Telojo “Telly” Valerie Onu
Quintessence Consulting Inc.
Managing Director
Telojo “Telly” Valerie Onu embodies a unique convergence of multidisciplinary expertise at the nexus of climate adaptation & resilience finance, emerging technologies, alternative investments, innovative governance and finance. With a robust interdisciplinary background, Valerie has spearheaded numerous initiatives across the Caribbean and globally, focusing on the integration of digital transformation, sustainability, climate adaptation & resilience, and project financing.
Valerie’s groundbreaking work includes climate and disaster risk finance and insurance (CDRFI) product design in the Caribbean, which harnesses inclusive design principles with climate risk management. This approach delivers CDRFI solutions that incorporates and mainstreams risk-transfer instruments and strategies such as natural capital and ecosystem-based adaptation, tailored to the needs of vulnerable groups and communities while enhancing overall system resilience. In the area of Infrastructure, Valerie has experience in designing programming for large urban infrastructures including programming for financing resilient energy and water infrastructures with the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) under their Country programming as well as providing institutional strengthening TA support for improving quality infrastructure through the operationalisation of the Caribbean Metrology Cooperation (CARIMET) Committee under CROSQ which is designed to effectively plan, implement, monitor and improve the measurement infrastructure in the region,
through PTB Germany. In the realm of Digital Infrastructure, Valerie also architects and designs modern digital infrastructure for public good including digital financial markets infrastructure.
As Management Director of Quintessence Consulting Inc., a Caribbean boutique management, climate finance, and transformation consulting firm, Valerie also holds leadership positions in several venture portfolios as well in addition to other unrelated entities. In these roles, she orchestrates the synergy and integration of Product Design, Deeptech (digital assets, DLT, Web3 technologies, IOT and AI), Insurtech, and Climate adaptation strategies to aid a Just and Inclusive-Resilience transition and transformation for developing countries, especially SIDS.
Drawing from her diverse experiences under the Caribbean Climate Policy Centre, CDF, PTB and various international and regional bodies, Valerie provides unparalleled insights into nature-based urban transformation and financing. Her expertise also spans climate risk management through Ecosystem-based Adaptation planning, innovative financing, and the application of Deeptech and Insurtech in identifying and securing economic opportunities. She is an advocate for unlocking resilient financing for the Caribbean’s unique critical built environment, coastal infrastructure, biodiversity, and urban transformation challenges.
Valerie holds a PGCert in Climate Adaptation Finance from Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, in Germany and also holds the designation Certified Expert in Climate Adaptation Finance (CECAF). She has an Executive Masters in eGovernance from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland and is a 100 Women in Finance CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) 2020 Charter Scholarships awardee, a prestigious recognition jointly offered by 100 Women in Finance, PAAMCO Prisma, LLC, and the CAIA Association.