I'm Simi Adekolu. I shape financial stability and capital markets policy at Finance Canada, build governance and strategy for nonprofits through Simorah Advisory, and help ambitious professionals find direction through ClarityWithSimi. Mom of two. Writer of ClarityNotes. Firm believer in clarity over linearity.
My career started with numbers at Access Bank in Lagos and grew into financial risk consulting at KPMG, where I sat across from senior leaders of financial institutions and asked them how they thought about risk. That's where I realized I wanted to be on the side of the table where decisions get made — where one good policy reaches thousands of people instead of one client.
So I moved to Canada and started over. New market, no network, a junior title. I earned a Master's in International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa, volunteered my finance and strategy skills to nonprofits before anyone here would hire me, and worked my way up to Economist and Advisor at Finance Canada — with a promotion at every step.
Outside the briefing notes, I'm a mom of two and a woman of faith. I love beautiful things — nature, good design, anything well made. I write and talk about careers, faith, motherhood, and the immigration journey, messy middle included. If any of that sounds like your life, we'll get along.
Not a perfect roadmap — just a way to find your direction when the road bends.
I shape financial stability and capital markets policy. I led the design of Canada's first Secondary Suites Mortgage Loan Insurance program, contributed to the first Canadian Mortgage Charter, and brief Deputy Ministers and the Minister of Finance on financial system risks.
A governance, finance, and strategy practice for nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and mission-driven organizations — including Indigenous organizations — that have outgrown their structures. I help them build the scaffolding to grow with integrity.
simorahadvisory.com → The GuideFor people whose careers don't follow the expected script — not lost, just navigating without someone who has been there. Clarity conversations, the ClarityNotes newsletter, and honest content on careers that bend.
clarity.simiadekolu.org →Foundational years at one of Nigeria's most systemically significant banks — financial statement analysis, derivatives valuation, and learning how money moves through an institution.
Advised public financial authorities and regulated financial institutions — enterprise-wide stress testing, capital adequacy, and quantitative risk modelling. Published peer-reviewed economics research along the way.
Master's in International Development and Global Studies. Volunteered finance and strategy skills to nonprofits before anyone here would hire me — value first.
Co-developed the federal Race-Based Reference Data Strategy, advancing ethical data governance and evidence-based policy across the public service.
Two promotions in under three years at the department at the centre of Canada's economic decision-making. Landmark housing finance frameworks, federal Budget measures, briefings to the Minister of Finance.
Simorah (2018) helps nonprofits build the governance they've outgrown. ClarityWithSimi (2026) helps ambitious professionals find the clarity nobody handed me — including through ClarityNotes, my newsletter.
A gender analysis of science, technology, and innovation policies in new national development plans — examining who these policies are designed for, and who they leave out.
An empirical study of how public investment in education and health shaped Nigeria's economic growth from 1982–2011. Found a sustained long-run relationship between education and health spending and GDP growth — and argued that investing in people is a growth strategy, not a cost.
What decades of research suggest we get wrong about talent.
On imposter syndrome, recognition lag, and what changed when I stopped.
What I had to unlearn about getting promoted when I moved countries.
Fiduciary oversight, budgeting, and financial reporting for a national nonprofit advancing racial equity and inclusive education across Canada.
Directed financial oversight, audit readiness, and governance counsel for a national academic association in global development.
Supported a capacity-building engagement with There is Hope, a community nonprofit in Malawi — strategy review and measurement design.
Research supporting newcomer women building careers in Canada's technology sector.
For speaking, advisory, media, or a hello — my inbox is open.