From the Presidency to the marketplace.

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, is the 16th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in office since May 2023.

Before entering politics he trained as an accountant at Chicago State University and worked with Arthur Andersen, Deloitte and Mobil. He was elected Senator for Lagos West in 1992 and, after the Senate was dissolved in 1993, campaigned for the return of democracy as part of the National Democratic Coalition.

He served two terms as Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, and in 2013 played a leading role in forming the All Progressives Congress.

Senator Kashim Shettima, GCON, is the 15th Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in office since May 2023.

An agricultural economist, he studied at the University of Maiduguri and the University of Ibadan, lectured at the University of Maiduguri, and spent over a decade in banking, rising to North-East General Manager at Zenith Bank.

He served as a commissioner in five ministries in Borno State, was Governor of Borno State from 2011 to 2019, and represented Borno Central in the Senate from 2019 to 2023.

Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio is the 15th President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in office since June 2023. He represents Akwa Ibom North-West.

A lawyer trained at the University of Calabar, he practised law and later led EMIS Telecoms as Managing Director and CEO, before entering public service in 2002 as a commissioner in Akwa Ibom State.

He was Governor of Akwa Ibom State from 2007 to 2015, first entered the Senate in 2015, and served as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs from 2019 to 2022.

Rt. Hon. Dr. Tajudeen Abbas is the Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives, elected in June 2023 with 353 of 359 votes. He has represented Zaria Federal Constituency in Kaduna State since 2011 and holds the traditional title of Iyan Zazzau.

He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ahmadu Bello University and a doctorate in business management from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. He lectured at Kaduna State University and worked as a marketing manager before entering the National Assembly.

In the House he served on the Commerce, Finance, Defence and Public Procurement committees, chaired the Committee on Land Transport, and became one of its most prolific sponsors of bills.

Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu has been Governor of Lagos State since May 2019.

He holds a BSc in Surveying and an MBA from the University of Lagos, and is an alumnus of London Business School, Lagos Business School and Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He began his career in banking, with roles at Lead Merchant Bank, United Bank for Africa and First Inland Bank.

In Lagos public service he was Commissioner for Commerce and Industry and for Establishments, Training and Pensions, pioneer board chairman of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, and Managing Director of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation before his election as governor.

Charles Odii is a Nigerian entrepreneur, author and entrepreneurship-development expert. He serves as the Director-General and CEO of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), where he leads the government agency responsible for promoting and supporting the growth and development of Nigeria’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

He serves on the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Advisory Committee of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA). He is also Chairman of the ICSS Steering Committee and Secretary of the National Council of SMEs in Nigeria.

Since assuming leadership of SMEDAN, Odii has pursued an agenda focused on expanding access to finance, strengthening entrepreneurship, improving market access, developing productive infrastructure, formalising businesses and building stronger support systems for Nigerian MSMEs. In his first 100 days, SMEDAN reported 15,000 jobs created and more than ₦12 billion in SME financing facilitated at single-digit interest rates.

One of his flagship initiatives is the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE), for which he helped secure US$12 million in funding from the Republic of Korea, in partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In Q1 2025, more than 116,000 entrepreneurs received support and over 90,160 jobs were created through SMEDAN’s programmes and partnerships, and in 2025 SMEDAN partnered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to provide free registration for 250,000 MSMEs.

He has introduced and championed the SMEDAN Undergraduate Internship Programme (SUIP), a dedicated Women and Youth Desk, a Green Energy and Climate Desk and the Grow Nigerian MSME Clinic, and invested in productive infrastructure including the Garment and Textile Hub and Makerspace.

Odii was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) in 2025, and has received the Sun Newspaper Public Service Award and the Independent Newspaper Public Sector CEO of the Year Award. He is a National Policy Fellow of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an alumnus of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), a certified Business Development Service Provider, a mentor with the U.S. Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and an entrepreneurship coach.

His academic and executive education includes programmes at Harvard University, the University of Cambridge and Lagos Business School. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Covenant University and a master’s degree from Pan-Atlantic University.

Senator John Owan Enoh is the Honourable Minister of State for Industry at the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, a role he took up in October 2024 after serving as Minister of Sports Development.

A sociologist by training and a former lecturer at the University of Calabar, he served three terms in the House of Representatives from 2003, chairing its Finance and Appropriation committees, and represented Cross River Central in the Senate from 2015 to 2019 as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.

He is also a farmer, with oil palm and livestock operations in Cross River State that work with an out-grower scheme for local communities.

Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN, is the 5th Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), appointed in October 2023.

A lawyer from Bauchi State, he studied law at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and holds a master’s in law from the University of Jos and an MBA in finance and investment from Bayero University, Kano. He rose from the Bauchi State Ministry of Justice to Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, and was made a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2021 before founding his own practice.

At CAC he has focused on modernising business registration with digital and AI-enabled services, and in 2025 the Commission partnered with SMEDAN to register 250,000 MSMEs for free.

Adewale Tinubu, CON, is the Group Chief Executive of Oando PLC, sub-Saharan Africa’s foremost indigenous energy group, with a primary listing on the Nigerian stock exchange and a cross-border listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

A lawyer by training, he earned his law degree at the University of Liverpool and a master’s in law from the London School of Economics, where he specialised in international finance and shipping.

He co-founded Ocean and Oil Group, which was rebranded as Oando in 2003, and went on to lead its transformation into an integrated energy group.

His work has been recognised internationally, including as a World Economic Forum Global Young Leader in 2007 and EY Entrepreneur of the Year for West Africa in 2015. He founded the Oando Foundation in 2011.

Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, FAS, has been Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) since November 2017.

A pharmacist and professor of pharmaceutics, she trained at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and earned her MS and PhD at the University of Georgia. She spent about three decades in US academia, at Duquesne University and at Roosevelt University, where she was founding Chair of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, and developed a paediatric fixed-dose combination medicine for HIV.

She is a Senior Fulbright Scholar, the first African woman Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, and a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science and the Nigerian Academy of Pharmacy.

Tola Odunsi is a Nigerian filmmaker, producer and director, and the founder of the production company Urban Vision. His work includes The Men’s Club, From Lagos with Love and Assistant Madams.

His new film, 19, is set in Nigeria’s early internet era. At the conference he screens it and leads a casting call with live auditions.

Professor Benedict Oramah is President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), a post he has held since 2015; he was re-elected for a second term in 2020.

Over that decade the bank became a leading financier of trade within Africa and a key supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Abubakar Abba Bello has been Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) since 2017, and was reappointed for a second term in 2022.

A banker of more than 30 years, he was previously Executive Director at Unity Bank, in charge of corporate banking, agriculture and the North, and pioneer Managing Director of United Bank for Africa’s subsidiaries in Chad and Zambia.

Dr. Olasupo Olusi is Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry (BOI), Nigeria’s oldest and largest development finance institution.

An economist, he spent about two decades in development finance with the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, and served as economic adviser to the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance from 2011 to 2015. He holds a doctorate in finance and economics from Durham University.

Dr. Tony Okpanachi has led the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) as its pioneer Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer since 2017, providing finance to MSMEs through Nigeria’s banks and other lenders.

Before DBN he spent more than two decades at Ecobank, including as Deputy Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria and Managing Director of Ecobank Kenya. He holds a PhD in development economics from Nile University and an MBA from Manchester Business School.

Dr. Bonaventure Okhaimo is Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC), set up to help MSMEs get loans by guaranteeing part of the risk for lenders.

A banker with about three decades of experience across Diamond Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered, FCMB and Unity Bank, he was previously Chief Operating Officer of the Development Bank of Nigeria.

Chidi Ajaere is the Founder and Executive Chairman of GIG Group, whose companies include GIG Logistics and GIG Mobility.

He took over the family transport business, God Is Good Motors, at 21, and in 2012 founded GIG Logistics, which has grown into one of Nigeria’s best-known delivery and e-commerce logistics companies, with operations outside Nigeria.

Omotola Odeyemi is Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), appointed in October 2023 as the first woman to lead the Service.

She was previously Head of Government Affairs at Binance, and has held senior roles in government at state and federal level.

Nonye Ayeni has been Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) since October 2023, leading its work to grow Nigeria’s non-oil exports.

A financial services executive with more than 25 years in banking and financial technology, she was previously Managing Director of Signature Bank and Deputy Managing Director of Funds and Electronic Transfer Solutions (FETS).

Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, is Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, appointed in an acting capacity in June 2023 and confirmed later that year.

A career customs officer, he previously served as the Service’s National Public Relations Officer and as Deputy Commandant of the Customs Command and Staff College. He was made a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic in 2022.

Teniola Chigbata, popularly known as TennyCoco, is a renowned Nigerian makeup artist, entrepreneur, beauty educator and Creative Director of TennyCoco Studios. With over a decade of experience in the beauty industry, she has built a distinguished career recognised for her signature soft-glam aesthetic, exceptional bridal artistry and commitment to excellence.

Beyond makeup artistry, Teniola is passionate about empowering the next generation of beauty professionals. Through training, mentorship and vocational initiatives, she equips aspiring makeup artists with the practical skills, business knowledge and confidence needed to build sustainable careers and achieve financial independence. Her journey reflects a deep commitment to creativity, entrepreneurship and using beauty as a tool for empowerment.

Nosa Asemota is a Nigerian photographer and visual storyteller who documents key moments and milestones of the Nigerian presidency, as Special Assistant to the President on Visual Communication and Personal Photographer to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

His work highlights the role of photography in public communication, preserving institutional memory and telling Nigeria’s story. He is also the founder of Lens For Good, an initiative that supports emerging creatives through training, mentorship and opportunities in photography, filmmaking and visual storytelling.

Nelly Agbogu is a Nigerian entrepreneur, SME strategist, digital commerce expert and business mentor.

Through NaijaBrandChick, she has empowered thousands of entrepreneurs with business visibility, market access, mentorship and opportunities to increase sales. She is also the founder of Come Again Foods (formerly Nellies Nigeria), a Nigerian food enterprise promoting healthy snacks and locally sourced food alternatives.

Funke Bucknor-Obruthe is a renowned Nigerian entrepreneur, event planner, author and global speaker, and the Founder and CEO of Zapphaire Events Group, one of Africa’s pioneering event management brands. With over two decades of experience, she has built a distinguished brand recognised for creativity, innovation and excellence in event planning and design.

Passionate about knowledge sharing and industry development, she established the Zapphaire Training Academy, which has nurtured over 500 event professionals. She is also the author of The Essential Bridal Handbook and was named among the BBC’s 100 Most Inspirational Women in 2016.

Symply Tacha (Anita Natacha Akide) is a serial entrepreneur, media personality and two-time Guinness World Record holder, including the record for the World’s Fastest Makeup Artist, with 144 makeovers completed in 24 hours.

She is the Founder and CEO of TACHABeauty HQ, a beauty brand created for African skin and weather, and Tacha Beauty Academy, which trains aspiring beauty professionals, entrepreneurs and content creators.

With a community of millions across social media, she has built an influential personal brand and is passionate about entrepreneurship, mentorship and empowering the next generation of African creatives.