Hakeem Onasanya heads the Startups (Lagos Innovates) team at the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund. In this role, he leads the curation, execution, and evaluation of interventions that have supported over 150 startups and innovation-driven enterprises in Lagos. In closing the tech talent gap in Lagos, he is also leading the execution of a 3-billion-naira partnership to train 4,000 tech enthusiasts in Lagos. His vision is to exponentially create jobs while leveraging technology and also position Lagos as the startup capital of Africa and very soon, the world.

Hakeem is an astute manager of human and material resources with over 6 years of experience in the Health Management, Insurance Tech, MSME Development, Public Policy, and Administration. He was previously the Special Adviser to the Chairperson, Board of Trustees of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund where he led the execution of a 670 million-naira (USD 700,000) grant support fund in partnership with private sector partners and Non-Governmental-Organizations to support 2,779 small businesses that were affected by the devastating economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He is a multiple award winner being the recipient of the 2022 Ooni of Ife's Royal African Young Leadership Forum Award, the 2023 winner of The Future Award Africa Prize for Governance and was recently listed as one of the Top 100 West African Young Changemakers by the West African Young Leaders Initiative.

Before transitioning into the Public Sector, he completed a Masters of Public Policy Degree from the University of Oxford as an Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) Scholar and was the Vice President of the University of Oxford Africa Society. He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.