Olanrewaju Oniyitan is Founder and Executive Director of SEED Care & Support
Foundation in Nigeria, a non-profit that supports the affordable non-state education sector to deliver access to quality education for all children by providing advocacy, evidence and a learning network. A consultant, entrepreneur, author, and speaker with over two decades of experience focusing on creating wealth, jobs, and economic growth in Africa, she believes in the transformative power of education in achieving all other Sustainable Development Goals.

Her work seeks to address the challenge that half of Nigeria's population is under 19 years old, yet many lack access to quality education. Over 20 million are out of school and 70% of children in school are experiencing learning poverty. She believes the affordable non-state sector (low-fee private schools, faith-based schools, community schools, alternative learning centres) plays an indispensable role, in tandem with the government, in expanding access to education and improving learning outcomes and SEED Care & Support Foundation supports this sector to help build a world where all children no matter their background have access to quality education.

The organisation amplifies the role of the affordable non-state sector by giving it a seat at the policy table, working through partnerships to shape system-wide change. It designs, pilots, monitors and adapts innovations, models, concepts and frameworks to local contexts for learning and scale, using the evidence to mobilise and persuade strategic actors to pay attention to the affordable non-state sector both locally, in Africa and around the world.

The organisation also strengthens and grows the affordable non-state sector to
enhance the quality of education it offers through its collaborative community,
school transformation programme, finance, communities of practice and curated
learning experiences.

Oniyitan’s organisation aims to impact 20,000 affordable non-state schools/centres towards transforming the lives of 1 million children across Nigeria by 2035.

Oniyitan’s extensive experience as an international development expert has led her to work with organisations and projects funded by FCDO, World Bank, GIZ, OXFAM, Stanford University, African Development Bank (AfDB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, amongst others.

She has won multiple awards and recognitions including: Top 50 African Women In Development 2024, Outstanding Service to Humanity 2022, Service Excellence Award 2022, Nigerian Education Outliers 2020, Obama Foundation African Leader 2019,Edu-Gladiator Award 2018, and Award of Excellence in EntrepreneurshipDevelopment 2018.