Open to opportunities

David Ojeifo

@davidojeifo

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Founder and CEO of iléara, building market access for African, Black and Caribbean beauty brands.

Canada

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What I'm looking for

I’m building a global gateway for culturally relevant beauty, helping overlooked brands become compliant, retail-ready, discoverable and able to reach customers across borders. I’m interested in connecting with people building, investing in, distributing, regulating or telling the story of African, Black and Caribbean beauty.

At iléara, I’m building a Canadian market-access and beauty platform that connects African, Black and Caribbean brands with consumers through curated commerce, compliance, retail readiness and distribution. The idea grew from seeing how fragmented it was for my family to find products made for our skin, hair and needs after immigrating to Canada.

We first tested demand through a small e-commerce pilot. That early signal led me to see the challenge as an infrastructure problem, not only a discovery problem; iléara, formerly Splendid Beauty, now works with beauty founders and builds systems to help culturally relevant brands enter and grow in Canada.

At the University of Toronto Scarborough, I co-founded the Entrepreneurship Association and helped lead it from 2021 to 2025. We built founder programming, pitch competitions and partnerships, and the organization continued after I stepped away.

At CIBC, I worked as a Procurement Associate, drafting and executing contracts and implementing risk assessment and due diligence practices. I’ve also been recognized through entrepreneurship programs and competitions, including as a Smart Start Cohort’s Choice Award Recipient through Black Founders Network.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

LOI batch 17

Current

League of Innovators Accelerator

Sep 2026 - Present (1 month)

Worked as LOI batch 17 at League of Innovators Accelerator.

Current

Bookeeper

Current

EF Accounting

May 2026 - Present (5 months)

- Managed daily bookkeeping tasks, including recording transactions, reconciling accounts, and maintaining accurate financial records.
- Prepared invoices, processed payments, and tracked accounts payable and receivable.
- Assisted with monthly financial reporting, bank reconciliations, and year-end closing procedures.
- Organized client financial documents and ensured records were accurate, compl

Current

Founder and CEO

Current

iléara

Oct 2025 - Present (1 year)

Founder and CEO of iléara

Smart Start Recipient

Black Founders Network

May 2026 - Oct 2026 (5 months)

2026 Summer Cohort
Smart Start Award Recipient
Smart Start Cohort's Choice Award Recipient

SICIEEIL Member

Sam Ibrahim Centre for Inclusive Excellence in Entrepreneurship, Innov

Sep 2025 - May 2026 (8 months)

Current member of the SICIEEIL

Teaching Assistant

University of Toronto

Sep 2024 - Apr 2025 (7 months)

Worked as Teaching Assistant at University of Toronto.

Founder and President

Entrepreneurship Association UTSC

Oct 2021 - Apr 2025 (3 years 6 months)

Worked as Founder and President at Entrepreneurship Association UTSC.

Procurement Associate

CIBC

Jan 2024 - Aug 2024 (7 months)

Category Manager (drafting and executing contracts; Amendments, Statements of Work, Master Services Agreements, contract negotiation).
• Implemented Risk Assessment and Due Diligence practices.
• Develop and maintain relationships with stakeholders (CIBC LOBs, Suppliers).
• Analyze contract data via Excel and organize/populate data onto the Procurement SharePoint site.
• Execute process improvemen

Speech and Debate Tutor

A-Star Learning Inc.

Jun 2022 - Aug 2024 (2 years 2 months)

Tutored Elementary children proper speech and Debate Techniques.

Peer Mentor

University of Toronto

Sep 2023 - Jan 2024 (4 months)

Worked as Peer Mentor at University of Toronto.

Events/Projects associate

University of Toronto

Jun 2023 - Sep 2023 (3 months)

- Planning Events and Projects
- Assisting Professors in Planning
- Organizing seminars and Workshops
- Meeting with Stakeholders
- Documentation
- Conducting Meetings and taking meeting notes

Business Analyst

3 SIGHT HOLDING GROUP

May 2023 - Aug 2023 (3 months)

- Taking Meeting notes
- Conducting business reports and creating recommendations
- Conducting presentations
- Analysing inventory

Teaching Assistant

University of Toronto

Sep 2022 - Apr 2023 (7 months)

Became a Teaching Assistant in my second year of attending UTSC. I am tasked with assisting the teacher with slides, handing outs papers and booklets, demonstrating and showing examples. I am also responsible for leading tutorials guiding them and answering any questions they may have.

Mover

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®

Apr 2019 - Aug 2021 (2 years 4 months)

My time working for Two Men and Truck was a hard yet rewarding experience. It was a highly physical job that kept me in shape. As a mover, we consistently deal with customers on a daily basis.

As a professional mover we are expected to act with speed and caution in order to move household by its allotted time as well as ensure that damages are kept at a minimum and if possible no damages at all.