Thelma Ekiyor-Solanke is empowering African women through impact investing, inclusive philanthropy, and platforms that scale women-led businesses.
Thelma Ekiyor-Solanke is one of Africa’s most accomplished figures in gender-lens investing, philanthropy, and women’s economic empowerment. With over 24 years of experience, she has built and led platforms that connect capital to underserved communities, especially women entrepreneurs, while shaping national and international policy on philanthropy and inclusive development.
Ekiyor-Solanke holds a law degree (LLB Honours) from the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom (UK), an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from Imperial College London, and is a Stanford University Fellow. She is currently completing a Doctorate in Entrepreneurship at Cranfield University, UK, adding academic depth to a career that has already spanned 22 African countries and multiple sectors.
In 2024, she was appointed as the pioneering Chairperson of Nigeria’s first-ever Office for Philanthropy and Impact Investing, based in the Office of the Vice President. This government-embedded yet private sector-led initiative was established to mobilise philanthropic and impact capital towards MSMEs in sectors such as fashion, furniture, sustainable agriculture, and renewable energy. With Ekiyor-Solanke at the helm, the office is working to stimulate job creation, economic growth, and inclusion by coordinating resources among donors, investors, and institutions.
Before that, she was the founding CEO of the TY Danjuma Foundation, where she hosted Nigeria’s first Philanthropy Forum, laying the groundwork for institutional philanthropy in the country. She also co-founded SME.NG, Nigeria’s gender-lens impact investment platform, where she served as Chairperson and Managing Partner. SME.NG launched two investment funds dedicated to scaling women-led businesses in Nigeria.
Ekiyor-Solanke is also Chairperson and Co-Founder of Afrigrants. This social enterprise launched the Market Women’s Quick Cash initiative, which provided microloans to over 3,000 women in underserved communities. Through Afrigrants, she conceptualised The Ebi Fund, another impact fund tailored to women entrepreneurs.
In addition, she founded The Funding Space, a mentoring and access-to-finance platform for African social entrepreneurs. She co-founded Proof Accelerator in the UK to support African immigrant entrepreneurs and co-convened Women in Philanthropy and Impact (WIPIA), a diaspora platform for African women in social finance.
Her early career focused on peacebuilding. She co-founded the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET) and the Women Peace and Security Network Africa (WIPSEN-A), and served as Director of Programmes at the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), where she championed women’s roles in post-conflict recovery across the region.
Her global recognition includes being named one of the 50 most influential women in Africa’s development sector (2020), listed among the Top 10 Black Women in Philanthropy and Impact Investing by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute in the USA (2021), and receiving the Peak Performer – Super Achiever Award in Nigeria (2023). She was also honoured with the Black Women Give Back global award and has addressed the United Nations General Assembly.
Today, Thelma Ekiyor-Solanke serves on boards and advisory committees across Africa, Europe, and North America, including the SDG Impact Finance Initiative in Switzerland and the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance’s Gender Advisory Board. She continues to lead with the belief that sustainable development in Africa must include capital access for women, and that philanthropy should be strategic, inclusive, and transformative.
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