Folorunsho Alakija (born 15 July 1951) is a Nigerian

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...

businesswoman and philanthropist. She is involved in the fashion, oil, real estate and printing industries. She is the Group Managing Director of The Rose of Sharon Group which consists of The Rose of Sharon Prints & Promotions Limited, Digital Reality Prints Limited and the executive vice-chairman of Famfa Oil Limited. Alakija also has a majority stake in DaySpring Property Development Company. Folorunsho Alakija was ranked by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' as the richest woman in Nigeria with an estimated

net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Since financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, net ...

of $1 billion in 2020. As of 2015, Alakija was listed as the second most powerful woman in Africa after

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (; born 13 June 1954) is a Nigerian economist, who has been serving as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization since March 2021. Notably, she is the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organiza ...

and the 87th most powerful woman in the world by ''Forbes''.

Early life and education

Alakija was born on 15 July 1951 to an

upper-middle-class In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...

family; her father was Chief L. A. Ogbara of

Ikorodu Ikorodu is a large city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the north-east of Lagos, along the Lagos Lagoon and shares boundary with Ogun State. With a population of over 1million inhabitant, Ikorodu is currently the 12 largest city in Nig ...

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

. Her father married 8 wives and had 52 children and Folorunso's mother was the first. Alakija attended her nursery education at Our Ladies of Apostles, Lagos from 1955 to 1958. At the age seven, Alakija travelled to the United Kingdom to continue her primary education at Dinorben School for Girls in Hafodunos Hall in Llangernyw, Wales between 1959 and 1963. On the completion of her primary education, Alakija attended Muslim High School in

Sagamu Sagamu or Ishagamu is a conglomeration of thirteen towns located in Ogun State along the Ibu River and Eruwuru Stream between Lagos State, Lagos and Ibadan, founded in the mid 19th century by members of the Remo branch of the Yoruba people in ...

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

, Nigeria. She then returned to England for her secretarial studies at Pitman's Central College, London.

Career

Alakija started her 12 year banking career in 1974 as an executive secretary at Sijuade Enterprises,

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, Nigeria shortly after completing a Secretarial Course at Pitman's Central College London. She moved to the former First National Bank of Chicago, which later became FinBank now acquired by FCMB (First City Monument Bank) as the Executive Secretary to the managing director. She became the new Head of the Corporate Affairs Department of the International Merchant Bank of Nigeria (formerly First National Bank of Chicago), and later on became the Office Assistant to the Treasury Department. Alakija then studied fashion design at The American College in London and the Central School of Fashion. She started a fashion label known as Supreme Stitches, which was later renamed The Rose Of Sharon House of Fashion in 1996. She was the president and lifelong trustee of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN). In May 1993, Alakija applied for the allocation of an oil prospecting license (OPL). The license to explore for oil on a 617,000-acre block—now referred to as OPL 216—was granted to Alakija's company, Famfa Limited. The block is approximately southeast of Lagos and offshore of Nigeria in the Agbami Field of the central

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical ...

. In September 1996, Alakija entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of

Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Indepe ...

) transferring a 40 percent stake to Star Deep. After they struck oil, the Nigerian government claimed a 40% stake, followed by an additional 10%. The government's argument was if Alakija and family were allowed to keep their bloc, they stood to make $10 million a day. Alakija disputed this claim and won.

Recognition

As of 2014, Alakija is listed as the 96th most powerful woman in the world by ''Forbes''. In May 2015, two Nigerian women, Finance Minister Ngozi okonjo-Iweala and Alakija were listed among the world's 100 most powerful women according to ''Forbes''. She was 86th on the list. Alakija is #20 in 2020 Africa's Billionaires list Dropped off in 2021, #1941 Billionaires 2019 Dropped off in 2020 and #80 Power Women 2016 Dropped off in 2017. On 17 July 2021,

Benson Idahosa University Benson Idahosa University (BIU) is a private, Christian university in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Previously named Christian Faith University (CFU), it was renamed in honor of Archbishop Benson Idahosa, a Charismatic Pentecostal minister ...

, Benin City gave her an honorary Doctorate Degree in Business Administration. This was in recognition of her contribution to the business world.

Philanthropy

Alakija established the Rose of Sharon Foundation that helps widows and orphans through scholarships and business grants. Alakija has donated a skills acquisition center to Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech), a higher educational institution located in Lagos.

Personal life

Alakija married lawyer Modupe Alakija of the

Adeyemo Alakija Oloye Sir Adeyemo Alakija, (25 May 1884 – 10 May 1952) was a Nigerian lawyer, politician and businessman. He served as a member of the Nigerian legislative council for nine years starting in 1933. In 1942, he became a member of the governor' ...

family, in November 1976. They reside in Lagos, Nigeria, with their four sons and their grandchildren. Her nephew is

DJ Xclusive Rotimi Alakija (born 16 October 1980), better known as DJ Xclusive, is a Nigerian disc jockey, record producer and recording artist. Early life Rotimi Alakija was born in England to Nigerian parents. At an early age, he moved back to Nigeria ...

. In June 2017, Folorunso's son, Folarin Alakija, married Iranian model Nazanin Jafarian Ghaissarifar in a $6.4 million wedding at

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-royal, non- episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, on ...

in England.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alakija, Folorunsho 1951 births Living people Nigerian Christians People educated at Dinorben School for Girls Businesspeople from Lagos Nigerian fashion businesspeople Nigerian businesspeople in the oil industry Nigerian billionaires Female billionaires Nigerian philanthropists 20th-century Nigerian businesswomen 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople 21st-century Nigerian businesswomen 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom Nigerian women company founders Founders of charities Nigerian real estate businesspeople Alakija family Nigerian corporate directors Women corporate directors Nigerian women fashion designers