Valentine Onyenobi, CMgr MCMI

My career did not begin in data analytics.

I started with experience in administration and financial services, including pension account administration, transaction processing, reconciliations and reporting. That early experience gave me a strong foundation in accuracy, documentation, financial processes and working with organisational information.

From there, I moved into operations and project management, where my responsibilities expanded into procurement, vendor management, workforce coordination, project delivery and operational reporting. In one role, digital workflow improvements contributed to an approximately 25% increase in office productivity, while improved vendor and procurement management was associated with an approximately 15% reduction in operating costs.

That experience led me further into business strategy and consulting, where I worked on business development, process improvement, operational performance, workforce initiatives and strategic planning.

Alongside that work, I completed an MBA in Global Business, strengthening the strategic and commercial perspective I bring to business problems.

The more strategic my work became, the more important it was to understand the evidence behind a decision rather than relying only on experience or assumptions.

That led me deeper into data analytics and business intelligence.

I developed hands-on capability across SQL, Python, Power BI, Tableau, Excel, R, DAX, data modelling, ETL/ELT and machine learning, working across data preparation, transformation, analysis, visualisation and predictive modelling.

My analytical experience includes automating data-preparation workflows, transforming large datasets using SQL, integrating different data sources, building interactive dashboards and using analysis to support business planning and operational decisions.

That changed how I think about my role.

I don't want to produce analysis simply because the data is available. I want to understand what the analysis should help someone decide.

My work as a founder has strengthened that perspective further.

With Kajco Finance, I have built inclusive digital lending and credit infrastructure, including a retailer credit system built around merchant onboarding, behavioural scoring and credit assessment.

Through Freetown Consultancy & Services Ltd, which I founded, I build ventures across hospitality, FMCG and retail - including StayWithVantage, a guest experience and property automation business - and help founder-led businesses build systems that run without them.

Building around a real financial-services problem requires a different level of thinking.

The questions are not simply:

• What data do we have?

They become:

• What problem are we solving?
• Who is affected by it?
• What information actually matters?
• How should the decision be made?
• What should the process look like?
• What should we measure?

That experience has reinforced my preference for practical strategy - understanding the commercial objective first, then determining how data, processes, analysis and technology can contribute to a useful solution.

Today, I work across strategy, analytics and execution.

I can approach a problem from the strategic side, work directly with the underlying data, understand the operational implications and translate the findings into a practical course of action.

My experience across different markets and professional environments has also taught me to adapt the approach to the organisation, rather than forcing every problem into the same framework.

The common thread across my work is simple:

Understand the problem. Work with the evidence. Make the decision better.