Dupe Olusola, a respected Nigerian business leader and African purpose-led investment sponsor, has been appointed as a Professional Advisor to the MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Gatekeepers News reports that Olusola, who is also the CEO of DOVA Capital, made the announcement in a recent post, expressing her honour at joining the Center, which focuses on market-creating innovation, inclusive economic growth, and entrepreneurship that builds sustainable systems.
“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.”
She brings over 25 years of experience across finance, private equity, investor relations, and strategic business development, with a career spanning Africa and international markets.
Olusola most recently served as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Hotels Plc, where she led the organisation through a period of transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic after assuming office in March 2020.
Before that, she was Group Head of Marketing at United Bank for Africa (UBA), overseeing marketing operations across 23 countries. She also served as Managing Director and CEO of Teragro Commodities Limited, the agribusiness subsidiary of Transcorp, where she led major agricultural initiatives, including partnerships with global brands such as Coca-Cola.
Earlier in her career, she held the position of Chief Operating Officer at Transcorp Group, where she played a key role in the approximately $300 million acquisition of the Ughelli Power Plant, now operating as Transcorp Power Plc.
Her professional journey also includes roles at African Capital Alliance, SecTrust (now Afrinvest), Bloomberg, and Northern Trust in the United Kingdom.
Currently a 2026 Fellow of Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, Olusola said her work at MIT will focus on leveraging her experience in capital flows, infrastructure, 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 said.
She emphasised the importance of local ownership in Africa’s development, stating, “Africa’s growth story will be written by Africans,” while highlighting the role of strong institutions and partnerships. “MIT is one of those partnerships,” she added. “I am glad to contribute.”
The MIT Kuo Sharper Center supports innovation and entrepreneurship aimed at creating prosperity, helping fellows build impactful ventures and attract significant investment globally.
Olusola’s appointment is seen as a strategic move that brings Africa-focused expertise in capital deployment, infrastructure, and scalable enterprise development to the Center’s global work.
