Gwen is a Pan-African finance expert with 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Her career spans various sectors, including commercial banking, fund and investment management, impact investing, fundraising, and investor relations. She culminated her banking career as the CEO of a pan-African bank in the Republic of Benin, where she made history as the first female bank CEO in the country.

With more than 15 years of experience at the board level, she has held various board positions across diverse industries, including banking, insurance, registrars, and asset and investment management in both francophone and anglophone countries. Additionally, she has served on multiple advisory boards, providing guidance for global initiatives sponsored by international development organizations.

Gwen is a business growth specialist with a proven track record of business turnarounds. She champions entrepreneurship, particularly for women and youth. Gwen has been involved in several empowerment initiatives, including the Shell International LiveWire Top Ten Innovators Awards, USAID’s Feed the Future program (Food Strategy for Nigeria), the USAID/ASPEN Grant Fund for gender-lens investing, and the Nigeria Advisory Board for Impact Investing.

She mentors women in business and careers and through development agencies like the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, Women in Africa (WIA), and IFC/Women in Renewable Energy.

She is a life member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, a Fellow of the Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, a Member of the Institute of Directors, the Nigerian Institute of Management, and the Global Women’s Network for Energy Transition.

She has served in federal committees at national levels in Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.

Gwen Abiola-Oloke is the CEO of DI Africa, a financial and business advisory firm specialising in growth solutions for businesses, governments, and development agencies, focusing on capital raising, trade and investment facilitation, and impactful partnerships. She holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Benin, an MBA from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, an M.Sc. Marketing from the University of Lagos and a Certificate in Sustainable Finance from the University of Cambridge