Mr. Daere Afonya-a Akobo is an Entrepreneur, Business Mentor, and Philanthropist. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AKD Digital Solutions Ltd, and the Group CEO of an international business conglomerate, with interests in oil and gas, energy & power, technology, amongst others. He also leads the Daere Afonya-a Akobo Foundation (DAAF), where he actively oversees life-changing initiatives.
He strives for excellence throughout the extended reach of his activities with an astute eye for spotting a problem coupled with a daring, creative, and solution-driven mindset.
Early in his career, he developed expertise in the areas of flow metering, vibration and condition monitoring, instrumentation, and control, which made him excel in the Sub-Saharan African Oil and Gas Industry. His business focus has since diversified beyond Oil and Gas to encompass a variety of industries with promising growth potential, such as power, water, and process technology, e-commerce, telecommunications, and information technology. Mr. Akobo worked with International Petroleum of Nigeria as an Electrical and Instrumentation superintendent and with General Electric (GE), amongst others.
He has over 25 years of experience in the operations of the oil and gas sector across a wide range of disciplines, including electrical, flow measurement, sales, and procurement. Mr. Akobo holds a degree in applied physics from Rivers State University and a PGD in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the Federal University of Technology Owerri. He has several honors awards and is a distinguished alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, INSEAD Business School, Jack Welch Management Institute, Manchester Business School, JWMI, Fairfax Country, Virginia, Fontainebleau, France, and Harvard, USA. From these institutions, he attained diverse qualifications and associated skills and expertise. Added to these are a long list of work certifications and professional work experiences acquired across the globe. These have contributed to his business essence and global presence: multi-dimensionality, strategic structural and people empowerment, referent enterprise standards, bridging cultural differences, value- and knowledge-based entrepreneurship, and philanthropy.
He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Directors, London; a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Directors, Nigeria; a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Consultants and he is a Certified Management Consultant. He is a Member of the Young Presidents Organization and a member of the Forbes Business Council. Throughout his career, he’s been honored with several excellence awards by many European Business partners; most notably, he has received The Shell Super Vendor Delivery Performance Award and Integrity Award, Honeywell EMEA best sales award, European Business Council Award, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Tax Compliance Award, Nigerian Society of Engineers Award, University of Port Harcourt Business School Outstanding Business Personality in Oil and Gas Sector, Nigerian National Petroleum Commission Limited (NNPCL) Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) 2023 Excellence Award, Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) 2024 Exhibition Excellence Award, African Leadership Magazine African Energy Person of The Year Award, Women in Energy Oil and Gas (WEOG) Energy Sheros Torchbearer Award, and many more.
He has been described by The Guardian (October 1st, 2018) as "One of the Top 25 Dynamic and Influential CEOs. During his employment with General Electric (GE), he was recognized as The Top Talent Throughout the African continent. He has been appointed as Entrepreneur-in-Residence by the Rivers State University, Mediator for Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (ADRC) by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Advisory Board Member of the Africa Energy Technology Centre (AETC) Ghana, and Vice Chairman of the Business Strategy Committee of PETAN.
He is an innovator at heart, driven by his life motto: "A dream without a deadline is a nightmare." For him, work begins because goals have been set and must be achieved within a specific timeline. Thus, he is distinguished by a rare ability to ride the tides despite daunting challenges by remaining relentlessly focused as much on the goal as on constructive thinking with Grace at work. Moreover, his insights received considerable attention when published in the Forbes Africa-Nigeria 60th Anniversary Edition.
He is married to Iyenemi and is blessed with four children: Mildred, Eldred, Esmeralda, and Sophia.
Mr. Daere Afonya-a Akobo is an Entrepreneur, Business Mentor, and Philanthropist. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AKD Digital Solutions Ltd, and the Group CEO of an international business conglomerate, with interests in oil and gas, energy & power, technology, amongst others. He also leads the Daere Afonya-a Akobo Foundation (DAAF), where he actively oversees life-changing initiatives.
He strives for excellence throughout the extended reach of his activities with an astute eye for spotting a problem coupled with a daring, creative, and solution-driven mindset.
Early in his career, he developed expertise in the areas of flow metering, vibration and condition monitoring, instrumentation, and control, which made him excel in the Sub-Saharan African Oil and Gas Industry. His business focus has since diversified beyond Oil and Gas to encompass a variety of industries with promising growth potential, such as power, water, and process technology, e-commerce, telecommunications, and information technology. Mr. Akobo worked with International Petroleum of Nigeria as an Electrical and Instrumentation superintendent and with General Electric (GE), amongst others.
He has over 25 years of experience in the operations of the oil and gas sector across a wide range of disciplines, including electrical, flow measurement, sales, and procurement. Mr. Akobo holds a degree in applied physics from Rivers State University and a PGD in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the Federal University of Technology Owerri. He has several honors awards and is a distinguished alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, INSEAD Business School, Jack Welch Management Institute, Manchester Business School, JWMI, Fairfax Country, Virginia, Fontainebleau, France, and Harvard, USA. From these institutions, he attained diverse qualifications and associated skills and expertise. Added to these are a long list of work certifications and professional work experiences acquired across the globe. These have contributed to his business essence and global presence: multi-dimensionality, strategic structural and people empowerment, referent enterprise standards, bridging cultural differences, value- and knowledge-based entrepreneurship, and philanthropy.
He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Directors, London; a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Directors, Nigeria; a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Consultants and he is a Certified Management Consultant. He is a Member of the Young Presidents Organization and a member of the Forbes Business Council. Throughout his career, he’s been honored with several excellence awards by many European Business partners; most notably, he has received The Shell Super Vendor Delivery Performance Award and Integrity Award, Honeywell EMEA best sales award, European Business Council Award, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Tax Compliance Award, Nigerian Society of Engineers Award, University of Port Harcourt Business School Outstanding Business Personality in Oil and Gas Sector, Nigerian National Petroleum Commission Limited (NNPCL) Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) 2023 Excellence Award, Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) 2024 Exhibition Excellence Award, African Leadership Magazine African Energy Person of The Year Award, Women in Energy Oil and Gas (WEOG) Energy Sheros Torchbearer Award, and many more.
He has been described by The Guardian (October 1st, 2018) as "One of the Top 25 Dynamic and Influential CEOs. During his employment with General Electric (GE), he was recognized as The Top Talent Throughout the African continent. He has been appointed as Entrepreneur-in-Residence by the Rivers State University, Mediator for Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (ADRC) by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Advisory Board Member of the Africa Energy Technology Centre (AETC) Ghana, and Vice Chairman of the Business Strategy Committee of PETAN.
He is an innovator at heart, driven by his life motto: "A dream without a deadline is a nightmare." For him, work begins because goals have been set and must be achieved within a specific timeline. Thus, he is distinguished by a rare ability to ride the tides despite daunting challenges by remaining relentlessly focused as much on the goal as on constructive thinking with Grace at work. Moreover, his insights received considerable attention when published in the Forbes Africa-Nigeria 60th Anniversary Edition.
He is married to Iyenemi and is blessed with four children: Mildred, Eldred, Esmeralda, and Sophia.