Abiola Laseinde Transforming Lives Through Technology

As the world grappled with the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Abiola Laseinde, a lawyer and a serial entrepreneur launched The Chief Information Officer Awards, recognising outstanding individuals who work tirelessly behind the scenes to drive digital transformation and ensure seamless organisational operations. Now in its fifth year and rebranded, Laseinde tells Vanessa Obioha why Africa is the next frontier for technology 

The first thing that catches your attention at the office of Abiola Laseinde, a trained lawyer and serial entrepreneur, is her firm’s name, Edniesal Consulting. Is it an English name? Polish? German? Definitely not African. I pondered as I looked at the signage on the door.

The inspiration for the name came from a significant period in her career. It was in December 2019 that Laseinde decided to leave paid employment after 20 years in the workforce.

“But it felt like I have been working for 30 years; like I have been working all my life,” she began as soon as we both sat down that afternoon.

Her decision to retire was not driven by exhaustion but by a bigger goal: giving back to society. This desire to nurture and help others, she noted, has always been part of her. She recalled how a former classmate recently reminded her of how she would share her lunch with others in secondary school.

“He told me that back then I behaved like a mother.”

As she recounted those memories, Laseinde found herself speechless momentarily while reflecting on how she never realised those early traits would prepare her for a career in law. Even then, her passion for justice was always evident.

“Law was a platform for me to recognise myself,” she said. “I tell people that I was destined to study law from childhood. My passion for law stemmed from my desire to just want justice for my schoolmates. I’ve always felt like, as a lawyer, you have to defend the cause of the poor and the mistreated.”

However, she soon discovered that law was not her only calling. Raised by a serial entrepreneur mother, Laseinde developed entrepreneurial skills early, often helping her mother’s food business during school holidays.

“My mum was a food vendor and had multiple canteens. While working at her businesses, I didn’t know I was building entrepreneurial skills. That infused my passion for law such that when I even became a lawyer, people used to ask me if I was a business development professional or a lawyer.”

This natural pull toward business guided her career and led her to embrace multiple roles. Today, Laseinde is a seasoned lawyer and governance professional with over 20 years of diverse experience across industries in Nigeria, as well as a stint in Dubai, UAE. She is a certified IFC Corporate Governance Trainer and a member of the UK Institute of Leadership and Management. She serves on several boards, including SIB Insurance Brokers and the Beer Sectoral Group of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN), and is the Chairman of NOKASH, a fintech company. Her impressive résumé includes roles at Cadbury (Ghana and Nigeria), UBA, and PZ Cussons.

It was while at PZ that she decided to retire from full-time employment. At that point, Laseinde wasn’t entirely sure what her next step would be.

“I just wanted to take time out, have a career break, relax a bit and have time for my boys.” Yet, the entrepreneurial drive persisted.

“In my core, I wanted to do some charitable work around corporate governance. I wanted to teach SMEs some of the things my mother missed while developing her business, such as structure and sustainability. I always had at the back of my mind to teach SMEs for free.”

Then COVID-19 hit, halting her initial plans. Nonetheless, she found a way to share her message through webinars.

One morning in June 2020, three months into the lockdown, she woke up with pressing questions:

“Where are these guys who are helping us to navigate this disruption? How are we able to still work and nobody is appreciating them? Where are the heads of IT across all these industries? We’re still able to do a lot of things as if there was no COVID.”

Right there, she told her husband that she was going to find a way to appreciate these individuals, even if it’s just those working in the banking sector or making an impact through digital transformation. The reward platform was to be known as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Awards, a first of its kind.

He reminded her of her current state of unemployment and how she was going to fund the idea. His words were like a wake-up call. Initially, she considered using her pension, but friends suggested reaching out to major firms for sponsorship. With her husband’s friend’s help, she connected with Ernst & Young (EY) Nigeria, who showed immediate interest. She also learned from EY that they had similar awards in India, and there have been other professionals who have been trying to establish such awards but were unsuccessful.

With EY’s guidance, the first CIO Awards took shape. A partner was flown in to help articulate her vision. The first thing they did was to register her company, Edniesal Consulting Ltd, which was created by spelling their surname Laseinde backwards.

“Laseinde became Edniesal. It is the only Edniesal in the world.”

At the end of the day, Laseinde was able to get PwC and EY to offer their services pro bono, built a website, called for nominees and by November 2020, the first CIO Awards was held. It recognised and honoured dedicated leaders who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the seamless operation of organisations.

For that first edition, 11 awardees from different industries, such as education, FMCG, fintechs, banks, and insurance, among others, were honoured.  The awardees were evaluated by a team of experts who looked at the value and sustainability of their products and services.

Recently, the CIO Awards expanded its scope to recognise excellence not only in IT leadership but across the entire C-Suite, hence the new name The CIO & C-Suite Awards Africa (TCCAA).

“By the third edition, we saw professionals who don’t wear the IT toga, but they leverage technology, so that’s why we added the C-Suite,” she explained. “They are not the CIOs, but they are the brains behind the technology that we use. The C-Suite can be the CEO or the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) or even the Head of HR who have been using technology to control the narrative across the continent.”

Now present in 11 African countries, including Nigeria, Rwanda, Tunisia, and South Africa, TCCAA is building a community through the CIO & C-Suite Club Africa.

“We saw that each time we launched a call for entry, we received entries from different African countries,” she explained. “Of course, by year two, we started seeing the opportunity to launch a club, The CIO and C-Suite Club Africa, because, at the core of the vision, I believe that very soon Africans will compete with other IT professionals on the global stage. The club is a perfect platform to build towards that dream by building a community and at the same time, start brainstorming on how we can develop Africa digitally.

However, Laseinde, who hails from Lagos State, remains cautious about the continent’s digital progress. According to her, Africa is not yet seizing the moment to be digitally transformed.

“We are not capitalising on the resources that we have. Also, the issue of corruption breeds mistrust such that investors are hesitant to invest in startups. We are not harnessing our human capital. The brains behind some of the best companies in the world are Africans and Asians. With TCCAA, we are putting these leaders in the spotlight such that the governments of Africa can one day pick these technocrats to help them transition into a digital economy.”

Despite her concerns, she remains optimistic, believing that Africa is the next frontier for technology.

“Africa is going to do well in the future. We are more focused now. I see a lot of conversations around the digital economy at the front burner for us. Give us a maximum of 10 years; we will outpace other tech-driven economies because we are now intentional. If you attend 10 technology conferences today, about eight of them are discussing our digital economy and transformation agenda.”

Although Laseinde’s initial plan was to have the awards as a one-off, testimonials from winners have kept her pushing forward. She recounted a particular appreciation post from a past winner, the former CIO of Wema Bank, Richard Amanfoye.

“He posted on his LinkedIn page about how he had never seen any award that can be compared to ours. His words brought tears to my eyes. I read his post like 15 times. It was a defining moment for me that this is a lifetime mission.”

Looking ahead, Laseinde hopes to charterise the awards after the fifth edition on November 30.

As our conversation progressed, Laseinde’s passion for technology became clearer.

“I see technology as an enabler. It can be intimidating if you don’t know how to manage it. It’s like a monster in the womb but it’s actually a softie. If you allow it to scare you, you will be scared stiff and will not be able to grow.”

With her growing interest, she is equipping herself with more knowledge in fields such as cybersecurity and has become a sort of IT advocate.

“I have been telling everyone that if I can do it with my law background, then you can. You don’t have to be a technology professional to learn about technology. You can start by learning the basics and gradually gain more knowledge along the way. Don’t be afraid of it,” she concluded.