Executive Management
Olapeju Ibekwe is a seasoned business leader, filmmaker, and sustainability professional with keen interests in women empowerment, youth development access to quality education, and better healthcare.
With two decades of corporate experience, she has built expertise in brand and marketing communications, strategy formulation and execution, team management, process improvement, strategic partnerships, and business expansion.
She currently oversees all operations and initiatives at the Sterling One Foundation, a social change vehicle focused on tackling the root causes of poverty in Nigeria. Under this non-profit, she works with and supports various non-profits across the African continent in capacity building, and amplifying impact within the Foundation’s key focus areas - healthcare, climate action, youth development and education, gender equality and women empowerment, and food security. Part of her work includes leveraging technology for alternative financing for social impact projects through Africa’s first free crowdfunding platform - Giving.ng. She also works with the private and public sectors on social impact initiatives, and spearheads coalition-building between the different sectors through the Africa Social Impact Summit.
Peju sits on the board of the One Health Initiative where she helps shape impactful policies and initiatives for medical practitioners and everyday Nigerians seeking better healthcare.
As a movie producer, she uses her work within the media and creative space to raise awareness about gender issues, especially gender-based violence while actively supporting young girls through mentorship, providing business advisory for very early-stage entrepreneurs, and supporting climate action initiatives in coastal communities.
Olapeju Ibekwe has received various awards in the social impact space, including the Leadership Impact Award in Nonprofit Management at the CSR Reporters Philanthropic Awards on Social Impact and Sustainability Practices, and was named in Ventures Africa’s Top 20 Women of Impact in 2023.
Head of Finance and Accounts, Sterling One Foundation.
Saheed Adegoke is a quintessential Finance Professional and Chartered Accountant with over 15 years post qualification experience. He has extensive experience in accounting, financial reporting, financial analysis, performance management and corporate finance. Saheed wears different hats professionally as he is currently the Group Head, Finance and Performance Management at Sterling Bank Limited and doubles as the Head of Finance and Accounts for Sterling One Foundation.
He started his career with Intercontinental Bank Plc (now Access Bank Plc) as Financial Control Officer. Saheed worked with United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) where he rose through the ranks to become Head, Financial Reporting & Planning and later served as Chief Finance Officer at United Bank for Africa Sierra Leone Limited (UBASL). He also had a stint with Page International Financial Services Limited as the Chief Financial Officer.
Saheed has a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the Enugu State University (ESUT) Business School. He is also an alumnus of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) and The Polytechnic Ibadan. He is an associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN). He also holds an ACCA diploma in International Financial Reporting (Dip-IFR).
At the Sterling One Foundation, Saheed brings his wealth of experience in the financial operations of the Foundation while working with other team members and diverse stakeholders.
GRANTS AND RESEARCH OFFICER
Gideon Achomhi is a skilled Enterprise Development professional and an Economist with a degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of Benin, Edo State Nigeria. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Loan and Risk Management of Nigeria (CILRM) and a Chartered Secretary and Administrator as he is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN). He is a trained Mass Communicator with experiences in Financial Journalism. He has also lectured Corporate Financial Management at ICSAN study centre in Port Harcourt, Rivers State where he has made great impact in scholarly development of professionals.
He has coordinated various TVET (Technical Vocational Education Training) programs where he has consistently guided would be Entrepreneurs in their quest to get in-roads into the businesses of their choice. He is a Business Analyst and coach and has made valuable contributions to start-up businesses in Nigeria. He has worked with the Shell LiveWire team in implementing training programs in the Niger Delta. |He had a stint at First City Monument Bank Limited where he served as a link man to secure loans for different categories of people and was with the Conditional Grants Scheme Unit at the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) Abuja, where he served as a Project Support team member coordinating cross-cutting grant schemes and project implementation drive across Nigeria in Health, Education, Agriculture, Enterprise among others.
He has successfully implemented donor funded programs and projects through development organizations such as Centre For Information and Development (CFID), Accord for Community Development where he worked as the Senior Programme Manager Enterprise Development and Business Support Services among others. This position afforded him the opportunity to interface with local and international development organizations and partners.
He currently works with Sterling One Foundation where he serves as the Grants and Research Lead.
Solomon is a multi-skilled and seasoned development professional, program, and portfolio manager with a superb track record of managing complex functional projects in various environments and thematic areas. He has over a decade of interdisciplinary and continuing education alongside a solid technical foundation and career experience, recently upgraded by a period of research, training, and immersion in advocacy, program implementation, and management.
As a senior management professional with a vast financial, program, strategy formation, and administrative management background, Solomon focuses on delivering sustainable solutions, analyzing business and project implementation, and managing teams for positive contributions to the bottom line and goal actualization.
He is skilled in providing leadership, direction, strategy, and vision in the areas of program development and execution to enable growth and has proven track records in stakeholder management for the delivery of project objectives. His experience also covers resource mobilization and maximization methodology, innovative operational efficiency, program design, management and implementation, policy and budget design, political economy analysis, governance structuring, business re-engineering, organizational development, facilitation, monitoring and evaluation, and cost reductions.
Solomon holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance and a Master’s in Business Administration. He is a Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) -SEDIN certified capacity building expert, trainer, facilitator, and coach for MSME and Entrepreneurship Development, a Certified Business Development Service Provider, GIZ financial literacy trainer, and an organizational inclusion and diversity champion as well as a gender empowerment advocate. He has extensive experience in managing both bilateral and multilateral interventions and has managed several international and local donor funds and programs to impactful close out.
At the Sterling One Foundation, he brings his problem-solving capabilities to help assess diverse situational challenges, develop action plans, and lead a team to meet targeted milestones that contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. He is dedicated to unlocking potential and propelling them towards unprecedented achievements.
Saheed Adegoke is a quintessential Finance Professional and Chartered Accountant with over 15 years post qualification experience. He has extensive experience in accounting, financial reporting, financial analysis, performance management, and corporate finance. Saheed wears different hats professionally as he is currently the Group Head, Finance and Performance Management at Sterling Bank Limited and doubles as the Head of Finance and Accounts for Sterling One Foundation.
He started his career with Intercontinental Bank Plc (now Access Bank Plc) as Financial Control Officer. Saheed worked with United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) where he rose through the ranks to become Head, Financial Reporting & Planning and later served as Chief Finance Officer at United Bank for Africa Sierra Leone Limited (UBASL). He also had a stint with Page International Financial Services Limited as the Chief Financial Officer.
Saheed has a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the Enugu State University (ESUT) Business School. He is also an alumnus of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) and The Polytechnic Ibadan. He is an associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN). He also holds an ACCA diploma in International Financial Reporting (Dip-IFR).
At the Sterling One Foundation, Saheed brings his wealth of experience in the financial operations of the Foundation while working with other team members and diverse stakeholders.
Ruth Ozigbo is a social development professional with interests in women empowerment, access to quality education, and youth development. She is a graduate of Accounting (B.Sc.), a Certified Financial Education Instructor TM (CFEI ®), and a Project Management Professional (PMP®).
For over a decade she has garnered operational and leadership excellence in various capacities ranging from Customer Relationship Management, Business Process Improvement, Business Analysis, Product Management, and Project Management in the Banking Industry and Social Development Sector.
She is also passionate about communicating personal finance in a simplified manner, to build a stronger and financially Independent society, thereby reducing poverty and dependency ratios.
She has successfully implemented and coordinated multiple social impact programs across multiple states in Nigeria geared toward sustainable development.
Godfrey Orji is a brand and marketing communications professional with over six years of experience in brand building, product marketing, project management, and event marketing.
He started his career with Unilever Nigeria Plc where he was directly involved in managing media investment for the company’s personal and home care brands. After stints with a few media agencies and building a tech startup, Godfrey joined Sterling One Foundation, where he currently manages the Foundation’s impact investment product and the Foundation’s annual convening - the Africa Social Impact Summit (ASIS).
Godfrey holds a B.Tech in Computer Science from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) and a certificate in Civil Society Management from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) as a YALI West Africa Fellow. He has designed and implemented several social impact projects and has a strong interest in improving access to quality education, especially for special needs children, youth development, and women empowerment.
Gideon Achomhi is a skilled Enterprise Development professional and an Economist with a degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of Benin, Edo State Nigeria. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Loan and Risk Management of Nigeria (CILRM) and a Chartered Secretary and Administrator as he is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN). He is a trained Mass Communicator with experience in Financial Journalism. He has also lectured on Corporate Financial Management at the ICSAN study centre in Port Harcourt, Rivers State where he has made a great impact on the scholarly development of professionals.
He has coordinated various TVET (Technical Vocational Education Training) programs where he has consistently guided budding Entrepreneurs in their quest to get inroads into the businesses of their choice. He is a Business Analyst and coach and has made valuable contributions to start-up businesses in Nigeria. He has worked with the Shell LiveWire team in implementing training programs in the Niger Delta. |He had a stint at First City Monument Bank Limited where he served as a link man to secure loans for different categories of people and was with the Conditional Grants Scheme Unit at the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) Abuja, where he served as a Project Support team member coordinating cross-cutting grant schemes and project implementation drive across Nigeria in Health, Education, Agriculture, Enterprise among others.
He has successfully implemented donor-funded programs and projects through development organizations such as Centre For Information and Development (CFID), and Accord for Community Development where he worked as the Senior Programme Manager of Enterprise Development and Business Support Services among others. This position allowed him to interface with local and international development organizations and partners.
He currently works with Sterling One Foundation where he serves as the Grants and Research Lead.
Samuel Ajayi is a researcher and social development professional with kin interests in governance, inclusive and equitable education, gender equity, and youth development. He has over a decade of experience in research, social development programme design and management; monitoring, evaluation, and learning. He is currently an education programme manager at Sterling One Foundation.
He started his full professional career with Human Development Initiatives (now Human Development Initiatives Foundation) as a Research and Programme Officer, where he rose through the ranks to become the Head of Programmes and a member of the Management Team. Within this period, he managed multi-year projects across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria in partnership with reputable national and international organizations such as Ford Foundation, UNFPA, USAID, Trust Africa, MacArthur Foundation, ECOWAS-SPAIN Fund for Migration and Development, ActionAid Nigeria, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and Disability Rights Fund.
Samuel has Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Sociology from the University of Lagos. He has also acquired training in the areas of advocacy, advanced system monitoring and evaluation, gender equity, system strengthening, and social inclusion.
At the Sterling One Foundation, Samuel brings his wealth of experience in designing and implementing high-impact programmes working with other professional team members and diverse stakeholders.