Afolami was elected as the MP for Hitchin & Harpenden in 2017. He spent 10 years in the City, first as a corporate lawyer at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett, then as a senior executive at HSBC. Through this he helped to advise some of the biggest companies in the world. His experience is put to good use in parliament, where he is chair of several cross-party groups, including the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Renewable and Sustainable Energy, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Credit Unions, and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Financial Markets & Services. He is also co-chair and net zero champion for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking. He has served as PPS to the foreign secretary, work and pension Secretary, and trade secretary and as vice-chairman of the Conservative Party .