Shehu Shantali

Managing Director/CEO (2017 to Date)

Apricot Investment Limited is a private Investment Holding Company that provides a convenient investing and financing vehicle for individuals and institutions that majorly operate in various sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Role Details:

• Direct the company in keeping with the vision outlined by the Company’s Board of Directors.
• Partner with high level partners to grow the company, strengthen it and ensure its sustainability.
• Overseeing quality control throughout the company and its subsidiaries, establishing organizational goals and ensuring compliance with the regulatory areas with SEC, PENCOM, NDIC, FIRS, CBN, NAICOM, FRC and others.
• Directing strategic investments and acquisitions. The PFA arm controls AUM of over N650 Billion.
• Directed and created Investment Notes for Real Estate Financing schemes in Nigeria. The notes were structured to meet the investment appetite of different clients.
• Created a subsidiary in Financial Advisory and Financial Services registered with the SEC. Apricot Advisory Services is a fully owned subsidiary of Apricot.
• Directed Agric Financing in partnership with the Nigerian Farmers and Investors in areas of Mechanization, Warehousing, Crop Planting and Processing
• Designed and built IT Platform called Micro-World for Digital Financial Services in Nigeria. The IT Platform was designed to serve the Formal and Informal sectors and this includes Micro-Health, Micro-Insurance, Micro-Housing, Micro-Investment, Micro-Housing, Micro-Investment, etc. Micro-World is designed to be the IT Fintech subsidiary of Apricot.

Teasy Mobile Money is a licensed payment solutions company regulated by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to offer Mobile Financial Services in Nigeria.
Role Details
• Directing and overseeing all aspects of the Finance & Accounting functions of the organization.
• Responsible for the effective and efficient operation of the financial function of the company in compliance with the company’s laid down policies and procedures.
• Providing executive management and the board of directors with advice on the financial implications of business activities, this includes working strategically with operations and sales team and supporting strategic decision making.
• Managing processes for financial forecasting and modeling, sensitivity analysis, budgets and consolidation and reporting to the company.
• Analysis and evaluation of monthly accounts to review actual performance against budget and highlight the variances. Presents weekly management accounts to Management for their review.
• Control of all company expenditure and monitoring the revenue projects of the company.
• Ensuring that effective internal controls are in place and ensure compliance with IFRS and applicable federal, state and local regulatory laws and rules for financial and tax reporting.

SEC is the apex regulator of the Nigerian Capital Market
Role Details
• Analyzing the Financial Statements of all Quoted Companies in Nigeria
• Team Leader, SEC IFRS Team; the team is assigned with the successful migration of Nigerian Companies from Local GAAP (SAS) to IFRS.
• Monitoring Compliance of Companies Quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Capital Market Operators.
• Developing new products in the Nigerian Capital Market.
Key Achievements
Championed the conversion of the Commission from the Nigerian GAAP to IFRS in 3 months less than the timeline and was able to save the commission the cost of having to pay the consultants for the extra months.

Role Details
• Handled SEC pension fund Investment assets of over N7.2bn
• Liaised with the Pension Fund Administrators in arriving at the right Investment Mix
• Responsible for the preparation of the financial statements of the SEC Pensions Fund Account to the finalization stage.
• Preparation of reports for the SEC Pension Fund Board of Trustees.
• Advising senior management on aspects of accounts maintenance, compliance and budget control issues.
• Supervise the compilation of timely monthly management reports.
• Ensuring compliance with regulatory issues with other regulators e.g. CBN, NDIC, Pension Fund Commission.
• Working closely with internal audit in the evaluation of internal control systems.
• Ensuring that the external audit is carried out seamlessly, also ensuring that the actuarial valuation of the fund is carried out on an annual basis with the Actuaries (Alexander Forbes)
Key Achievements
• Devised an efficient accounting system that was approved by Management and increased the efficiency of the accounting systems in the commission.
• Built and managed a team and ensured that all financial information is processed accurately and in a timely manner.

VRS is an automotive company that provides quality cars to motor retailers throughout the UK direct from the manufacturers, fleet and leasing companies. VRS is a subsidiary of Manheim.
Role Details
• Processing of invoices and payments using PEGASUS OPERA II accounts and preparation of accounts to trial balance stage.
• Assisting the finance co-coordinator in the preparation of monthly management accounts for the senior management.
• Ensuring compliance with the organization’s policies and standards
Key Achievements
Assisted with the installation of the new software in the company which improved the accounting processes in the company.

GKN driveline offers freight services in the U.K with Branches in Spain and Italy.
Role Details:
• Processing of purchases and sales invoices on SUNSYSTEM Accounts.
• Responsible for monthly accounting processes.

Jecom & Co. is a firm of Accountants in Birmingham UK.
Role Details.
• Handled the preparation of Jecom & Co accounts and that of other clients to the finalization stage.
• Provided customer service and dealt directly with clients in offering strategic investment and business advice in with the FSA and UK Tax laws.
• Prepared accounts reconciliation and preparation of final accounts.
• Provide management accounts report.

SEC is the apex capital market regulator of the Nigerian capital market.
Role Details
• Supervised a team of employees in carrying out accounting functions and the preparation of financial statements to the finalization stage.
• Co-ordinate schedules activities and reports with other departments whose modules interface with the general ledger module. These include accounts payable, accounts receivable, asset management and HR module.
• Communicated with outside agencies to resolve common problems on a needed basis.
• Prepared monthly management accounts, income and expenditure and investment analysis.
• Assisted in formulating of interim and final annual audit.
• Identified areas of improvement in the organization decision making framework.

Key Achievements
• Acted as the Project Manager (Super User) in the Lawson (ERP) implementation and worked directly with the Lawson Consultants. Assisted in building a new chart of account for the commission. Trained other Staff of the commission in the Lawson processes.