When Africa’s leading private equity and venture capitalists gathered under the chandeliers of the Four Points by Sheraton, hosted by BusinessDay on July 18, it wasn’t a mere coincidence that the room buzzed most during Temitope Ijibadejo’s presentation.
As SquaredFinancial’s regional director for Africa, he guided a packed auditorium through a journey that began with grim reminders of market pitfalls and ended with a vivid portrait of opportunity, if, and only if, investors embrace a more dynamic approach to asset allocation.
Ijibadejo opened by acknowledging the volatility that has become all too familiar to businesses on the continent. From abrupt currency swings that can vaporise profit margins overnight to the risks posed by heavily concentrated portfolios, the landscape for private equity and venture capital investors has grown more treacherous.
He illustrated this with a striking example: a Nigerian infrastructure firm that, without proper hedging, would have seen its dollar-denominated costs soar by nearly 30 per cent as the naira weakened. In contrast, by locking in forward exchange rates on SquaredFinancial’s platform, the company preserved its margins and kept its project on schedule.
The narrative then shifted seamlessly into the heart of his message: foreign‑exchange markets are not mere backdrops to corporate earnings; they offer powerful levers for both safeguarding and enhancing returns. With characteristic clarity, Ijibadejo explained how currency forwards, options, and CFDs can be woven into a broader portfolio, easing swings in local cash flows while opening doors to strategic gains. He brought this to life with a second case study: a Lagos‐based bakery that anticipated surging wheat prices amid the Ukraine crisis and secured its future by trading commodity futures, transforming a looming cost crisis into a modest windfall.
Midway through his address, the mood in the room shifted from caution to curiosity. Ijibadejo introduced SquaredFinancial’s proprietary Sentiment & Seasonality Edge, an analytical framework that combines real-time market sentiment, derived from news feeds, social data, and institutional flow, with decades of historical price cycles. He described how patterns such as the post-Chinese New Year copper rally, the pre-Diwali gold surge, and the winter spike in heating oil contracts all hint at predictable windows of market strength. Attendees leaned in as ten‑year price charts illuminated these seasonal rhythms, turning what many feared as random volatility into a map of opportunity.
Throughout the session, Ijibadejo wove in moments of practical guidance. He urged fund managers to move beyond static, long‑only mandates and to treat FX and commodity derivatives as dynamic tools, dialling exposures up when data signals high probability and scaling back when winds shift. His tone was neither alarmist nor overly promotional; rather, it carried the assurance of a seasoned practitioner who had seen both markets and mavericks rise and fall.
By the time he concluded, the conference hall felt less like a place of passive listening and more like a command centre for strategic action. Ijibadejo’s final words resonated: “Proactivity wins where reactivity fails.” He invited attendees to book a free one‑on‑one consultation and to discover how these tactics can be tailored to their firm’s unique profile.
As private equity and venture capital continue to fuel Africa’s growth story, the imperative is clear: protecting capital against crises is as essential as harvesting gains from booms. Temitope Ijibadejo’s presentation on tactical asset allocation offered both a stark warning and a compelling pathway forward. For investors ready to chart a more resilient course, SquaredFinancial stands ready to guide the way.
