As the global appetite for African innovation grows, startups from Lagos, Nairobi, and Cape Town are increasingly eyeing the United States as their next growth market. But the path to international expansion is not paved by ambition alone—it requires strategic legal and business restructuring, and few professionals understand this terrain better than Yusuf Olalere.
An Oxford trained, dual-qualified lawyer and business consultant, Olalere has emerged as one of the leading figures advising African technology companies on U.S. market entry, regulatory compliance, and investor alignment.
“U.S. investors are excited about African innovation,” Olalere explains. “But they expect Delaware entities, clear governance documents, compliance-readiness, and a plan for scaling under American legal standards. That’s where I come in.”
Olalere, who has advised startups backed by global accelerators like JusticeTech Accelerator, and investment platforms like Fundraising Academy, brings a rare blend of legal, and business expertise and commercial insight to the table. His work spans fintech, logistics, cross-border payments, digital identity, and AI infrastructure—sectors that are both promising and fraught with complex U.S. regulatory obligations.
In one notable engagement, Olalere helped a pan-African fintech startup restructure its operations from a Nigerian holdco to a Delaware C-Corp, allowing it to attract its first U.S. institutional investors. “That one transaction unlocked a $2.5 million raise and a payments partnership in California,” he says.
Beyond structuring, his expertise extends into privacy regulation, IP protection, and risk mitigation. Olalere often finds himself explaining the implications of laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) or the recent FTC guidance on AI-generated decisions to startup founders encountering these frameworks for the first time.
“It’s not enough to incorporate. If you are building AI or cross-border financial tools, you need to understand what compliance, liability, and data handling look like in the U.S.,” he warns.
His advisory practice is not just legal—it’s deeply commercial. He collaborates with founders to retool their cap tables, prepare board consents, set up employee stock plans, and build legal infrastructure that is due diligence–ready from Day 1.
“What I bring is not just paperwork,” Olalere says. “I help African companies translate their vision into a language U.S. investors, regulators, and partners can trust.”
His work has earned him recognition at major international law firms and accolades for thought leadership in African legal and tech circles. But Olalere insists he’s just getting started.
“I believe in African founders, and I know they can lead globally. I’m here to help make sure they don’t get tripped up on the legal side of scale.”
For startups seeking to go global, that kind of guidance may be more than helpful; it may be indispensable.
