Olanike Salau (she/her)

Education: Bachelors in Business Administration, Management and Operations, University of Benin, Nigeria; graduated in 2018

Pre-MBA industry: Infrastructure Finance

Pre-MBA role: Investment Professional, IFC

Clubs: Women in Business (Junior Executive Commitee – Partnerships Pillar), Africa Business (Chief of Staff), Impact CAP (Consulting)

About me: In my third year at university, I learned about development finance and the work development fund institutions like The World Bank do to finance critical infrastructure in emerging economies. This led me to a graduate internship at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and subsequently to InfraCredit, Nigeria’s sole infrastructure guarantee firm. In 2023, I relocated to South Africa to take up a role in the infrastructure advisory division of the IFC, where I worked until I moved to London to begin my MBA.

I decided to pursue the MBA programme at LBS to gain a structured business education to help develop my strategy acumen, leadership skills and global exposure, and to enrich my access to the diverse community present here at LBS, as well as in London.

Outside of work, I am passionate about women’s empowerment and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). In 2020, I co-founded an NGO called Dream Girl Global, which had a flagship mentorship programme that matched girls in high school and universities in Nigeria, India, etc., to career mentors globally. I am also interested in entrepreneurship, having fully managed the online shoe retail business that I started at university for over seven years.

I enjoy running, hiking, travelling and watching Korean dramas (100+ dramas to date!).

Three topics I can be approached about: Infrastructure finance; business in Africa; relocating to London.

Email: osalau.mba2027@london.edu