Olagoke OLADAPO, is the NGBIL’s Vice President for Agriculture & Agro Allied services. A versatile and passionate development expert, he was, until recently, the Division Manager, Rural Infrastructure Development at the African Development. As a Development Economist, he has a wide range of experience spanning development operations, agricultural policy analysis, economic and sector studies as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation. He holds a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ibadan, having obtained earlier, a Bachelor’s degree in the same field from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), both in Nigeria. In addition, Olagoke holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Project Cycle Management from the Maastricht School of Management, the Netherlands.
Olagoke co-led the formulation of the Feed Africa Strategy (FAS): The African Development Bank’s road map towards transforming the African agriculture into a globally competitive sector that generates gainful employment, promotes value addition, and improves quality of life. In this context, he successfully managed the rollout of the flagship program of Special Agro industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ): a geo-spatial initiative across Africa, as part of the implementation of the Feed Africa Strategy. In addition, he led the development of the Strategic Programs for Climate Resilience (SPCR) a climate adaptation program for Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and the Gambia. He is passionate about Africa’s industrialization using the agriculture sector as a pivot.
A consummate development practitioner, Olagoke has been credited for successfully developing and managing many agricultural and rural development operations across Africa; some of which has earned him various awards and recognitions including AfDB Vice President’s Award for Excellence in 2007, Best Portfolio Management Award in 2008 and Leadership Certificate Awards of Excellence in 2014 and 2015. He is an avid supporter of the maxim: making development work for the people.
