Folorunso Alakija Explained

Folorunso Alakija
Birth Date:15 July 1951
Birth Place:Ikorodu, Western Region, British Nigeria
(now Ikorodu, Lagos State)
Children:4
Website:www.folorunsoalakija.com
Occupation:Businesswoman

Folorunsho Alakija (born July 15, 1951) is a Nigerian businesswoman and philanthropist.[1] [2] She is currently the group managing director of The Rose of Sharon Group and also serves as executive vice chairman of Famfa Oil Limited.[3]

Early life

Alakija was born on July 15, 1951. Her father, L. A. Ogbara, had 8 wives and 52 children,[4] and Folorunso's mother was his first.[5] She is from the Yoruba ethnicity of south-western Nigeria.[6] At the age of ten, Alakija traveled to the United Kingdom for her education. Alakija attended Muslim High School in Shagamu, Nigeria. She then returned to England for her secretarial studies at Pitman's Central College, London.[2]

Career

Alakija started her 12-year banking career in 1974 as an executive secretary at Sijuade Enterprises in Lagos, Nigeria. She moved to the former First National Bank of Chicago as the Executive Secretary to the Managing Director. She became the Head of the Corporate Affairs Department of the International Merchant Bank of Nigeria, and later became the Office Assistant to the Treasury Department.[7] [8]

Alakija then studied fashion design at the American College in London and the Central School of Fashion.[9] She started a fashion label called Supreme Stitches, renamed in 1996 as The Rose of Sharon House of Fashion.[10] [11] She was the president and lifelong trustee of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN).[12] [13]

In May 1993, Alakija applied for the allocation of an oil prospecting license (OPL).[14] The license to explore for oil on a 617,000-acre block, about offshore of Nigeria, in the Agbami Field, was granted to Alakija's company, Famfa Limited. In September 1996, Alakija entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited, transferring a 40 percent stake to Star Deep.[15] [16] After they struck oil, the Nigerian government claimed a 40% stake, followed by an additional 10%.[17] The government argued that if Alakija and her family were allowed to keep their block, Alakija would dispute this claim and win.[18]

Recognition

Forbes has listed Alakija among the world's 100 most powerful women,[19] [20] and has been ranked as the richest woman in Africa.

On July 17, 2021, Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, she received an honorary doctorate degree in business administration.

Philanthropy

Alakija established the Rose of Sharon Foundation, which was intended to grant widows and orphans scholarships and business grants.[21] Alakija has donated a skills acquisition center to Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech), a higher educational institution located in Lagos.[22] [23] [24]

Personal life

Alakija married Modupe Alakija in November 1976.[25] They reside in Lagos, Nigeria, with their four sons.[26] In June 2017, their son, Folarin Alakija, married Iranian model Nazanin Jafarian Ghaissarifar.[27]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Iyengar. Rishi. Here's She is the World's Richest Black woman in the world. https://web.archive.org/web/20180503025255/http://time.com/3649223/richest-black-woman-folorunso-alakija-oprah-winfrey-nigeria/. dead. 3 May 2018. Time. 30 December 2014. 30 December 2014.
  2. Web site: Folorunso Alakija. 20 May 2021. africa.harvard.edu. en.
  3. Web site: Folorunso Alakija . Folorunsho Alakija . 27 April 2021 . 27 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210427025749/https://folorunsoalakija.com/about-me/ . dead .
  4. Web site: FOLORUNSHO ALAKIJA - A Pathway For Very Female Entrepreneur . 24 April 2024 . Alamin Abdulhadi.
  5. Web site: 2021-07-18 . Covenant I made with God at age 40 — Folorunso's Alakija . 2023-01-20 . Punch Newspapers . en-US.
  6. Web site: Sadiq . Mobola . 2021-07-18 . Covenant I made with God at age 40 — Folorunsho Alakija . 2024-02-10 . Punch Newspapers . en-US.
  7. Web site: Business – Alakija . 2023-08-31 . en-US . 27 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210427032731/https://folorunsoalakija.com/business/ . dead .
  8. Web site: Folorunsho Alakija Biography - Biopreneur Nigeria . 2023-08-31 . en.
  9. Web site: Folorunsho . Alakija . Success in the Fashion World . folorunshoalakija . Folorunsho Alakija . 27 April 2021 . 27 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210427032731/https://folorunsoalakija.com/business/ . dead .
  10. News: Falode . Kehinde . 17 September 2011 . Fashion icon, Folorunso Alakija at 62 . . 20 June 2013.
  11. News: Folorunsho Alakija. November 2012 . 19 December 2012. Forbes.
  12. News: Wilson . Julee . 5 December 2012 . Richest Black Woman in the World, Folorunso Alakija, Was A Major Fashion Designer in Africa . The Huffington Post .
  13. News: Gabriel . Gift . I moved out of the crowd to get it right – Mrs Alakija . Sunday Tribune . Nigeria . 24 June 2012 .
  14. News: The Richest Black Woman in the World, Folorunsho Alakija. Ventures Africa. Lagos. 29 November 2012. 25 July 2013. 16 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150416022055/http://www.ventures-africa.com/2012/11/the-richest-black-woman-in-the-world-folorunsho-alakija/. dead.
  15. News: Folorunso Alakija richest black woman on earth . PM News . 25 December 2012 .
  16. News: Agbami Oilfield, Nigeria. offshore technology.com . Nigeria .
  17. News: 17 September 2016 . How Africa's second richest woman gained her fortune - CNBC Africa . en-US . CNBC Africa . dead . 3 August 2018 . 4 August 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180804014404/https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/west-africa/2016/09/17/africas-second-richest-woman/ .
  18. News: 5 Lessons Folorunsho Alakija Could Teach Christian Entrepreneurs - Tithehacker.org. 29 July 2018. Tithehacker.org. 3 August 2018. en-US. 4 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180804014145/https://tithehacker.org/christian-entrepreneur/. dead.
  19. Web site: Sotubo. Jola. Nigerians make Forbes' most powerful women list. Forbes. 28 May 2015. 27 May 2015.
  20. News: The World's 100 Most Powerful Women . Forbes . 26 June 2014.
  21. Web site: Folorunsho . Alakija . Folorunsho Alakija Foundation . folorunshoalakija . Folorunsho Alakija . 27 April 2021.
  22. News: Ellis. Jessica . Nigerian billionaire takes on cause of 'mistreated widows'. CNN. 16 February 2012.
  23. News: Amos. Adaeze. My passion for widows and orphans –Folorunso Alakija. National Mirror. Nigeria . 26 May 2013.
  24. Web site: Nsehe. Mfonobong. Nigeria's Richest Woman Folorunsho Alakija Donates Skills Acquisition Center To School. 27 July 2020. Forbes. en.
  25. Web site: Meet Folorunso Alakija: The Richest Woman in Africa. Money Inc.. Allen Lee. 9 October 2019. 31 March 2020.
  26. News: My life is full of blissful moments – Folorunso Alakija. Sessou. Ebun. 9 September 2011. The Vanguard. Nigeria.
  27. News: Folarin Alakija marries Nazanin Jafarian Ghaissarifar in a luxurious $8 million wedding .

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