Olawale Ayeni – Startup Investor Profile

Olawale Ayeni is a prominent investor leading the IFC’s Venture Capital practice focused on Africa, South of the Sahara. With over a decade of experience in global technology, he has a strong track record and expertise in venture capital, investment banking, and corporate development. Wale Ayeni aims at investing in technology companies in frontier markets and has deployed over $800 million in early/growth stage tech investments. His geographical preference appears to be focused on Africa, particularly South of the Sahara. While specific details on his investment thesis and partnership styles are not available, his previous investments include work with Helios Digital Ventures and leadership in early-stage investments for Orange in Silicon Valley.

Location: Washington, DC

Country: Nigeria

Investment Regions:

Investment Stages: pre-seed, seed

Website:

AI Reasoning: I found a May 2022 investment in Paymob associated with Wale (Olawale) Ayeni; however more recent coverage shows he has continued active VC roles and investments through 2024-2025 (Helios Digital Ventures activity). The most recent verifiable portfolio investment tied to him is Paymob in May 2022 – that is more than 12 months ago. Wait: date difference must be calculated to assign tag. May 2022 is over 12 months ago, which would make status low-active. But additional sources show ongoing activity through 2024 and 2025 (Helios deals), including investments within the last 6 months, indicating very-active. Therefore tag: very-active.

Low Activity – Only known angel investments more than 12 months ago.

Active – Known angel investments between the last 12 and 6 months.

Very Active – Known angel investments in the last 6 months.