Founding Team and Governance

Two scientists and builders, friends for more than thirty years, with a board and advisory council designed around the ventures Zero Bola builds.

Dr. Adnan Aminu Adnan and Dr. Anas Balarabe Yazid standing together in an airport terminal, both smiling
Dr. Adnan Aminu Adnan (left) and Dr. Anas Balarabe Yazid (right), returning from the MIT REAP forum in Taiwan, August 2026.

Leadership

Ecosystems are trust networks. Zero Bola begins with a leadership pair whose trust has been tested over decades rather than assembled for a pitch.

Both founders serve on MIT REAP Team Kano-Jigawa (Global Cohort 12), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology program for regional innovation ecosystem building. Between them they cover waste, water, soil, crops, livestock, and the policy and capital systems around them.

Portrait of Dr. Anas Balarabe Yazid

Dr. Anas Balarabe Yazid

Founder. Leads venture building, commercialization, capital, and government relations.

Full background
  • PhD and MSc in Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, with doctoral research on solid state anaerobic digestion of agricultural waste pretreated with tannery wastewater.
  • Project Manager of MIT REAP Team Kano-Jigawa, coordinating government, corporate off-takers, founders, and risk capital for a region of 21 million people.
  • Founder of Symbiocle and of Certis, and founder of Yoda Box EdTech, whose 500 video catalogue was acquired by UNICEF for the Learning Passport platform.
  • UNDP City Winner for Kano (2022) for the Zero Bola proposal, British Council Alumni Award for Entrepreneurship (2017), COREN registered engineer, and Lecturer in Civil Engineering at Bayero University Kano.
Portrait of Dr. Adnan Aminu Adnan

Dr. Adnan Aminu Adnan

Co-Founder. Leads science, agronomy, the Atlas, and farmer and university networks.

Full background
  • PhD in Bio-Science Engineering (Agronomy), KU Leuven, with further training at Wageningen, Bologna, and the University of Georgia. Associate Professor of Agronomy at Bayero University Kano.
  • Project Leader of Living Carbon Jigawa, and formerly Senior Specialist for Green Growth on the FCDO funded LINKS program, including a 30,000 farmer regenerative agriculture platform.
  • At Notore Chemical Industries, sold over NGN 7.5 billion of fertilizer and built distribution networks across Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa.
  • Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ADAB Agri-Resources Nigeria Ltd.
  • Contributor to Nigeria’s 2019 National Seed Policy and the National Kenaf Policy, and team lead for the 300 km Great Green Wall shelterbelt in Jigawa.

Seats marked open are part of the governance design and are being recruited now. Seats marked as priority appointments will be filled first.

Management

The operating team that runs the four pillars and the three entities.

  • Portrait of Dr. Anas Balarabe Yazid

    Dr. Anas Balarabe Yazid

    Founder and Chief Executive Officer

    • Entrepreneur

    Leads venture building, commercialization, capital, and government relations. Environmental engineer (PhD, Imperial College London), Project Manager of MIT REAP Team Kano-Jigawa, and founder of Symbiocle.

  • Portrait of Dr. Adnan Aminu Adnan

    Dr. Adnan Aminu Adnan

    Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer

    • Academia

    Leads science, agronomy, the Atlas, and farmer and university networks. Agronomist (PhD, KU Leuven) and Associate Professor of Agronomy at Bayero University Kano.

  • Commercial and Operations Lead

    Seat open, priority appointment

    • Operations

    Runs Zero Bola Nigeria Ltd revenue: consulting, laboratory services, and corporate contracts, so the founders can hold vision and science.

  • Venture Studio Lead

    Seat open

    • Venture building

    Runs Catalyst cohorts, the Entrepreneur in Residence program, and Corporate Venture Challenges.

  • Community and Programs Lead

    Seat open

    • Community

    Runs the Exchange: the Thursday Exchange, Ask the Expert, university chapters, school SDG clubs, and the Zero Waste Summit.

  • Campus and Laboratory Manager

    Seat open

    • Science operations

    Runs the wet chemistry laboratory, fabrication workshop, greenhouse, botanical garden, and 24/7 power and internet.

  • Data and Research Lead

    Seat open

    • Data

    Builds the Atlas datasets, the Climate and Environment Observatory, and the Open Data Portal.

Board

Seven seats with quarterly meetings, fiduciary oversight of all three entities, and an annual strategy review against the North Star metric and the Home Scoreboard.

  • Portrait of Dr. Anas Balarabe Yazid

    Dr. Anas Balarabe Yazid

    Founder Director

    • Entrepreneur

    Founder seat.

  • Portrait of Dr. Adnan Aminu Adnan

    Dr. Adnan Aminu Adnan

    Co-Founder Director

    • Academia

    Founder seat.

  • Kano State Government Nominee

    Seat open, priority appointment

    • Government

    Brings the state inside the tent, from permitting to feedstock access.

  • Corporate Director

    Seat open

    • Food or manufacturing

    Represents the off-takers and processors that ventures sell to.

  • Global Ecosystem Expert

    Seat open, priority appointment

    • Innovation ecosystems

    Brings experience from an established innovation district, university program, or venture studio.

  • Finance and Governance Director

    Seat open

    • Finance

    Oversees financial controls across the Foundation, Nigeria Ltd, and the LLC.

  • Emirate or Community Representative

    Seat open

    • Community

    Keeps the board accountable to Kano’s traditional institutions and residents.

Advisory Council

Domain advisors across the three venture clusters, plus capital, diaspora, and policy. Two to four hours per quarter and one in person gathering alongside the Zero Waste Summit.

  • Circular Economy and Waste Systems Advisor

    Seat open

    • Envirotech

    Guides the anchor cluster: waste to soil, energy, and materials.

  • Agronomy and Seed Systems Advisor

    Seat open, priority appointment

    • Agritech

    Guides drought resilient seed development and multiplication for sorghum, millet, and cowpea.

  • Livestock and Animal Health Advisor

    Seat open

    • Agritech

    Guides feed systems, rangeland restoration, and husbandry advisory.

  • Phytochemistry and Natural Products Advisor

    Seat open, priority appointment

    • Healthtech

    Guides standardization of moringa, baobab, and senna actives.

  • Venture Capital Advisor

    Seat open

    • Capital

    Guides fundraising, the LLC fund vehicle, and co-investment structures.

  • Diaspora Engagement Advisor

    Seat open

    • Diaspora

    Connects the Nigerian diaspora to programs, capital, and the Founding 100.

  • Policy Advisor

    Seat open

    • Policy

    Guides engagement with state and federal environment and agriculture agencies.

Immediate recruitment priorities

Co-founding tier

A commercial or operations lead to run Nigeria Ltd revenue while the founders hold vision and science.

Board tier

The Kano State government nominee and the global ecosystem expert, both of which lower the risk of the model for everyone else.

Advisor tier

A phytochemist for the healthtech cluster and a seed systems expert for the agritech cluster.

Like to work with us?

Founders, researchers, and operators: tell us what you are building.

Interested in a potential partnership?

Corporates, funders, and institutions: let’s scope it together.

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