Dr Rilwan Sakariyahu

Senior Lecturer

Economics, School of Business

Contact

Email

[email protected]

Biography

Dr Rilwan Sakariyahu (Saka) is a Senior Lecturer in Financial Economics at the University of Dundee, UK, where he researches broad finance, economics, and interdisciplinary issues, and teaches undergraduate and postgraduate modules at the intersection of Economics and Finance. Previously, he served as a Lecturer in Finance at Manchester Metropolitan University, Edinburgh Napier University, and the University of Ilorin, and has had the privilege of teaching Executive MBA courses in Hong Kong, China. 

Before transitioning to academia, Rilwan gained valuable industry experience working with Sterling Bank Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc. He holds a PhD in Financial Economics from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University (UK), where he was awarded the School’s PhD Scholarship (approx. £110,000) and the American Finance Association (AFA) PhD Grant ($1,500). Rilwan is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, as well as an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK).

His research has appeared in leading journals, with interests spanning corporate finance, green finance, financial economics, development finance, and entrepreneurial finance. He is open to collaborative research and happy to supervise doctoral students in these areas.

Research

My research interests are in the areas of corporate finance, green finance, financial economics, development finance, and entrepreneurial finance. My works have been published in a variety of peer-reviewed ABS 4/3 ranked journals, including the British Journal of Management, Journal of Financial Stability, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, British Accounting Review, Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Financial Accountability and Management, Journal of Business Research, Business Strategy and Environment, and Economics Letters. I have also served as a Guest Editor for two notable special issues on Digital Finance and Green Transition, and regularly act as a Reviewer for several leading journals.

Recent publications

  1. Sakariyahu, R., Amini, S., Dosumu, O. E., Oyekola, O., Johan, S. (2026). Democracy, financial liberalisation, and firms’ access to finance: New evidence from around the world. Journal of Financial Stability.
  2. Sakariyahu, R., Lawal, R., Ajide, F., Oladipupo, S., & Danso, A. (2026). From profit to preservation: how business climate shapes environmental degradation in developing economies. Journal of Business Research, 211, 116187.
  3. Acheampong, Danso, A., Adu-Ameyaw, E., and Sakariyahu, R. (2026). R&D Disclosure and Carbon Performance: A Machine Learning Analysis of Carbon-Intensive Firms. Business Strategy and the Environment (SJR-Q1, ABS-3, ABDC-A).
  4. Sakariyahu, R., Lawal, R., Ajide, F. M., and Oladipupo, S. (2025). Bridging the Energy Divide: The Impact of Finance, Political Regimes, and International Sanctions on Renewable Energy Access. Economics Letters (SJR-Q2, ABS-3, ABDC-A).
  5. Bo, H., Johan, S., Lawal, R., and Sakariyahu, R. (2025). Disentangling Chinese State-Owned Investments in Africa: A Symbiotic Partnership or an Unequal Substitute for African Resources? Forthcoming in the British Journal of Management (SJR-Q1, ABS-4, ABDC-A).
  6. Adamolekun, G., Ahmed, A., Kwansa, N. A., Lawal, R. & Sakariyahu, R. (2025). Corporate Climate Change Risk and Carbon Emission Mitigation Initiatives: Evidence from Membership of Emission Trading Schemes. Business Strategy and the Environment (SJR-Q1, ABS-3, ABDC-A).
  7. Adamolekun, G., Sakariyahu, R., and Ahmed, A. (2025). National Energy Generation Capacity and Stock Market Development. Review of Development Finance (ABS-2).
  8. Botta, C. & Sakariyahu, R. (2025). Market volatility across asset classes during the US Presidential & Mid-Term Elections. Finance Research Letters (SJR-Q1, ABS-2, ABDC-A)
  9. Sakariyahu, R., Johan, S., Lawal, R., Paterson, A., and Adigun, R. (2024). One crash, too many: global uncertainty, sentiment factors, and the cryptocurrency market. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money (SJR-Q1, ABS-3, ABDC-A). 
  10. Bo, H., Lawal, R., and Sakariyahu, R. (2024). China’s Infrastructure Investments in Africa: An Imperative for Attaining Sustainable Development Goals or a Debt Trap? British Accounting Review (SJR-Q1, ABS-3, ABDC-A*).
  11. Nakpodia, F. Sakariyahu, R., Adigun, R., Fagbemi, T., and Dosumu, O. (2024). Sustainable development goals, accounting practice, and public financial management: The moderating impact of COVID-19. British Accounting Review (SJR-Q1, ABS-3, ABDC-A*).
  12. Fagbemi, T., Dosumu, Oluwatoyin, Nakpodia, F., Sakariyahu, R., Adigun, R. (2024).  Resilience and Adaptation of Third-Sector Organisations (TSOs) during Crisis Situations: Insights from a Sub-Saharan African Economy. Financial Accountability and Management (SJR-Q1, ABS-3, ABDC-A).
  13. Lawal, R. and Sakariyahu, R. (2024). Investor heterogeneity and global stock market participation. Economics Letters (SJR-Q2, ABS-3, ABDC-A).
  14. Sakariyahu, R., Fagbemi, T., Adigun, R., Lawal, R., Seyingbo, O., & Oyekola, O. (2024). The severity of climate change and its impact on the quality of life in Africa. Journal of Environmental Management, 356, 120537 (SJR-Q1, ABS-3, ABDC-A).
  15. Etudaiye-Muhtar, F. O., Johan, S., Lawal, R., & Sakariyahu, R. (2024). Fintech, human development, and energy poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions, and Money, 101931 (SJR-Q1, ABS-3, ABDC-A).

 

Teaching

Rilwan is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He has a broad range of teaching interests, including Corporate Finance, Climate Finance, Fintech and Blockchain Technology,  Financial Markets, the International Banking System, International Business, and Empirical Finance. He has taught various modules at the undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive levels in the U.K., Nigeria, and Hong Kong. He is an External Examiner for the  MSc programme in Accounting and Finance at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.

Modules I lead on