Adenike Adeyemi on the interplay between Entrepreneurship, Policymaking, Nonprofits, and Artificial intelligence in driving Economic Development

Oxford Policy Pod

In this episode, Oluwatamilore Oni speaks with Adenike Adeyemi, CEO of FATE Foundation – Nigeria’s foremost business incubator and accelerator program set up to enable aspiring and emerging Nigerian entrepreneurs to start, grow and scale their businesses.

Adenike shares highlights from her more than two decades of experience in the social impact space, with a specific focus on entrepreneurs and the role they play in catalysing growth in developing economies. We discuss the interplay between national and local policymaking and what an enabling environment for business growth really means. Adenike offers insightful perspectives into the vital role that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play in job creation and socio-economic sustainability, delving into the intricacies of business formalisation, taxation and other macroeconomic policies that can help or hinder.

Adenike can be considered an entrepreneur herself, having led and grown the FATE Foundation team over the last nine years. She also shares about her roles on multiple board and advisory committees, how she manages her time, and what guides her decision-making process when opportunities come her way. She is a Google.org Leader to Watch, trustee of Youth Business International, and lead facilitator for the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) MSME Community of Practice.