Folasade Femi-Lawal is the Country Manager, West Africa at Mastercard. Based in Nigeria, Folasade is responsible for advancing the Mastercard brand presence in West Africa, overseeing performance and strategic direction, deploying innovative payment solutions, and partnering with local governments and market regulators to build a World Beyond Cash.
Prior to working at Mastercard, Folasade held various positions within the finance and banking sector. She started her career in 1995 as a Senior Associate in Audit & Business Advisory Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers and later transitioned into finance and banking. In 1998, she joined United Bank of Africa (UBA) as Head of the Loan Monitoring Unit, where she was responsible for managing the bank’s loan portfolio and ensuring regulatory compliance.
This position was then followed by her role as Head of Card & Messaging Business at FirstBank, where she coordinated the Card Products Strategy in the Bank and its subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Senegal, Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. Folasade also served as the Vice President of the Committee of E-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH), where she contributed to driving innovation and collaboration across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.
She is a Digital Transformation Senior Executive with 30 years’ experience in industries including Financial Services, Management Consulting, Telecommunications, and Business Advisory. She actively supports women empowerment and financial inclusion, serving as Chairman of the Board at SheFintech and participating in WIMBIZ. Folasade has been recognized for her leadership and achievements, receiving the Visionary Leader in Technology and Business Award in 2024, presented by The CIO and C-Suite Awards Africa, and named among the Forty-Five Most Influential Women in Digital Transformation in 2024, awarded by CIO Africa Magazine.
She holds a B.Sc. in Accounting from Obafemi Awolowo University and an MBA in Information Management System from Texila American University, Guyana. She has also received an Honorary Doctoral Degree from Veridian Christian University, awarded in recognition of her impact in Business and Christian Leadership. In addition, she has received professional and executive education from Pan-African University, Harvard Business School, London Business School, and Gershom Lehman Consulting (USA).
Folasade is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, the Chartered Institute of Taxation, and the Association of Enterprise Risk Managers. She is also a member of the Forbes Business Development Council and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Committee for Open Banking API Standard.
