Folake Elias-Adebowale

Folake Elias-Adebowale is a corporate Partner at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie, based in Lagos, Nigeria, and a member of the firm's M&A, Private Equity & Venture Capital, and Oil and Gas teams. Her practice focuses on Mergers and Acquisitions.

Her specialisations include cross-border and domestic equity and asset investments, divestments, mergers and acquisitions, corporate structuring and restructuring, joint ventures, strategic alliances, fund advisory and compliance matters.

She advises financial, operational and other sponsors, investors, funds, fund managers and corporates, including multinationals and conglomerates, on diverse matters and transactions in agriculture, agro-allied, brewery, construction, digital payments, consumer, energy (including renewables), energy services, financial services, FinTech, FMCG, food and beverage, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, insurance, manufacturing, real estate, reinsurance and travel sectors, among others.

Folake's regulatory advocacy work includes participating on the board of the Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, Nigeria (PEVCA) and on the legal and regulatory committees of the Global Private Capital Association (GPCA) and the African Venture Capital Association (AVCA). She serves on a joint committee established by PEVCA and the Securities and Exchange Commission that focuses on the regulation of private equity and venture capital in Nigeria.

She headed teams that produced a social impact investment mapping report for the Impact Investors' Foundation and various parastatals; headed a Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment private equity and venture capital development initiative; and assisted with a state initiative to review and prepare draft legislation for the downstream gas sector.

Folake is ranked by the Chambers Global Guide for Corporate/M&A and Private Equity, and is also ranked for Oil & Gas; by the Chambers FinTech Legal Guide for FinTech Investment and Venture Capital advisory; by the International Financial Law Review (IFLR1000) for M&A, Project Finance and Restructuring; by the Legal 500 for Commercial, Corporate and M&A, and rated a Leading Individual for Energy and Natural Resources; and by the Who's Who Legal Global Guide (M&A and Governance) and Who's Who Legal Guide (Nigeria) for her M&A and Governance, Energy, Natural Resources & Mining, Project Finance and Capital Markets (Private Equity) work. She has been named an IFLR1000 Woman Leader and is regarded as one of BusinessDay Nigeria's Top 20 Outstanding Nigerian Women in Business Law.

Folake serves as a non-executive director on company and association boards. She authors articles and makes presentations and facilitates training on private equity, M&A, oil and gas, investment, employment, regulatory and compliance matters, and on business writing. Her thought leadership pieces have been published by Chambers Global Practice Guides, The Law Review, the IFLR1000, the ICLG, Mondaq, Lexology, the International Law Office, GPCA, AVCA, Into Africa, Centaur and Afriwise, among others.