Mrs. Folorunso Alakija, a dynamic Nigerian businesswoman and philanthropist is as one of Africa’s foremost entrepreneurs and the richest black woman. She is said to worth about $1 billion. Her fortune is built from oil and gas, real estate and fashion.
Before venturing into business, she was an office administrator and banker. Eventually, she followed her heart and creative calling to join the fashion industry. Her “Rose of Sharon House of Fashion” was a household name in Nigeria. As a testimony to her drive for excellence, she served as a two-time president, and now lifelong Trustee of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN).
Currently, Mrs. Alakija is involved in many business endeavors spanning into oil exploration, printing and real estate and industries. She is the Vice Chairman of FAMFA Oil Limited, her family’s oil exploration and production business, seeing to its strategic planning and day-to-day administration, as well as Dayspring Property Development Company Limited – a real estate company. She oversees the Rose of Sharon Group which includes Digital Reality Print Ltd, a world-class printing company as the Group MD.
In obedience to the word of God and working according to His will and purpose, she and her husband founded a house fellowship which has grown to become a full-fledged Christian Ministry known as the Rose of Sharon Glorious Ministry International. Thereafter she founded the Rose of Sharon Foundation with a mandate to help widows and their children as well as orphans, taking away hopelessness and wiping tears away.
In the last ten years, the foundation has empowered over three thousand widows and their children through skills acquisition training programs, granting interest-free loans and awarding academic scholarships up to tertiary Institution level.
She is an acclaimed public speaker and the first female to be appointed as Chancellor of a public university in Africa. She is a Fellow of Yaba College of Technology and holds six Honorary Doctorate Degrees. She is a prolific writer and has authored several inspirational books, including her autobiography.
She has served the nation as a member of four different committees and as the Vice Chairman of the National Heritage Council and Endowments for Arts. She also serves as the Chief Executive Matron of the African Young Entrepreneurs, an Ambassador of the Junior Chambers International and a matron of several other organizations.
She is an alumnus of the Lagos Business School, a Member, Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council Advisory Board and a Member of the Advisory Board of Harvard University Center for African Studies.
She is a recipient of many awards in various capacities locally and internationally. She is happily married to Modupe Alakija and is blessed with 4 sons and grandchildren.
