Bola Oduyale has over three decades experience in the Financial Services Industry across multiple geographies (Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, and Canada) and over 10 years of focus on Corporate Governance, Diversity and Inclusion advocacy as well as international trade facilitation and capacity building.
Bola is the Founder and Chief Executive of CreditWise Financials Limited, a Nigerian Financial services company fast becoming a known brand in the Micro and retail lending Sector. Focusing on sustainable lending, specifically targeted towards poverty alleviation (lending to junior and mid-level salaried workers), Women Empowerment and MSMEs.
Concurrently, she is a partner in Alpha Oasis International Inc., a Canadian company that facilitates international trade across the globe. The Company is the convener of Canada-Nigeria Trade and Investment Expo, a flagship annual event, which holds in Toronto, bringing together public and private sector participants from Nigeria and Canada to explore and forge Business partnerships and collaboration for the benefit of both countries.
She was the Managing Director/Chief Executive officer of Safetrust Mortgage Bank, where she led the Bank through a comprehensive Forensic audit by Messrs. PWC, restructuring and recapitalisation exercise as well as crisis management.
Her distinguished career has spanned various roles over the years. A Banker of over 2 decades, majority of which was at Standard Chartered Bank, rising to the position of Director, Financial Institutions, Africa, where she was responsible for the Bank’s Non-Presence Countries in Africa, with a focus on key African Markets and having access at significantly high level to Public and Private Sectors in those Countries. Worked with various teams within Standard Chartered to raise financing for African Sovereigns and Banks by way of Private Placement, Euro Bond, Local currency Bonds, Cross Currency Swaps, International Trade, Syndications, bilaterals etc., culminating in facilities of over US$1 Billion over a period of 3 years.
She spent five years in Toronto, Canada, leading a team in International Financial Data Services (IFDS), a subsidiary of State Street Corporation, Canada, as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on the implementation of Tax, Regulatory, Legislative and Compliance related projects and policies that impact the Company’s Financial Services Clients and the Global Financial Industry in general.
Bola Oduyale is highly regarded for her mentorship of young professionals, especially women. She is a mentor for the WIMBoard (Women on Boards) program of WIMBIZ (Women in Business). Bola is on the board of various non-profit and business organisations focused on the economic empowerment of women, girls and other under privileged members of the society.
Bola is passionate about environmental and sustainable impact of businesses and how companies respond to the increasing market pressure regarding sustainability, driven by investors, consumers, the media, regulators, and other impacted stakeholders.
Bola is an Alumnus of University of Ibadan (BSc, Chemistry), University of Lagos (MBA), Lagos Business School (AMP) and London Business School. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Banker.
