What do you know about Endeavor Mentors?

As candidates in Endeavor’s selection process, Kene Okwuosa and Moses Babatope, met with Andrés Calderón Rodríguez, an Endeavor Entrepreneur from Colombia. Andrés is the founder of Dynamo, the producers of shows such as Narcos and Falco, co-produced with Netflix and Amazon respectively. Andrés has a background in private equity, movie & screenwriting productions, and movie distribution. Andres helped Endeavor better understand Filmhouse’ business model as we took them through the selection process, but he also provided the entrepreneurs with useful feedback and insights. Moses reconnected with Andres a few months later, this time as an Endeavor Entrepreneur. Their conversation was focused on helping Moses think about how to navigate his relationship with the major international streaming platforms which have increasingly started taking the African market more seriously.

At Endeavor, we are all about our entrepreneurs but this post is about our mentors. Mentors are at the core of our service delivery. Mentors help us evaluate candidates to join our network. Once the entrepreneurs are selected to join Endeavor, mentors provide value by holding 1:1 mentoring sessions, sitting on Endeavor Endeavor Advisory Boards, and building lasting personal relationships with entrepreneurs through our “Strategic Advisor” program. Sometimes, we’ve seen even deeper partnerships between mentors and entrepreneurs.

Hussein Abou Bakr joined Endeavor in 2017. At the time, he was the founder and CEO of Plantform Agribusinesses, a food processing and exporting company. He left the company to start Mozare3, which he co-founded with Tamar El-Raghy, an Endeavor Mentor. They recently raised a seven-figure pre-seed round.

We recruit mentors out of each of our 40 local offices and from our support offices in San Francisco, New York, and Singapore. Many of our mentors are entrepreneurs themselves, others bring with them decades of experience running and advising large corporate organizations.

We’re pleased to announce ten (10) new mentors who have joined our network. They bring decades of experience across banking, consumer goods, technology, and the public sector.

Ade Bajomo (Executive Director, Access Bank Plc)

In 2018, Ade was appointed to the Board of Access Bank Plc as Executive Director for Technology and Operations to reposition the digital competitiveness and operational excellence initiatives of the leading Retail Bank. Prior to that, he worked at the Nigerian Stock Exchange as Executive Director for Market Operations and Technology, where he delivered market-wide initiatives that repositioned the Exchange in the top three in Africa.

He has a global career spanning over 25 years largely in the City of London and has held several senior leadership positions across several industries, including Banking, Insurance and Capital Markets. Mr. Bajomo has led major business transformation and service improvement programmes and participated in business growth initiatives. He has also spearheaded the technology and operations integration of acquired entities in different sectors.

Ade Bajomo graduated with a B.Sc degree in Engineering from the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University. He holds an M.Sc degree with distinction in Information Systems from South Bank University, and an MBA from CASS Business School, City University London. He is a chartered member of the British Computer Society and a Member of the Institute of Directors.

Adepeju Adebajo (Chief Executive Officer, Lumos Nigeria)

Peju is a business leader with wide and diverse experience as CEO of large, medium and start-up companies in the UK and Africa. Her focus is on transformation and turnaround. Her core skills include team building, new markets, new products and leading in fast-changing environments. Sector experience includes renewables, agriculture, cement, food, mattresses, banking and consulting. She has a passion for businesses that contribute to society and deliver strong financial returns. She has Board experience as NED and Executive with Private Equity, multinational, family-owned and institutional shareholder and she sits on Advisory Boards.

Peju gained her BSc and MSc in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College, London and MBA at Harvard Business School, Boston. She is an AMP Alum from Insead Business School, France. She is a recipient of the 2015 CNBC Africa Business Woman of the year award and The 2013 Harvard Business School Nigeria Leadership award.

Akin Banuso (General Manager, Microsoft Nigeria)

Akin Banuso is currently the Enterprise Business Leader for the MEA Multi-country Cluster region as well as General Manager for the Microsoft business in English West Africa (Nigeria and Ghana) and a member of the leadership team of the MEA Emerging Markets Multi-Country cluster, with a mandate to drive digital transformation for countries, organisations and to lead our business segments in this region.

His previous roles have varied from building up sales and support business in varied regions to creating Intellectual Property around Specific Service Offerings and Merger & Acquisition integration. He has held other roles as Services Practice Manager at Dell UK Services to managing Global Alliance with large MnO partners such as Oracle for the EMEA region.

Previous roles have allowed him to gain experience both as a provider (Dell, Accenture) of professional services and as a customer (Shell, PwC, Siebel). Akin enjoys learning and gaining new insights as I experience different cultures and ways of doing things across our diverse world.

Aminu Umar-Sadiq (Executive Director at Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority)

Aminu is the Executive Director at NSIA: Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the Head of the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund, one of three ring-fenced funds of the NSIA. He leads the development, execution, and management of critical domestic infrastructure projects in the transportation, power, agriculture, healthcare, and real-estate sectors.

Prior to his work for the government, he worked in mergers & acquisitions with Morgan Stanley Investment Bank in the Energy and Utilities sectors. He has also worked with Denham Capital Management, an oil & gas, mining, and power-focused private equity fund.

Aminu co-led the development of Nigeria Leadership Initiative’s (NLI) Future Leaders Program, a bi-annual leadership development program focused on creating a growing, global network of credible, community-spirited young Nigerian leaders, serving on NLI’s inaugural board.

Aminu holds a BEng and MEng, University of Oxford and is a 2018 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow.

Eloho Omame (Co-Founder, FirstCheck Africa)

A mission-oriented business leader, Eloho is an early-stage investor and an advocate for gender & inclusion in technology & entrepreneurship in Africa.

As a co-founder of FirstCheck Africa, she is an early believer in the massive underleveraged potential of Africa’s next generation of female founders. With Mustard Seeds, Eloho is building a virtual community to give ambitious women living & working in Africa the tools to create modern, dynamic careers and grow their wealth.

In 2018, Eloho launched Endeavor Nigeria, an entrepreneurship network for high-impact founders leading high-growth technology companies at the scaleup stage. In 2017, in collaboration with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, in Nigeria, she conceptualised, built and launched Lagos Innovates, a portfolio of startup support programs — a first-of-its-kind by a sub-national government in Africa.

With over 15 years prior spent in finance roles across investment banking and growth private equity covering U.K., European and African markets, Eloho is an expert in finance, capital and related matters for companies at all stages, including startups.

She is a mentor at Endeavor Nigeria, an advisory board member at Utopia Lagos and Chair of the finance & capital sub-committee of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund’s MSME Recovery Fund.

A purposeful mentor for high-potential leaders taking on their first mid-to-senior roles in business and entrepreneurship, Eloho helps women make complex career decisions and navigate important career transitions, with purpose and clarity,

Eloho holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from the London School of Economics & Political Science, and a masters in Business Administration from the London Business School.

Karl Toriola (Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria)

Mr. Toriola is the Chief Executive Officer for MTN Nigeria, a leading mobile telecommunications company. He has over 25 years of experience.

His prior roles in executive leadership include serving as Vice President, West and Central Africa for MTN Group, Group Operations Executive for MTN Group, Chief Executive Officer for MTN Cameroon, Chief Technical Officer (‘CTO”) for MTN Nigeria (where he won the Best CTO Award in 2009), Chief Operations/ Regions Officer for Vmobile Nigeria; and Support Manager, West African region for L.M.Ericsson Nigeria Ltd.

His past experience in a non-executive capacity includes service as Chairman, MTN/Areeba Guinea, Non-Executive Director, Jumia Africa, Non-Executive Director, American Towers Uganda, Non-Executive Director, MTN subsidiaries in Francophone West Africa.

Karl has a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. Hons), Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and a Master of Science degree in Communication Systems, Swansea University, United Kingdom. Karl is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, a Member of the Council for the Registration of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), an Alumnus of London Business School, Harvard Business School, and Institute of Management Development (IMD) Switzerland, among others.

Oyeyimika Adeboye (Managing Director, Cadbury Nigeria Plc)

Oyeyimika Adeboye is the Managing Director, Mondelēz International (West Africa). Oyeyimika joined the Board of the Company in November 2008, as Finance and Strategy Director, West Africa. Prior to joining Mondelēz International (then known as Cadbury Nigeria), she was the Director of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Nigerian Bottling Company Plc.

She previously worked for the erstwhile Accounting and Tax Practice of Arthur Andersen & Co as well as the United Kingdom Accounting practice of Midgley Snelling & Co., Chartered Accountants. She is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Nigeria.

Adeboye has a Bachelor of Science honours degree in Economics and Social Studies from the University College Cardiff, Wales and executive management education certification from the Institute of Management Development (IMD), Lausanne, Switzerland.

Seni Adetu (Former MD/CEO, Guinness Nigeria Plc)

Seni Adetu, a former MD/CEO of Guinness Nigeria Plc, has about 35 years of sound private sector experience garnered at the highest levels primarily with John Holt Plc, Coca-Cola International and Diageo (Guinness) Plc in various countries within and outside Africa. He holds a B.Sc in Chemical Engineering and Masters in Business Administration (with specialization in Marketing), both from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He has served on the boards of various multinational companies in Executive and Non-Executive capacity, as well as being a former Non-Executive Director at Fidelity Bank Plc and APT Pensions Ltd.

Mr. Adetu was at various times Marketing Director Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd, MD of Coca-Cola English West

Africa based in Ghana and the first African MD/CEO and Executive Vice Chairman of Guinness Ghana Plc. He was also Group MD/CEO of East African Breweries (EABL), the biggest company in East Africa by market capitalization (at the time), based in Kenya. He was subsequently appointed MD/CEO of Guinness Nigeria Plc and Executive Chairman Diageo Brands Nigeria, and thus became the first Nigerian in nearly 20 years to lead that company. In the course of his career, Mr. Adetu has had working stints/leadership programs in Hungary, the UK and the USA among others.

Mr. Adetu is the Chairman/Group CEO of Ogilvy Nigeria Limited and Algorithm Media Limited, two leading Marketing Communications agencies in Nigeria affiliated to WPP, the world’s largest advertising and media agency network. He is a leadership coach and he facilitates the Chief Executive Program (CEP) at the Lagos Business School. Adetu has many professional awards including being runner up Forbes/CNBC CEO of the year 2012 in East Africa as well as leading Guinness Ghana to be awarded “Company of the Year” in 2008 in the entire Guinness/Diageo International Group.

Welela Dawit (Chief Financial Officer, Microsoft)

Welela Dawit, originally from Eritrea, has 15 years of global experience at General Electric (“GE”) across multiple industrial sectors in areas of finance, commercial and operations.

She most recently held the dual role of CFO of GE Africa and CFO of GE Gas Power Africa based in Lagos, Nigeria. In that role with GE Gas Power, she was a driving force in developing the commercial and operational strategies that have delivered growth for GE through increased market share, operational productivity, partnering with GE Capital and third-party institutions to deliver on financing solutions.

In addition to her GE Gas Power capacity, as CFO for GE Africa, she provided oversight over the wider GE business in the region, driving commercial rigor and financing solutions.

From 2011 to 2015, based in Nairobi, Kenya, she led Financial Planning & Analysis for GE Africa over a period where the annual order book grew from $1.6B to $3.5B and played a key role in the development and execution of GE’s strategies to enter new markets as well as innovative business models specific to Sub-Saharan Africa. It was during this time she also launched the Financial Management Program (FMP) for Africa, an early career leadership program for university graduates.

Previous to her experience in the region, Welela spent four years with GE’s Corporate Audit Staff where she was responsible for undertaking global audit and business excellence assignments as part of GE’s specialist consultancy unit, reporting to the global C-suite and Board. Her experiences here leading teams of about 20 auditors across engagements in Asia, Europe, Latin America, United States and Africa led to financial adjustments, and necessary changes to business operating models when needed. She is also a graduate of GE’s FMP program. She obtained her BA in Economics from Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT, USA) in 2005.

‘Yemisi Ayeni (Chairperson, NASCON Allied Industries)

‘Yemisi is immediate past Managing Director of Shell Nig. Closed Pension Fund Administrator Ltd, a position she held for 10 years until her retirement on Apr-15. 1985 honors graduate of Economics from the University of Manchester; she is also a Chartered Accountant — Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (1989).

‘Yemisi started her professional career with Price Waterhouse, London in 1985; where she spent 5 years working her way through a variety of increasingly senior Audit roles, before joining the Corporate Reconstruction team in 1990. She returned to Nigeria in 1991 as a Senior Manager in Corporate Finance, PW Lagos.

‘Yemisi joined Shell Nigeria in 1994 and held a variety of roles in various Shell companies during her 21 years with Shell. In Nov 2004, she was appointed Finance Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Company Ltd, earning her the distinction of being the first Nigerian woman to be appointed to the Board of a Shell Company in Nigeria.

Until her retirement, ‘Yemisi was a Council Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Chair of its Demutualization and Technical Committees; she was also Vice-Chair of the Pension Fund Operators’ Association of Nigeria and Chair of its Institute Committee. She previously served as Chairperson, LEAP Africa and Executive Council Member, WIMBIZ.

‘Yemisi is currently Chairperson of NASCON Allied Industries PLC; Non-Executive Director of Guinness Nigeria PLC, Stanbic-IBTC Pension Managers Ltd and Ultima Ltd.; Chairperson of the Dr Funmi Alakija Foundation; Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Queen’s College Old Girls’ Association, and sits on the Panel of Advisors for the Africa Initiative for Governance.

In Nigeria, Endeavor now works with more than thirty exceptional business leaders including ABUBAKAR SULEIMAN (CEO, Sterling Bank), ACHA LEKE (Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company), ADEBISI LAMIKANRA (Partner & Head of Advisory (Rtd.), KPMG), AKINTUNDE OYEBODE (Commissioner of Finance & Economic Development, Ekiti State Government), ANDERS EINARSSON (CEO, Promasidor), CHIDI IWUCHUKWU (Head Investment Banking-West Africa, RMB), DIMEJI SALAUDEEN (Partner & Head, Deal Advisory, KPMG), EYITOPE KOLA-OYENEYIN (Partner, McKinsey & Company), FAROUK GUMEL (Group Executive, TGI), FOLA LAOYE (Founder & CEO, Health Markets Africa), INI EBONG (Group Executive, Treasury and Financial

Institutions), KAYODE AKINKUGBE (MD & CEO, FBN Quest), PROF. KONYIN AJAYI (SAN) (Managing Partner, Olaniwun Ajayi LP), Dr. OMOBOLA JOHNSON (Partner, TLcom Capital), SEAN HSU (Group President & CEO, Netcom Africa), STEPHANE TIMPANO (Managing Partner, Bain & Company), TEMITOPE ODUKOYA (Partner, Deloitte), TOLUWALEKE ADENMOSUN (Partner, Verraki), YEMI OSINDERO (Partner, Uhuru Investments Partners), YINKA EDU (Partner, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie), and YINKA SANNI (Chief Executive, West Africa, Standard Bank Group).

To learn more about Endeavor or for interviews and speaking engagements, email Joy Mabia at joy.mabia@endeavor.org