#ADC2017 KEYNOTE SPEAKER: FOLORUNSO ALAKIJA - LISTED AMONG FORBES' 100 MOST POWERFUL WOMEN IN THE WORLD
MRS FOLORUNSO ALAKIJA- LISTED AMONG FORBES' 100 MOST POWERFUL WOMEN IN THE WORLD
Folorunsho Alakija is a Nigeria
businesswoman, one of the richest African women and also one of the
richest black women in the world. In 2014 she unseated Oprah Winfrey as
the richest woman of African descent in the world. She is a business tycoon involved in the fashion, oil and Printing industries. She is the group managing director of The Rose of Sharon Group which
consists of The Rose of Sharon Prints & Promotions Limited and
Digital Reality Prints Limited and the executive vice-chairman of Famfa
Oil Limited. Alakija is ranked by Forbes as the richest woman in Nigeria with an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion
As of 2015, she is listed as the second most powerful woman in Africa
after Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the 87th most powerful woman in the world
by Forbes.
Mrs. Folorunso Alakija is a businesswoman who has forayed into
uncharted territories. She is a philanthropist with a sincere desire to
help the needy, a fashion icon with an infallible sense of style, a
loving wife, a caring mother and doting grandmother, a friend in deed.
Educated in Europe, she first embarked on a career in office
administration, then she went into banking where she remained, until she
took a leap of faith and followed her heart and creative calling to
establish her own business in the Nigerian fashion industry. Her fashion
house “Supreme Stitches” rose to prominence and fame within a few
years, and rebranded as “Rose of Sharon House of Fashion” which later
became a household name.
As National President and lifelong
Trustee of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN), she
left an indelible mark, promoting Nigerian culture through fashion and
style. Ever the entrepreneur, Mrs. Alakija has set up related
businesses: The Rose of Sharon Prints & Promotions which specializes
in monogramming, heat/picture transfer and screen printing for
promotional and gift items and Digital Reality Print Ltd which
specializes in highly technical digital large format printing. She
remains the only female in that industry in Nigeria to date. She
included a direct imaging paper printing press to coincide with her 60th
birthday in July 2011. She oversees the Rose of Sharon Group as the
Group Managing Director and she is also the Executive Vice Chairman of
her family's oil exploration and production business, FAMFA Oil Limited ,
seeing to its strategic planning and day to day 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.
When reflecting on
her achievements, Folorunso's foremost reaction is always to give glory
to God through Jesus Christ and to share the secrets of her success. A
born again Christian since 1991, she draws her strength from her
unfaltering belief in the power and glory of God. With a sincere desire
to give to those in need in the name of the Lord, her philanthropic
endeavours, such as the Rose of Sharon Foundation, continues to
influence her native land positively by empowering widows and their
families, as well as orphans, to be successful through educational
programmes and scholarships. In obedience to the word of God and working
according to His will and purpose, Folorunso 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.
She has authored several books including, “University of Marriage”,
“Alone with God”, (a free Christian Devotional) her autobiography,
“Growing with the Hand that Gives the Rose”, and “The Cry of Widows and
Orphans”. Most of them are available online at – www.amazon.com.
At
64, Mrs. Alakija oversees her businesses and philanthropic enterprises
working tirelessly and with boundless energy. She follows her
evangelical calling with unbridled devotion, hoping to inspire the
public, most especially the youth and women from all walks of life by
sharing her values and her motto: “whatever is worth doing at all is
worth doing well” through motivational talks and speeches. In her
speeches, as an encouragement to others, she reveals and introduces her
covenant keeping God.
She accepts many invitations to speak and is
acclaimed, nationally and internationally, in recognition of all her
philanthropic work and endeavours. She has 5 Honorary Degree Awards from
universities in Nigeria and the United States of America.
She lives in Lagos, Nigeria with Modupe Alakija her beloved husband of almost four decades, their four sons and grandchildren
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