Top Business Leaders in Nigeria

Marcopolis ranked the top business leaders in Nigeria, as part of the business report on the country. Businessmen Aliko Dangote of Dangote Group, Mike Adenuga of Globacom and Abdulsamad Rabiu of BUA Group are leading the list.

The List

#1 – Aliko Dangote is a Nigerian business magnate and philanthropist. His name is famous not only in Nigeria but all over the globe. He is the Founder of Dangote Group, which was established as a small trading firm, to become a multi trillion-naira conglomerate and the largest conglomerate in West Africa. The Group currently has a presence in 17 African countries. Dangote has expanded to cover cement manufacturing, food processing and freight, and has become the largest industrial group in Nigeria. Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer, produces 45.6 million metric tons annually and has operations. It is the largest listed company in West Africa and the first Nigerian company to join the Forbes Global 2000 Companies list. Dangote Group also dominates the sugar market in Nigeria, with Dangote Sugar Refinery, and is a major supplier to the country’s soft drink companies, breweries and confectioners. Dangote Group has diversified into other sectors of the Nigerian economy and is currently constructing the largest petroleum refinery, petrochemical plant and fertilizer complex in Africa.

#2 – 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 1200 retail outlets all over the country.

#3 – Abdulsamad Rabiu is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of BUA Group, one of Africa’s largest diversified groups operating out of Nigeria, with key interests in foods, mining, manufacturing and infrastructure. BUA Group started business in 1988 as a Private Limited Liability Company specializing in the importation and marketing of iron and steel, agricultural and industrial chemicals. Since then it has rapidly developed into a fully-fledged, diversified business with a stake in a wide range of business sectors. The Group’s investments span the following sectors: cement, sugar, flour, pasta, steel, rice, real estate, logistics, ports and terminals, with a core focus on building local manufacturing capacity to generate employment, provide high quality products and develop the African continent. Rabiu is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Bank of Industry (BOI).

#4 – Orji Uzor Kalu is a Nigerian politician and businessman. He is the Chairman of SLOK Holding, a West African conglomerate with interests in shipping, banking, oil trading, manufacturing and the media. Kalu is the Chairman of the Daily Sun, a daily print newspaper and the highest selling newspaper in Nigeria, as well as the New Telegraph, Nigeria’s first politically independent all-national newspaper. He also served as the Governor of Abia State from 1999 to 2007.

#5 – Femi Otedola is a Nigerian businessman, philanthropist and former Chairman of Forte Oil PLC, an importer of fuel products. Otedola is the Founder of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, and the Owner of a number of other businesses across shipping, real estate and finance. He has recently invested in power generation as part of the liberalization of the sector in Nigeria.

#6 – Jimoh Ibrahim is a Nigerian lawyer, politician, businessman and philanthropist. He is the Chairman and CEO of Global Fleet Group, a diversified conglomerate based in Lagos, with business interests and subsidiaries in neighboring West African countries. Founded in 2003, Global Fleet Group’s activities span across a range of sectors, including oil and gas, airlines, magazines, insurance, hotels, resorts, real estate, petrol stations, manufacturing and banking. Some of the Group’s subsidiaries include: Air Nigeria, Nicon Insurance, Nigeria Re-Insurance Corporation, Nicon Group, Nicon Properties, Global Fleet Oil and Gas, Global Fleet Building, Nicon Hotels, Global Fleet Industries, Energy Bank and Global Media Mirror.

#7 – Pascal Dozie is the business brain behind different successful Nigerian entities such as Diamond Bank, Kunoch Limited and others. In 1985, Dozie applied for a banking license to help traders in South-Eastern Nigeria face banking issues. This brought about the birth of Diamond Bank. In 1990, he satisfied the terms of the Central Bank of Nigeria to operate a standard bank, and in 1991 the bank began operations. He was CEO of Diamond Bank from 1991 to 2006 when he handed over to his son. Dozie was also a one-time President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. He currently owns shares in MTN Group and was Chairman of the company. He is also the Chairman of Pan-Atlantic University.

#8 – Folorunso Alakija is a Nigerian businesswoman and philanthropist who is involved in the fashion, oil exploration, real estate and printing industries. Her “Rose of Sharon House of Fashion” was a household name in Nigeria. She also served as a two-time President, and now lifelong Trustee of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN). She is the Vice Chairman of FAMFA Oil Limited, her family’s oil exploration and production business, as well as Dayspring Property Development Company Limited, a real estate company. She oversees the Rose of Sharon Group which includes printing company Digital Reality Print Limited, as the Group Managing Director.

#9 – Jim Ovia is the Founder and pioneer Group Managing Director / CEO of Zenith Bank PLC, Nigeria’s largest and Africa’s 6th largest bank by shareholders’ funds. He was at the helm of affairs, from inception, for 20 years until his resignation in 2010. He was reappointed the Chairman of the bank in 2014. Ovia was a member of the National Economic Management Team of Nigeria and he is a member of the Honorary International Investors’ Council.

#10 – Bola Shagaya is the Founder and CEO of Bolmus Group International, a conglomerate with holdings in real estate, oil and gas, banking and photography. Her business experience started with the importation and distribution of photographic materials into the Nigerian market. Bola Shagaya is also the Managing Director of Practoil Limited, one of the largest importers and distributors of base oil in Nigeria, serving local lubricant blending plants. Her businesses also include large investments in real estate, spanning across major cities in the country, with over three hundred employees. She is currently on the board of Unity Bank PLC. She is also a member of Nepad Business Group Nigeria.