In a room full of people who collectively manage, advise on, and influence billions of naira in capital, the most striking moment at the maiden NOLT Summit was not a bold prediction or a policy recommendation. It was a question that nobody could answer quickly.
How do you create lasting value in an economy where the rules of the game keep changing before the current move is finished?
That question sat at the centre of “From Volatility to Value: Strategic Finance in Uncertain Times,” the theme of the inaugural NOLT Summit held on Thursday, 30th April 2026 at The Anthonia in Ikoyi, Lagos. Convened by NOLT Finance, the CBN-licensed investment, credit, and financial advisory firm marking its fifth year of operations, the event brought together a caliber of financial minds rarely assembled outside of a boardroom.
Dr. Biodun Adedipe (Founder & Chief Consultant, BAA Consult, Keynote Speaker at NOLT SUMMIT 2026)
Dr. Biodun Adedipe, one of Nigeria’s most respected economists and founder of B. Adedipe Associates, delivered the keynote, framing the structural forces reshaping the Nigerian and global financial landscape with the kind of specificity the room clearly came for. His central argument was pointed: volatility is not the enemy. The real danger lies in institutions that have built their entire strategic architecture around the assumption that stability is the default. In Nigeria’s current reality, that assumption is not just outdated. It is expensive.
(L–R) Mr. Babatunde Dada (MD/CEO, NOLT Finance), Mr. Olaolu Alabi (Executive Director, Real Assets, Cardinal Stone), Mrs Seyi Bella (Partner & Head of Banking and Finance Practice, Banwo & Ighodalo), Mrs Dolabomi Onanuga (Senior Vice President, Business Development, Flutterwave), Mr Samson Esemuede (Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer, Zrosk Investment Management), Mr Robert Ijewere (Executive Director, NOLT Finance)
The panels that followed tested that thesis from every angle. The lineup included Dr. Muyiwa Oni, Regional Head of Equity Research for West Africa at Standard Bank Group; Arnold Dublin-Green, CEO of Renaissance Capital Africa Asset Management; Rolake Akinkugbe-Filani, CEO of EnergyInc Advisors; Olaolu Alabi, Executive Director at CardinalStone; Samson Esemuede, Chief Investment Officer at Zrosk Investment Management; and Dolabomi Onanuga, Vice President for Business Development at Flutterwave. The sessions were anchored by Mrs. Seyi Bella, a member of the NOLT Finance Board.
What distinguished the NOLT Summit from the crowded calendar of Nigerian industry events was the absence of performance. There were no rehearsed talking points, no corporate pleasantries dressed up as insight. Panelists disagreed openly, follow-up questions were pointed, and more than once, the room went quiet in the way that only happens when a nerve has been struck.
(L-R) Mr. Babatunde Dada (NOLT Finance MD/CEO), Mr. Robert Ijewere (NOLT Finance Executive Director)
NOLT Finance, which has disbursed over 27 billion naira in credit and manages over 12 billion naira in customer funds since inception, has confirmed that the summit will become an annual platform.
(L-R) Mrs. Lina Ogar (Senior Sales Executive, NOLT Finance), Mrs. Adesuwa Erhahon-Mesimo (Head of Operations and Human Resources, NOLT Finance), Miss Iremide George (Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications, NOLT Finance), Mr. Robert Ijewere (Executive Director, NOLT Finance), Mr. Babatunde Dada (MD/CEO, NOLT Finance), Mr. Joseph Idu (Executive Assistant to the Managing Director, NOLT Finance), Mrs. Bisola Bassey (Head, Finance & Treasury, NOLT Finance), Mrs. Sopiriala Peterside-Omoruyi (Team Lead, Customer Experience, NOLT Finance)
“We did not build this to congratulate ourselves,” said Babatunde Dada, Managing Director of NOLT Finance. “We built it because the industry needs a space where the people who actually make the decisions can talk honestly about what is working, what is not, and what comes next.”
If the maiden edition is any indication, the industry now has that space. The next edition is already in motion.
For more information about NOLT Finance and its services, visit
www.noltfinance.com or call +234 911 199 9002.
