Ayomide Kashim Ibrahim: Redefining Global Finance Through Inclusion and Innovation

By Boniface Ihiasota

In the fast-evolving world of finance, where precision meets pressure and profitability often overshadows purpose, Ayomide Kashim Ibrahim, FCA, CFE, stands as a rare visionary redefining what financial leadership means in the 21st century.

A Finance & Tax Strategist, CEO, Board Member, Scholar, and Community Builder, Ibrahim has spent over two decades crafting a legacy built on innovation, integrity, and impact. From Nigeria to Washington D.C., his story is one of professional mastery fused with deep commitment to social empowerment, using finance not just as a tool for business growth, but as a vehicle for nation-building and generational transformation.

Currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of FinServe Pro, a U.S.-based financial advisory firm headquartered in Lanham, Maryland, Ibrahim leads a mission-driven organization at the forefront of inclusive finance.

Under his leadership, FinServe Pro has grown into a multi-service financial hub offering tax, accounting, audit, and insurance advisory, specifically designed to meet the needs of immigrant entrepreneurs, small businesses, and families navigating the complexities of the U.S. financial system.

In 2025, FinServe Pro received the NIBAD “Financial Services Company for Immigrants” Award, recognizing its pioneering approach to financial inclusion and culturally responsive client engagement.

The firm’s success was also spotlighted in The African Journal, which profiled Ibrahim as one of the leading voices advancing financial access for the African diaspora in North America.

“Finance should not intimidate; it should inspire,” Ibrahim says while speaking to Diaspora Watch Newspapers.

“My goal is to make financial systems accessible, equitable, and empowering especially for communities that have historically been left out.”

As CEO, Ibrahim has led strategic expansion and capital acquisition, securing partnerships across sectors while building a high-performance team anchored on integrity, innovation, and measurable impact.

Professional Footprint and Global Influence

Ibrahim’s professional experience spans both the corporate and public sectors, reflecting a diverse understanding of global finance systems.

He currently holds executive roles in multiple organizations, including:

– Legacy Global Business Network – Vice President, Finance (Dec 2023–Present)

Oversees financial strategy, budgetary management, and ERP integration across multiple departments. Ensures GAAP compliance and fiscal transparency for board-level and regulatory reporting.

– Cloud Solutions Technology – Financial Controller (Oct 2023–Present)

Designs robust internal control frameworks and automated financial reporting systems to ensure sustainable growth.

– Smart Electric Power Alliance – Manager, Accounting & Finance (Mar 2022–Present)

Leads audit, grant management, and accounting operations. Develops advanced financial dashboards and forecasting tools that guide executive decision-making.

– Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (USA District) – Board Member (Jun 2022–Jun 2025)

Promotes professional excellence among accountants in the diaspora. Spearheads cross-border programs connecting Nigerian professionals to global networks, investment opportunities, and capacity-building platforms.

Prior to his U.S. leadership journey, Ibrahim served in several strategic finance roles, including Principal Accountant at Lagos State University (2010–2017), where he directed IPSAS-aligned accounting across multiple campuses and introduced modern fiscal control frameworks.

Earlier in his career, he interned at KPMG Nigeria (2009), supporting statutory audits and control documentation for corporate clients, a formative experience that shaped his career-long commitment to financial governance and accountability.

A product of Olabisi Onabanjo University, where he earned his B.Sc. in Accounting, Ibrahim has continuously strengthened his technical foundation through global certifications and advanced professional designations.

He is a Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) QuickBooks Online & Payroll Certified Professional

This rare combination of credentials positions him as a holistic strategist, one who understands the interplay between finance, risk management, and technology in shaping modern organizations.

Beyond boardrooms and balance sheets, Ibrahim is an accomplished scholar and prolific thought leader whose works bridge the gap between financial theory and policy-driven transformation. His publications span key areas such as fiscal governance, crisis preparedness, and sustainable development.

His recent works include: Leveraging Data Science for Fiscal Governance (2024), De-Risking Development Finance (2023), Conceptual Framework for Crisis Preparedness (2023), Connecting Facility Management to Smart City Development (2021), Conceptual Framework for Building Information Modelling Adoption in Sustainable Project Delivery Systems (2021), Advanced Financial Modeling Techniques for SMEs (2020), Advanced Financial Modeling Techniques for Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (2020) and Conceptual Model for Assessing Political Risks in Cross-Border Investments (2019)

These publications, widely referenced across academic and policy platforms, reinforce his commitment to integrating data-driven insights into real-world financial strategy.

Ibrahim’s professional excellence and community impact have earned him numerous accolades, including the A.D. King Young Professionals’ Iconic Award for Excellence in Financial Leadership.

He is also a recognized Key Community Leader and Advocate, having mobilized several financial literacy and empowerment programs across African and immigrant communities in the U.S. and abroad.

Through his leadership, FinServe Pro and the FinServe Pro Foundation have become vehicles for impact, reaching youth, families, and professionals with practical tools for financial management, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation.

The Foundation’s ongoing initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and community centers continue to inspire financial confidence among next-generation leaders.

Beyond his corporate portfolio, Ayomide Kashim Ibrahim is also known as a SidePreneur Coach — a mentor dedicated to helping professionals turn skills into sustainable business ventures.

His mentorship programs emphasize clarity, structure, and long-term financial independence, empowering individuals to transition from employment to enterprise with confidence.

“The goal isn’t just to earn more, but to build systems that sustain wealth and create freedom,” Ibrahim explains. “Financial independence begins with knowledge and discipline.”

His mentorship has inspired hundreds of professionals across the African diaspora to embrace entrepreneurship as a pathway to empowerment and legacy building.

With over 20 years of professional experience, Ayomide Kashim Ibrahim represents a new generation of African executives bridging continents, industries, and ideas. His approach to finance is transformational rather than transactional, blending innovation with inclusion, and strategy with service.

He envisions a world where finance drives equity and access where the African diaspora not only participates in the global economy but shapes it.

“Africa’s greatest export is its people — their resilience, intellect, and creativity,” Ibrahim says.

“My mission is to connect that strength to global systems that promote innovation, inclusion, and generational wealth.”

As FinServe Pro expands its reach and its foundation deepens its impact, Ibrahim’s philosophy remains constant: finance must serve humanity.

Through every boardroom decision, every publication, and every mentorship session, Ayomide Kashim Ibrahim is doing more than managing numbers — he’s building bridges, shaping futures, and redefining what financial leadership means in a globalized, inclusive world.

Excel Group CEO Celebrates Chief Dr. Sir Kelechi Eke on Birthday 

The Chief Executive Officer of Excel Global Media Group, Mr. Boniface Ihiasota, has felicitated with Ambassador Chief Dr. Sir Kelechi Eke on the occasion of his birthday, describing him as a distinguished son of Imo State and a pride to Nigeria’s diaspora community.

In a goodwill message released on Monday, Ihiasota, who is also the publisher of Excel Magazine and Diaspora Watch Newspaper, extolled the virtues of Chief Eke, noting his contributions to community development, service to humanity, and dedication to family values.

Ambassador Eke, a native of Umuaba Village in Ife, Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, is a retired officer of the United States Army and former official of the U.S. Immigration Service. He currently resides in Dallas, Texas, with his wife and five children.

While acknowledging his professional and personal accomplishments, Ihiasota said Chief Eke’s life exemplifies resilience, patriotism, and leadership worthy of emulation.

“On behalf of Excel Global Media Group, we celebrate an illustrious Nigerian whose footprints in service, both at home and abroad, continue to inspire. Chief Eke’s commitment to his roots and his contributions to the diaspora community remain remarkable,” Ihiasota stated.

He prayed for God’s continued guidance, good health, and more fruitful years for the celebrant.

Peter Obi at 64: A People’s Call, A Nation’s Hope

By Dr Marcel Mbamalu

As Peter Obi marked his 64th birthday, Saturday, July 19, 2025, scenes from across the country revealed more than just a personal milestone. They echoed a wave of popular longing for transformative leadership. In cities and towns, spontaneous gatherings erupted in music, dance and parades, with citizens celebrating Obi’s legacy, especially his achievements as governor of Anambra State. These unprompted displays of solidarity and admiration were not orchestrated by political machinery, but stirred by genuine affection and a desperate call to play a much higher role in political office.

This surge of popular sentiment points to a man whose philosophy and lifestyle continue to spark vibrant conversations about leadership in Nigeria. Obi’s strong commitment to accountability, fiscal discipline and principled public service has challenged prevailing political norms and inspired a movement eager for change.

Accordingly, Obi’s 64th birthday offers an opportunity to highlight the key antecedents, his background, values and governance record that underscore his fitness for the nation’s highest office.

Background, education, business and political journey

The former governor was born on July 19, 1961, in Onitsha, Anambra State. He attended Christ the King College, Onitsha. His formal higher education began at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he earned his degree in 1984.

Before entering politics, he built a successful private-sector career, notably serving as the youngest chairman of Fidelity Bank Plc in the early 2000s. He also led Next International and sat on the boards of several financial and tech firms, including Guardian Express Bank, Chams Nigeria, and Paymaster. He undertook executive studies at institutions like Lagos Business School, Oxford, and Harvard, experiences that shaped his disciplined, data-oriented model of governance.

During Mr. Obi’s tenure as governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, he earned a reputation for prudent, anti-waste governance that stood in sharp contrast to the norm in Nigerian politics. Reports showed Obi introduced systems that curtailed excessive spending and corruption, ensuring the state’s resources were directed towards genuine development.

While delivering a convocation lecture at Veritas University, Abuja in February 2020, Mr. Obi recounted:“There is no place in the world that I have seen where one man moves around with 22 vehicles. It is madness. I used it as a governor… until I asked to find out one day how many of the cars people were occupying, and about 13 of the cars were empty.” This quote illustrates his commitment to cutting wasteful government spending and embracing modesty in office.

His administration left a lasting impact. Under his leadership, Anambra soared from 26th to 1st place in nationwide NECO and WAEC rankings by 2012–2013. The education sector also saw hospital accreditations, new nursing schools, and over 800 km of roads constructed or rehabilitated, efforts that enhanced both learning and economic life.

Mr. Obi’s fiscal discipline was equally remarkable. By the end of his term in 2014, he reportedly left over ₦75 billion in savings (including ₦27 billion in local investments, US $156 million in foreign reserves, and ₦28 billion in bank balances), despite inheriting a state burdened by unpaid salaries and inherited debts.

According to the Debt Management Office, Anambra still carried about US $30.3 million in external debt and ₦3.03 billion in domestic debt as at December 2013. He also reformed procurement practices by instituting transparent, competitive bidding, reducing graft, improving efficiency, and reinforcing public trust.

National political engagement

Mr. Obi’s national political engagement garnered increasing momentum starting in 2019, when he served as the vice-presidential candidate for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Although that bid was unsuccessful, it marked his emergence on Nigeria’s broader political stage beyond Anambra State. By 2022, he declared his intention to run for president again, this time under the Labour Party (LP) after leaving the PDP amid concerns of internal party fraud and lack of transparency.

His 2023 presidential campaign under the LP evolved into a mass movement energised by millions of young Nigerians known as the “Obidients.” This movement reflected deep dissatisfaction with the country’s traditional two-party system and rallied around Mr. Obi’s core message of cutting waste, building human capital, and pursuing systemic institutional reforms.

Other leaders that share similar political values with him including former President Olusegun Obasanjo notably endorsed Mr. Obi during this period, affirming in a public letter to young Nigerians that “when one compares their character, antecedent, their understanding, knowledge, discipline and vitality… Peter Obi as a mentee has an edge.”

Obi’s growing national appeal culminated in his remarkable third-place position in the 2023 presidential election, where he secured approximately 25 percent of the popular vote, a significant feat for a candidate running under a relatively small party for the first time. This indeed is a testament that people have seen him as capable of leading Nigerians.

Personal values, flaws, transformed to public image

Mr. Obi’s personal values of modesty, simplicity, and fiscal discipline have become central to his public image and political appeal. This simplicity was recently highlighted in a widely shared social media video showing him serving food at an event, an act that reinforced his grounded and connected leadership style.

While some have labelled him a “stingy man,” he embraces this characterisation as a deliberate critique of excessive government spending on officials, which he believes leaves ordinary Nigerians impoverished.

His consistent message, grounded in the belief that “we can fix Nigeria by doing the right things,” reflects his commitment to redirecting resources towards public welfare rather than personal enrichment.

Yet no leader is without flaws, and Mr. Obi’s political journey vividly illustrates this timeless truth that no one is a salt who can perfectly sweeten the nation. Even salt when in excess, turns bitter.

While the former governor of Anambra state has energised millions with his message and vision, critics have highlighted aspects of populism in his campaigns and pointed to structural challenges during his 2023 presidential bid.

Mr. Obi himself seems pleasing everyone. In fact, his attempts to reconcile differing expectations may reflect a desire to build unity in a deeply divided country.But, as former President Obasanjo pointed out, no politician is flawless. In spite of this, one thing is certain, a leader ready to accept criticism is the right leader. What stands out, however, is Mr. Obi’s response to criticism. Rather than react defensively or with rhetoric, he meets challenges with calmness, reliance on facts, and unwavering consistency.

His focus on data-driven governance and transparent communication reinforces not only modern leadership, but his commitment to “doing the right things” for Nigerians. This steadiness in the face of scrutiny enhances his credibility and endears him to a growing base that values integrity over empty promises.

Mr. Obi is widely viewed as a reformist leader who transcends ethnic and patronage politics, promoting instead a merit-based system that rewards competence and accountability. He might not have become a president yet, but his influence in criticising and pointing out the wrong leadership of the current administration is part of shaping modern Nigeria.

In a country widely known for the deep-rooted challenges of corruption, nepotism, tribalism, religiosity, and extravagant political spending, here is a man famously known for wearing the same clothes and wristwatch over the years, and choosing instead to invest his resources on Nigeria’s students and educational institutions.

He has donated over millions of naira to support education. He visited institutions such as Queen’s School in Enugu, Borromeo College of Nursing in Onitsha, Almajiri schools in Kaduna, and educational centres in Kogi State etc. At St. John Vianney Science College in Ukwulu, Anambra State, he personally donated ₦10 million to support infrastructural development following their victory in the UK-Nigeria Debate Championship.

His example underscores a leadership approach that values frugality not as stinginess but as a principled stand against waste and corruption, redirecting resources towards building human capital the foundation for Nigeria’s future prosperity.

In a nation deeply yearning for integrity and tangible progress, Mr. Obi’s actions and lifestyle continue to resonate powerfully with those seeking genuine change.

As he celebrates his 64th birthday today, one thing is certain, teachers, students, and ordinary Nigerians alike continue to celebrate with him, reflecting the deep connection he has forged with the people through his commitment to education and responsible leadership. His birthday symbolises more than personal achievement it represents hope for a Nigeria anchored in accountability, vision, and integrity.

Amid ongoing national debates about the country’s future, Obi’s profile remains a vital reference point for leadership that prioritises transparency, fiscal discipline, and human capital development. On this special day, I join students and citizens across Nigeria to say, “Happy Birthday, Mr Peter Gregory Obi.”