Karima Ola

Karima leads LeapFrog’s African Financial Services investment team, where she has driven landmark investments including into ARM Pensions, one of the largest pensions providers in Nigeria, and AIICO, one of the largest insurers in Nigeria. A deeply experienced operator and investor, she has significant experience working across the continent.

Karima is widely recognised for her work shaping the investment landscape in Africa and was recently named one of “Africa’s women to watch” by Bloomberg.

Previously, Karima was chief investment officer and a member of the board at ADC African Development Corporation, where she initiated the company’s entry into Nigeria and ran a number of multimillion-dollar transactions. Prior to this, she was a Managing Partner at Chayton Capital LLP, where she led the creation of the company’s first Africa Agriculture fund. Earlier, Karima was Executive Director, Global Equities, at HSBC in a role that spanned the UK, Hong Kong and South Africa.

Karima is a Member of UK Institute of Directors and holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a postgraduate diploma in Economics from the University of London. She sits on the Sustainability Committee of Africa Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (AVCA). Karima speaks French and Yoruba and is learning Swahili.