Victoria is a learning for development expert with over seven years of experience promoting a culture of continuous improvement, reflective practices, adaptive management, innovation and maximum impact at various levels of development engagement. Trained as a lawyer, Victoria holds a masters in governance and development policies and is currently enrolled as a PhD candidate at the African Studies Center at Leiden University, where she focuses on the context of technology-enabled startup ecosystems in Nigeria and Ghana. She combines insights and methodologies from different disciplines in her PhD to find connections in unlikely places. Victoria has gathered experience in inclusive evaluation and learning methods involving Collaborative International Learning (COIL) and Collaborative Learning Research Approach (CLRA) as part of her research work. She is using these approaches to document and engineer reflection on the impact of development interventions on the experiences of persons considered to be on the margins of society. Victoria has collaborated in international research and knowledge management projects in Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, Egypt, South Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia.
Additionally, she has engaged with academia, policymakers, NGOs and civil society groups to foster enabling business climes for young startups CEOs in Africa. One of these outcomes is her active involvement in the Nigeria startup bill as a member of the presidential advisory committee in Nigeria. She leads the team saddled with drafting synthesis reports, policy briefs and memos, and supports translating these resources into actionable points of recommendation.