Our Amazing Team
CDI has an Advisory Board composed of seasoned men and a woman with a combined industry experience of over 100 years in development finance, agricultural extension management, agric. sector development, women empowerment in agric. production, and export trade design and management. Find below a profile of who they
are:
Mr. Godson Ononiwu, Member of the Board
Godson is an agricultural development expert with over 43 years’ experience,
working in the Nigerian public sector and donor-assisted agricultural
development/agribusiness projects to enhance productivity and incomes. He
formally retired from Federal Service as Deputy Director, Agriculture in 2006.
Godson was involved in various technical capacities in setting up the 36 State
World Bank-supported Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) in the
country.
He was amongst the team that started the USAID/Nigeria MARKETS Project
at inception in 2005 till close out in 2015. MARKETS was a $100m+ market
development project that impacted livelihoods and enterprise development
across several agricultural value chains generating billions in sales revenues
to beneficiaries.
Roland Oroh is Founder and Managing Director of CDI.
Roland Oroh is a Business Development Practitioner with specialization in
agribusiness, trade and investment facilitation with 27 years’ combined
experience. At USAID/Nigeria where he spent 8 years, Roland designed,
launched and managed till close-out, the $16.8 million, 5-year USAID/Nigeria’s
flagship trade capacity and investment facilitation Nigeria Expanded Trade and
Transport (NEXTT) Project. NEXTT facilitated over $50 million in exports of
cashews and other products from Nigeria and facilitated over $30 million in
new investments along the LAKAJI Corridor from 2012 to 2017. Prior to NEXTT,
Roland successfully managed the Nigeria Expanded Export Project, a $2 million
pilot export promotion facility funded by USAID/Nigeria from 2010 to 2012. He
founded CDI as a vehicle to address some of the economic development issues
facing Nigeria and indeed the African continent with the experience gained
over the years.
Mohammed Ahmed Kontagora, Member of the Board
Mohammed is an administrator, commodity broker, a value chain advisor and
an entrepreneur per excellence, he has held various positions both in the
public and private sector, Mohammed holds MBA Corporate Governance, MBA
Logistics and Supply chain, HND (SLT) Biochemistry, PGD Cooperative Studies,
he also has international certifications from the American Shea Butter
Institute, New York Institute of Finance and the International Training Center
(ITC-ILO) Turin-Italy on Shea butter value chain, commodity and energy market
and a certified value chain adviser between 2008 to 2012. Among the positions
occupied by Mohammed includes Secretary, Kontagora Local Government
Council, member of different committees tasked with improving the economic
sector of Niger State, He is the pioneer Director- General of the Niger State
Commodity and Export Promotion Agency (the only Agency of its kind in
Nigeria) with which he successfully developed the various Agricultural
commodities across the value chain in Niger State.
Mrs. Lizzy Igbine, Member of the Board
Currently, she holds the following positions: National President Nigerian
Women Agro Farmers Association (NIWAAFA), National Coordinator/Convener
Water Consumer’s Forum Nigeria (WACOF), and Gender/CSO Representative,
Presidential Committee on Water. From 2010 to date, she has been involved in
the following national assignments: Member, Nigerian Vision 2020 20 National
Technical Working Group from April to September 2009; Expert on Agriculture
and Water Resources Management; Member, Ministerial Committee on River
Basin Development Study Group in Nigeria; Member, Technical Committee on
National Strategy Programs for Adaptation of Climate Change (NASPAC);
Member, National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan; Member, Nigerian
Joint Sector Review in Agriculture; and Member, UN/FAO Biosafety Regulation
Review Conference. She is a practicing farmer who believes strongly in women
empowerment through agriculture. She is a graduate of Business
Administration from the University of London.
KEY MANAGEMENT STAFFS
Roland Oroh – Managing Director & Head, Market Development Services
Dr. Lateef Folorunsho – Head of Agronomy, Extension and Value chain Development
Mr. Sadiq Aliyu – Rice Value Chain Development Lead
Mr. Nath Odiba – Head of Partnerships, Grants and Events
Mr. Joseph Adzege – Head of IT , Websites & Agribizng.com
Harrison Omeke – Head of Finance and Accounts
Mr. Jidayi Ijuptil – Head of HR & Admin.
Mrs. Roseline Oletu – Head of Operations.
