partner at the leading global law firm White & Case LLP and Director of the Firm’s Africa practice. He has held this position for over a decade, developing one of the world’s most successful law firm practices in Africa.

Josh sits on the board of the Global Britain Sub Group of the UK Board of Trade, promoting the UK’s trade and investment agenda with a focus on Africa. He is a member of the UK Government’s Africa Green Growth Advisory Council, which promotes sustainable economic development between the UK and Africa. He is currently the Chair of the Africa Investors Group (AIG) and has held this position under three different UK Prime Ministers within both the Conservative and Labour governments.

The advisory council was established to facilitate increased trade and investment between the UK and Africa. The AIG comprises a select group of leading UK businesses with significant interests in Africa, including Vodafone, Unilever, and BP. As Chair of the AIG, Josh plays an influential role in trade and investment policy in Africa. He also sits on the Advisory Board of the UK Africa Investment Summit.

Josh established the Siaw Foundation, whereby he provides academic scholarships and mentoring to students from disadvantaged backgrounds across the UK and Africa. In 2024, the Siaw Foundation provided academic scholarships to over 100 students. Over the next year, Josh will provide scholarships to an additional 30 black students who are studying for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam at Law School, for the simple reason that he struggled to pay the fees when he was a student.

Josh is also an Ambassador for Mothers2Mothers (“M2M”) – an NGO that employs women in Africa living with HIV as community health workers. These “Mentor Mothers” deliver health services at clinics and in communities across 10 African nations. Since 2001, M2M has reached nearly 15 million people with health services, created almost 12,000 jobs for women living with HIV, and helped to prevent over 4.3 million HIV infections.

Josh was recently appointed by His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh to the Board of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. The Award is a framework supporting young people in more than 120 countries globally to find their purpose, place, and passion.