In 2019, Nigeria’s banking sector skilled a significant occasion: Entry Financial institution, now the nation’s largest financial institution by property, acquired Diamond Financial institution, which was on the prime of the meals chain as the most important tier-2 lender within the nation.

For Chiderah Azodoh who labored on the intricate company finance particulars of the merger, it was painstaking however thrilling work; one she says she was privileged to be staffed on.

Azodoh is a Harvard Legislation Faculty alum. She graduated from the College of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC), positioned within the nation’s southeast, in 2016. After finishing regulation college the next 12 months, she dove straight into authorized follow, gaining hands-on expertise within the subject.

“I began out within the litigation division,” stated Azodoh. “I used to be carrying a wig and going to courtroom for 3 months. Throughout your nationwide service, you’re made to rotate at totally different groups at Aluko & Oyebode (now often called ALN Nigeria | Aluko & Oyebode),” she stated. The agency is one in every of Nigeria’s most storied. 

It was on a type of rotations that Azodoh scored a fortunate win to work with the capital markets and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) crew. In the beginning of her profession, she had a supervising associate whom she describes as an “organised and intensely skilled man” who was accountable for staffing individuals on fascinating offers that had been occurring within the nation.

“The publicity was unimaginable,” she stated. “You’re having calls with CFOs on a regular basis and also you’re discussing how the issues individuals see within the information occur. It does one thing to your thoughts; it helps you see how issues work.”

As Azodoh climbed the authorized profession ladder at Aluko & Oyebode, she bought the chance to work on extra fascinating offers, just like the Entry Financial institution-Diamond Financial institution merger, alongside a crew of different finance professionals.

Throughout her heydays in company finance, she labored as an affiliate on  Nigeria’s GTBank’s restructuring to a  subsidiary of the holding firm, GTCo, in 2021. She has additionally sat in an identical deal for Entry Financial institution transitioning to its holding firm, Entry HoldCo, in 2022. She served as an affiliate for telecom firm MTN Nigeria issuing bonds to lift cash.

As an affiliate on these offers, her job was to make sure that these corporations had been abiding by the laws that guided restructuring, M&A, and market growth offers. Her agency, Aluko & Oyebode, suggested what licences these company corporations wanted to use for, from central banking approvals to competitors and funding permits.

On a quest to create Nigeria’s largest financial institution

Recounting her position within the much-publicised Entry-Diamond Financial institution merger in 2019, Azodoh says she had simply accomplished her one-year obligatory nationwide service in 2018 when the deal was brewing.

Her work targeted closely on the deal’s authorized elements, notably making certain compliance throughout the work of a crew of funding bankers, auditors, and anybody  else concerned within the deal’s many shifting components.

“Curiously sufficient, in 2019 once we had been nonetheless on the [Access-Diamond] deal, a brand new competitors regulation got here in,” she recounts. “Nigeria handed the FCCP Act which modified how mergers had been occurring.”

Earlier than the Federal Competitors and Shopper Safety Act, (2019) was signed by former president Muhammadu Buhari in January 2019, company M&A offers went by means of Nigeria’s Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC), which oversees the capital markets. 

As a part of the Investments and Securities Act, (ISA 2007)—which is now outdated—the SEC oversaw M&A offers, however with the brand new regulation, it stripped out the a part of the ISA that coated these sorts of offers, making the SEC’s oversight out of date.

“We had been thrown right into a loop,” stated Azodoh. “Immediately, we had been at a degree the place we wanted to grasp the principles once more. First, there was no implementing authority in Nigeria for the FCCP Act. It was new, and a variety of issues had not been considered.”

The FCCP Act introduced within the shopper safety council which morphed into a contest authority that beforehand didn’t exist.

“No one understood it. It was murky waters and we had been all making an attempt to grasp the brand new competitors council. However after a number of conferences and consulting with the regulators, we had been capable of get the approval for the M&A deal,” stated Azodoh.

Afterward, there have been shareholder conferences on the two soon-to-be merged banks, and after securing the ultimate courtroom order, Entry Financial institution and Diamond Financial institution lastly merged in April 2019. Different integrations, together with Diamond Financial institution’s delisting from the Nigerian Inventory Alternate (NSE), adopted.

“It was an fascinating time to be a lawyer,” Azodoh recollects fondly. In a five-year stint with Aluko & Oyebode, she’d go on to work on different fascinating offers which she says had been much less hectic, however the M&A deal, which has now created Nigeria’s largest business financial institution, simply tops her profession achievement.

The pivot to fintech advisory

In 2022, Azodoh moved to the US for research. She graduated Harvard Legislation college the place she superior her regulation {qualifications} in M&A, capital markets, and competitors regulation. However quite than happening the rabbit gap in company finance or advising corporates, she pivoted to the extra nimble tech sector.

She now works in enterprise financing. She advises tech corporations which are elevating funding, from early-stage pre-seed to latter-stage Collection C, and is closely concerned within the authorized elements of the financing processes.

Earlier than tech finance, Azodoh says two issues had been key to her growth whereas working within the capital markets: first, her supervising associate at Aluko & Oyebode, who additionally served as her mentor. He all the time trusted her with marquee offers, which gave her publicity and considerably improved her confidence. Second, she turned versed in finance and fintech laws, learning what legal guidelines utilized and what didn’t.

“It was technical firstly,” she stated. “Going to regulation college and training had been totally different ball video games. I used to be immediately thrown into studying and assessing monetary statements. I needed to learn so much; I needed to perceive the legal guidelines and in addition learn the way they apply in enterprise settings.”

For instance, if an organization needs to purchase a pension fund, it’s good to learn the PENCOM Act, (2014), and this was solely the start. An incredible company finance lawyer would nonetheless perform the due diligence analysis to make sure that if there have been converging native and worldwide legal guidelines that apply to the transaction, they needed to be factored in.

“There was the technicality and the time required, however one thing else made the job more durable,” stated Azodoh. “A few of our legal guidelines [in Nigeria] had been in every single place. You could possibly have an organisation that had one normal regulation and act, however then there is also a number of pointers which aren’t collated in a selected place. But, I believe Nigeria has environment friendly regulatory our bodies.”

The issue, although, is with enforcement, she provides, alluding to the shortage of synergy amongst these our bodies. However, she says that as she’s grown in her profession, she has constructed a “muscle” that permits her to regulate to the authorized messy work in company finance offers. She now applies that information to her work in enterprise financing.

Dubai and Doha curiosity

Whereas Azodoh has travelled to 23 international locations, together with South Africa, Vietnam, and Thailand, it was the Center East that left essentially the most lasting impression. The concept of residing and dealing from the area later sooner or later continues to enchantment to her.

In 2021, there was a tech summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the place robots had been on show and folks from all around the world gathered to witness them. Most Center East international locations have made their wealth from oil, however a few of them at the moment are seeking to tech. Internet hosting occasions and actively investing within the tech sector is a positioning gameplay for these international locations, stated Azodoh.

“They’ve the cash,” she stated. “And this permits them to instantly spend money on applied sciences which will take others a while to spend money on.”

Whereas shifting to the Center East shouldn’t be on the playing cards for Azodoh proper now, she says she finds the rising tech ecosystem fascinating.

It’s not exhausting to see why; the area affords a number of perks. Some international locations within the Center East—together with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) international locations Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE—don’t impose a person revenue tax, primarily because of their huge oil wealth, which gives governments with ample income to help public companies and infrastructure. 

This tax-free atmosphere has develop into a significant draw for overseas professionals, particularly in industries like oil, building, finance, and more and more, expertise. These nations have positioned themselves as engaging locations for international mobility professionals searching for increased disposable revenue and vibrant profession prospects. As a substitute, they deal with taxing companies, whereas others within the area, like Jordan, use progressive tax charges—which is usually a little costly.

A few of the world’s largest expertise occasions, together with GITEX International, Token2049 for Web3 people, LEAP, and the Net Summit in Qatar, have been hosted within the Center East. These occasions appeal to tech corporations, traders, and business leaders from all around the globe.

In 2024, tech startups within the Center East raised not less than $1.93 billion, together with debt offers. The United Arab Emirates led the whole funding, pulling in $1.1 billion in 207 offers. Different international locations like Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar accomplished the windfall. Fintechs have performed a number one position on this breakthrough, accounting for a 3rd of all funding within the area in 2024.

The oil-rich nations are additionally making a number of strikes to draw tech skills to the area, providing incubation hubs and offering visa-free entry to a number of African international locations. 

It has develop into a hotspot for offers, making it a hotbed for tech finance practitioners. Azodoh thinks there’s a first-comer benefit for anybody planning a transfer to the Center East.

Nevertheless, relying in your nation of origin and job sort, migrating from Africa to the Center East is feasible however may be tough. Many international locations within the area have strict visa guidelines and checks. In some locations, the Kafala sponsorship system means your employer controls your authorized standing. This will make it exhausting to vary jobs or go away the nation should you face issues.

But, buried within the dangers—a gentle inconvenience, should you desire—Azodoh sees an awesome alternative in migrating to the Center East. Her ‘jealousy record’ of cities embrace Dubai and Doha.

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