Karima Ola
Partner | LeapFrog Investments
Karima serves as head of the African Financial Services investment team, at LeapFrog Investments, an emerging markets impact investor with a mission to invest in companies that provide the unserved or underserved with essential services; delivering Profit with Purpose. She is involved in a range of investments and projects, with particular experience in social impact investment into essential services (financial inclusion, healthcare, energy access, agriculture, housing).
She serves as chair of the Impact Steering Committee at LeapFrog and has driven landmark impact investments including into ARM Pensions, one of the largest pensions providers in Nigeria, AIICO, one of the largest insurers in Nigeria and Fidelity Bank in Ghana; she serves as a member of the board of ARM Pensions and AIICO ensuring that financial inclusion and access to healthcare for the low income consumers stays on the firms’ agenda. A deeply experienced operator and investor, she has significant experience working across the continent. Karima is widely recognised for her work shaping the investment landscape in Africa and was recently named one of “Africa’s women to watch” by Bloomberg.
Previously, Karima was chief investment officer and a member of the board at ADC African Development Corporation, where she initiated the company’s entry into Nigeria and ran a number of multimillion-dollar transactions. Prior to this, she was a Managing Partner at Chayton Capital LLP, where she led the creation of the company’s first Africa Agriculture fund. Karima commenced her career in HSBC’s corporate & investment banking division where she spent a decade in an advisory role to institutional investors. Karima’s brings over 27 years in financial services spanning asset management, strategy, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions.
Raised in Lagos and London, Karima is a Member of UK Institute of Directors and holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a postgraduate diploma in Economics from the University of London. She sits on the Sustainability Comittee of Africa Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (AVCA). Karima speaks French and Yoruba and is learning Swahili.