The AECF LLC announces the appointment of Ada Osakwe to the Board of Directors

Nairobi, Kenya, January 23, 2024 – AECF is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Ada Osakwe to the organization’s Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2024.

Ada Osakwe is a Nigeria-based entrepreneur and investor with experience across infrastructure, consumer retail, food, and agriculture. For over 20 years, she has developed a unique blend of public and private sector experiences, starting in investment banking, development finance, and private equity before moving on to public service. She founded Agrolay, a principal investment firm that has made angel investments in 16 early-stage high-growth African companies, and Nuli Foods, an innovative restaurant chain in Nigeria. 

Ms. Osakwe strongly advocates small business finance support, youth and women empowerment in business, and climate justice. She focuses her efforts on the food and agriculture sector, where over 50 million smallholder farmers are climate-vulnerable and which holds the most potential for job creation for young people in Africa. 

Ms. Osakwe is a Senior Advisor to the African Development Bank’s Vice President at the Nigeria Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YEIB). She is a member of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Presidential Youth Advisory Group. She is on the Advisory Board of Generation Africa, an initiative to invest in young African entrepreneurs.  

Ms. Osakwe expressed enthusiasm about her new role: “I am thrilled to be part of an organization focused on ensuring Africa’s young and growing businesses thrive. AECF’s critical financing and advisory support has been a game-changer for African entrepreneurs. I am eager to support the team as we continue to be a global leader in catalyzing small business transformation.” 

“We are thrilled to welcome someone of Ada’s caliber and experience to our board – and I look forward to working with her to grow AECF and realize our ambition of a prosperous, enterprising, and resilient Africa,” said Victoria Sabula, the AECF CEO. 

About AECF  

AECF (Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund) is a leading non-profit development organization supporting innovative agribusiness and renewable energy enterprises to reduce rural poverty, promote resilient communities, and create jobs.  

AECF provides patient capital to highly innovative, early-stage, and growing enterprises that are hidden gems poised for greatness but that struggle to access funding from traditional sources of finance. To date, we have supported over 432 businesses in 26 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, impacted more than 30 million lives, and created over 29,000 direct jobs.