Folorunso Alakija is a Nigerian billionaire businesswoman and the richest black woman in the world whose industries comprises fashion, oil, and printing. Alakija was born in Ikorodu, Lagos State on July 15, 1951, into the Chief L. A Ogbara home. In 1958, after her seventh birthday, she was sent abroad to continue her education at Dinorben School for Girls in Northern Wales.
After completing the junior high school, she was brought to Nigeria to ensure she does not let go of her African culture, values and tradition. Folorunsho Alakija continued her secondary school at Muslim High School Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria before she returned to abroad to have her college education at Pitman’s Central College in London to pursue an education in secretarial studies.
Folorunsho Alakija worked in Lagos, Nigeria, as an executive secretary at FinBank, formerly First National Bank of Chicago. She then travelled to be the United Kingdom to study fashion design for a year. She established Supreme Stitches, her fashion house, in a three-bedroom apartment in Surulere, Lagos and became the best fashion designer in Nigeria.
Folorunsho Alakija entered in the Oil business in 1993. She applied for the allocation of an oil prospecting license (OPL). Famfa Limited, her company was granted the license to explore for oil on a 617,000-acre block, now known as OPL 216, located 220 miles south-east of Lagos and 70 miles offshore of Nigeria in the Agbami Field of the central Niger Delta.
She entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum, a subsidiary of Texaco, in September 1996 and appointed the company as a technical advisor for the exploration of the license with 40% of the profit going for Star Deep. The 60% of her profit has contributed to her richness and she is currently the third billionaire in Nigeria with $2.1 billion as net worth.
Folorunsho Alakija is married to lawyer Modupe Alakija with four children.