Nicolas Jean Linkedin

Nicolas joined Asafo & Co. as a Partner in March 2026, bringing nearly 20 years of experience advising governments, state-owned companies, pan-African champions, and international investors on strategic cross-border transactions and acquisitions throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Leveraging his high-level financial expertise, he has developed particular strength in structuring and raising funds for large-scale development projects.

He has built a strong practice in real estate, construction, infrastructure, natural resources, and tourism. Nicolas advises leading public and private actors on some of the continent’s most ambitious and forward-looking initiatives. His work spans large-scale natural resources projects, special economic zones, integrated tourism resorts and infrastructure, major education and healthcare facilities, smart cities, large-scale housing programs, and land tenure reforms. His financial acumen and focus on the most topical issues also enable him to support a growing number of major fintech players across the continent.

With his team he offers a unique integrated service working alongside architects, urban planners, developers, and industrial experts, covering the full project value chain — from master planning and sector-specific design  to structuring, fundraising, financing, implementation, and long-term operation. This includes the drafting of key legal and regulatory instruments such as urban planning schemes, master plans, and land-related legislative frameworks. His work, often structured through large-scale public-private partnerships, focuses on sustainable projects designed to strengthen Africa’s fast-growing urban and rural economies.

Before founding Stork Avocats in 2023, a boutique firm dedicated to supporting economic actors in the development of the African continent, Nicolas spent most of his career at Gide Loyrette Nouel, where he became a partner in 2019 and served on the firm’s Executive Committee from 2020 to 2023. During this time, he developed a strong track record advising governments and public authorities on strategic legislative and regulatory reforms, particularly in the banking, industrial, real estate, and tourism sectors.

Recognized for his thought leadership on economic development and sovereign financing in Africa, Nicolas founded A New ROAD (A New Round-Table On African Debts) in 2020, the first law firm-based think tank dedicated to public debt issues on the continent. The initiative brings together policymakers, financial institutions, commercial banks, private sector leaders, and international legal and financial experts to develop innovative approaches to debt sustainability and investment promotion.

Nicolas is ranked in Project Finance, Business Law, and Energy by leading international legal directories, including Best Lawyers, IFLR1000, and Chambers. He has regularly been named among Jeune Afrique’s top 100 business lawyers in French-speaking Africa, ranking first in 2021. In the same year, the Financial Times recognized him as one of five pioneering leaders in sustainable development, while Financial Afrik previously named him among the “100 qui transforment l’Afrique.”