President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently appointed Ayo Sotinrin as the new Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, Nigeria’s government-sponsored Agriculture Development Bank.
who is this Agro-finance expert who has been saddled with the responsibility of revitalizing Nigeria’s Agricultural sector through the provision of credit facilities for Agribusinesses?
Environmentalist Cum Development Finance Expert
Ayo Sotinrin is an ardent Environmentalist turned development finance expert with a major interest in infrastructure development. He holds an Executive MBA from Oxford University’s Said Business School, an Advanced Diploma in Environmental Conservation, and a Master’s in Engineering Business Management from Warwick University.
Due to his interest in infrastructure development, he founded SAO Capital in 2015 after over a decade of working in the finance and Advisory sector. Through SAO capitals, he has been able to spearhead transformative agribusiness initiatives.
Under his leadership, SAO Agro developed a 20,000-hectare oil palm plantation and expanded into large-scale poultry, aquaculture, maize, and cassava farming in Ondo State. Since 2015, he has also been able to secure over $750 million in infrastructure and development financing, including a landmark $200 million deal for the Akure Water Supply Project.
He also oversaw the installation of solar panels in over 50 primary health centers, enhancing healthcare services through renewable energy solutions and in 2023, he received the ‘Excellence in Corporate Advisory Leadership’ award at The Solar Week Nigeria Leadership Award in recognition of his efforts.
Global Assignments
Internationally, he has also been tasked with numerous responsibilities. He has worked as a senior advisor on many development programme funded by the World Bank, DFID, Afdb, and USAID including the Afdb funded $350m Abuja Urban integrated Infrastructure Project, to develop PPP Infrastructural projects ranging from $20M to $2Billion.
He has also been handed roles at the Royal Bank of Scotland International, Deutsche Bank, and the UK Environment Agency, reinforcing his expertise in finance, sustainability, and infrastructure development.
Public Sector Appointment
Before his recent appointment at the BoA, Ayo Sotinrin has served as Special Adviser (Environment & Urban Development) to the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from 2011 to 2015.
It is therefore expected that he would bring his experience across the public and private sector to the fore in propelling the BoA to great heights.
