Dr Babatunde Sonnie Ayere

Dr Babatunde Sonnie Ayere is the Founder and Group CEO of DLM Capital Group, a diversified financial services institution in Nigeria, and he has been named Corporate Finance Advisory Expert of the Year in Nigeria at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2026. Under his leadership, DLM has positioned itself as a development-focused investment bank serving key sectors of the Nigerian and African economy.

A development investment bank

DLM Capital Group describes itself as a development investment bank and a diversified financial services institution focused on innovative funding solutions across key economic sectors, including agriculture, business finance, consumer credit, housing, transportation, infrastructure and education. Its corporate finance and investment banking services span financial advisory and restructuring, capital raising through debt and equity (including bonds, tier one equity and hybrid financing), mergers and acquisitions, securities trading and market making, and advice on setting up companies and institutions.

The group operates from Lagos, its headquarters, and Abuja, with an international footprint that includes London, New York and Mauritius. This combination of a strong domestic base and international presence enables DLM to connect Nigerian and African opportunities with global capital and expertise, a central theme of development-oriented finance on the continent.

• Financial advisory and corporate restructuring
• Capital raising through bonds, equity and hybrid instruments
• Mergers and acquisitions advisory
• Securities trading and market making
• Development finance across agriculture, housing, infrastructure and education

Corporate finance and development in Nigeria

Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation and one of its largest economies, with substantial financing needs across infrastructure, housing, agriculture and enterprise. Mobilising capital for these sectors, and channelling it in ways that support sustainable development, is a defining challenge for the country's financial system. Corporate finance advisers play a pivotal role, structuring transactions, arranging funding and advising businesses and institutions on how to raise and deploy capital efficiently.

Development finance, in particular, seeks to direct capital toward areas with broad economic and social impact, such as housing, transportation and education, while maintaining commercial discipline. Structuring instruments such as bonds and hybrid financing to fund long-term projects requires both technical expertise and a clear understanding of the local market and regulatory environment. DLM's stated focus on innovative funding solutions across these sectors reflects an ambition to combine financial sophistication with a development purpose.

Leadership and recognition

As Founder and Group CEO, Dr Babatunde Sonnie Ayere has built and leads DLM Capital Group, shaping its identity as a development investment bank with domestic depth and international reach. His leadership spans the group's advisory, capital markets and development finance activities, placing him among the senior figures in Nigeria's corporate finance community.

The Corporate INTL Global Awards are determined through the publication's research into leading advisers within each jurisdiction and practice area. Being named Corporate Finance Advisory Expert of the Year in Nigeria recognises Dr Ayere's standing in corporate finance and the strength of the institution he founded. For businesses, governments and institutions seeking to raise capital, restructure or pursue transactions in Nigeria and across Africa, the award points toward a leader whose firm combines investment banking capability with a development-focused mission spanning agriculture, housing, infrastructure and beyond.

Financing Africa's growth

Africa's development story is, in large part, a financing story: the continent's needs in infrastructure, housing, agriculture and enterprise far exceed the capital currently reaching them, and closing that gap calls for institutions able to structure investment intelligently and connect local opportunity with global capital. Development-focused investment banks occupy a particular place in this effort, seeking both financial returns and broad economic impact, and doing so requires a sophisticated command of capital markets alongside a deep understanding of local conditions. DLM Capital Group's presence in Lagos, Abuja, London, New York and Mauritius, and its focus on innovative funding across sectors of real developmental importance, reflect that ambition. Under Dr Babatunde Sonnie Ayere's leadership, the firm illustrates how corporate finance expertise can be directed toward the long-term growth of the Nigerian and wider African economy.