Mrs Folorunsho Alakija, born into a wealthy family on July 15, 1951, is the wealthiest black woman in the world with an estimated networth of $2.6 billion, according to the Forbes.Alakija, whose motto is “what is worth doing at all is what doing well,” started her sojourn in business in the fashion industry in the 80s, after spending 12 years in banking at the First National Bank of Chicago (today known as Finbank PLC).
Living by her motto and driven by her passion for fashion, which were picked from her mother who was a textile merchant, Alakija went to the American College in London and the Central School of Fashion to study fashion designing.
On her return to the country after her training in 1985, she started her fashion house, Supreme Stitches, which was renamed The Rose Of Sharon House of Fashion in 1996. Supreme Stitches rose to prominence and fame within a few years, as she won the Best Designer in 1986, just a year after the establishment of the fashion house.
Folorunsho, however, got involved with oil deals, which brought the big break. Through a friend she met while still actively involved in the world of fashion, Folorunsho got involved in the business of oil. They were, however, allocated an oil block no one wanted at that time for several reasons.
As an indigenous company, her company, Famfa Oil, made its first application for an oil exploration and production licence in 1991. In May 1993, Alakija applied for the allocation of an oil prospecting licence (OPL). The licence to explore oil on a 617,000-acre block, now referred to as OPL 216, was granted to Alakija’s company. The block is located approximately 220 miles south east of Lagos and 70 miles offshore of Nigeria in the Agbami Field of the central Niger Delta.
In September 1996, Alakija who had no expertise or experience in running an oil field, but she decided not to sell off her license entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Texaco) and appointed the company as a technical adviser for the exploration of the license, transferring 40 per cent of her 100 per cent stake to Star Deep. Subsequently, Star Deep sold off eight percent of its stake in OPL 216 to Petrobras, a Brazilian company.
In collaboration with Texaco Nigeria Ltd (later taken over by Chevron Nigeria Ltd), it commenced full operations in 1996.
The company owned a 60 per cent stake in the block until 2,000 when the Nigerian government acquired a 50 per cent interest. In May 2012, Alakija challenged the acquisition and the Nigerian Supreme Court reinstated the 50 per cent stake to her company.
While the company was fighting the government over the acquisition of her company, she did not just fold her arms, she set the pace once again as the first woman in the print industry with the launch of Digital Reality Print Limited in 2006.
The magnate oversees the Rose of Sharon Group as the Group Managing Director and she is also Executive Vice Chairman of her family’s oil exploration and production business, seeing to the strategic planning and administration. In addition to these, Folorunso is the Executive Vice Chairman of Dayspring Property Development Company Limited, a real estate company with investments in different parts of the world.
Folorunso Alakija is a philanthropist with a sincere desire to help the needy, a fashion icon with an infallible sense of style, a businesswoman who has broken many uncharted territories.
At 63, Alakija oversees her businesses and philanthropic enterprises working tirelessly with boundless energy, and follows her evangelical calling with unbridled devotion, hoping to inspire the younger generation with her motto “whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.” Recently, she challenged University students in Lagos that having a university education should be added advantage as she did not go to a university yet she excelled in her business.
As woman who believes one can achieve ones dream throughhard work, diligence and persistence is on the path of reaching out to people by inspiring the public to be what they want to be, most especially the youth and women from all works of life through motivational talks and speeches.
A strong believer, Alakija, through her company and partners has given scholarships to almost 9,000 medical and engineering students nationwide. The company has donated 21 chest clinics for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in 21 different states in Nigeria and 21 science laboratories in 21 different states (including 9 in the Niger Delta region and Lagos State).
Alakija has a foundation that was launched on the 23rd of May 2008. The Rose of Sharon Foundation helps widows and orphans by empowering them through scholarships and business grants.Sharing more about her passion for Philanthropy, she says “it all began with a burning desire to help the less privileged and needy in society.
FolorunshoAlakija, called Mama, is an all-round success, a woman to be proud of, a wife, mother and grandmother, who, according to her son, is the best mom one could ever wish for.
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