Lola Adekanye

Bio

Lola Adekanye is the Anti-Corruption Program Officer for Africa at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), a non-profit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She leads the anti-corruption initiatives in Sub Saharan Africa, which includes establishing a corporate culture of compliance, and transparency-oriented projects designed to limit systemic corruption.

Lola is passionate about finding innovative methods of inspiring ethical behavior and reducing the corrupt practices of local firms in the region and in other emerging markets; SMEs and value chain compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-corruption legislation; and, developing strategic support for corruption mitigation by local firms operating in highly corrupt environments.

In addition to overseeing CIPE’s Network of anti-corruption compliance trainers and consultants in six countries, Lola is currently overseeing the launch of five new anti-corruption programs at CIPE, spanning an additional five countries. The current program seeks to address the deficit of operational corporate compliance knowledge and resources in the business communities across Africa by developing a network of compliance professionals, trained and certified by CIPE to utilize CIPE’s compliance tools, resources, and network in raising awareness and supporting their local business community towards instituting a compliance culture.

The new programs will create research-based evidence for governance and institutional reform that would lead to greater transparency and increase compliance awareness and knowledge. Lola also supports the launch of similar programs in other regions. Previously, Lola has over ten years of corporate legal experience, has spent the last four years as a white-collar crime Attorney in a mid-sized law firm in Washington DC.

Prior to that, Lola was an Integrity Compliance Consultant at the World Bank in Washington DC. She is a New York licensed attorney with two postgraduate degrees; in Securities and International Financial Regulations from Georgetown University Law Center, Washington DC and in International Economics from the University of Warwick, Warwickshire, England. Lola is the managing editor of CCE Africa Blog and contributes to CIPE CC Trends and Aspiring Professionals Hub, UK.