Abiodun Solomon Oyewusi
Ipswich,Suffolk
Summary
Accomplished professional with expertise in agricultural value chain analysis and development, agribusiness and SME finance, and market systems development. Demonstrates proficiency in export and trade facilitation across sectors such as cocoa, cashew, banana, poultry, and smart farming equipment. Skilled in rural finance, cooperative development, digital agriculture, and project design with a focus on monitoring, evaluation, and learning. Adept at fostering public-private partnerships in agriculture and implementing financial inclusion strategies. Utilises financial modelling and business analysis to drive capacity building initiatives. Career goals include advancing sustainable agricultural practices through innovative financial solutions.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
2025
2025
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification
Work history
Founder & Lead Consultant
Diary of a Farmer
01.2025 - 12.2025
- Role Focus: Agricultural Value Chain Consulting, Poultry Systems, Capacity Building
- Provide advisory services on poultry value chains, farm productivity, biosecurity, and market-oriented production systems.
- Deliver capacity building and technical assistance to smallholder and emerging commercial farmers, linking production efficiency to profitability and finance readiness.
- Support agribusinesses and cooperatives with business planning, cost optimisation, and value chain finance preparation.
- Develop knowledge products, training tools, and digital content to strengthen farmer decision-making and scalability.
- Selected Results
- Improved farm performance through reduced mortality, optimised feed use, and better production planning.
- Strengthened farmer and agribusiness capacity to engage lenders through improved record-keeping and cash-flow planning.
Retail Banking – Product Development, Training & Customer Retention
Starling Bank UK
London
07.2021 - 12.2025
- Delivered tailored financial solutions to business and retail clients, with a focus on fraud prevention, card operations, digital banking guidance, and incident resolution—achieving consistent customer satisfaction scores above 85% across quarterly reviews.
- Actively contributed to Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) cycles, maintaining high standards in complaint handling, process adherence, and response efficiency; exceeded internal benchmarks in 3 out of 4 quarters (2023–2024).
- Recognised for excellence in complaint resolution with positive appraisal feedback; routinely managed escalated customer issues, achieving a resolution turnaround rate 30% faster than departmental average.
- Participated in cross-functional shadow projects on accessibility innovation for vulnerable customers—contributing to improved user interface (UI) and journey mapping that enhanced customer inclusivity and satisfaction.
- Provided operational insights that improved internal compliance workflows and enhanced digital transparency, contributing to ongoing service improvement frameworks aligned with Starling’s FCA obligations.
- Experience in building customer-centric, digital-first solutions applicable to financial inclusion models, mobile-first banking, remote onboarding, and digital literacy support mechanisms.
- Client Engagement & Solutions Specialist
Financing Lead – SWAY-Ag (Mastercard Foundation Partnership)
Sterling Bank Plc
01.2020 - 01.2021
- Co-designed SWAY-AGFIN, unlocking $20M in finance for youth- and women-led agribusinesses.
- Integrated climate-resilient production practices and digital farmer profiling, with a strong focus on poultry value chains.
Value Chain Specialist
Sterling Bank Plc / 3T Impex
Lagos Nigeria
01.2011 - 01.2021
- Supported 8,000+ smallholders across cocoa and cashew value chains in Cross River State.
- Structured and managed ₦400M in rural-smart loans for farmers and processors.
- Implemented digital supply-chain monitoring tools and export-readiness training programmes.
- Led cocoa and cashew projects across five states, increasing farmer incomes by 38%.
Regional Project Lead
CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme
01.2016 - 01.2020
- Mobilised and formalised 1,000+ farmer groups across multiple value chains.
- Facilitated over ₦200M in agricultural credit.
- Reduced loan default rates to below 1% through coaching, digital lending tools, and close portfolio monitoring.
Relationship & Credit Officer
Equatorial Trust Bank
01.2008 - 01.2011
- Managed SME and retail banking portfolios including credit appraisal, loan structuring, and monitoring.
- Conducted financial analysis, risk assessment, and recovery actions in line with regulatory standards.
Agricultural Extension Officer
Cross River State Ministry of Agriculture
01.2008 - 01.2011
- Delivered GAP training, cocoa farmer profiling, and mechanisation support programmes.
Poultry & Farm Systems Intern
S & D Farms
01.2006 - 01.2007
- Hands-on experience in hatchery operations, feed milling, brooding, fish farming, and farmer linkage.
Education
Global Certificate - Agricultural Market Analysis
London School of International Business
UKCertified Expert - Sustainable Agricultural Finance
Frankfurt School of Finance & Management
GermanyMaster’s - Business Analysis
Simplilearn
MSc - Agricultural Extension & Rural Sociology
University of Calabar
NigeriaB.Tech - Agricultural Economics
Federal University of Technology, Minna
NigeriaSkills
- Agricultural Value Chain Analysis & Development
- Agribusiness & SME Finance (Blended & Climate-Smart Finance)
- Market Systems Development (MSD)
- Export & Trade Facilitation (Cocoa, Cashew, Banana, Poultry, Smart Farming Equipment)
- Rural Finance, Cooperative Development & Digital Agriculture
- Project Design, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL)
- Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Agriculture
- Financial Modelling, Business Analysis & AI-Enabled Content Creation
- capacity building initiatives
- financial modelling for agribusiness
- financial inclusion strategies
Certification
- USAID Value Chain Development
- Tableau Data Visualisation
- Agile SCRUM Master
- Poultry & Hatchery Management
- Lean Methodology
- AML/CFT Compliance
- Credit Analysis (IBFC Alliance)
- PPP in Agriculture
- Safeguarding Level 2
LANGUAGES
English (Fluent)
Yoruba (Native)
French (Beginner – A1)
Affiliations
- Ambassador – Ripple Effect, UK (2025 – Present)
- Founder – Diary of a Farmer (Agricultural Training Platform)
- Member: RASE UK | BCS UK | Nigerian Institute of Management | FIAN Nigeria
References
References available upon request.
PUBLICATIONS
- Assessment of Communication Channels in Cocoa Farming – WJARR (2025)
- Access to Agricultural Credit via Cooperatives – Nigeria
- Communication Channels Among Cocoa Farmers – Nigeria
GEOGRAPHICAL EXPERIENCE
- Nigeria (multi-state)
- Sub-Saharan Africa (through regional partnerships and export programmes)
- United Kingdom
AVAILABILITY
Available for short-term and long-term consulting assignments with development finance institutions, donors, NGOs, and private sector clients.
Timeline
Founder & Lead Consultant
Diary of a Farmer
01.2025 - 12.2025
Retail Banking – Product Development, Training & Customer Retention
Starling Bank UK
07.2021 - 12.2025
Financing Lead – SWAY-Ag (Mastercard Foundation Partnership)
Sterling Bank Plc
01.2020 - 01.2021
Regional Project Lead
CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme
01.2016 - 01.2020
Value Chain Specialist
Sterling Bank Plc / 3T Impex
01.2011 - 01.2021
Relationship & Credit Officer
Equatorial Trust Bank
01.2008 - 01.2011
Agricultural Extension Officer
Cross River State Ministry of Agriculture
01.2008 - 01.2011
Poultry & Farm Systems Intern
S & D Farms
01.2006 - 01.2007
Master’s - Business Analysis
Simplilearn
MSc - Agricultural Extension & Rural Sociology
University of Calabar
B.Tech - Agricultural Economics
Federal University of Technology, Minna
Global Certificate - Agricultural Market Analysis
London School of International Business
Certified Expert - Sustainable Agricultural Finance
Frankfurt School of Finance & Management