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Ladé Dada '04, Nigeria
Ladé Dada is a T-bird through and through. After earning her MBA in Global Management in 2004, she chose the road less taken - and used her skills and conviction to pursue her passion for the disadvantaged.


Ladé Dada '04

As a senior investment officer at the African Development Bank, Ladé Dada ’04 spends about half her time away from her home in Tunis, Tunisia.

Her job is to appraise potential investments in infrastructure projects such as power plants, toll roads, water treatment facilities and telecommunications systems. This requires frequent travel to various African countries and meetings with potential private investors, government officials and stakeholders.

“It’s not about sitting in your comfortable office,” Dada said. “We go out into the field, even to remote, difficult-to-reach areas. This is necessary as we consider all the potential risks to our investments and ensure that they are well structured, while we seek the greatest economic benefit for the stakeholders.”

Along the way, the Nigerian native meets people and sees things that fill her with hope for Africa’s future.

“I am always astounded by the beauty of the continent,” Dada said during a recent telephone interview from Tunis. “Nature in Africa is breathtaking.”

While natural resources abound, Dada said Africa’s real strength lies in the continent’s untapped human resources. She is intrigued by the innovative ways in which individuals and communities provide for their families without the benefits of modern infrastructure, education and government services that people elsewhere take for granted.

“I find a strong entrepreneurial spirit that can be nurtured for the economic and social development of the continent,” Dada said. 

She said she enjoys meeting the beneficiaries of the various long-term projects funded by the African Development Bank.

“They’re being empowered,” Dada said. “Their quality of life is improving dramatically. They will be able to generate incomes, send their children to school and much more. Having access to basic infrastructure should not be a privilege. Think about the significantly reduced cost of doing business or the compelling time savings that will accrue to them.”

These are the reasons Dada decided to pursue a career in international development after arriving at Thunderbird in 2002 and listening to presentations by Professor Glenn Fong, Ph.D and Professor Femi Babarinde, Ph.D.

“For me, it wasn’t all about the traditional bottom line,” said Dada, who speaks English, Italian, French and some Spanish and Yoruba. “My passion is really about contributing something for the benefit of disadvantaged people.”

She said this mindset developed naturally as she grew up in a global family that moved from Nigeria to Italy and then Ghana.

“It expanded my view of the world and made me an open person who is flexible and receptive to other cultures,” Dada said. “Seeing the disparity between the quality of life in African countries and developed countries inspired my career path.”