Dolapo Asiru is a highly regarded international financier and diplomat. He is highly regarded as an advisor and confidant to presidents and heads of state. For nearly 30 years, his insight and guidance has been sought in the formulation of economic development and public policies for multinational corporations and African governments.
Mr. Asiru is the founder and managing partner of HanoverWest LLC and co-founder and a managing partner of HanoverWest-SMI, a co-venture of HanoverWest and an affiliate of SMI Group that focuses on opportunities in Africa.
As a seasoned expert on international relations and business, Mr. Asiru combines his deep policy expertise with hands-on, profound insight into the complex and intertwined human, political and economic realities of emerging market economies. He has represented African governments at the United Nations and advises African governments on international trade and infrastructure investments. His experience in creating frameworks for regional cooperation amidst occasional hostilities has helped to create substantial value.
As managing partner of HanoverWest and previously as Regional Head at the Midland Group and BCH Limited, Mr. Asiru has arranged significant bilateral trade agreements between African countries and partners in North America, Europe and Asia. He has special expertise in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, risk-management and marketing. He has structured and was instrumental in arranging financings and acquisitions involving emerging market economies aggregating more than $5 billion, including for the Ministry of Finance of a Central African nation in its issuance of $1 billion of Senior Notes. This was the country’s first ever international bond issue, managed by J.P. Morgan Securities and Citigroup Global Markets.
Mr. Asiru has extensive experience in developing and managing companies in a wide range of industries, including oil and gas, infrastructure, manufacturing, technology and communications. He also has developed philanthropic programs, including healthcare and other programs dedicated to improving the delivery of education to young people. His commanding presence and passion inspires ethics and conscience, which he believes to be critical to the advancement of Africans and others in the developing world.
Mr. Asiru received his B.A. in Economics and an MBA in Finance and Management from the State University of New York. He resides in the Los Angeles area and frequently travels to Europe and Africa. Mr. Asiru is fluent in several dialects. He is a U.S. citizen.