There are leaders who change systems, and then there are those who quietly change lives. Damilola “Dammy” Feyide belongs to the latter category — a strategist in the boardroom and a radical optimist in the classroom. Equally at ease designing SME programmes as she is teaching a roomful of teenagers, Dammy has turned a personal conviction about opportunity into real institutions that reach the most vulnerable.
Born and raised in Nigeria, Dammy’s early ambitions shifted as she grew up. As a child, she dreamed of becoming an actress; by secondary school, she considered studying law. But her father’s advice — that Nigeria already had too many lawyers — encouraged her to think differently. That guidance, coupled with her own pragmatic reflections, led her to the University of Sheffield, where she earned a degree in Economics and Business Management. It was a choice that would later become the backbone of both her corporate career and her social ventures.
After returning to Nigeria, Dammy completed her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and gained early professional experience at ProvidusBank. Immersed in the world of finance and strategy, she developed a deeper understanding of how economic opportunity can be scaled to empower communities. Today, as Lead of SME Development and Strategy at ProvidusBank, she plays a pivotal role in unlocking the potential of small and medium enterprises, designing frameworks that help businesses not just survive but thrive.
Yet her story does not stop at corporate success. During her NYSC year, Dammy began running creative classes for indigent and troubled children, including those in remand homes and correctional centres. What began as a small act of service soon blossomed into something much bigger. In 2020, she founded the Let It Shine Academy (LISA) — a tuition-free secondary school providing quality education for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The school reflects her conviction that education is not a privilege but a right, and that every child deserves the tools to imagine and build a brighter future.
LISA is not a traditional charity classroom. Under Dammy’s leadership, it has become a hub of dignity and innovation, blending academic rigor with creativity and life skills. The vision is holistic: to raise confident, purposeful young people equipped to break free from generational cycles of poverty. Through THEO by LISA, she has also expanded into alternative educational models that complement the academy’s mission and open new doors for learners.
Professionally and socially, Dammy’s work is deeply interconnected. Her expertise in SME development provides a natural bridge between the classroom and the economy. By nurturing young people through free education and then fostering an enabling environment for entrepreneurs, she addresses both ends of Nigeria’s development spectrum: the supply of skilled, empowered individuals and the systems that allow them to succeed.
While much of Dammy’s personal life remains private, the story of her public work speaks volumes. She embodies a form of leadership that is not performative but practical, not self-serving but community-driven. Whether in the structured corridors of banking or the vibrant classrooms of Let It Shine Academy, she continues to prove that influence is most powerful when it creates space for others to rise.
Damilola Feyide is more than a banker or an education advocate — she is a bridge-builder. Her story is not about personal accolades but about redefining what leadership means in Nigeria today. She proves that true impact lies in creating space for others to rise — whether that’s a struggling entrepreneur finding footing or a child in a forgotten community stepping into a classroom for the first time. By bridging the worlds of finance and education, she is quietly shaping a future where access and opportunity are no longer privileges, but fundamental rights.
