Oluyemisi Iranloye

Oluyemisi Iranloye is a visionary entrepreneur whose work has transformed agriculture and rural communities in Nigeria and beyond. She is the Founder/CEO of Psaltry International Company Limited, a trailblazer in cassava processing and one of the most innovative food processing companies in the world.

She hails from Ogbomosho, Oyo State, earned a B.Tech in Biochemistry from the Federal University of Technology, Minna (1997) and an M.Sc. from the University of Ibadan (2000). She further honed her leadership skills as an alumna of the Seed Transformation Program of Stanford Graduate School of Business, California and has attended several international management and entrepreneurship programs, including the Nigerian SME Equity Investment Trade and Development Program at El Camino College, California, and the African Women Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) in Washington, D.C., where she later became the first female president of the Nigeria chapter.

Yemisi began her professional journey in 2002 with EKHA Agro Farms Limited, where she rose to become the company’s first Executive Director, contributing to the launch of Nigeria’s first glucose syrup factory. She later had a stint at Nigerian Breweries as a project manager before following her entrepreneurial vision. In 2013, she turned a modest farming venture in Alayide Village, Ado-Awaye, Oyo State, Nigeria into a cassava processing powerhouse that puts smallholder farmers at its core. Her mission has always been clear: to uplift farm families, create jobs, and build sustainable rural economies.

Under her leadership, Psaltry has grown into one of the leading cassava processors in Africa, producing starch, flour, glucose, and pioneering cassava-based sorbitol production; the first in Africa and the second in the world. Today, the company impacts over 100,000 farm families within a 200km radius of its factory, provides about1,000 direct and indirect jobs, and contributes significantly to Nigeria’s economy. Guided by her vision, Psaltry champions sustainability through a solar power initiative that power its operations, and a circular economy that repurposes cassava wastes into animal feed. She also advances girls’ education and promotes gender equality in rural communities through the Psaltry Foundation.

Beyond her company, Oluyemisi plays an active role in shaping the agricultural landscape. She serves on the board of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Business Incubation Platform (IITA-BIP), is President of the Large-Scale Starch and Derivatives Producers Association (LSSDPA), and is a governing council member of Hillside University of Science and Technology. Her previous national and international contributions include serving on Nigeria’s Presidential Committee on Cassava Development and Utility (2005–2007), the UNIDO/Ministry of Commerce Committee (2006), the FAO expert consultation on cassava processing (2008), and the steering committee of the USAID/IITA “Unleashing the Power of Cassava in Africa” project (2009).

Her groundbreaking work has earned her worldwide recognition. In July 2010, she was honored as Nigeria’s foremost female entrepreneur by Hillary Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State. In 2014, she received an award from the Federal Government of Nigeria for her role in the Agriculture Transformation Agenda under Dr. Akinwumi Adesina. More recently, she won the Women Agripreneurs of the Year Award (WAYA) 2022 by AGRA.

Yemisi has shared her insights on renowned platforms across Africa and beyond, inspiring dialogue on sustainable agriculture and women’s inclusion. Her engagements include a keynote address at the FAO-IAFN Private Sector Dinner in Rome, where she addressed ambassadors from more than 30 countries, and a speaking role at the 2025 Africa Food Systems Forum in Senegal, where she lent her voice to shaping Africa’s agricultural transformation.

Her journey reflects a powerful blend of vision, resilience, and commitment to building a more inclusive and sustainable agricultural future.