Adefunke Adeyemi is a logistics and supply chain legend in Africa, making waves across the continent with her move for sustainable air travel while advocating growth for the industry across the continent.
She is the recently appointed secretary general for the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC). An agency responsible for regulating air travel across Africa.
Upon her appointment, she emphasized the need to usher in air travel across Africa into the sustainable age, matching and possibly surpassing the efforts of the rest of the world.
Adefunke is a woman who has dedicated much of her life to ensuring Air logistics across Africa is one to be admired. Her career and contribution to logistics and supply chains across the continent are unmatchable.
In this article, we dive a little bit into them. But first…..
Who is Adefunke Adeyemi?
Adefunke is a Nigerian-born lawyer and air travel enthusiast with a career spanning over 20 years in the African aviation industry.
She graduated from UNILAG, where she obtained a law degree and many other awards as an undergraduate.
Adefunke Adeyemi obtained a master’s degree in law from Cambridge University. Subsequently, she went on to successfully pursue a Master’s in business administration from Nanyang University in Singapore.
She has also added to her impressive resume many degrees from prestigious universities such as the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California, and Wharton Business School.
Shortly after her return from Cambridge University, she began her logistics career at Virgin Nigeria Airways. Adefunke served as a general council for the organization while helping out in other areas across the company.
At Virgin, she fell in love with air travel and logistics, and it was the platform from which she began focusing on African air travel.
Adefunke Adeyemi Exploits with IATA
After leaving Virgin Nigeria Airways, she began working with the International Air Transport Association. Here, she spent decades rising the ranks.
At IATA, she had her fingers in different pies. This was because of her passion to ensure Air travel on the continent was improved and sustainable.
She did this because she believed in the industry’s value to the economies and societies across Africa. There was a strong belief that it was a catalyst capable of sparkling development across the continent.
From all accounts, Adefunke Adeyemi has not been proven wrong. At IATA, she began the ongoing campaign to transform Africa’s socio-economic prospects through improved air connectivity.
This movement resulted in the single African air transport market launched in 2018. Today, the campaign is projected to translate into billions of dollars in GDP for African nations.
Some of her roles at IATA included Regional Director of External Affairs and Sustainability for Africa and Regional Director of Advocacy and Strategic Relations for Africa.
She also served as the focal point for implementing the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and a Private Sector Champion of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA).
Adefunke Adeyemi Appointment As Secretary General AFCAC
On the 22 of July 2022, at the 34th plenary at Dakar, Senegal, the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) announced that it had elected Adefunke Adeyemi as the new Secretary General of the Commission.
She will be taking over from Teferan Mekonnen, whose tenure ended in January 2022. Angeline Simana had done an excellent job steering the organization as its interim SG during the 6 months gap.
Adefunke promised to build on the good work the AFCAC had been up to before her election. However, she emphasized her goals to see a better and more sustainable air travel industry in Africa.
Adefunke Adeyemi is a queen in the African logistics space. She has had so much success ensuring she leaves the air travel industry way better than she met it.
With her appointment as the Secretary General of AFCAC, she can spread and implement her vision across the continent.
We are rooting for her.
Obinabo Tochukwu Tabansi is a supply chain mastro and writer with a decade of experience working in different facets of the supply chain. Today he is living his passion for writing on all things supply chain. His blog, Supply Chain Nuggets, is Africa’s fastest-rising supply chain blog, helping professionals, business owners, and curious minds navigate the supply chain complexities on the continent.
