Draft:Israel Ovirih

Israel Ovirih is a Nigerian investment banker, entrepreneur and technology enthusiast. He is the founder and CEO of Banklink Africa Group, a company that offers various financial services and solutions to African businesses and markets. He is also a frequent speaker and writer on topics such as entrepreneurship, emerging technologies, financing for developing countries, academia-industry partnerships, public policy and social impact.

Early life and education
Ovirih was born in Ilesa, Osun State, Nigeria. He graduated from the Ondo State University, Ado-Ekiti in 1989, where he received an award for the best overall graduating student in academics and community life. He left his MPhil/Phd in Economics at the University of Lagos to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions. He also acquired certifications in financial engineering, investment banking and entrepreneurship from different institutions in Switzerland, Nigeria and the United States, including the Lagos Business School and the MIT Sloan School of Business in Boston, USA. In July, 2018, he was given an honorary Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) by his alma mater – Ekiti State University for his contributions to the field of investment banking and entrepreneurship in Nigeria.

Career
Ovirih started his banking career in 1990 and worked at Universal Trust Bank, Oceanic Bank, GTBank and Equitorial Trust Bank for over 10 years. In January 2003, he became the MD/CEO of NigerDelta Mortgage Bank, a restructured PMI. He used his project finance expertise to finance over eighteen industrial projects under the NERFUND AfDB program and several infrastructure development projects funded by the World Bank/IBRD/IDA for various State Governments in Nigeria. In 1999, he founded Banklink Africa Group, a company that offers financial services and solutions to local content operators in various sectors such as oil and gas, maritime and shipping, and infrastructure.

Ovirih is interested in using technology to address social and economic challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. He supports exponential entrepreneurship, a concept that promotes entrepreneurs to use exponential technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and nanotechnology to create scalable and impactful solutions. He is also a mentor and advisor to several startups and initiatives in the African tech ecosystem.

Ovirih is a board member of several companies in different sectors, such as technology, power and electricity, mining and natural resources, oil and gas production and financial services. Some of these companies are CashToken Rewards Africa, Ojaja Power GenCo, Continental Lithium, Nationwide Exploration & Production. He has also been the Group Financial Advisor to Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc, a company listed on the NGX, since 2014.