The 50 Over 50 List Of Africa’s Female Powerhouses

Olajumoke Adenowo 54| Founder, AD Consulting | Nigeria

A chartered architect, academic laureate, philanthropist, entrepreneur, arbitrator, author and radio show host, the founder of AD Consulting, a leading Nigerian-based architecture and design firm, has an enviable bio. She is also the founder of Advantage Energy, an oil and gas services firm. Adenowo has served as a jury member of the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, in addition, has presented at the Global Women’s Forum, Harvard Business School (ABC), Cambridge University’s African Society and Solve at MIT. She was a visiting Professor in 2019 at the Technische Universistat Munchen (TUM), Germany’s leading Architectural Program. Adenowo is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, MIT, Yale School of Management, IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain, and the Lagos Business School Chief Executive Programme. “I got the validation to aspire and make an impact from my mother. Watching her as a child as she worked as a professor of sociology and following my academician parents in their travels across the world inspired me to work hard to make an impact on my generation through whatever industry I am in and that is something that I always try to teach the young people I mentor. Be audacious about your dreams and work diligently to impact your world,” she tells FORBES AFRICA for this edition.

Folorunso Alakija 71 | Managing Director, Rose of Sharon Group | Nigeria

Alakija is Africa’s richest woman, a businesswoman and philanthropist. In terms of philanthropy, she launched the Rose Of Sharon Foundation to provide support for widows and orphans. She oversees several business endeavors such as; FAMFA Oil Limited, her family’s oil exploration and production business, as the Vice Chairman. She is the Vice Chairman of Dayspring Property Development Company Limited, a real estate company with investments in different parts of the world. She is also the Vice Chairman of Digital reality Print Ltd, and she is Managing Director of the Rose of Sharon Group. She is a public speaker, author, and the first female to be appointed as Chancellor of Osun State University in Nigeria, in 2016. She is a board member of the Commonwealth Business Forum.