Academic, Advisor, Speaker, Advocate, Minister [Nigeria]
Dr. Jumoke Oduwole is an accomplished academic, government advisor, and advocate, currently serving as the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment in Nigeria. Prior to her current role, Dr. Jumoke served as the Special Adviser to the President on PEBEC (Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council) & Investment and is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government.
From August 2019 to May 2023, Jumoke served as Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, leading significant reforms that propelled Nigeria’s unprecedented 39-place rise in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report. Prior to this, she was Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade & Investment in the Office of the Vice President. Her leadership and expertise have been instrumental in enhancing Nigeria’s business climate, fostering investment, and driving economic growth.
Jumoke is currently on leave from her role as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Jurisprudence and International Law at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. A respected global thought leader, she was the only African nominated to the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Trade and Investment in 2016 and is a sought-after speaker on global trade, investment, and governance.
Before transitioning to academia and public service, Jumoke worked in corporate banking and investment banking. She led the telecommunications sector team in Guaranty Trust Bank Plc’s Corporate Banking Group and was an investment banker with FCMB Capital Markets Ltd from 2000 to 2003.
Jumoke’s academic achievements include a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Lagos (1998) and an LL.M. in Commercial Law from Cambridge University (2000), where she was a DFID-Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholar. She earned a master’s degree in International Legal Studies (2007) and a doctorate in International Trade and Development from Stanford Law School.
Jumoke has served on the boards of Ecobank Nigeria Plc and Positive Action for Treatment Access (PATA), an HIV/AIDS advocacy NGO. She was also on the Advisory Board of the “Know Your Constitution” Initiative, a civil liberties movement, and is currently a Trustee of the Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS). A Tutu Fellow of the African Leadership Institute, she remains a prominent voice for Africa’s youth and development.
Jumoke is happily married to Tunde Oduwole and is a proud mother of two children. As Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, she continues to drive transformative policies and initiatives that position Nigeria as a leading player in global trade and economic development.