Episode 1: Trailer - Fiftyfaces Focus - Nigerian Voices at Home and Away

Since we launched the Fiftyfaces Podcast in August 2020 some of our most popular episodes were those featuring guests from the Nigerian diaspora and in this first Fiftyfaces Focus Nigerian Voices podcast series we have assembled a set of ten interviews of different professionals each with fascinating stories of accomplishments and career paths. Also, watch this space with a follow-up 4 part Ghanaian voices series to continue our West African focus immediately after this one. 

In this trailer hear from each of our 10 guests about our recurring themes of immigration, adjustment, integration, re-integration upon the return home and what opportunities Nigeria holds in terms of investment and business. We hear from Yele Aluko about his isolation amid the foreignness of US winters, but how he channeled his energy into building a leading cardiology practice and is now a prominent advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in medicine.  We hear from Shalom Lloyd, founder of eMQT and Naturally Tribal,about her own roots in pharmacy, and how she now runs not one but two businesses – one focused on clinical trials in Africa and the other a cosmetics business that creates significant impact and employment in the Kingdom of Esan.  Impact is also core to Raymond Onovwigun’s RomCom, which has created over 300 jobs across Nigeria and Ghana through the recycling of scrap metal.  Hear why he believes that Africa is an essential missing link in building the global sustainability infrastructure and why “procrastination is the killer of all dreams”.

Eric Idiahi of Verod Capital shares his success story of starting an investment firm, and his belief in the opportunity that Africa and Nigeria hold particularly with respect to technology.  Obi Ozor of Kobo360 has the same conviction, and, while he is realistic about the challenges of setting up a company in Nigeria, he believes that it is the ultimate proving ground – his own version of “if you can make it there you can make it anywhere.”  Uche Orji shares his vantage point from the helm of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority about not just the opportunity for tech in Africa but also for ESG to be integrated from the outset in new investments.

Toyin Alalade is another returnee to Lagos, after building her career in England and then Scotland, and she shares what motivated her to return and the opportunity that she sees. Bridget Uku took the inspiration of her parents to build a career in the UK where she now holds a role as an allocator of a public pension fund.  Arthur Olunwa, one of our original Nigerian voices from the very earliest Fiftyfaces Podcast shares the secrets of his success, never accepting failure and not being daunted by a “no” when networking.  Andrew Oseyami advises us not to focus on “No” but to focus on “earning your yes”, which he has done time and time career, through a career pivot from trading to the creation of a Netflix series “Meet the Adebanjos”. 

 We hope you enjoy these exhilerating stories of struggle, resilience and triumph that capture both the energy of Nigeria and its hustler spirit as well as its values, wisdom and charm. 

The guests in the first series of the Nigerian voices special are:

Toyin Alalade whose last role was as a Senior Strategy Manager with Royal London. She previously worked in a range of financial roles at Standard Life and Moody Monday. She recently left Scotland returned to her home country of Nigeria, and it was a moving Linked In post that she wrote there that led me to her.

Yele Aluko, who is Chief Medical Officer at EY, a role he has held for close to 4 years.  He is Co-Chair, Health Equity Advisory, at the international Well Building Institute, an Advisory Board Member at the Children’s National Hospital and a Board Member at the Wake Forest University School of Business.  He has worked as a cardiologist in hospital settings for over 30 years. 

Eric Idiahi who is Co-founder and a Partner of Verod Capital based in Lagos, which he founded in 2008. He is Chairman of the Board of Tangerine Africa as well as Eleva Group and holds a number of Non Executive Director positions/. He was previously a Managing Parter of FountainHead Media Group as well as a Financial Derivatives Company.

Shalom Lloyd, who after a career of over 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry has gone on to found two businesses - she is the founder of Naturally Tribal skincare, a beauty line based on traditional remedies including shea butter, which she developed initially to cure her son’s eczema. She is also the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of eMQT, described as “the Bridge between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Africa” which facilitates clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies in Africa. She has been a keynote speaker on the topic of innovation and was a fellow of the Start-Up Leadership Program in London until 2020.

Arthur Olunwa, whom I got to know when he worked as a senior fixed income allocator at a large corporate pension plan based in Chicago.  Prior to this he spent time in fixed income risk management as well as a portfolio manager in a multi-asset team. He sits on the advisory committee of the CFA Society of Committee and the Chairperson of the Chicago Investment Group as well as a Partner and Mentor of Youth Guidance.

Raymond Onovwigun, who is founder and CEO at Romco Group, which trades and processes non-ferrous metal. Founded in 2015, it now employs more than 180 people in Nigeria, 50 in Ghana, and another 15 in the UK and is on track to have revenues of £40m by the end of this year. Raymond has a fascinating journey that has taken him from South London, to founding a successful plumbing business while still at university to his current quest to help to close the sustainability gap in Africa.

Uche Orji who is CEO of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, based in Abuja.  A native of Nigeria, he has had over 20 years experience in various financial roles including semiconductor analyst in Europe and the US, before returning to Nigeria just over 8 years ago. He also holds a number of Board roles.  

Andrew Oseyami who is a specialist diversity recruiter at Rare Recruitment and the creator of the Netflix TV show Meet the Abebanjos.  He started his career as a city trader and then took the plunge into starting a TV production company, MTA productions – although, as he claims he did not “know anything about TV”. He is the author of the book “How my Disastrous Teenage Love Life Will Get You Your Dream Job”.

Obi Ozor who is Founder of Kobo360, a privately owned, pan-African technology company disrupting the African third-party logistics industry. The company uses big data and agile technology to reduce friction and scale efficiency in the African logistics ecosystem. He previously held positions at Uber, JP Morgan and Bezmo Global, an international, socially-minded investment firm focused on the African continent.

Bridget Uku, who is Group Manager Treasury & Investments at the UK local authority, where she has spent over 14 years, and she previously worked as Investments and Insurance Finance Manager at the Greater London Authority.  She is frequent participant on the local government conference circuit, which is where we met

This podcast series is brought to you with the kind support of:

Romco Metals, producers of truly green aluminium, copper, and other non-ferrous metals from the African continent, dedicated to decarbonising supply chains across the globe by recycling our way to a sustainable future. Romco: Invest, Reduce, & Grow; and

Mbuyu Capital Partners, an investment company focusing exclusively on Africa, managing portfolios of funds and direct investments for institutional clients and impact investors.