Folorunso Alakija

Folorunso Alakija was born on 15 July 1951 in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria, one of many children of Chief L.A. Ogbara. She began her career in 1974 as an executive secretary in Lagos, later working at the First National Bank of Chicago's Nigerian branch, before travelling to London in the 1980s to study fashion design at the American College and the Central School of Fashion.

On returning to Nigeria, Alakija founded Supreme Stitches, a fashion house that quickly became known for its distinctive designs celebrating Nigerian culture; within a year she had established herself among the country's leading designers. The label was later renamed the Rose of Sharon House of Fashion, and Alakija served as National President and lifelong trustee of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN).

In 1993, seeking to diversify her business interests, Alakija applied for and secured an oil prospecting license (OPL 216), entering the male-dominated Nigerian oil sector. When government officials later attempted to claim a larger share of the license than agreed, she fought the decision through the courts and prevailed, securing her stake in what became Famfa Oil, now one of Nigeria's most valuable oil and gas companies, of which she serves as Group Managing Director and Executive Vice Chairman.

Alakija has since expanded into printing, real estate, and philanthropy, founding the Rose of Sharon Foundation in 2008 to provide scholarships and support to widows and orphans across Nigeria, motivated in part by her observation that widowed women are frequently stigmatised and left without support. She was listed alongside then-Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala among the 100 most powerful women in the world in 2015, and is regularly ranked among the wealthiest women in Africa.