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By Mikel Adeshina
Olaide Oyeyemi, a sharp-minded finance expert from Queens, New York, is shaking up the way banks think about lending.
With an MBA from Hult International Business School (2022) and years of hands-on experience of working in Sterling Bank Plc in Nigeria, Oyeyemi has proffer solutions to some problems facing the financial sector today: how gig economy workers cannot obtain loans and how climate change is redefining risks for banks in lending money to corporations.
Her work makes real-world recommendations that would make the financial system more fair to millions and better suited to confront environmental crises. In her previous work, Oyeyemi is a critical analysis of the gig economy—Uber drivers, freelance graphic designers, or delivery workers racing around on apps.
In 2023, over a third of U.S. employees occupied this new terrain, and millions more in India, Nigeria, and Brazil. But getting a loan? That’s a tough one for these workers. Banks tend to favor people with steady paychecks and traditional jobs, leaving gig workers out in the cold. Oyeyemi’s research found that 60% of these workers can’t get affordable loans, and in Brazil, it’s even worse—67% are shut out. Her solution is simple but powerful: banks should look at data like how many jobs a worker completes or what their customer ratings are. This could show who’s reliable and deserves a loan, no paystub required. By opening up credit to gig workers, Oyeyemi’s ideas could help people grow their small businesses or cover unexpected bills without turning to sketchy lenders. Her second report delves into why climate change is running business loans off the rails, especially in countries like Nigeria, India, and Brazil, where floods, drought, or new green regulations come home to roost.
Oyeyemi discovered that firms in dirty industries, including oil and gas, are more likely to default on loans when you factor in climate risks. For example, policy shifts toward cleaner energy can make these types of businesses unsustainable to run. She thinks banks need to consider a company’s environmental risk—how much they’re polluting or how vulnerable they are to natural disasters—when deciding who to lend money to. This approach would incentivize companies to be cleaner in their energy to get better rates on their loans, which would be better for the world and would keep banks’ books more secure. Oyeyemi’s work matters because it tackles real-world problems head-on.
For gig workers, her research could mean easier access to loans, giving them a shot at financial stability. To firms, it is a wake-up call to go green or risk losing funding. At Sterling Bank Plc, she cut bad loans by 67% by designing an early risk detection platform and this demonstrates that she is capable of bringing ideas to life. Add to that her credentials as a Licensed New York Insurance Agent (2023) and a Designated Compliance Professional (2024), plus her involvement with groups like the National Black MBA Association, and you’ve got someone who’s got the chops to influence how finance works. Her work also gives a nudge to governments and banks.
She suggests that regulations be updated so banks are able to securely use gig workers’ app data, like income or work history, to make more fair credit decisions. Environmentally, she’d like to see the banks disclose how they manage environmental risk, which will lead to smarter, more sustainable lending. These changes connect with more aggressive global ambitions, like the Paris Agreement, to build a more sustainable world. Oyeyemi’s research is a bold call to rethink how money moves in today’s world. By showing how gig workers and climate risks can be better understood, she’s laying out a path for banks, regulators, and apps to create a financial system that’s fairer and ready for the challenges ahead. Her ideas can change millions of workers and lead businesses towards a sustainable future, making finance work for everyone.
