Advisory Board

Victor 'Gbenga Afolabi

Distinguished as an Award-winning and Tech-Savvy Business Executive and Leader, renowned for driving growth, fostering innovation, and achieving exceptional business outcomes. Possesses a robust entrepreneurial mindset, extensive industry acumen, and a fervent commitment to generating economic and social value. A recognized expert in mentoring startups, scaling ventures, orchestrating expansive global events, and implementing sustainable solutions.

VGA stands as an exceptional visionary with more than two decades of industry experience spanning Venture Building, Venture Scale-up, Technology Innovation, Angel Investing, Business Analysis, Strategy Development, and Market Expansion. His consistent record of achieving remarkable revenue growth and overall performance has solidified his position as an exemplary business leader.

Leveraging extensive expertise in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, VGA established the Eko Innovation Center. This hub provides pre-acceleration, acceleration, and incubation services to early-stage enterprises. His mission is to harness youth entrepreneurship and innovation to address poverty and unemployment. Under his guidance, the center has empowered over 250 startup teams, fostering the creation of thousands of jobs and collaborations with civic tech partners.

VGA’s dedication to community and social good investment is evident. His involvement in shaping Lagos’ innovation landscape, curating tech events, and mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs underscores his commitment. VGA is a dynamic and accomplished business leader celebrated for his drive, talent development, and social impact, contributing significantly to Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Wale Ajiboye

Wale Ajiboye has experience in banking, public policy, innovation and enterprise development. He is passionate about entrepreneurship and has worked on a number of seminal enterprise development projects such as Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women Scholarship, Chivas Regal’s The Venture Fund and HP’s LIFE project in Nigeria. His contribution to the latter helped his organization receive the Global Citizen Award 2013 in New York, USA.

As a Global Fellow with Acumen, he worked with D Light on its solar initiatives in Nigeria, where he demonstrated his commitment to helping to democratize energy access and create an equitable world.

Wale currently runs Elab Accelerator in Lagos, where he provides support for social innovations that can improve the livelihoods of underserved communities vis-à-vis agriculture, education, energy and health. He also serves on the Management Board of the Global Entrepreneurship Network Nigeria (GEN Nigeria), a platform he believes can significantly contribute towards building a vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem in Nigeria.

Unlocking Startup Potential: Strategies for Scaling and Driving Expansion in Africa

Global Expansion Advisor Workpay and Founder Romel Ventures (from Nairobi, Kenya)