M-RCBG Senior Fellow-Led Study Group: Jumoke Oduwole
Tuesday, April 23, 4:15-5:30
M-RCBG Conference Room (B-102)
Designing sustainable technology-driven solutions to challenges in government with the constraints that exist in emerging economies can be a daunting task.
This session will explore how innovation, technology and creativity is helping the Nigerian government to solve complex economic policy challenges, and how specific programs have faired through political transitions and the electoral cycle.
Dr. Jumoke Oduwole MFR will be joined remotely for this session by Taiwo Ajetunmobi, Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Ease of Doing Business & Investment. Taiwo is the Chief Operating Officer of the PEBEC Secretariat, driving key reforms for improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria, and has built his career at the intersection of technology, strategy, and finance. PEBEC to date has championed over 180 reforms across 53 Ministry, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). Previously, Taiwo led the design and implementation of large-scale financial intervention schemes targeting micro and small enterprises at the Bank of Industry ‘s Growth Platform – Africa’s most prominent public sector-focused fintech platform. He is also a partner at Passion Incubator, where he advises early-stage startups on how to structure and scale their business.
This in-person study group / discussion is open only to HUID holders.
M-RCBG welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs. To request accommodations or ask questions about access provided, please email: mrcbg@hks.harvard.edu
Dr. Jumoke Oduwole MFR, is currently Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and Investment in the Office of the Vice President. She served in the previous Presidential Administration from November 2015 to May 2023, first as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade, and Investment, and then as Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business. Since July 2016, she and her team have facilitated the mandate of the PEBEC from ideation to implementation of impactful reforms for MSMEs. Under her watch, Nigeria moved up an unprecedented 39 places in the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings and was twice recognized as a top ten reformed economy in three years. In 2022 she was appointed Governance Advisor to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Governance Lab and has been the recipient of a number of awards, including a national honour, Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR). Dr. Oduwole has served on various specialized reform committees in the federal government such as the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation Committee and the Tax Policy Reform Committee. She chaired the Technical Working Team on Legislative Imperatives for the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025 and was instrumental in the conceptualization and formation of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN) in 2017. A global thought leader, writer and speaker, Dr. Oduwole is on loan to the federal government from Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Nigeria, where she taught international economic law. From 2013 to 2015 she was holder of the Prince Claus Chair in development and equity at the International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague. Jumoke sits on the Board of Trustees of the Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS) in South Africa and previously served on the Board of Ecobank Nigeria. While an M-RCBG Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, Jumoke will interrogate the role of businesses in strengthening government reforms. Her faculty mentor is John Donahue, Raymond Vernon Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Email: olajumoke_oduwole@hks.harvard.edu