The Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Professor Adebayo Simeon Bamire, has received the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Cowrywise and President, CFA Society Nigeria, Mr. Razaq Ahmed, CFA, who paid a courtesy visit to the University leadership during his one-day homecoming.

Mr. Ahmed, an alumnus of the University and keynote speaker at the 2025 edition of the University-wide workshop on Improving Students’ Experience: Pathway to Sustainable University Advancement (ISE 3.0), was hosted by the Vice-Chancellor alongside Principal Officers and senior management staff on November 20, 2025.

In an unforgettable 90 minutes of stimulating discussions with the top leadership of the university, Mr. Ahmed re-affirmed his commitment to contributing to the University’s growth, expressing interest in collaborating with OAU on the establishment of a Fifty billion naira (N50bn) endowment fund to support long-term development. He urged the University to deepen student engagement in ICT services, describing digital competence as fundamental to global career competitiveness.

Professor Bamire expressed profound appreciation for Ahmed’s continued support to the University, especially his instituting cash prizes worth ₦1 million annually for the best graduating students in the Department of Economics and the Faculty of Computing Engineering respectively, along with Mr. Edward Popoola, Co-founder of Cowrywise who is also an alumnus of our great citadel of learning.

Mr. Ahmed’s passion for the explosive growth of his alma mater was palpably felt by everyone present at the occasion as he iterated his plans to get OAU affiliated with the Chartered Financial Analyst Society of Nigeria which presently had only 400 members with Charter Status in the country and only two institutions in West Africa. Citing the contributions of Dr. Quadri Lawal, a Senior Scholar in the Department of Economics, towards supporting students’ participation in the annual CFA Research Challenge, Mr. Ahmed lauded the level of support provided and challenged the university to do more in this regard.

The Vice-Chancellor noted that the position advocated by Mr. Ahmed could only strengthen institutional development and celebrated him for propagating the culture of alumni giving, which remains essential to institutional advancement. He also briefed the visiting alumnus on the University’s strategic development objectives and its ongoing support raising initiatives aimed at enhancing academic and infrastructural capacity.

During the visit, Mr. Ahmed also toured his primary home during his studentship days – the Department of Economics – where he received a grand reception from the Head of Department, the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and a large contingent of students.

His engagement with them focused on curriculum strengthening, mentorship opportunities, fintech literacy, and leveraging alumni influence for academic growth.

Shortly afterwards, he made his way to the prestigious Africa Centre of Excellence in Software Engineering in the university, where he delivered a profound and thought-provoking keynote address to the university community on the subject of improving student experience as a pathway to sustainable university advancement. Along with another eminent speaker, Dr. Seun Fakorede (Executive Adviser to the Government of Oyo State on Youth and Sports from 2019 – 2023) and Panelists Mrs. Toyin Lasaki and Mr. Isaac Ibikunle, the programme was electrifying and highly inspiring to members of the university community, particularly the students, ten of which received training scholarships worth two hundred thousand naira (N200, 000.00) each, with three others winning internship placements at Cowrywise for a period of three months. The winners emerged from a Recruitment Challenge facilitated by EduBridge Academy, an alumnus-owned organisation which had been supporting the ISE series since 2024.

The University Advancement Office and the Division of Students’ Affairs, co-organisers of the ISE workshop, commended Ahmed’s engagement as a demonstration of the transformative role of alumni in strengthening the University’s profile, visibility, and student experience.