Njilan started her education at St Joseph’s School (Mrs. Ndow) where following a double promotion from primary 3 to 5, she finished primary school a year ahead of her peers and gained admission to Gambia High School. In 1993, she graduated from Gambia High School and proceeded to the West Midlands School of Accountancy in Birmingham, UK. At the age of 21, she attained qualifications with two world recognized Accountancy Bodies; Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accounts (ACCA). Today she is a Fellow Member of the Association of Accounting Technicians (FMAAT), a Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants (FCCA) and also holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Oxford Brookes University in the UK.
Njilan began her career as an Auditor with Deloitte and Touché in 1999. Her work as an Auditor within a Big 4 firm helped set the foundation for the rest of her career. She climbed the ranks from an Audit trainee to a Senior Audit Manager within a short period. During her tenure at Deloitte, Njilan gained extensive experience in audits for all Industry sectors in The Gambia and became well respected for her knowledge in critical audit and accounting issues affecting the majority of entities not just in the Gambia but also in the West African region having also conducted audits in countries like Mauritania, Ghana and Mali. Njilan also received extensive training in Deloitte audit systems and methodologies and became the first Gambian to be admitted to the team of “facilitators” responsible for training employees in the Deloitte Africa group. Njilan travelled extensively to South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and France to train employees across the Africa region.
In May 2007, Njilan left Deloitte and moved to Trust Bank Limited as the General Manager in charge of Finance, Administration and Human Resources. A promotion to Deputy Managing Director followed in July 2016 and in December 2021 she became the first female Managing Director and first female Executive Director on the Bank’s Board. In addition to her duties as a Bank Executive, Njilan sits on the boards of Royal Insurance Company Ltd, GamSwitch Company Ltd, Bayba Financial Services Ltd and International Bank of Liberia. Njilan also participates in mentoring young ladies approaching the end of high school and those venturing into Business.