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Friends of Nigeria is a dedicated community that bridges the gap between businesses in France and lucrative opportunities in Nigeria, fostering cultural exchange, promoting development, and nurturing enduring friendships.

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About Us

Friends of Nigeria is a dedicated community that bridges the gap between businesses in France and lucrative opportunities in Nigeria, fostering cultural exchange, promoting development, and nurturing enduring friendships.

Join Us

Contact Us

About Friends of Nigeria

What We Do

Who We Are?

Friends of Nigeria is a dedicated community that bridges the gap between businesses in France and lucrative opportunities in Nigeria, fostering cultural exchange, promoting development, and nurturing enduring friendships.

  • Business opportunities
  • Mentorship Program
  • Networking
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Areas of Service

Join us as we connect, educate, and empower businesses and professionals, forging strong partnerships and unlocking the potential of cross-border success.

Network & Facilitation

FON links businesses in the France-Nigeria ecosystem, connecting French firms in Nigeria, facilitating key contacts, aiding in French business partnerships, and supporting recruitment and local content strategies in Nigeria through strategic partnerships.

Advisory

FON offers business development advisory to professionals and companies seeking to do business within the France Nigeria business space.

Information & Trends

FON is a hub for information and analysis of the Nigerian market and its key players across sectors. They offer insights through expert meetings, roundtables, and conferences, along with investment opportunities through partnerships in France and Nigeria.

Events

Our annual event, Spotlight Nigeria, is a prominent gathering for opportunities and projects in the France-Nigeria business ecosystem. Additionally, we conduct training and capacity development sessions for both our corporate members to navigate the Nigerian market and Nigerian professionals to navigate the French business environment.

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What We Do

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Training & Professional Development

We organize training and capacity development sessions for our members.

B2B Services

We assist European companies with the right advisory and market research necessary to introduce their products and services into the Nigerian market

Events

Professionals and Businesses trust our events as the foremost platform in Europe for accessing opportunities related to Nigeria.

What We Do

Our Activities

Training & Professional Development

We organize training and capacity development sessions for our members.

Learn More

B2B Services

We assist European companies with the right advisory and market research necessary to introduce their products and services into the Nigerian market

Learn More

Events

We organize training and capacity development sessions for our members.

Learn More

Meet the Friends of Nigeria Team

Management Team

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John presently heads Project Development for CMR Group in Sub-Saharan Africa

John Okoro

President

Abiodun Dominic Odunuga is an international development consultant.

Abiodun Odunuga

Vice President

Nkechi NWOSU is a HR professional with over a decade of solid experience in multiple HR disciplines

Nkechi Nwosu

Director of Media & Communications

Unity Ivongbe is a project management and business development practitioner

Unity Ivongbe

Director of Projects

Meet the FON Team

Management Team

View All Members

John presently heads Project Development for CMR Group in Sub-Saharan Africa

John Okoro

President

Abiodun Dominic Odunuga is an international development consultant.

Abiodun Odunuga

Vice President

Unity Ivongbe is a project management and business development practitioner

Unity Ivongbe

Director of Projects

Nkechi NWOSU is a HR professional with over a decade of solid experience in multiple HR disciplines

Nkechi Nwosu

Director of Media & Communications

John presently heads Project Development for CMR Group in Sub-Saharan Africa

Oyindamola Olusunmade

Director of Professional Membership

FONEN

FONEN is open to all French and European companies who are interested in the Nigerian market.

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FONPRO

FONPRO is a membership platform for Nigerian professionals in France. It is the largest network of Nigerian professionals in France

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Nigerians in Diaspora Awards Gala Night

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FON Articles & News

12 Aug

Tribute to Ambassador Kayode Laro – Friends of Nigeria (FON) Europe

We at Friends of Nigeria (FON) Europe and the entire diaspora community in France regret to announce the passing of our beloved Ambassador, His Excellency Kayode Laro, who passed on in the evening of Friday August 11, 2023.  Ambassador Laro was an astute diplomat, a leader par excellence and had an open door policy, which […]

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28 Jun

THE IMPACT OF THE TWITTER BAN ON NIGERIA, ITS CITIZENS AND THE DIASPORA.

Nigeria’s decision to suspend Twitter indefinitely, for whatever reason, could backfire on the government and cost the country in all ramifications possible. Over the past 5 years, Nigeria has been among the best performing African Countries in attracting foreign investments in manpower, funding and high technology. Nigeria has raised business Unicorns through its investments and […]

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The most relevant network of individuals & companies in the France Nigeria business eco-system.

  • 229 rue Saint-Honoré 75001, Paris.
  • +33758683771, +2348097543000

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John Okoro

president

John presently heads Project Development for CMR Group in Sub-Saharan Africa focusing on clean and renewable energy power plants and solutions.

Before joining CMR Group, John worked for 6 years at VERGNET Group and was directly involved in opening up selected new markets in Africa as well as originating and closing project deals.

John’s experience in Business and Project development spans across 15 Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and covers a large portfolio of clean energy infrastructure projects for private and public off-takers.

Before getting involved in clean energy and infrastructure, John worked as a Project Manager in the public and private sectors in Nigeria including working at Nigeria’s Presidency between 2012 and 2013 where John was part of a project team in charge of deploying a public-private partnership project geared towards job creation amongst Nigerian youths. John also co-founded several capacity building initiatives including the “mentor-me” initiative which won a state government award for excellence in Nigeria in 2013.

John is an international key-note speaker and panelist on topics related to clean energy, innovation, and Africa. John has delivered various presentations and key notes at more than 15 international conferences across 10 Countries.

John is a non-executive board member of a number of companies and non-profit organizations in Africa and Europe, spanning across Engineering, Technology, and human capital development.

John holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Covenant University, Nigeria and a Master Degree in Project Management and Business Development from Skema Business School, France. John is also an alumnus of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management’s Climate and Renewable Energy FInance Program. John is a member of the Project Management Institute and holds the global Project Management Professional (PMP) certification since 2013.

John serves as the President and Director of Administration for Friends of Nigeria, Europe. John works closely in collaboration with leaders of other African Diaspora organizations to promote the attractiveness of the African continent to foreign investors and the Diaspora community in Europe.

John has a flair for sports and music. He plays football, badminton, ping pong, tennis and is also a member of the IBB Golf and Country Club Abuja. John also plays the Piano, Drums, and Bass Guitar. John enjoys discovering new places, making new friends, and spending ample time with his family.

Abiodun Odunuga

vice president

Abiodun Dominic Odunuga is an international development consultant.

Having acquired over 10 years of experience in the field of sustainability, entrepreneurship and International development, Abiodun has developed and worked on projects with organizations such as the World Bank, European Union, United Nations (UN), Africa Development Bank (AfDB), and The Commonwealth across Africa and Europe. He has presented various papers relating to entrepreneurship, social innovation and sustainability at different levels such as the International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD) in New York, United States as well as the in Rome Italy.

He has consulted for various government agencies in Nigeria and France on economic initiatives in Agriculture, Digital Technology and Industry. Abiodun has also worked with various Sates Governments in Nigeria and the Nigeria Governors Forum with respect to development projects and attracting foreign investments.

He holds a Masters in Development Practice (MDP) degree from Sciences Po, Paris.

Abiodun is also the project manager for the Nigeria-France Tech Initiative (NFTI) recently launched by the Embassy of Nigeria, Paris amidst stakeholders such as the French Development Agency (AFD) and the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to support the tech ecosystem between France and Nigeria.

He is a recipient of many international awards such as the Tocqueville Active Citizens Award for Co-creation and Community Impact in France as well as the United States of America Partnership award for Economic Empowerment by the United States Consulate, Lagos, Nigeria.

Based in Paris, he brings his wealth of experience in training, project management, fundraising and business development to consult for various International organizations focusing on Africa as it relates to investment opportunities, supporting start-ups, and empowering small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs).

Abiodun is also a lecturer on Leadership, Soft Skills and Entrepreneurship with leading institutions having students across Africa and Europe. He is a frequent global conference speaker and sits on the board of many organizations.

As the Co-Founder and Vice-President of Friends of Nigeria, Abiodun serves in the Executive role of Director of Partnerships for the organization.

When he’s not working, you can catch him mentoring young people, discovering new cultures, volunteering for noble causes or watching movies.

Nkechi Nwosu

director of media & communications

Nkechi Nwosu is a HR professional with over a decade of solid experience in multiple HR disciplines including strategic planning, leadership, people operations & employer branding.

Over the course of her career, she has developed a wealth of experience, working in both multinational companies and start-ups, and collaborating in global environments across Europe, Africa, South America and Asia in multiple sectors: oil & gas, agriculture, healthcare, IT, and tourism.

As a co-founder of Level Hire, she oversees the conception and implementation of the organization’s strategic business plan and operational framework.

Nkechi is happy to serve on the Friends of Nigeria Europe (FON) board facilitating business collaboration between French and European companies and startups with their Nigerian counterparts, and vice-versa

She is a lover of arts in all its forms and expression: music, dance, fine arts, performing arts, and has channels this creativity in consulting on high-level events that bring cultures together such as African food and French wine tasting events.

As a social networker passionate about creating platforms and supporting stages that promote inter-cultural exchanges, networking and social / community development, she’s been part of the management team of various networking platforms across France. In Nice, she was part of the organizing team for NTA, Nice – a prominent social group in the French Riviera bringing together hundreds of expats and locals through various social events. This love had in the past led her to create the defunct “ECOWAS Young Professionals” association in 2015 at Grenoble, whose objective was to create a platform where professional Franco-phone and Anglo-phone West Africans could collaborate and share value.

Nkechi holds a Master’s Degree in International Human Resources Management and Organizational Development from Grenoble Ecole de Management, France, and a Bachelor’s Degree in French Language from Abia State University, Nigeria. She speaks English, French, Igbo, a bit of Yoruba, and Pidgin English.

Unity Ivongbe

director of projects

Unity Ivongbe is a project management and business development practitioner with five years plus of professional experience within the IT and trainings industry. Over the years, he has developed and co-project managed IT projects running into millions of dollars across private and public sector clients. He consulted briefly in 2013 for the office of the presidency (ethics and values), Abuja Nigeria under their IT/Social media engagement programme.

He has deployed his business development acumen over the years consulting for individuals and start-ups companies across different sectors on product launch, business analysis, market entry/internationalization strategy amongst others. His journey includes a stint at CityTaps SAS – an international smart water meter service provider that is based in Paris France with business operations across Africa as a business development manager under which he managed business and product development for Anglophone Africa and currently consults for them on their market expansion programme.

He has managed several events and conferences both in Nigeria and across Europe and also attended several others across three continents of the world. Unity has a passion for impacting knowledge and has been a resource facilitator/speaker for over 10 years in the training/capacity building industry for private and public sector across Nigeria.

He is an author, blogger and podcaster. He runs a personal blog where he shares daily, his philosophies on life, humanity, culture and values; inspiring countless young people across the world. His hobbies include reading, singing and travelling.

Unity holds a Master of Science degree (distinction) in project management and business development from Skema business school, Paris with certifications such as PRINCE2 and AgilePM and holds a Bachelor’s of Engineering (BEng) degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Benin, Nigeria.

Unity serves as the Director for Projects and Events for Friends of Nigeria, Europe. He lives in Paris.

Oyindamola Olusunmade

director of professional membership

Oyindamola Olusunmade is a Financial services consultant currently working at Altran, a global innovation and engineering consulting firm. She has almost four years work experience in France, Luxembourg, and Nigeria with multinational companies across diverse sectors  including Fintech, Investment Banking, Aerospace and Asset Management. Specifically, Oyindamola’s previous clients and employers include corporations such as Airbus, PayPal, AXA Investment Managers and Société General Corporate and Investment Bank. While serving these organisations, her cognate work experience cut across a vast range of business concerns to include Finance, Risk Management, Regulatory Due Dilligence and Compliance.

Oyindamola obtained her bachelor’s degree in Economics from Caleb University in Nigeria and is a holder of a Masters of Finance degree from Grenoble Ecole de Management in France. She has also passed Level I of the CFA Program.

Oyindamola enjoys travelling, experiencing different cultures through food, arts and languages. She speaks French, Yoruba and English. When she is not at work, she is exploring the world and appreciating the diversity in its people and cultures.