Ayo-Bankole is a Strategy & Transformation professional with fourteen years’ experience that covers leadership roles as the Head of Strategy Groups in the capital markets, insurance, and oil & gas industries. As a Strategy Consultant, he led many strategy projects across sub-Saharan Africa, working for KPMG, PwC, Phillips Consulting, and as a technology marketing consultant at C2G Consulting. He has provided strategy advice to over 210 companies, governments, and development institutions, including the AfDB, World Bank, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Bristow Group, Actis, Axa, and many other large and SME organizations with transaction value of over $120million. His consulting experience cuts across strategy & execution, transformation & corporate turnaround, process improvement, due diligence, merger & acquisition, etc. Ayo is a serial entrepreneur and founder, an advocate for good governance, and the growth of MSMEs as the key to unlocking Africa’s economic potential. He is the Convener of the Caladium Lagos SME Bootcamp, a platform he co-founded to help enhance the business management skills of MSMEs to reduce their risks of failure and contribute to SDG8. He has supported over 7,000 SMEs via Bootcamp and through Caladium Consulting, a firm he founded to provide MSMEs with access to first-class professional services. Ayo-Bankole also leads the team at FedaCash, a startup that is leveraging technology tools to provide solutions to the challenges MSMEs have with working capital adequacy and inventory turnover. Ayo has a certificate in disruptive strategy from Harvard Business school, a master’s degree in political science from the University of Lagos, and a Bachelor’s degree from the premier University of Ibadan. He is a thought leader in strategy, economy, MSMEs, governance, and responsible citizenship. His thoughts are regularly featured on global and local media including the BBC, Al-Jazeera, DW Germany, South African Business Radio, Spice FM Kenya, Channels, Arise tv, etc. He is a recipient and nominee of numerous Awards including the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Nigeria award by the Junior Chambers International, BusinessDay Newspapers Top 100 SMEs in Nigeria Award, The Ooni of Ife Royal African Youth Leadership Awards and the Iconic Brand Awards – Business Leader of the Year, to mention a few. He was listed as one of the Top Professionals that powered Nigeria’s economic growth in 2023 by BusinessDay Newspapers and amongst top 50 CEOs of 2023 by Guardian Newspapers. He mentors over 60 youths in 9 African countries, USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom.