Our Team
Dawud Yakubu
Dawud Yakubu is a Co-Founder of The Volta Institute for Innovation Ecosystems. His vision for the Institute centers on applied research and practical operational frameworks that help organizations scale innovation, adopt emerging technologies, and strengthen regional innovation ecosystems.
His professional background spans technology strategy, robotics-enabled fulfillment, reverse logistics, and commercial operations. At Amazon, he led high-volume fulfillment and asset-recovery operations through the Pathways Operations Leadership Development Program, advancing technology implementation, process improvement, and workforce development. At Riot Games, he contributed to cloud-modernization strategy, business intelligence, and technology investment planning. Earlier roles at Platon Gas Oil and Airtel Ghana encompassed B2B commercial strategy, energy distribution, product commercialization, and digital adoption across West African markets.
He holds an MBA from Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business, an MSc in International Marketing and Brand Management from Lund University, and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Ghana.
Note: Serves the Institute in a voluntary, uncompensated research and framework development capacity.
Jared Offei Lartey
Jared serves as Chief Research Officer at The Volta Institute for Innovation Ecosystems, where he leads and contributes to research on innovation, markets, and the development of transformative policy frameworks.
He has held research and academic positions across Europe and West Africa, including at BI Norwegian Business School, Lund University, and the Graduate School of Management in Côte d’Ivoire. He holds a PhD in Marketing from BI Norwegian Business School, an MSc in Service Management from Lund University in Sweden, and an MPhil in Marketing from the University of Ghana Business School.
His research and professional expertise span innovation legitimation, innovation consumption, and how innovation ecosystems evolve.
Olaoluwa Kolawole
Ola is a Co-Founder and Treasurer at The Volta Institute, where he leads financial governance, capital allocation strategy, and organizational operating model design.
He brings a decade of corporate strategy, deal advisory, and financial management experience across healthcare, technology, financial services, and telecommunications. He currently serves as a Director in Deal Management at EY-Parthenon, advising executives on multi-billion-dollar corporate transformations, operating model integrations, and divestitures. Prior to his work in strategic advisory, he led commercial business development and retail banking strategy at Access Bank PLC.
He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Physics from Covenant University.