BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chairman – Board of Directors
BARBARA JAMES is an expert in the field of African private equity and venture capital development. She is the founder and CEO of the first independent pan-African private equity Fund of Funds – Henshaw Capital Partners. She has been instrumental in the development of innovative venture capital solutions in Africa, including initiating the African Diaspora SME Fund; advocating for UK (and G8) tax incentives to investors in African venture capital; an African Technical Assistance Fund, and the first independent African venture capital Fund of Funds. Barbara established the African Venture Capital Association (AVCA) and was responsible for the development, fundraising, and implementation of programs to promote and strengthen the private equity and venture capital industry in Africa. In 2007, she advised the Kenyan, Tanzanian, and Ugandan Governments on the setting up of an SME venture capital fund, a technical assistance facility, and an enabling regulatory environment for venture capital in East Africa. Barbara has a BSc in Computer Science and an M.Sc. in Business Systems Analysis and Design. She is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and has trained professionally as a venture capital General Partner (investment manager) and Limited Partner (investor).
Chief Executive Officer
DAMILARE AKINOLA holds a BSc. in Accounting from the University of Ado-Ekiti and an MSc. in International Finance & Banking from the University of Bedfordshire Business School, United Kingdom. He is a resourceful asset manager with approximately 15 years of experience in investments (equities – local & international, fixed income, real estate, structured finance, and private equity) across the different stages from client sourcing, onboarding, and relationship management to strategy implementation. He began his career with Virgin Nigeria in 2005 and left to join Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) in 2007. He later took a leave of absence to further his studies and proceeded to work with other reputable firms in Nigeria and the United Kingdom including Halifax. In 2014, he joined SCM Capital Asset Management (formerly Sterling Capital Markets) where he before his exit in 2022, maintained oversight over the smooth running of the company in the Chief Executive Officer’s absence and provided leadership to the Wealth Management business.. Dare was a member of both the internal and external investment committees -comprising representatives of – the Board, Executive Management, Risk Management, Financial Control, Fund Managers, and SEC-appointed independent member, representative of Trustees, Fund Managers respectively where they take responsibility for the management of proprietary and investors fund by deliberating on global emerging trends, review monetary & fiscal policy updates, analyze exposure/portfolio performance, evaluate the market and make recommendations on a new course of action (asset switch, portfolio rebalancing, position exit, increase size of exposure et al). He is an Associate Member, the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI), a Level 4 Qualified Investment & Financial Adviser from London Institute of Banking & Finance (LIBF), Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) registered Capital Market Operator (CMO) and also a member of the Association of Corporate and Individual Investment Advisers (CIIA). He has attended training programmes by FITC, Lagos Business School, Association of Investment Advisers & Portfolio Managers and the World Bank Group covering bonds – fixed income and advanced asset management techniques, treasury management, anti-money laundering, fraud detection & credit management, Unlocking Investment & Finance in Emerging markets (EMDEs) & developing economies, tools for effective sales & marketing and Trading for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains.
Non-Executive Director
FEMI LAWAL is the Group Managing Director of DFC Holdings Limited, a seasoned Investment Banker and Business Incubator with over 24 years of cognate working experience, spanning Financial Engineering, Corporate Finance, Project Finance, Debt/Equity Solutions, Mergers, Acquisitions & Integrations, Strategic Planning, Capital Raising, Public-Private Partnerships, and Consulting in diverse economic sectors, including but not limited to manufacturing, power, real estate, agriculture, oil & gas, communication/ICT and construction. He holds both a B.Agric. and MBA degrees from the University of Ilorin. Femi started his career with a stint at PricewaterhouseCoopers where his consulting career spanned Financial Services, Oil & Gas, Telecoms as well as Manufacturing sectors. He later joined the International Finance Corporation (IFC) where, as Regional Advisory Services Coordinator, he developed detailed designs and work plans for Advisory Services Initiatives in the region on all the major sectors and across major markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. Femi has also worked in the investment banking sector at various capacities including Head, Project Finance, Head, Corporate Finance, and Investment Banking Sales & Distribution across a number of notable Investment Banking Firms. He was also Group Chief Operations Officer, AT&A Asset Management Limited and Group Executive Director – Finance & and so on.
Non-Executive Director
ADAMU SAMBO obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in 1988 in Business Administration and a Masters In business Administration in 2004 from Ahmadu Bello University and proceeded to acquire a Masters of Islamic Banking and Finance from bayero University, Kano. He is an associate member of the Nigerian Institute of Management, the Nigerian Institute of the Capital Market Registrar, and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Financial and Investment Analyst, Portfolio Management Institute of Nigeria, the Nigerian Institute of treasury management, and the Institute of Management consultants. Before retirement from the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), Adamu was the Director of the Monitoring Department; Head of the Department, registration, and Exchanges Surveillance; deputy director, of financial standard corporate governance; and so on. He also served on many committees both within and outside the commission. Such committees include the financial system stability committee, comprised of members from SEC, CBN, DMO, NDIC NAICOM, and the Federal Ministry of Finance; the committee that investigated the bank’s failure in 2008; So many internal committees within the commission.
Non-Executive Director
DIANA NWAJIAKU-SMART is a Principal Partner at Spera Venture Partners where she drives Advisory Services, Structured Finance, and General Business Services. Diana is a seasoned finance and strategy professional with over 12 years of leadership and governance experience in the financial services, energy, telecommunications, and power industries across Africa, Europe, Canada, and the United States of America. A member of the International Academy of Financial Management, she is an avid entrepreneur and investor with interests in companies in FMCG, energy, technology, financial services, and other sectors. She holds a B.Sc. In applied accounting from Oxford Brookes University, and an MBA from the University of Nicosia, Cyprus Diana’s experience cuts across many sectors where she has made indelible marks through her excellent work ethic, financial and administrative dexterity, and attention to detail. While working as the Chief Financial Officer at the Platform Capital Group, she raised 10 million dollars in import-export finance for a leather-producing portfolio with an annual production capacity of over 40 million shoes. As CFO, She played a key role in the company’s investment strategy. Over the years, Diana has shown resilience and commitment, excellence, and capacity in all the positions she has handled across the following sectors: Banking, Fintech, Financial Services, Power, Telecom, Manufacturing and Investment Banking, and others.
Non-Executive Director
UCHE NWAOGU is an Investment Banking executive, Management Consultant and chartered Stockbroker with over 20 years of experience in Accounting, Stockbroking, Banking & Financial services and Management Consultancy. He has expertise in SMEs Development, Stockbroking, Wealth/Asset Management, Funds Management, Project & Structured Finance, Advisory/Consulting, Privatizations & Financial Due Diligence, Mergers & Acquisitions, SEC filings & Capital Raising and Corporate Governance. Uche was variously Manager, Capital Markets in Path Securities & Investments Limited, Assistant Manager, UCB (defunct), AGM (Finance & Admin) OTC Group; Head, Capital Markets, Head, Corporate Finance & Group Head, Investment Banking Group in FutureView Financial Services Limited; and Managing Director of FutureView Securities Limited – a Nigerian Stock Exchange Dealing Member Company & Market Maker. He chairs the Investment Committee of two NSE listed Funds, The Frontier Fund and Nigeria Energy Sector Fund. He has been involved in closing over $450million worth of corporate finance and capital market deals and advised on projects transversing Banks & Financial institutions, Municipals & State Governments, Telecommunications, Education, Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Food & Beverages, Agriculture and Maritime sectors. Uche holds the Fellows of the Association of Investment Advisers & Portfolio Managers (FAIPM) and The Institute of Credit Administration (FICA). He is an authorized Dealing Clerk of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) and the Nigerian Institute of Management. He is an alumnus of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus and Liverpool John Moores University, UK, and has degrees in Accountancy and Finance & Corporate Governance.
Company Secretary
AGABI KANU, managing partner of Agabi Kanu & Co, a Law Firm with a specialty in litigation, Corporate, Commercial, and Energy Law Practice (amongst others) handle all our company’s legal transactions and partnerships, with the principal goal of guaranteeing that all our company’s transactions comply with the laws and regulations, while actively helping our company avoid possible legal risks and violations. They are also saddled with other duties which include consulting and leading all corporate legal processes such as mergers and acquisitions, protection of our intellectual property, development of our company policy, structuring, drafting, and reviewing reports and other legal documents including contracts, corporate restructuring, contract negotiations, equity financing, provision of legal advice to employees and corporate officers, and lawsuits.