Our board of trustees

Oluyemisi Iranloye is the Founder/CEO of Psaltry International Company Limited, a leading agro-allied company in Africa that serves multinationals, such as Unilever and Nestlé. Psaltry produces cassava starch, flour, glucose, hydrogen, and Africa's first cassava-based sorbitol. By firmly rooting the company in the rural community of Alayide Village, Ado-Awaye, Oyo State, Nigeria, she has boosted smallholder incomes from less than $1 to about $10 per person per day, creating lasting impact across the local economy. The company has supported 16,000 smallholder farmers through capacity building, access to inputs, funding, and a guaranteed market. It provides about 1,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributes significantly to Nigeria's economy. Psaltry champions environmental sustainability through renewable energy use and circular economy.

Through the Psaltry Foundation, Oluyemisi promotes girls' education and gender equality in the rural community. The foundation has awarded 19 scholarships, including one to Robiat Fasasi, a young woman living with a disability. Her mentorship program, launched in 2023, has helped over 1,000 aspiring agripreneurs build practical skills for modern, sustainable farming.

She earned a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria and later obtained an M.Sc. from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She further honed her leadership and management skills at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, California; the Nigerian SME Equity Investment, Trade and Development Program at El Camino College, California; and the African Women Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) in Washington, D.C., where she later became the first female president of the Nigeria chapter.

She has received several national and international recognitions for her work, including honours from the Office of the U.S. Secretary of State, the Nigerian Federal Government, and the AGRA Women Agripreneurs of the Year Award (WAYA). She has contributed to shaping the global cassava industry by serving on Nigeria's Presidential Committee on Cassava Development and Utility (2005–2007), the UNIDO–Ministry of Commerce Committee (2006), participating in the FAO expert consultation on cassava processing (2008), and serving on the steering committee of the USAID/IITA “Unleashing the Power of Cassava in Africa” project (2009).

Her journey reflects vision, resilience, and a deep commitment to inclusive and sustainable agricultural development.

Dr. (Mrs.) Angela Ajala, PhD, FNAE, is a trailblazing Nigerian education strategist, institution builder, and public servant who has dedicated over three decades to reshaping the continent's academic landscape. On March 10, 2026, she made history when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed her as the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), becoming the seventh substantive and first-ever female leader in the Commission's history.

Born on April 18, 1962, in Delta State, Dr. Ajala forged her elite academic roots at Ahmadu Bello University, earning her BA and MA in English before completing her PhD. Her profound impact earned her a Fellowship of the Nigerian Academy of Education (FNAE) in November 2025, the highest echelon of academic recognition in Nigeria.

Before entering federal service, she spent 30 years mastering institutional governance. As Executive Director of Ladela Schools since 2004, she built a model of educational excellence, while simultaneously pioneering the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) to elevate national teaching standards. A masterful corporate leader, Goldman Sachs Scholar, and Member of the Chartered Institute of Directors (MCIoD), she has also championed African women's financial autonomy as National President of the African Women Entrepreneurship Programme (AWEP).

Today, Dr. Ajala is executing an uncompromising reform agenda at the NCCE. She has launched an aggressive federal crackdown on illegal teacher-training centres while forging strategic alliances to digitalise public colleges. A visionary disruptor, she is fiercely revitalising the teaching profession, restoring its global prestige, and building the next generation of world-class educators.

Lateef Oladimeji Sanni graduated from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Nigeria with Second Class Upper Division in the Department of Food Science and Technology in 1990. He obtained Master and PhD Degrees in the Department of Food Technology, University of Ibadan in 1993 and 1999. He joined FUNAAB in 1993 as Assistant Lecturer, became Professor of Food Science and Technology in 2008, presented his inaugural lecture in 2015 and became Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development) in 2017.

He won the 2008 Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Award Regional Technology Development in Sub Saharan Africa. He has over 27 years' experience in research, consultancy and collaborations as a postharvest expert on tropical root crops mostly implemented by the International Institute of Tropical Root Crop and Natural Resources Institute, UK. He is a project leader to multi-million dollar EU/Gates Foundation sponsored projects since 2008 till date. He served as resource person for World Bank upscaling of flash drying experience in West Africa. He was the Principal Investigator, Food Developers Initiative and Food Science and Nutrition Network sponsored by Association of African Universities.

He is the Vice Chair Steering Committee of the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development, and former National President, Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology. He has mentored over 20 junior academics across three continents. He has trained well over 100 BSc, 30 MSc and 18 PhD graduates with well over 100 scientific publications in National and International Journals, Proceedings, reports, reviews, and books. He was a former Editorial Member, International Journal of Food Science and Technology and reviewer to many journals at National and international levels.

He is the Chairman, Governing Council of Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora, Oyo State, Nigeria, Immediate Past President, International Society for Tropical Root Crops (African Branch) and President, International Society for Tropical Root Crops.