The people accountable for how Indie lends

Ayotola Jagun is the Chief Compliance Officer and Company Secretary of Oando PLC. A dual-qualified solicitor in the UK and Nigeria, she is a Chartered Secretary and multidisciplinary C-suite executive with three decades of global experience spanning corporate and commercial law, risk management, ESG, business ethics, and board-level governance.

Ayotola serves on the boards of several prominent organisations, including the United Nations Global Compact Network Nigeria and the Mirabel Centre. A Fellow of both the Institute of Directors (Nigeria) and the Corporate Governance Institute (UK), she plays an active leadership role across major governance bodies — chairing the Corporate Governance and Compliance Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (Section on Business Law) and vice-chairing the IoD Strategic Partnership Committee with PwC. Driven by a commitment to business sustainability and Nigeria’s economic growth, she has spearheaded national governance frameworks, including the Code of Conduct for the Not-for-Profit Sector and the Private Sector implementation of the National Ethics and Integrity Policy.

Folakemi Falodun is the Founder and CEO at Melon Africa, the first digital rewards fintech platform in Africa. She is also the Founding Director of PashPa Africa, a forward-thinking consulting firm focused on driving innovation and growth in the African fintech ecosystem. She was previously the Country Director for MFS Africa in Nigeria, with more than 15 years’ experience in electronic payment, financial services, strategy, and business management, responsible for driving MFS Africa’s payments business in Nigeria across its strategic, commercial, and operational initiatives.

Prior to MFS Africa, she led the financial services and payments business at Paga as General Manager, Online and Mobile, where she led the launch and use of Paga’s consumer channels, savings products, and merchant payments products. She previously worked with Liberty Holdco Nigeria, a subsidiary of the Standard Bank Group, as Head of Business Analysis and Strategy covering West Africa, and has held commercial roles at United Bank for Africa (UBA) and the Jumia group. She holds a Master’s degree in Finance from Lancaster University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Babcock University.

Olukemi (‘Kemi) Awodein is the Managing Director of Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited, Nigeria’s leading independent investment bank. With over 24 years of experience in investment banking and corporate finance, she has originated and executed high-impact transactions across initial public offerings (IPOs), privatisations, equity capital raises, and mergers and acquisitions.

Kemi began her legal and financial career as an Associate at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie, specialising in Oil & Gas, Capital Markets, and Commercial Law. Prior to Chapel Hill Denham’s business combination, she spent eight years managing legal and regulatory compliance at Denham Management Limited. A prominent voice in the Nigerian capital markets, Kemi serves as President of the Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN) and chairs the NBA-SBL Mergers, Acquisitions and Corporate Reorganisations Committee. She is also a Governance Board Member and Thematic Lead on Issuances & Investments at the Financial Centre for Sustainability, Lagos (FC4S), and a Board Member of the Atlantic Hall Educational Trust. Kemi holds an LL.B from the University of Warwick and an LL.M in International Law from Nottingham University, was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1992, and is an alumna of the Lagos Business School (SMP 25).

Femi Olayebi is an award-winning designer, entrepreneur, and mentor with over three decades of experience driving growth across Africa’s creative economy. As the CEO of My World of Bags Ltd and Chief Creative Director of FemiHandbags, she has pioneered luxury African craftsmanship on global stages, including London Fashion Week and Coterie Trade Show New York. In 2017, she founded the Lagos Leather Fair to strengthen the continent’s leather value chain and champion Made-in-Africa brands internationally.

Beyond design, Femi is deeply committed to human capital development. In partnership with organisations like the Mastercard Foundation and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), she leads initiatives aimed at bridging artisanal skills gaps and empowering African youth. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Global Entrepreneurship Network Nigeria (GENN), is an Associate Member of WIMBIZ, and was named a Legatum Foundry Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Femi holds a BA from the University of Ibadan, a Diploma in Translation from Strasbourg, France, and an Entrepreneurial Management Certificate from Pan-Atlantic University’s Enterprise Development Centre.

Yetunde Taiwo is a Chartered Engineer and senior energy executive with over 30 years of cross-functional experience across multinational, independent, and state-owned oil and gas companies, including Chevron, BG Group, Seplat Energy, and NNPC. Currently serving as the General Manager for Integrated Gas Development at FIRST E&P, she specialises in executing complex energy transactions, commercial gas strategy, and large-scale infrastructure projects.

Throughout her career, Yetunde has played a central role in shaping Nigeria’s gas landscape. During her seven years at Seplat Energy — where she held executive roles including Managing Director of Seplat East Onshore Ltd, Director of New Energy, and Managing Director of ANOH Gas Processing Company — she led the landmark ANOH project to Final Investment Decision in 2019. As General Manager for Gas, she expanded Seplat’s operated gas processing capacity from 300 MMscf/d to 525 MMscf/d, laying the foundation to supply a third of Nigeria’s domestic on-grid power generation. Beyond her commercial track record, Yetunde is deeply committed to mentoring and developing young talent for future industry leadership.