Many years ago, Nigerian women were not allowed to work and earn their personal money. They were withheld the liberty to convey their experiences and thoughts, especially when contrasted to their peers from other parts of the world.
Fortunately, some women in Nigeria today now feel independent and grasp the opportunity to become more industrious, thanks to the influx of better educational levels. They have established their wealth in a sevral aspects.
Many African women have confirmed their significance by growing larger to become Africa’s wealthiest women and hiring thousands of people via the businesses and enterprises they operate.
We find them in diverse professional areas, industries, and careers like business, politics, the media, science, technology, public life, and every other sector.
In today’s article we will be talking about some of the top richest women in Nigeria and their current net worth.
1. Folorunsho Alakija
The first person on our list of the top 10 richest women in Nigeria is Folorunso Alakija. She is a Nigerian businesswoman with four sons who is married to Mr. Modupe Alakija. She is a graduate of Secretarial Studies from Pitman’s Central College, London.
She began her career as an executive secretary for Sijuade Enterprise in Lagos State, then went to the banking industry as an executive secretary for twelve years, eventually progressing to the post of head of corporate affairs. She realized her interest in fashion design later in life, focusing on elite wear. She delved into other sectors after the success of her fashion firm, the most lucrative of which was oil. She has now become an oil mogul while keeping control of the firm in her family’s hands.
Folorunsho Alakija also serves as the group managing director of The Rose of Sharon Group, which includes The Rose of Sharon Prints & Promotions Limited and the Rose of Sharon Foundation, which empowers widows and orphans via scholarships and business awards. She also owns a 25-million-dollar Mercedes-Benz.
Folorunsho Alakija is known for her philanthropy and spiritual life, in addition to her substantial riches. In 2015, Alakija was ranked by Forbes as the 87th most powerful woman in the world, following Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Alakija’s net worth is estimated to be around $1.1 billion, she is the richest Nigerian woman and also Africa’s second richest woman.
2. Hajia Bola Shagaya
Hajia Bola Shagaya is a simple woman who doesn’t flaunt her wealth. She got married to Alhaji Shagaya and has six children. She received her bachelor’s degree from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria and Armstrong College in California.
She began her career in the audit unit of the Central Bank of Nigeria before going into commercial activities in 1983, starting with the importation and distribution of photographic materials (her first main source of wealth) and introducing the Konica brand to the Nigerian market and West Africa. For the last eight years, she has been on the board of Unity Bank Plc and is a member of the newly formed Nepad Business Group Nigeria.
Hajia Bola Shagaya is the founder of one of Nigeria’s leading base oil importers and distributors (Practoil Limited). She is a fashion and art specialist, also a collector of fine automobiles, including a $91 million Rolls-Royce Ghost. With a net worth of $955 million, she is the second richest woman in Nigeria and the fourth wealthiest woman in Africa.
3. Daisy Danjuma
Daisy Danjuma, born on August 6, 1952, in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, got married to Nigerian millionaire Theophilus Danjuma. She earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria in 1976 and was elected to the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Senate in 2003, representing Edo South, where she served until 2007. She currently works as a vice chairman of South Atlantic. She’s a businesswoman and entrepreneur from Nigeria.
Daisy Danjuma has a net worth estimated to be around $920 million. As of the time of writing this article, she is the third richest woman in Nigeria in 2023.
4. Fifi Ejindu
Fifi Ejindu, or Offiong Ekanem Ejindu, is a Nigerian businesswoman who was born in 1962 and raised in Ibadan. She is married to Amechi Ejindu, with whom she has a son.
In 1983, she received her B.Arch from Pratt Institute, a prestigious design school in Brooklyn, New York (where she was one of the first African women to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture).
After graduating from Pratt Institute, she took several courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then returned to Pratt Institute for her Master’s in Urban Planning before moving to Nigeria. Fifi Ejindu is the CEO of Starcrest Limited, as well as an architect and philanthropist.
Starcrest, which is responsible for part of the country’s foreign investment, has three divisions: real estate, construction and design, and investment possibilities. Several residential and industrial villas are also managed by organizations around the country. With a net worth of $870 million, Fifi Ejindu is the fourth richest woman in Nigeria as of 2023.
5. Stella Okoli
Stella Chinyelu Okoli, otherwise known as Stella Okoli, is a famous Nigerian entrepreneur, philanthropist, pharmacist, and wealthy woman who was born in Kano State in 1944. She has three children from her marriage to the late Barrister Christopher Okoli.
She began her career working for pharmaceutical firms for many years before starting up her own business with the information and skills she gained. Emzor Chemist Limited, the pharmaceutical company she founded, evolved from buying and selling pre-made pharmaceuticals to producing their own.
In less than three years, the firm had established itself as a significant pharmaceutical manufacturer in the Western region, with Emzor paracetamol as its primary brand.
Stella Okoli is one of the few Nigerians who has been recognized globally for her labors to deliver adequate health care in the country through her company’s goods, which are often recommended even beyond Nigeria.
Her firm is working very hard to make drugs very cheap for Nigerians to promote excellent health throughout the country, so she doesn’t only want the money. Her enormous fortune has made her appearance in the top five richest women in Nigeria, with a net worth of $780 million.
6. Bimbo Alase
Bimbo Alase, a Yoruba entrepreneur who got married to the late Kunle Arawole and was born in 1962, has broken through hitherto incomprehensible boundaries in Nigeria and beyond. She is a Nigerian entrepreneur, investor, and businesswoman. She is the chairman and CEO of Leatherworld. She schooled at Pitman College and the Regent Academy of Design and Fine Arts in London.
She also possesses a London Design School Post-Graduate Certificate in Interior Design. Her company, Leatherworld, is a famous luxury furniture company in Nigeria. Before launching her company in June 1994, she ran Glamour, a small gift boutique and beauty salon in Apapa, Lagos. With a net worth of $755 million, Bimbo Alase is Nigeria’s, sixth-richest woman.
7. Mo Abudu
Mosunmola Abudu, often known as Mo Abudu, is a Nigerian businesswoman. She was married to Tokunbo Abudu (later divorced) and had two children on September 11, 1964, in the United Kingdom, where she spent most of her childhood years.
She obtained her master’s degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Westminster. When Mo Abudu was appointed chief of the human resources department of Exxon Mobil Nigeria, one of the country’s largest oil firms, when she came to Nigeria.
Despite facing discrimination as a black woman when growing up, Mo Abudu was encouraged to fight against racism and promote human equality. She is one of the few African women to have had a significant impact as a result of this experience.
Mo Abudu is eager about a variety of enterprises, including hotels, human resources firms, and the media. She is recognized as one of Nigeria’s and Africa’s wealthiest media personalities, having inked a multi-million dollar agreement with Netflix.
Mo Abudu is a philanthropist and the seventh richest woman in Nigeria, according to Forbes, she has an estimated net worth of $620 million.
8. Stella Oduah
Stella Oduah, a Nigerian entrepreneur, investor, and businesswoman, was born on January 5, 1962, in Ogbara, Anambra State. Her husband is Chris Ogiemwonyi. She received a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and a Master’s degree in business administration in the United States.
Stella Oduah began the Sea Petroleum and Gas Company Limited, a Nigerian independent marketer of petroleum products, in 1992 and currently serves as its chairman and CEO. She is a Nigerian Senator and a former Minister of Aviation.
Stella Oduah’s net worth is estimated to be around $600 million.
9. Okonjo Iweala
Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, a Nigerian businesswoman, was born on June 13, 1954, in Ogwashi-Ukwu, Delta State, and is married to Ikemba Iweala. She has four children.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University in 1976 and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981. Ngozi Okonjo is a Nigerian economist, business consultant, politician, and international development specialist.
She was a former World Bank Director and Nigerian Finance Minister. She is also a motivational speaker, author, and philanthropist noted for her work with women. Ngozi Okonjo is Nigeria’s ninth wealthiest woman, with a net worth of $565 million.
10. Diezani Allison Madueke
The last person on our list is Diezani Allison Madueke. She is the first female president of OPEC, married to Admiral Allison Madueke (retired), and has six children. She was the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Minister of Transportation, and the Minister of Mines and Steel Development from 2007 to 2015.
Madueke started her career at Shell Petroleum Development Corporation, where she served in the estate’s operations as well as as an architectural consultant in the Lagos office.
In 1997, she was promoted to Head of Civil Infrastructures, and later to Head of Corporate Issues and Crisis Management Unit. She was appointed as the Lead Joint Ventures Representation Adviser in 2004 after completing her MBA studies at Cambridge. She is a politician with a net worth of $510 million.
Conclusion
We’ve finally come to the end of this article. What you just finished reading has proven to you that what a man can do, a woman can do better. Those women have worked tirelessly and consistently with their businesses and this has earned some of them a spot on our list of the richest women in Nigeria. This is to tell you that show fortune and wealth knows no gender.
