Adetola Onayemi

Adetola ONAYEMI, LLB, LLM(Cambridge), is the CEO of Norebase, a pioneering global compliance company using technology to construct robust frameworks that empower businesses to start, expand, and operate seamlessly across diverse continents, including every African country, Europe, and North America. Norebase also automates compliance for highly regulated businesses and provides Merchant-on-Record services that enables global companies to do business globally without the need to register in every market.

Adetola's career includes a pivotal role as the Assistant Chief Negotiator for Nigeria and Head of Trade Remedies at the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN). There, he played a key role in leading technical negotiations for the historic African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)Agreement, transforming Africa's 1.2 billion people market into a unified platform for trade and services. Adetola also spearheaded the design and implementation of trade remedies infrastructure for Nigeria, successfully establishing two critical policy mechanisms, namely the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN) and the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat(EBES), within a remarkable four-year span.

Before his tenure at NOTN, Adetola served as a Technical Adviser to the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Industry, Trade, and Investment, operating within the Office of the Vice President. His impactful contributions led to Nigeria's impressive ascent of 24 ranks in the World Bank's global 2018 Ease of Doing Business ranking.

Adetola also co-founded and served as General Counsel at Future Africa, an early-stage venture fund dedicated to investing in mission-driven founders transforming Africa's most challenging problems into global businesses. Future Africa has deployed over $10 million in funding to support over 100 African and US start-ups.

Recognized for his outstanding contributions, Adetola was awarded The Future Africa Awards (TFAA) 2019 Prize in Public Service. Renowned as one of Africa's top technology lawyers, he has provided strategic counsel to over 100 prominent businesses within and beyond the African continent. Adetola Onayemi plays at the intersection of law, technology, and business. He is also currently providing technical advice on the negotiation of Africa’s Digital Trade Protocol, the first of such agreements globally.

‍

‍