Dr. Folasade Femi-Lawal is a distinguished senior executive and multi-award-winning digital transformation leader with over twenty-five years of experience across financial services, management consulting, telecommunications, and business advisory.
She currently serves as the Country Manager and Area Business Head for West Africa at Mastercard, where she leads strategic growth, innovation, partnerships, and the company’s vision of building a more connected and inclusive digital economy across the region.
Dr. Femi-Lawal has a reputation for delivering sustained growth in revenue, profitability, and market expansion. She has led organizations through start-up, turnaround, and rapidly changing environments. Her leadership journey spans impactful roles at PwC Nigeria, United Bank for Africa, Airtel Nigeria, and First Bank of Nigeria, where she played a pivotal role in scaling digital banking and mobile financial services.
As Head of Cards and Messaging Business at First Bank, she oversaw the largest card base in Nigeria and the second largest in West Africa, managing over eleven million cards with annual transaction values in the millions of dollars.
Dr. Femi-Lawal’s work has directly contributed to landmark initiatives in financial inclusion, including the execution of huge partnership between First Bank, UNICEF, and the Nigerian Government that enabled digital disbursements to twenty thousand rural women in Northern Nigeria. These milestones, among others, positioned her as the pioneer Head of Digital Banking and led to global recognition for innovation and excellence within the financial services ecosystem.
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Beyond corporate leadership, Dr. Femi-Lawal is a respected board director, industry voice, and thought leader, serving in advisory and governance roles across the fintech and e-business landscape. She is a sought-after international and local conference speaker on fintech, digital transformation, customer-centricity, and business performance, and a passionate advocate for women’s empowerment and inclusive growth.
Through initiatives such as Praying Mums Inc and the FirstBank Women Network, she continues to mentor, support, and inspire thousands of women to achieve their full potential.
Among other accolades, she bagged Fintech Trailblazer of the Year at Tech Innovation Awards (TIA) 2025. She also won Fintech CEO of 2025(African Global Economic Forum), Payment Influencer of 2024(Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), 45 Most Influential Women in Digital Transformation, Visionary Leader in Digital Transformation &Tech (2024), among others.
Her leadership and impact have earned her numerous global and continental recognitions, including honours for visionary leadership in technology and business, and recognition among Africa’s most influential women in digital transformation. She is also a fellow of several professional institutes.
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