Dupe Olusola Appointed Professional Advisor to MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship

Nume Ekeghe

Respected Nigerian executive Dupe Olusola, a 2026 Fellow of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, has been appointed as a Professional Advisor to the MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship at MIT Sloan School of Management.

Olusola, who is also the CEO of DOVA Capital, an Africa-focused purpose-led investment sponsor and strategic advisory firm, in a recent post announcing the role, expressed honour at joining the Center, whose work focuses on market-creating innovation, inclusive economic growth, and entrepreneurship that builds enduring systems rather than just individual companies.

“I have spent over two decades operating at the intersection of capital, infrastructure, and emerging markets — leading through complexity, building platforms from the ground up, and asking hard questions about where growth comes from and who it reaches,” she wrote. “That is the lens I bring to this role.”

Olusola brings deep, hands-on leadership experience across multiple high-impact sectors in Africa and internationally. She most recently served as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Hotels Plc, one of Africa’s leading hospitality brands and owner of the iconic Transcorp Hilton Abuja. She assumed the role in March 2020 amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and successfully steered the company through a period of transformation and resilience.

Prior to Transcorp Hotels, Olusola was Group Head of Marketing at United Bank for Africa (UBA), where she led marketing efforts across the bank’s operations in 23 countries. She also served as Managing Director and CEO of Teragro Commodities Limited, the agribusiness subsidiary of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp), where she drove significant agricultural initiatives, including large-scale farmland acquisition and partnerships with global brands like Coca-Cola.

She also previously served as Chief Operating Officer at Transcorp Group, where she oversaw the conglomerate’s subsidiary businesses and played an integral role in the approximately $300 million acquisition of the Ughelli Power Plant, which was successfully integrated and now operates as Transcorp Power Plc, a key player in Nigeria’s power sector.

Her career spans more than 25 years in finance, private equity, investor relations, and strategic business development. She has held roles at leading institutions including African Capital Alliance (one of Africa’s foremost private equity firms), SecTrust (now Afrinvest), Bloomberg, and Northern Trust in the UK. A trained economist with degrees from the University of Leicester and the University of Kent, Olusola has consistently worked at the nexus of capital deployment, infrastructure development, and scalable business platforms in emerging markets.

Currently a 2026 Fellow of Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, a prestigious programme designed for experienced leaders tackling complex societal challenges, Olusola said her focus in the MIT advisory role will draw directly from her extensive experience across infrastructure, capital deployment, and emerging energy sectors: “how capital moves, where it stalls, and how to build the conditions that allow businesses and platforms to scale, particularly across Africa.”

She emphasised that “Africa’s growth story will be written by Africans,” stressing the need for strong structures, disciplined governance, and institutional partnerships. “MIT is one of those partnerships,” she added. “I am glad to contribute.”

The MIT Kuo Sharper Center supports entrepreneurs and innovation aimed at creating prosperity, with a track record of helping fellows raise significant capital and build impactful ventures globally.

Olusola’s appointment is widely seen as a strategic addition that brings practical, Africa-focused expertise in capital flows, infrastructure, and scalable entrepreneurship to the Center’s work.

She has been recognised with numerous awards for leadership and impact, including being named among the Top Women in Leadership and receiving the Hospitality Leadership Award at the Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF).