Who We Are

Our Story

On February 27, 2020, Nigeria confirmed its first case of the coronavirus. Promptly, the Government of Nigeria, led by the Federal Ministry of Health, initiated measures to contain and manage the outbreak. However, given the strain on the already overwhelmed healthcare systems and the country’s burgeoning population, it became evident that additional support was imperative to effectively combat the virus.

Thus, the Nigeria Solidarity Fund (NSSF) emerged. This collaborative effort between Global Citizen (GC) and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) recognized the urgent need to address three key areas in response to COVID-19: assisting the most vulnerable, reinforcing healthcare systems, and equipping Nigerian youth for a transformed future.

Our board is firmly committed to the principle that quality and affordable healthcare services should be accessible to all. Moreover, we strongly advocate for empowering young Nigerians with opportunities for self-advancement and preparing them with the necessary skills for the post-COVID era. Additionally, we are dedicated to ensuring that the most vulnerable, disadvantaged, and marginalized groups in Nigeria receive the support they require, ensuring that no one is left behind in our collective pursuit of progress and resilience.

Who We Are

The Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF) is a beacon of hope, a non-profit entity fervently dedicated to catalyzing profound change within the fabric of Nigerian society. With unwavering commitment, our mission transcends mere assistance; it embodies a passionate resolve to ignite a transformative journey, one that uplifts the lives of the vulnerable, strengthens the very foundation of healthcare systems, and empowers the Nigerian workforce through comprehensive reskilling initiatives.

At the core of our endeavors lies a deep-seated belief in the inherent dignity and potential of every Nigerian. We envision a future where vulnerability is met with unwavering support, where healthcare systems are fortified to withstand the most daunting challenges, and where every individual is equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape.

Our Vision

A Nigeria where organizations innovatively collaborate to improve health outcomes of the vulnerable people and under-served communities

Our Mission

Empowering organizations through innovative approaches, partnerships, and collaborations to improve health outcomes of vulnerable people and under-served communities in Nigeria

Our Values

I-PACE
Innovation Partnerships Accountability Collaboration Empathy

Our People

The Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund is guided by a passionate team of Nigerians committed to enhancing the lives of all citizens. Collaborating closely with dedicated stakeholders, multilateral organizations, grassroots NGOs, and local partners, we tirelessly raise funds and implement interventions to facilitate the recovery of our children, families, and vulnerable groups throughout Nigeria from the profound effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Babatunde Folawiyo

CHAIRMAN, GLOBAL CITIZEN NIGERIA

Tijani Babatunde Folawiyo is the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Yinka Folawiyo Group, a conglomerate with interests in energy, agriculture, shipping and real estate.

The oil exploration firm, Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum, owns a 60% participating interest in the Aje Oil and gas field on OML 113 offshore Lagos. This is the first producing field outside of the Niger-Delta in Nigeria. Tunde founded Folawiyo Energy Limited, a subsidiary of the Yinka Folawiyo Group in partnership with Glencore Energy, which has successfully run a World Class petroleum storage facility with a capacity to store 66,000 MT of petroleum products. He is Chairman of YFPower Limited,  ENYO Retail & Supply Limited, a fuels retailing and renewable energy products company. ENYO operates eighty-five (85) plus fuel retail stations across eighteen (18) states in Nigeria.

Tunde served as a Non-Executive Director of MTN Nigeria, the premier GSM provider in Nigeria for 18 years from 2001-2019, was a Non-Executive Director of Ecobank Mali for 5 years from 2000 to 2005 and Access Bank Plc where he retired meritoriously after his statutory 12-year term. In April 2019, he became Chairman of Global Citizen Nigeria, an international movement dedicated to eliminating extreme poverty in the world. He is also the Chairman of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, Temple Management Company, a full-service creative talent and event management firm, T1 Marine Services Limited, a company that offers a wide range of marine support services to the Nigerian offshore oil and gas industry, and  Pave Investments Limited, a private investment holding company that invests in private equity and venture capital opportunities with a particular focus on the technology space.

He continues to serve as Director of La Vallee Energy Services Limited, an indigenous subsea company providing services such as diving, ROV, IRM, subsea construction, installation decommissioning and abandonment. In addition, he serves as Non-Executive Director of Inaugure Hospitality Group based in Abidjan which is on course to become the African continent’s 21st century hotel industry benchmark.

He is the Honorary Consul of Barbados in Nigeria. He is a fellow of the Duke of Edinburgh’s World Fellowship and a member of the Global Advisory Board of the African Leadership Academy, a pan-African institute dedicated to developing and mentoring new generations of African leaders.

Tunde Folawiyo was educated at the London School of Economics, where he obtained a B.Sc. degree in Economics and an LL.B. Additionally; he obtained an LL.M degree from the University College London. He is a Barrister of the Inner Temple of England and Wales and was also admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1986.

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede

VICE CHAIRMAN, Global citizen

Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede is a highly respected investor, banker and philanthropist with a track record of major accomplishments in for profit and non-profit endeavors within and beyond Nigeria. He oversees an ecosystem of investments encompassing banking and finance, insurance, technology, industrial and oil and gas sectors. His career in banking and finance spans three decades and has earned him national as well as international recognition including; Commander of the Order of the Niger “CON”, conferred by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for his contributions to the development of banking and finance; Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year (West Africa); and African Banker Magazine’s “African Banker of the Year”.

He was the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc from 2002, overseeing its transformation into one of the top five banks in Nigeria with a presence in the United Kingdom and 9 African countries. Under his stewardship, Access Bank was able to grow its customer base from 10,000 (2002) to circa 6.5 million (2013) with 20,000 employees and an asset base of USD 12 billion. He is a past President of The Nigerian Stock Exchange, founding Chairman of the FMDQ OTC Exchange, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Financial Market Dealers Association. He holds an executive MBA jointly awarded by the London School of Economics, NYU Stern Business School and HEC Paris, an LLB degree from the University of Benin and a BL from the Nigerian Law School.

An impact philanthropist, he established the Africa Initiative for Governance to be a catalyst for transforming public sector leadership in West Africa. Other civic engagements include his roles as Vice Chair of Global Citizen Nigeria, Co-Chairman of the Board of GBCHealth, Chairman of ABCHealth, a member of the board of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, Co-Founder, Private Sector Alliance for Health in Nigeria, and a member of the International Advisory Board of Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government. Aigboje is an inducted member of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Uche Orji

MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NSIA | BEng. Chemical Engineering, Uniport; MBA, Harvard

Mr. Uche Orji is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and brings to the Board, three decades of global experience in banking, asset management and financial services.

In addition to his role as MD & CEO, NSIA, he serves on the Boards of the Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company Ltd (InfraCredit) as Chairman, and Non-executive Director at the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), Family Homes Funds Ltd (FHFL), NG Clearing Ltd and Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC).

Over the years, he has worked in various organizations including; UBS Securities, New York, where he was a Managing Director and Global Coordinator of Semiconductor Equities Research; JP Morgan Securities, London, where he was a Vice President and later Managing Director within the Equities Division and Analyst in charge of European Semiconductor Equities Research; Goldman Sachs Asset Management where he was an Executive Director serving as Analyst/ Portfolio Manager covering chemicals and telecommunication equipment sectors, as well as co-manager of Global Technology Fund and pan-European equities fund. Prior to his international work experience, he served as the Acting Financial Controller at Diamond Bank Plc (now part of Access Bank Plc), Nigeria, and started his career in the audit group of Arthur Andersen & Co. He completed his National Youth Service in Bauchi, where he worked at the Nigeria Industrial Development Bank, NIDB (now Bank of Industry).

As an analyst, he advised leading global asset managers, ranking #1 in Europe and top 3 in the United States according to Institutional Investors Magazine All-Equities Analyst Ranking. As part of his sector coverage, he provided strategic advice to the Management of leading companies such as Intel Electronics, Nvidia, ASML, Philips Electronics, AMD and Texas Instruments; and as global coordinator covered global companies such as Samsung Electronics, Toshiba, Nikon, Canon and Hynix. He has authored/ co-authored hundreds of research papers in the Semiconductor sector as well as the broader technology investment sectors and was a regular commentator on the technology sector on all major news media.

Uche studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, graduating in 1990, and subsequently obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1998.

Kola Owodunni

Executive Director & Chief Investment Officer, NSIA

Kola Owodunni is a consummate professional with over two decades of cognate experience principally in the financial services sector spanning Investment Management, Risk Management and Treasury. Currently serving as an Executive Director & Chief Investment Officer of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (“NSIA”), he is responsible for deploying over US$4.3 billion across various investment mandates in the Authority’s core funds: Stabilisation Fund, Future Generations Fund and Nigeria Infrastructure Fund. In his role, Kola oversees a large, diverse portfolio of equity, fixed income, and alternative investments, leading both the direct investments and third-party investments on behalf of the Authority. Kola joined the NSIA in 2013 as the Head of Investment Risk Management, was appointed CIO in 2020 (a role which he still acts) and an Executive Director (Investments) in 2022. In addition to his role as ED/CIO, he serves on the Board of some NSIA investee companies as a Non-executive Director.

Kola’s previous roles include Head of Risk Management at Dunn Loren Merrifield, a boutique Investment Bank headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. He was also a Risk Manager in Credit Suisse, London. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, Kola was one of the pioneer team that started the Hedge Fund Development and Management Group at Merrill Lynch (now Bank of America Merrill Lynch) in London. Kola began his professional career at Goldman Sachs, London as an analyst.

Kola holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Imperial College, London and an MBA from INSEAD, France. Kola is a CFA Charter-holder

Stella Ojekwe-Onyejeli

Non-Executive Director, Board of Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited

Mrs. Ojekwe-Onyejeli has 30 years comprehensive experience leading diverse teams developing & growing businesses and delivering value within dynamic high-pressure environments. Her competencies include assurance, financial management, advisory, risk management, fund management, infrastructure project development, operations and general management cutting across professional services, banking, and asset management sectors.

She is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited, Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company Limited (InfraCredit) and the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF) and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Risk Management Association of Nigeria (RIMAN).

She served creditably for nine years as Executive Director with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) until the end of her tenure in October 2021. In addition to being appointed Executive Director on the Board of the Authority, she was also initially the Chief Risk Officer before handling an expanded role as Chief Operating Officer of the Authority.

Before the NSIA she had a distinguished tenure as Director and Head of Operational Risk and Control at Barclays based in Dubai, where she covered 15 countries spanning Africa, Middle-East and Asia. Prior to this, she was a Vice President and Head of Quality Assurance, Africa, at Citibank, South Africa, with direct oversight of the enterprise risk and control environment in 14 countries across Africa. Hitherto, she spent over a decade at professional services firms Arthur Anderson and KPMG in Nigeria and South Africa, providing financial and transaction advisory as well as business assurance services.

Mrs. Ojekwe-Onyejeli is a qualified Chartered Financial and Tax Accountant as well as a scholar of the Federal Government of Nigeria and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria prize winner. She holds a first degree in Chemistry from the University of Lagos, a master’s degree in Business Administration obtained from Cranfield School of Management, United Kingdom, she is a member of the Oxford Business & Wharton Executive Education Alumni and is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. She also recently completed the Insead International Directors Programme in November 2021.

In addition to the Board of the NSIA, she has also previously served on the Board of NewGlobe Education Services Ltd (Formally Bridge International) and as the Chairman of the Statutory Audit Committee of the Development Bank of Nigeria.

Jennifer Dent

President and Chief Executive Officer, BVGH

Jennifer Dent, President & CEO is responsible for setting the organization’s strategy, determining its programs, and working with the BVGH team to establish partnerships and deliver on program objectives. She joined BVGH in 2011 and took over leadership of the organization in 2012. She has facilitated partnerships across the private, government, and public sectors involving more than 50 countries. Jennifer leverages her international industry experience to tackle tough global health challenges with market-driven approaches focusing on sustainability, scalability, and most importantly, priorities and needs as determined by each African or low- and middle-income country partner.

Prior to joining BVGH, Jennifer worked for Hoffmann-La Roche as an Alliance Director in South San Francisco at the Genentech site. She has 20+ years of broad-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology experience, including negotiation and structuring of deals, and management of global discovery and commercial alliances. Jennifer began her career as a sales representative in Canada working in a variety of positions for Parke Davis/Pfizer and Genentech. Following the acquisition of Genentech Canada by Roche, Jennifer held a number of senior management positions in marketing, life cycle management, global product strategy, business development, and alliance management at Roche and Genentech in Canada, Switzerland, New Jersey, and South San Francisco. Jennifer co-founded Sound Biotechnology, and prior to that, served as Vice President, Business Development, Marketing, and Sales at CombiMatrix Corporation in Washington State.

Jennifer received her MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business, Western University and her BSc from Western University in Canada. In her spare time, Jennifer can be found in her garden or spending time with family and friends.

Bola Adesola

Chairman, Ecobank Nigeria

Mrs. Bola Adesola was appointed as the Chairman, Ecobank Nigeria in July 2021. She is also the Chairman, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund. Bola has over 32 years banking experience and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and Lagos Business School. Bola holds a Law degree from the University of Buckingham, UK and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, U.K., and Nigeria.

She is an Honorary Fellow and former Council Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria, a founding Trustee of Financial Markets Dealers Association, and has served on the boards of Nigeria Interbank Settlement Systems Plc (NIBSS) and the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC).

She has previously served as Board Member of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) from 2015, and 2018 she was elevated to Co Vice-Chair of the Board.

An innovative and visionary leader, a skilled communicator and team builder, Bola remains an exceptional mentor and motivator to many. Her overriding passion and purpose is to help others find their voice, and having found it, for them to move from effectiveness to greatness. To this end, in 2001, Bola co-founded Women in Management, Business and Public service (WIMBIZ), now Nigeria’s foremost and highly respected gender-oriented network for women, with global affiliations. She currently serves on the WIMBIZ Board of Trustees.

Michael Sheldrick

Chief Policy, Impact and Government Relations Officer at Global Citizen

“Michael Sheldrick is the Chief Policy, Impact and Government Relations Officer at Global Citizen. He has driven several of Global Citizen’s campaigns, which have seen $40 billion distributed to anti-poverty efforts around the world.

He was one of the four Co-Founders who spearheaded the first major Global Citizen advocacy campaign – The End the Polio – in 2011 which saw $118 million announced for polio eradication efforts with the support of John Legend, Rotary International and then Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Most recently, he served as an Executive Producer of Vax Live, co-chaired by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan. The campaign focused on vaccine equity and acceptance, and which saw 26 million vaccines committed for developing countries. He holds degrees in law and political science from the University of Western Australia, was 2013 Young Western Australian of the Year, and has previously been listed by The Sunday Times as one of WA’s 50 Best and Brightest. In 2017, Michael was named by the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth as a finalist for Young Commonwealth Person of the Year.”