Ayoyinka Olajide-Awosedo

Ayoyinka heads the corporate commercial department of the Firm. Her main practice areas are corporate/commercial law and corporate finance specializing in manufacturing, labour and employment, FMCG, agriculture and agribusiness, telemedicine services, real estate, banking and finance, and media and entertainment

She represents AARNDALE as company secretary and legal advisor on the Boards of various companies both private and public and regularly advises a wide range of clients on the legal and regulatory requirements relevant to their businesses through every stage of the company lifecycle – incorporation to winding up, compliance and corporate governance matters, and corporate restructuring.

Ayoyinka counsels clients on a broad range of compliance and corporate governance matters including disclosure and reporting requirements, all relevant regulations, national and international laws, and policies, internal control and investigations, codes of conduct and business ethics.

She assists clients in developing an ESG compliance framework that aligns with their objectives and industry best practices and advises on sustainability reporting and disclosures, risk management and due diligence, corporate social responsibility, supply chain management, data protection and audit, advocacy and policy engagement.

She regularly advises on corporate issues including the regulation of companies, employee matters, pensions, company formation and structure, share transfers, Board and management matters.

She has developed and implemented legal training programs in relation to company policies and local laws such as Public Procurement Challenges, Legal and Regulatory framework for EOR Services, Dawn Raids, Illicit Trade, Data Protection, Counterfeiting and Anti-corruption policies.

She assists foreign investors with country entry requirements including joint ventures, acquisitions and divestures, immigration requirements such as obtaining expatriate quotas, work and residency visas and permits for employees, and foreign exchange controls.

Ayoyinka is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK and the International Bar Association. She is an active member of the Section on Business Law of the Nigerian Bar Association (SBL) and currently sits on the Council of the SBL as its Treasurer and was Chair of its annual business conference in 2023. She is a member of the Society for Corporate Governance of Nigeria and serves on the WIMBIZ Women on Boards Committee preparing women to take on roles on Boards. She is a member of the Young Directors Forum of the Institute of Directors and Chair of the 2024 YDF   Annual   Conference   Planning Committee. She was recently recognized by the ESQ Nigeria Legal Awards with the 40 under 40 award for outstanding achievements in the legal industry.

She has written various articles including co-authoring the Nigerian Chapter of  “Getting the Deal Through – Mergers and Acquisitions” in 2012 and 2013.

Prior to joining AARNDALE, Ayoyinka worked at Aelex Legal Practitioners & Arbitrators in the Corporate and Commercial and Banking and Finance departments and at Linklaters LLP in London with the Project Finance and Capital Market teams.

Experience Track

• Acted as a legal adviser to a European bank with respect to its investment in a Microfinance Bank and the establishment of a financial entity in Nigeria to provide quick loan Assisted with business entry requirements into Nigeria, negotiation and preparation of all relevant transaction agreements as well as obtaining relevant permits and legal documents for its expatriate employees. Conducted due diligence investigations with respect to its acquisition of a Microfinance Bank.

• Providing legal advisory and company secretarial services to a leading financial service company in Nigeria, negotiating, drafting and closing on a broad spectrum of financial agreements, including asset-based and unsecured commercial loan agreements and project
  
• Providing full time secondment services and legal advisory services to a leading Fintech company in Nigeria which provides mobile payment solutions, mobile lending and personal finance solutions to its customers. Assist the company in handling its internal legal affairs including but not limited to reviewing and drafting of commercial agreements, offering legal opinions on emanating issues, ensuring regulatory compliance and minimizing

• Providing legal advisory services and company secretarial services to the business incubation arm of the world’s largest global agriculture innovation network, establishing several Special Purpose Vehicles and preparing all relevant contract documents and company
• Providing general legal advisory and company secretarial services to an agribusiness advisory and consulting company and advising the company on regulatory compliance matters, negotiating and drafting a broad range of commercial agreements with regard to its agricultural laboratory and advisory
• Advising a Fintech company on employee benefits including pensions and HMO Assisted with ongoing projects including drafting of terms and conditions for the company’s products, privacy policy and FAQs for the company’s website and mobile application.
• Advised a Nigerian Public Company on its proposed scheme of arrangement where the majority shareholders bought out the minority shareholders and its subsequent delisting from the Nigerian Stock
• Advised a foreign entity in the construction industry on doing business in Nigeria, incorporated a local entity on its behalf and obtained all relevant permits for buying, selling, leasing and operating heavy duty machinery in Nigeria.
• Advised a media and entertainment company on obtaining debt and equity financing from a private equity firm and assisted in restructuring particularly with regard to the most efficient tax structure for the company.