Adesegun Akin-Olugbade appointed first African member of World Trade Board

Adesegun Akin-Olugbade of World Trade Board

An international legal and finance expert, Dr Adesegun Akin-Olugbade, has been appointed as a member of the World Trade Board.

Chairman of World Trade Board, Simon Paris, announced his appointment in a statement on Thursday.

Akin-Olugbade, an international counsel at ǼLEX Law Firm, joins 20 other global trade and finance leaders on the board as the first African member.

Paris said that the appointment of the first African into the body comes at a most auspicious time, with the formal inauguration of the operational phase of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

“We welcome Dr. Adesegun Akin-Olugbade to our cohort as we continue to strive toward driving open trade for the benefit of all,” he said.

Paris said Akin-Olugbade is combining the highest academic qualifications and professional distinctions with excellent legal skills, extensive transactional experience, and corporate governance expertise.

Before he joined ǼLEX, Akin-Olugbade was with the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, the Africa Finance Corporation, and the African Export-Import Bank in Cairo, Egypt.