Mike Adenuga

Mike Adenuga is a Nigerian businessman who has founded and successfully nurtured many businesses to fruition in various sectors, such as: telecommunications, oil and gas, energy, banking, and real estate, among others.

His company, Globacom Limited, commonly referred to as “glo”, is a Nigerian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Lagos and the second largest telecom operator in the country. Globacom also has a presence in other West African countries, including Republic of Benin, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The company revolutionized the telecoms industry by being the first to introduce the per second billing option and 4G service and is considered a major competitor to the giant MTN Group.

Adenuga also owns stakes in the and the oil exploration firm Conoil (formerly Consolidated Oil Company), which operates 6 oil blocks in the Niger Delta. Conoil Producing Ltd (Upstream) is the first indigenous company in Nigeria to explore, discover and produce oil in large commercial quantities, with the fastest on-stream production activity from licence award to first production in only 9 months. Conoil PLC (Downstream) is a major petroleum products marketing company, with over 1,200 retail outlets all over the country. It is the acknowledged leader of development in modern retail outlets such as mega stations and non space pumps in the new look retail outlets. It is also the market leader in aviation fuels.

He also founded and developed Devcom Bank and Equitorial Trust Bank into highly profitable companies that played active pioneering roles in developing the public, commercial and retail sectors of the economy. These two companies were consolidated into one, Equitorial Trust Bank, which recently merged with Sterling Bank Plc, with Adenuga as the largest shareholder of the latter bank.

Mike Adenuga carries out his philanthropic activities through the Mike Adenuga Foundation, helping people in Nigeria and other African countries. He has received several recognitions including the ‘African Entrepreneur of The Year’ at ATA in August 2007, ‘Grand Commander Of The Order of Niger (GCON)’ in 2012, ‘Companion of the Star of Ghana (CSG)’ in 2018, and was listed among the 100 distinguished and Eminent Nigerians Centenary Awards in 2018, amongst others. In 2018, he was decorated with the insignia of a ‘Commander of the Legion of Honor’ by President Emmanuel Macron of France. He also holds a Yoruba Chieftaincy as the Otunba Apesin of the Ijebu clan.

Adenuga got an MBA at Pace University in New York, supporting himself as a student by working as a taxi driver. He made his first million at age 26 selling lace and distributing soft drinks.