Dr. Olori Boye-Ajayi

Dr. Olori Boye-Ajayi, popularly known as OBA, is a Nigerian-born trade expert, gender development leader, author, and transformational coach with nearly 15 years of experience in international trade, women’s economic empowerment, and sustainable development. She is the CEO and President of Borderless Trade & Investments and the Borderless Trade Network, a gender and trade advocacy platform with offices in Lagos, Accra, Monrovia, and the United Kingdom, through which she has led initiatives to empower up to 80,000 African entrepreneurs and facilitate trade through collaborations with institutional partners.

An alumna of the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, she also serves as a Member of the AfCFTA Trade and Industrial Development Advisory Council, where she shapes continental trade strategies and industrial development frameworks, and has successfully secured over 3,000,000 dollars in funding and trade finance for MSMEs. Her network has facilitated exports to the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, and she has served as a Guest Lecturer at the Lagos Business School, teaching Executive MBA students on international trade topics from 2018 to 2022. She also runs a digital platform and podcast called Niihoho, through which she educates and motivates people interested in self-development and entrepreneurship.

Her accolades speak to a woman who has truly earned her place on the global stage. She was honoured in the Excellence in Trade and Investment category at the African Achievers Award 2023, held at the Palace of Westminster in the UK, and was a finalist for the 30 Leading Women in the African Supply Chain Industry in 2023. She holds the distinction of being the first female Afreximbank MANSA Ambassador in Nigeria and was named among the Top 100 Inspiring Women in Africa by Leading Ladies Africa in both 2021 and 2023. She also won the International Woman of the Year award at the Women4Africa UK ceremony and has been recognised as an Outstanding Female Entrepreneur of the Year by the Entrepreneur Africa Awards, as well as receiving special recognition from the U.S. Consulate General Public Affairs Office in Lagos for her mentoring work in Lagos State public schools for girls. She was further appointed by the Honourable Commissioner of Trade and Investment of Vanuatu to execute the Women in Investment: WINher programme across Nigeria and South Africa.