Tola Akinhanmi

Tola is an investment banker and specialises in Real Estate Finance including debt capital raising and corporate finance advisory for institutional clients across the sector segments. He is currently Executive and Head of Real Estate Finance, West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited and Standard Bank driving Real Estate Finance business growth and strategy in West Africa. He has over 20 years direct work experience across both Nigeria and key markets in West Africa (including Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire and Senegal) with aggregate deal size estimated over $3bn. In addition, his project finance deal mandates include debt capital raising for major infrastructural projects in the oil & gas and industrial sectors. His early work experience includes treasury operations and commercial banking roles in VT Leasing Ltd, Fidelity Bank and Intercontinental Bank (now Access Bank) in Nigeria. Tola has a first degree in Economics from the University of Lagos, Nigeria and master’s degree in International Money, Finance & Investments from Durham University, UK. He obtained a RICS Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management and MBA in Real Estate & Construction Management from the University College of Estate Management, Reading, UK. He has also attended the Real Estate Management Program - Finance, Design and Leadership at Harvard Business School and Future of Real Estate program at Said Business School Oxford. His research project themed “Africa – The Next Frontier?” focused on the impact of real estate funds on commercial real estate development in sub Saharan Africa. He has been actively involved in several real estate industry advocacy committees set up to engage key regulators to unblock constraints to catalyse the growth and development of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and creating affordable housing solutions in the market. He is a regular speaker at real estate conferences and industry events both locally and internationally. He is a member of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) and Honorary Senior Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria (CIBN).