Experts in supporting game changing founders

Eloho Omame is an early-stage investor and a strong advocate for gender & inclusion in VC in Africa. She's a Partner at TLcom Capital, a seed-to-growth stage VC firm, and a Co-Founder & General Partner at FirstCheck Africa, an early-stage VC firm investing in tech startups founded or co-founded by women.

Eloho co-founded FirstCheck Africa in 2021. FirstCheck Africa’s investment portfolio includes startups in Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa & Kenya, led by female founders building in financial services, education, healthcare and retail/commerce. Through FirstCheck Africa, she is committed to helping Africa's exceptional female entrepreneurial talent build great companies.

From 2018 to 2021, Eloho launched and operated Endeavor in Nigeria, serving as its inaugural Managing Director & CEO. Under her leadership, Endeavor Nigeria developed an impressive portfolio of services to support Nigeria’s growing community of high-growth entrepreneurs leading companies at the scaleup stage.

In 2017, on behalf of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, under the auspices of one of Africa's largest sub-national governments, she delivered "Lagos Innovates", a first-of-its-kind portfolio of programs that she conceptualised, designed and implemented. Lagos Innovates has helped thousands of entrepreneurs launch their technology ventures.

Eloho was a Vice President at General Atlantic, led Corporate Development at First Bank of Nigeria Plc and has served investment banking clients in the UK and Nigeria at Credit Suisse and Renaissance Capital.

Eloho holds a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics & Political Science and an MBA from the London Business School.

Odunayo Eweniyi is an award-winning fintech entrepreneur who is working for diversity equity and inclusion in fintech and technology as a whole. She is the Co-Founder & Chief Operations Officer, PiggyVest, the largest digital and investment platform in Nigeria, and a Co-Founder and General Partner at FirstCheck Africa, an early-stage VC firm investing in tech startups founded or co-founded by women. She previously co-founded pushcv.com, one of the largest job sites in Africa, with the largest database of pre-screened candidates.

Odunayo is a board member at Village Capital, the most active supporter of impact-driven, seed-stage entrepreneurs worldwide. She also sits on the advisory board of TrainFuture, an Education Technology company based in Switzerland, as well as the Gender Lens Acceleration Best Practices Initiative, a  collaborative effort of Village Capital, US and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WeFi).

In 2020, she co-founded The Feminist Coalition, a group of young Nigerian feminists who  work to promote equality for women in Nigerian society, with a core focus on education,  financial freedom and representation in public office. She is also the Co-Founder of the women’s community, Wine and Whine Nigeria. She works to support the inclusion of women in technology by working with hubs and female-focused networks like For Creative Girls, GreenHouse Labs, She Leads Africa, Itanna etc.

Odunayo is the recipient of several local and international awards and honours including 2021 TIME100 Next, The Malala Fund’s 2021 Class of Socia Shapers, 2019 Forbes Africa 30 under 30 Technology (2019) and one of 30 Quartz Africa Innovators (2019). She was featured on Bloomberg Business Weekly’s 2020 Bloomberg50 list, an annual list of innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders who have changed the global business landscape.

Temi is a Senior Associate at FirstCheck Africa. She supports the investment team with screening deal flow, managing investment processes, supporting portfolio companies and developing the fund strategy.

Temi is passionate about investing in startups building sustainable and scalable solutions in underserved African markets. She started her career as a management consultant at Bain & Company, where she developed strategies for C-suite executives of market-leading companies. Her previous experience also includes investing in and consulting for startups in Africa and other emerging markets as an early-stage investor.

Temi is currently an MBA candidate at Harvard Business School. She has a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Outside of work, Temi loves to cook and explore her new interest in running.

Derin is a Venture Partner at FirstCheck Africa. He manages the Angel Program on a day-to-day basis and is responsible for sourcing opportunities, presenting them to the community and managing the investment process.

Derin Adebayo is also the Global Lead, Access to Capital at Endeavor—the leading global community of, by, and for high-impact entrepreneurs.

In 2018, Derin joined Endeavor Nigeria as an Associate on its Entrepreneur Selection and Growth team, where he was responsible for sourcing companies that fit Endeavor's selection criteria and driving value creation at portfolio companies by leveraging Endeavor's global network. In his current role as Global Lead, Access to Capital, he helps Endeavor Entrepreneurs raise capital by connecting them to a network of 200+ investors. He also supports fundraising and strategy for Endeavor Catalyst, Endeavor’s rule-based co-investment fund.

Derin was a 2018 Carrington Youth Fellow. He writes Unevenly Distributed, a monthly newsletter on the diffusion of technology, entrepreneurship, and venture capital in emerging markets, as seen through the eyes of the founders, operators and investors in those markets.

Leye Agunbiade is a Senior Associate, Entrepreneur Selection and Growth at Endeavor Nigeria. In this role, Leye is responsible for identifying, recruiting and guiding high-growth startups through Endeavor’s multi-stage selection process. He manages five startups in Endeavor’s local portfolio—helping them scale by connecting them to a network of mentors, peers, investors, markets and partners.

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At FirstCheck Africa, Leye is a Venture Associate. He prepares necessary documentation like investment memos that help members of the Angel Program make informed investment decisions. 

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Leye holds a bachelor's degree in Economics and Finance from Baylor University.