Draft:Saheed Babajide Okuboyejo

Saheed Babajide Okuboyejo (born September 12, 1982) is a Dutch Nigerian lawyer, entrepreneur, and writer specialising in international contract law, regulatory compliance, sustainability, and artificial intelligence. With a robust educational background, including an LL.M. in European Private Law from the Universiteit van Amsterdam, an MBA from the University of Pretoria, Gordon Institute of Business Science and an LL.B from the University of Lagos, Okuboyejo has built a diverse career spanning law, renewable energy, and Artificial Intelligence within Europe and Africa. Okuboyejo is currently writing his book on Drone Law 3.0: the evolving legal typology for commercial drones in the age of Artificial intelligence.

Early Life
Okuboyejo was born on September 12, 1982, in Lagos, Nigeria. He grew up in Surulere, Lagos and attended boarding school at Government College Ikorodu where he completed his West African Examination Council Certificate. During this period, Okuboyejo was particular interested in dramatic arts playing leading roles in Ola Rotimi's the Gods are not to blame.

Education
Okuboyejo pursued his first university education at the University of Lagos, obtaining an LL.B in Nigerian Common Law in 2005. He furthered his studies with an MBA in Business Administration from the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science, which he completed 2014. Okuboyejo also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from the same institution, which he completed in 2011. In 2022, he completed his LL.M. in European Private Law at the Universiteit van Amsterdam.

Career
Throughout his career, Okuboyejo has held notable positions. Between 2010 and 2013, he was a Project Manager at the South African National Energy Development Institute, where he developed and managed multiple renewable energy projects in Rural communities in Western Cape, Gauteng and Durban in South Africa. Additionally, Between 2014 and 2016, he contributed to the development of two large-scale concentrated solar energy projects in the Northern Cape with BrightSource Energy. In 2017, he jointly founded SolarCreed, to develop, sell and distribute off-grid solar energy products in Africa.

Publications
Saheed Babajide Okuboyejo has contributed to the academic field through his research and theses. His LL.M. thesis, titled Drone Law 2.0: The Evolving Legal Typology for Commercial Drones in European Private Law, was completed at the University of Amsterdam in 2021. This work explores the developing legal frameworks surrounding the use of commercial drones within European private law.

In 2013, Saheed completed his MBA dissertation at the University of Pretoria, titled Environmental Sustainability Orientation of Small and Medium Sized Businesses in South Africa. This dissertation examines how small and medium-sized enterprises in South Africa are adapting to and prioritizing environmental sustainability in their operations.

Awards and Honours
In 2018, he was awarded joint third prize at the EDF Pulse Africa offgrid power competition in Paris for his work at SolarCreed and in 2019, he was awarded in Amsterdam together with 4 other startups by the FMO Finture Solutions  for his work at SolarCreed. SolarCreed is a member of the Solar Impulse Foundation World Alliance.