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Honeywell Hall, Lagos Business School
Lekki - Epe Expy, Aja 106104, Lagos
Lagos, Lagos, 106104
Nigeria

Adesuwa Ifedi

Adesuwa Ifedi serves as Africa Senior Vice President for Heifer International where she works to catalyse ground up innovation that will transform the way smallholder farmers and farming communities live and do business and thereby contribute to ending hunger and poverty in Africa. A BOP development and scale expert with strong board management and fundraising skills, Ms Ifedi has also developed partnerships that have pulled together millions of dollars from the public and private sector to support transformational programs at scale in underserved communities in Africa. As a strong advocate for BOP innovation, she has also initiated and led the largest technology-enabled education transformation program in Africa which is currently serving over one million at-risk children in public schools and more recently pioneered a platform that mobilizes funding for local innovators supporting smallholder farmers across Africa. Adesuwa Ifedi has had a rich career spanning over 28 years across agriculture, education, finance, research, entrepreneurship and tech enabled innovation. She has worked to support several global INGOs and social enterprises find local relevance and localise their business model to meet the demand for services in the global south. Passionate about making markets work for the poor, she has focused on building systems and structures that enable organizations to thrive and deliver efficient and effective results at the bottom of the pyramid, with limited resources. Mrs Ifedi has also worked extensively as a business consultant supporting hundreds of start-ups and emerging businesses. A strategic thinker who is also adapt at operationalizing strategy and building strong diverse teams, Mrs Ifedi has built consensus in very hostile situations between global and local players as well as public and private sector players. Driven by her passion for development in the global south, she has spent the last 20 years making markets work for low-income families by working to provide access to innovation, finance and life skills. She has a background in Economics and Statistics, an MBA from Lagos Business School and a Post Graduate in Entrepreneurship from Boston University. She is also a Full Bright Scholar and A Hubert Humphrey fellow from Boston University where she focused on innovation that drives development for the bottom of the pyramid.

Akose Enebeli

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Cosmas Maduka

Dr. Cosmas Maduka is the founder, President/CEO of Coscharis Group. He started Coscharis Motors as a one-man business and over the years has transformed the organization into an indigenous conglomerate with diverse interest in Manufacturing, ICT, Petrochemical, Auto care and Auto Components, Automobile Sales and Services, Agric and Agro Allied business sectors of the Nigerian economy. Through his visionary leadership Coscharis Motors has secured sole franchise of BMW, MINI, Rolls Royce and Jaguar Land Rover premium brands and Abro USA Auto care and Consumer products amongst others. Coscharis is also a very strong partner for distribution of Ford brand of automobiles in Nigeria. He is currently serving on Board of many companies notable among them are CG-EKO LLP, First System Refinishes Ltd., CG Biostadt Limited, Sixt Rentals, Nigeria. He served as a Director in Access Bank Plc., one of the leading banks in Nigeria for 12 years from 2000-2012. He also served as the President/Chairman of the Nigerian Table Tennis Federation for 16 years during which Nigeria led Africa in all the events. He led the Nigerian Team to the Olympic Games; Atlanta '96, Athens 2000, Sidney 2004 and Beijing 2008. Dr. Cosmas Maduka is an Entrepreneur per Excellence. He is a motivational speaker and plays mentoring role to upcoming entrepreneurs. Dr. Maduka is a holder of Honorary Doctor of Business Administration (PhD) of University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 2003. He is an Alumnus of Harvard Business School (Executive Education Program). In September 2012, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria conferred him with the National Honours of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).

Fabian Ajogwu

Prof. Fabian Ajogwu, is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and Professor of Corporate Governance at the Lagos Business School. He is also the author of several books on legal practice in Nigeria spanning corporate governance, arbitration, mergers and acquisition and commercial law amongst others. An alumnus of the University of Lagos and University of Nigeria Nsukka where he obtained his LL.B and LL.M respectively, Professor Ajogwu holds a Doctorate degree in Law from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Barcelona Spain. He has also attended several Executive Courses at the Lagos Business School, “Said” Business School University of Oxford UK, Aspen Institute Aspen Colorado U.S.A, and the Harvard Business School, Boston Massachusetts U.S.A. Professor Ajogwu is the Founder of the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria and the President of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators, amongst other professional memberships. He served on the Governing Council of the Pan-Atlantic University, the General Council of the Bar, and twice on the Council of Legal Education (Nigerian Law School) as the statutorily designated Distinguished Legal Author. He is a member of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration, and London Court of International Arbitration. Professor Ajogwu assisted the Securities and Exchange Commission in drafting Nigeria's pioneer Code of Corporate Governance. He chaired the Nigerian Communications Commission Committee on Corporate Governance for the Telecommunication sector. He served on the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Committee on the National Code of Corporate Governance. He chaired ARM Harith Infrastructure Ltd (Nigeria’s pioneer infrastructure fund), Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria Committee on Continuing Legal Education; and chairs Novare Group in Nigeria, and NES Global. He was appointed to the Board of Guinness Nigeria PLC as an Independent Non-Executive Director on 01 November 2018 and serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Wigwe University and Grange Schools. Professor Ajogwu, SAN, is the recipient of the National Honours award of the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) preferred to him by the President of Nigeria.

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Michael Oluwagbemi

Michael O. Oluwagbemi II is a serial entrepreneur and project management professional having founded or aided the founding of more than a dozen companies in West Africa. He founded LoftyInc Allied Partners, a business and project development company focused on the Resource, Infrastructure and Technology sectors in 2009. He is also co-founder of the Wennovation Hub- a Lagos based accelerator and Founding Partner at LoftyInc Capital Management one of the leading African VC Firms. Michael also served as the Vice President & Director at Amazon Energy (Group) Limited until 2019. Michael advises or seats on the board of several early stage companies in the tech or energy sector. Michael is a Certified Project Management Professional, and Member of the Project Management Institute, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer and Texas Society of Professional Engineers. Prior to the founding of LoftyInc - a business and project development company, Michael was Project Engineer/Construction Support Manager at WorleyParsons Group Inc in Houston, as well as Engineer at Exxon Mobil Production, Houston. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. Michael is a member of the Board of Trustees of Occupational Health, Safety & Empowerment Centre- a non-profit based in Nigeria. On the technology development front, he was a member of the Lagos Angel Network's Steering Committee - an angel investor network he helped found in Nigeria, and he also served as a Board Chairman at AfriLabs, the umbrella body of all incubators/accelerators operating in Africa. Michael's professional passion is project and business development, for start-ups and established regional players in the Energy, Technology and Infrastructure Sectors of Africa. In September 2014, he was appointed the Chairman of the Essential Services Committee of the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) that oversees local content regulations in Nigeria's Oil & Gas Industry. On January 17 2022, he was appointed into the board of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Nigeria by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for a five year term. He is currently serving as Project Director and Chief Executive at the Presidential CNG Initiative, designed to support Nigeria’s Mass Transit sector to transit from PMS/Diesel to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as primary fuel and Electric Vehicle component to guarantee responsible and reliable energy transition for Africa’s largest economy.

Peter Bamkole

Dr. Peter Bamkole is the Deputy Vice Chancellor at Pan-Atlantic University. Prior to his appointment to his current role in January 2023, he pioneered the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the Pan-Atlantic University in January 2003 – now one of the top enterprise development centers in Africa. Trained as a Mechanical Engineer in the UK, with MBA from IESE Business School in Spain and alumnus of Lagos Business School (Chief Executive Program), his 40 years’ cognate experience spans both public and private sectors (Oil Industry, Water supply and Education). He obtained his PhD in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the International School of Management (ISM) in Paris and consults widely in Sub-Saharan Africa on entrepreneurship development and practice. Peter is a fellow of the Corporate Governance Society of Nigeria and a member of the Chartered Institute of Directors. He currently chairs the board of Education Collaborative – West Africa Hub, Nigeria Climate Innovation Center, International Breweries Foundation and Global Entrepreneurship Network, Nigeria. He is an Independent Non-Executive Director of Zenith Bank, member of IIT Governing Council and Lagos State Research and Innovation Council among others. His current book “Built by Enterprise” is a culmination of two decades of developing entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

Temitope Runsewe

As Managing Director at Dutum Company Limited, the focus has been on spearheading private sector operations to scale construction ventures and drive strategic business expansion. Our team has successfully navigated complex contract negotiations and project management, leveraging analytical skills to ensure profitable outcomes. Co-founding Stonebricks Development Limited, we've positioned the firm at the forefront of affordable luxury real estate, with a clear vision for transformative community development. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in the cultivation of strategic partnerships and innovative business planning that resonate with our mission to redefine industry standards.

Ziad Maalouf

Mr. Ziad Maalouf joined Seven-Up Bottling Company Limited as the National Sales and Distribution Manager in 2008. He rose to the position of Chief Operating officer in the year 2014, and became the Managing Director of the Company in April 2017. His rapid rise to the position of Managing Director was a record for the Company. His dynamic way of thinking and his astute way of tacking challenges head-on was mostly responsible for his quick rise to the top of the echelon of the Company. Prior to joining Seven-Up Bottling Company, Mr. Maalouf served as the National Business Development Manager at Basamh Marketing Company, a distributor of Al Alali products in Saudi Arabia, from February 2004 to June 2008. Mr. Maalouf believes copiously in Nigeria and especially in its human personnel, having an aptitude for growing the young to be giants in their various fields, while teaching them that the way to the top, while hard, can also be pleasurable. An ever-passionate leader who thinks and breaths innovations and ideas for change does not allow the devil in the details to stop him from seeing, aiming and gunning for the big win Passionate about fostering growth and innovation in Nigeria and also believing that he needs to give back to the country; Mr. Maalouf spearheaded "The SME SCALE-UP '' initiative in partnership with Zenith Bank PLC and UNIDO. This transformative two-day boot camp equips SMEs with the tools needed to thrive in the business landscape, with a goal of impacting 1 million Nigerians through employment opportunities by 2035. Mr. Maalouf's professional development includes executive programs at renowned institutions like the London Business School, Harvard Business School, INSEAD and Stanford Graduate Business School. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and an MBA from the American University of Beirut. Aside from being the Managing Director of Seven-Up, he is also the Chairman at FBRA (Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance); an alliance setup to provide the pathway for responsible use, discarding and recycling of waste products that emanates from the production and consumption of food and beverages, thus reflecting his dedication to the sustainability of a healthful environment for all. He is also the visioner, The SME Scale Up Initiative, a practical SME focused with a vision of employing one million Nigerians and dedicated to empowering and enabling business owners in Nigeria for exponential growth.