Fola Fagbule – Senior Vice President: Africa Finance Corporation (AFC)
Fola Fagbule is a banker and investment professional focused on infrastructure in Africa. He currently serves as a Senior Vice President and Head of Financial Advisory with overall responsibility for mergers, acquisitions, capital raising and other technical advisory assignments at the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC). His work revolves around large infrastructure projects, companies and investments across sub-Saharan Africa. AFC is a US$4.0bn infrastructure financier working across nearly 30 countries in Africa. Fola has worked at AFC in various roles for nearly a decade and is currently focused mainly on leading the delivery of advice to various clients including governments, private funds, large corporates, private developers, state-owned entities and central banks. Fola also serves as a non-Executive Director representing AFC on the Board of Anergi Holdings Limited, a leading diversified energy business operating in several African countries.
Prior to AFC, Fola worked as an investment banker at Afrinvest, a London and Lagos based securities firm. At Afrinvest he focused originally on mergers, acquisitions and capital raising; then subsequently led the investment research department. Fola has received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and prior to that a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics.
I decided early that my real interests lay in pan-African business, banking and finance even while studying Physics as an undergraduate. In the nearly two decades since then, I have worked across Africa in corporate finance and investment banking, investment research, private equity, project and development finance. My journey has been one of continuous personal growth and professional improvement, challenging learning experiences, important mentors and supporters, and plenty of luck.
The MBA was my first formal education in business and finance. All of the work I have done since graduating has been based off the fundamental skills and competencies developed on the program. Specifically, the MBA provided me with a very specialized tool kit for decision analysis, problem-solving, leadership and communication. I learned both the quantitative and qualitative languages of business and leadership; essentially everything from how to interpret financial statements and economic data, through how to value businesses and financial instruments, and how to lead people ethically. A structured approach to figuring out what the most important considerations are in any situation, what the most appropriate next steps might be, and how to ensure these are followed through timeously is a life skill gained from the MBA that will always remain relevant.
Our work at AFC has been transformational for Africa in many respects. We have been in the vanguard of establishing a vibrant private market for infrastructure in most countries in Africa where we are active. The investments that we have led, developed, supported, provided advice on, or participated in financing have become major contributors to the stock of infrastructure assets in countries as diverse as Kenya, Ghana, Gabon, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Zambia, Rwanda, Djibouti, Liberia, Cape Verde, South Africa and Mali (apart from Nigeria, which was the founding country of AFC). These critical assets have included electricity suppliers, mines and oilfields, roads, bridges, refineries, heavy industrial plants, telecommunications infrastructure, sea- and air-port terminals, amongst others. Collectively, our portfolio of assets across Africa are either responsible for a significant share of public infrastructure delivery in their category within those countries or are major sources of export earnings, government revenues and employment creation. We are always looking to do more and in new and exciting countries. The work we do is critical to achieving improvements in the industrial productivity of African countries.
In my experience across Africa, the most important factors for governments to create an investment environment supportive of economic growth are: (1) leadership and political commitment to change, (2) economic transparency and the rule of law, (3) nimble and efficient organization of state resources, and (4) an openness to new ideas and to learning, most particularly in the area of adopting financial market-oriented approaches to policymaking. Countries that have consistently adhered to some or all of these features in their decision making and public communications are the leading destinations for both public and private investments, as well as donor support, aid and economic assistance. Much of my work is around finding partner public and private entities in our various countries of focus that subscribe to these principles and then supporting their efforts in securing development finance.
The most important thing in the first instance is to be genuinely passionate about Africa, and open to learning and continuous improvement. Each country is different and requires the humility to accept how little you will ever know. However, the fundamental principles of business management and finance do not change across jurisdictions. Much of the learning required is around history, local languages, cultural nuances, political and economic structure, and key personalities. To that extent, the best way to prepare is probably to be extremely curious and read broadly about Africa and the history of each country or region, seek opportunities to travel and learn, establish relationships and social connections very widely, and pick up as much vocabulary as you can in languages other than English. I have been lucky to experience Africa through the auspices of AFC, which is deliberately and expressively pan-African in everything that we do. Finding a role in such an organization is, therefore probably the easiest way to get there.
