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PREMIUM TIMES’ Business Editor, Oladeinde Olawoyin, has been selected for the 2025 International Visitors’ Leadership Program (IVLP) for professional leaders in Trade, Finance and Development.
Mr Olawoyin was named alongside 21 other participants from several countries, such as Guyana, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Germany, New Zealand, Brazil, Rwanda, South Africa, United Kingdom, Peru, Montenegro, Finland, Philippines, Colombia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia, Iraq, India, Lebanon, and Ukraine.
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The global cohort is made up of economists, sanctions and compliance experts, government expnomic advisors and representatives, trade and SME consultants, CEOs of companies, accountants and auditors, amongst others.
The programme, supported by the US’ Department of State, is structured to give participants a deep understanding of US trade policies, bureaucracy, markets, commerce, business operations, SMEs, and local enterprises in selected states.
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The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is the foundational professional exchange programme of the United States’ Government.
The programme advances US national priorities and builds long-term relationships between Americans and international leaders in government, business, academia, and other fields.
IVLP fellows are carefully nominated by U.S. embassies based on their leadership potential and influence in their home countries.
Since its launch in 1940, over 230,000 international leaders have participated in the programme. The list of alumni includes over 500 former and current heads of state and government, 12 Nobel Laureates, over 1,600 cabinet-level ministers and leaders in industry, science, and academia.
As a core component of US public diplomacy, the IVLP directly supports US foreign policy goals and is designed to cultivate long-term relationships and mutual understanding between Americans and current and future foreign leaders.
The programme involves visits to the US, where participants engage with American professionals in their respective fields across various US cities.
These carefully designed exchanges build professional knowledge, cultural understanding, and lasting connections.
A wide network of American volunteers, community organisations, and private companies are involved in hosting IVLP participants. It is ‘citizen diplomacy’ that provides international leaders with a firsthand look at American society and helps build cultural bridges.
Profile: Oladeinde Olawoyin
Mr Olawoyin, Business, Energy and Economy Editor at the PREMIUM TIMES, is a multi-award winning journalist who focuses on issues around oil and gas, business, finance, agriculture, economy, power, maritime, and development.
He holds a Bachelors degree in Mass Communication from the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), where he bagged First Class and emerged the department’s best graduating student. He also holds a master’s in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos.
In 2017, he was nominated in the journalism category of The Future Awards Africa, held in Lagos. In 2018, he was a recipient of the West Africa Media Excellence Awards (WAMECA), held in Ghana, as well as the Nigerian Breweries Golden Pen Awards, held in Lagos.
In December 2018, alongside other young journalists across Africa, he was named “Global Goalkeeper” by the Gates Foundation at an elaborate ceremony in South Africa, in recognition of his reporting of the global goals.
In October 2019, Mr Olawoyin was among 12 finalists from around the world shortlisted for the 2019 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award. He also clinched the big prize as the 2019 Capital Market Reporter of the Year at the PwC Awards for Excellence in Financial Journalism.
In December 2019, he was also among three winners of the African Media Development Foundation (AMDF) Awards, held in Kaduna. In 2020, he was among finalists selected from across Africa at the Sanlam Award for Excellence in Financial Journalism ceremony, held in South Africa.
Mr Olawoyin has attended courses on finance, economy, oil and gas and capital market reporting in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, the United Kingdom, United States of America, and other parts of the world.
He is a 2018 recipient of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR), a 2018 fellow of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), a 2019 fellow of the African Science Literacy Network (ASLN), a 2020 recipient of the Climate Tracker’s Journalism Fellowship, a 2021 Fellow of the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ), among others.
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In October 2022, Mr Olawoyin emerged as the Business Reporter of the Year at the West African Media Excellence Awards (WAMECA), held in Accra, Ghana. Mr Olawoyin was also a finalist in the same year’s editions of the DAME and PwC awards held in Lagos.
As business editor of PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Olawoyin has led several reporters in the execution of numerous editorial projects for the paper, in addition to mentoring many reporters within and outside the organisation.
His works have appeared in several national and international publications, including Finance Uncovered, a London-based finance-focused investigative platform, and the New York Times.
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