About Us

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Damilola Thompson is an experienced investment professional with a proven track record of success in building and executing effective investment strategies for a diverse range of clients. With over a decade of experience in the field, Damilola has honed her skill and has core competencies in investments, legal, compliance functions, developing and implementing strategic growth & market entry plans, and in corporate development.

Prior to this, she was VP, Global Head of Emerging Markets and VP, Global Markets Expansion of TradeX, a Series B marketplace startup where she successfully led and drove global and emerging markets expansion to Africa, Middle East, Japan, and Latin America. Dami also served as Vice President & Associate General Counsel at EchoVC Partners (TPG’s small cheque growth stage platform for Africa) and has over a decade of experience investing in and supporting entrepreneurs improving quality of life and solving friction across Emerging Markets.  At EchoVC, Dami managed a portfolio of over 40 tech and tech-enabled companies across Africa, USA, India, and Latin America, and sat on the boards of several portfolio companies. In her years of experience, she sourced, drove, and conducted extensive due diligence in early-stage and early-growth technology startups in the Automotive, Mobility, Financial services, SaaS, Marketplace platforms, Logistics, Healthcare, API economy & infrastructure sectors etc. Dami is also an angel investor in 25 startups across the US and Emerging Markets.

Dami has graduate degrees in law from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, a Master’s in Business law and Technology from University of California, Berkeley and a Masters of Business Administration degree from William Jessup University, San Jose. She has also completed various post-graduate courses including the Kauffman Fellows Academy course on Venture Capital and is an Associate Arbitrator with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom. 

Patricia Koki is a seasoned finance and investment professional with over nine years of experience in the field. She is a Partner at Diligence Africa, where she oversees due diligence for investors investing in African and Africa-focused opportunities and provides advisory services to startups seeking venture capital in East Africa. She excels in investor relations, venture capital, financial reporting, audit assurance, and risk management and is proficient in Swahili, Spanish, Kikuyu, English, and Kamba. 

Patricia holds several certifications, including IFRS 9 Expected Credit Losses and Excel for Corporate Finance Professionals. Her dedication to finance is evidenced by honors such as the 2018 CFA® Program Women's Scholarship and the 2023 CFA® Program Access Scholarship. She has published works on topics like asset returns at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Patricia's career highlights include roles at Onafriq as a Commercial Finance Consultant. She also founded PoW Consulting Africa, a social enterprise empowering African women with financial literacy. Her previous positions include Chief Operations Officer at FinAccess Limited and Senior Associate in Audit & Assurance at Deloitte East Africa.

Patricia holds a CFA designation, has completed a VC Advanced Fellowship with CatalyzU, and is pursuing a Master's degree in Finance and Financial Law from the University of London. 

 Olaide Olusoji-Oke is a seasoned finance strategist with over 20 years of experience and a proven track record of excellence in auditing, business assurance, strategy, planning, treasury management, venture capital, liquidity management, fundraising, investors’ relationship, IFRS financial reporting across several verticals including oil and gas, technology, healthcare and investment. 

She is the go-to person for financial strategy and management, investor relations, treasury management, business and audit assurance, compliance, taxation, data and process control, general finance, and reporting with a keen eye for numbers and their interpretation for better business decision making. 

Olaide has extensive experience working with Asset & Resource Management (ARM) Company Limited where she served as Assistant Vice President, Financial Reporting and subsequently as the Chief Financial Officer of ARM Investment Managers Limited, one of the largest non-financial institutions in Nigeria with funds under management of ~USD$1.1 billion (as of December 2018).  Olaide also served as General Manager, Finance & Operations at EchoVC Partners, a venture capital firm investing out of Africa across emerging markets and the US. She drove fund operations and led portfolio operations for over 40 startups. She subsequently worked at Hygeia Nigeria Limited (Lagoon Hospitals), a Healthcare provider where she served as the Chief Financial Officer and implemented operational and financial processes. 

She works alongside the client’s team at all levels of the organization to develop practical solutions that deliver repeatable and sustainable results across the African Market with a collaborative spirit to every engagement.

Olaide is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and holds an MBA from the Business School Netherlands. She currently serves as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Corporate Finance Management Faculty Programs Subcommittee.

Tina Nyamache is a seasoned innovation strategist and fundraising professional with over 13 years of experience in venture development, social impact, and business growth across Africa. She specializes in investment readiness, due diligence, and venture capital, helping startups secure funding and scale sustainably. She was the Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer of Raise Impact Technologies, a startup that simplifies the fundraising, due diligence, and corporate governance process for startups. 

Tina’s deep expertise in investment readiness, due diligence, and fundraising—gained from her work with Village Capital, Norec, and Wasafiri Consulting —led to over $2.5M in successful investments. At Village Capital, a global impact organization that unlocks early-stage social and financial capital for entrepreneurs building emergent solutions for environmental, social, and economic challenges around the world, Tina led operations for the Africa office, designing and facilitating five investment-readiness programs across Fintech, Agriculture, Clean Energy, and Health. She also organized seven investor forums and 15+ networking events, engaging 136 startups across Sub-Saharan Africa, which resulted in six direct investments. 

Tina has managed key partnerships with global institutions such as the DFID Impact Programme, PayPal, the Hershey Foundation, the Mastercard Foundation, DOEN, Kauffman, the Small Foundation, and Bluehaven, strengthening their impact initiatives across the continent. 

At Diligence Africa, Tina leads investment readiness training programs, research initiatives, and due diligence assessments. Tina has also delivered multi-million-dollar fundraising strategies for multiple organizations  and sits on several startup advisory boards. 

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Business Administration (Finance & Marketing) and an Executive Diploma in Strategy & Innovation from the University of Oxford.

Thierry Vodounou is an innovative global finance leader with extensive experience in business transformation, investment advisory, and treasury management. He leads Diligence Africa's efforts across French-speaking Africa.

Fluent in English, French, Spanish, and German, Thierry has built a dynamic career working with Big Four firms, Fortune 500 companies, and Development Finance Institutions across the U.S., Europe, and Africa. He holds an MBA and a PMP credential and has successfully led multi-million-dollar M&A transactions, guided due diligence processes, and developed financial strategies for clients in various industries, including financial services, healthcare, CPG, and manufacturing. 

His career highlights include roles as a Business Transformation Advisor for Stanford Seed in West Africa, where he facilitates SME transformation and growth, and as the founder of Sarenga Group, LLC, where he manages a portfolio of projects valued at over $500 million. 

 Thierry also supports global trade finance needs at Euro Exim Bank and mentors startup founders through programs like Techstars Equitech Accelerator and GetFundedAfrica. His previous experience includes significant roles at the African Development Bank Group, IFC, Deloitte, and KPMG, where he handled M&A due diligence, financial risk management, and strategic investment initiatives. 

Thierry's dedication to continuous improvement and business development has made him a respected advisor and coach in the finance sector.

Deji Olatunbosun is a finance and investment expert with over a decade of experience in investment banking, private equity, healthcare, infrastructure, and energy. At Diligence Africa, Deji provides risk intelligence and due diligence solutions to clients in venture capital and private equity firms and advisory services to African startups, including transfer pricing. 

An alumnus of Obafemi Awolowo University, he specializes in due diligence, financial advisory, capital raising, and business turnaround. He has executed high-impact projects with leading firms like Keynes Private Equity, Prudential Mortgage Ltd, and Panafrican Capital Holdings Ltd. He has also advised the Nigeria Capital Development Fund and Fortune Entrepreneurs, supporting startups and scaling businesses. 

His transaction experience includes major deals such as the Asaba Airport concession, Polaris Bank divestment, and restructuring of Arik Airline. Deji has also led turnaround strategies for firms like Eunisell Interlinked Plc and Recare Limited. 

Deji has also provided sell-side financial advisory services for the divestiture of a technology company, conducted robust financial and commercial Due Diligence on an international multi-wallet remittance pan-African company and coordinated financial due diligence on a US-based international remittance and credit-assessment company at Diligence Africa. In addition to bespoke Transfer Pricing Advisory and risk assessment for a private equity fund,

He is recognized for his expertise in financial modeling, investment appraisal, and corporate finance, making him a trusted advisor for businesses seeking growth and long-term value creation in Africa.