Hakeem Bello-Osagie

About Hakeem Bello-Osagie

# Hakeem Bello-Osagie: The Deal-Maker Reshaping African Investment

Hakeem Bello-Osagie built his reputation in the corridors of high finance, not in the public eye. As chair of Metis Capital Partners, he brokered the kinds of deals that move markets—large-ticket transactions that connected Africa's most promising ventures to blue chip international investors.

Forbes took notice in 2014, ranking him the forty-first richest man in Africa. By then, Bello-Osagie had already established himself as more than a businessman chasing profits. He was a strategist who understood how capital flows could reshape a continent.

His wife, Dr Myma Bello-Osagie, is a founding partner of Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie, one of Nigeria's leading law firms. The couple became known for their philanthropic work together. Their generosity extended to some of the world's most prestigious institutions.

Harvard University's Center for African Studies counted them among its supporters. Bello-Osagie joined Harvard's Global Advisory Council alongside his wife. He also sits on the Yale University President's Council on International Activities and serves on New York University's President's Global Council.

The Brookings Institution and the Council on Foreign Relations both sought his counsel. Bello-Osagie took positions on their advisory boards, lending his expertise to global policy conversations. These were not ceremonial roles but reflections of his influence in international affairs.

Education became a priority for the couple. They emerged among the largest donors to the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, a residential secondary school that cultivates Africa's brightest young leaders. The ALA's selective two-year curriculum in leadership, service and African studies has produced alumni across forty-three African countries.

Bello-Osagie also established a scholarship at Balliol College, Oxford, to support African students. He understood that investment in talent—young, ambitious African talent—was investment in the continent's future.

His trajectory shows a businessman who leveraged success into influence. Metis Capital Partners remained his primary vehicle for moving money across borders. But his real legacy might be measured not in deals closed, but in the generation of African leaders he and his wife helped shape.