18 RICHEST FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESSES IN NIGERIA

In Nigeria’s ever-shifting economy, one constant has quietly underpinned growth: family-owned businesses.

For decades, they have been ingrained in society, shaping the country’s economic trajectory while weathering downturns, policy shifts, and volatile market cycles.

According to a study by McKinsey, family-owned businesses account for more than 70% of global GDP, generate annual turnovers of between $60 trillion and $70 trillion, and provide around 60% of global employment.

From trading outposts that evolved into sprawling conglomerates to food processors that turned local produce into export-ready products, these enterprises reflect the resilience and ingenuity that define Nigeria’s private sector and some parts of its public sector.

Their growth stories are not just about survival in sticky economic climes, but about steering directional change in key sectors of Africa’s largest economy.

Methodology

This spotlight draws companies with founding roots in Nigeria that have grown to serve wider markets across Africa and beyond. Each has been in operation for at least 25 years, with demonstrable succession in managerial or directorial roles within the family.

We also examined their journey maps, market expansion, brand strength, and institutional resilience using only publicly available data. This list is not exhaustive; many more family-owned firms continue to shape Nigeria’s economy outside the public eye.

18. God is Good

Family: The Ajaere family

GIG Group, through its flagship subsidiary GIG Logistics, stands today as one of Nigeria’s oldest family-owned enterprises with roots in the transport sector. Founded in 1998 by Edwin and Stella Ajaere as God is Good Motors, the company set out to provide premium bus services across Nigerian cities.

In 2009, tragedy struck when Edwin Ajaere was killed. His son, Chidi, then a 21-year-old Economics student in the U.S., returned home to take charge. What could have ended the family business instead sparked a transformation.

By 2010, Chidi had rebranded the company as GIG Mobility (GIGM), leveraging technology to modernize bus travel with app-based booking, digital payments, and improved customer experience. In 2012, he expanded the group’s vision with GIG Logistics (GIGL), built on the conviction that e-commerce needed a seamless delivery backbone. Since its first shipment, GIGL has grown into a global logistics player, connecting African businesses to markets across several continents.

He also founded Jet Systems Automobile in 2018 as a Nigerian EV manufacturer focused on sustainable, locally made vehicles. Headquartered at Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos, the company produces electric and CNG vehicles, including 14-seater buses, ambulances, and vans for public and commercial use. Jet Systems partnered with the Delta State Government to deploy EVs and set up solar-powered charging stations. Its Lagos assembly plant can produce about 5,000 vehicles annually, with expansion plans underway to meet rising demand.

With expansions into Ghana and new ventures like Danfo, a tech-enabled intra-city transport service, GIG Group has evolved from a family bus company into a diversified mobility and logistics powerhouse.

17. GUO Transport Company

Family: The Okekes

Founded in 1980 as a division of G.U. Okeke & Sons Ltd., GUO Transport has grown from a single post–Civil War vehicle venture into one of Nigeria’s largest and most recognizable transport brands. Established by Godwin Ubaka Okeke, the company built its reputation on reliability, safety, and affordability, expanding into a household name with over 200 destinations across Nigeria and West Africa.

GUO holds a majority shareholder in Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company Limited (ANAMMCO), a Nigerian commercial vehicle company authorized to assemble and distribute Dongfeng Trucks in Nigeria.

From its early days serving a nation in recovery, GUO has consistently adapted to the evolving demands of the transportation sector.

The Okeke family has been central to this growth story. In a seamless generational transition, Godwin Ubaka Okeke entrusted leadership to his son, Maduabuchukwu Okeke, who now serves as Managing Director. Under his watch, GUO is investing in technology-driven operations, service efficiency, and regional expansion while preserving the core values instilled by his father.

16. Orange Drug Company

Family: The Ezennas

The Orange Drugs story began in 1985, when Sir Tony Ezenna transformed his father’s small chemist shop into Orange Drugs Limited with just N15,000 in seed capital.

Subsequently, Orange Drugs Limited joined the beauty care industry through the importation of soaps, creams, and other beauty products. By 2006, the Company commenced the local production of different brands of soaps in Lagos and this was aimed at boosting the Nigerian manufacturing sector and also creating jobs for the populace. In order to meet up with the challenges in the global economy, Orange Drugs Limited later diversified its line of business by the establishment of Orange Kalbe Ltd and Orange West Africa Limited, leading to the formation of the Orange Group.

In the pharmaceutical space, Orange has forged enduring partnerships with some of Indonesia’s largest firms, including Kalbe Farma, Tempo Scan Pacific, Dexa Medica, and Mensa Group on products like Procold, Mixagrip, Sudrex, Boska, Delta Soap, Passion Energy Drink, and Extra Joss Energy Drink. They also offer products like Ginmil, Mintacid, and Tempovate Cream. Its relationship with Kalbe Farma dates back to the company’s founding in the 1980s, reflecting a decades-long commitment to international collaboration.

Recognition of Orange’s impact came early. In 1995, the company received the “Star Donor Award” from the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria for its contributions to healthcare.

15. Dangote Group

Family: The Dangotes

The Dangote Group, Africa’s largest conglomerate, stands as a testament to the power of family-led enterprise. Headed by Aliko Dangote, the group’s leadership also includes his daughters Halima, Fatima, and Mariya Dangote, who serve as senior executives, ensuring the family’s entrepreneurial vision continues across generations.

The group’s legacy traces back to Aliko’s father, Al-Hassan Dantata, and other relatives who laid the foundations for enduring business success in Nigeria.

Starting as a bulk commodity trading business in the 1970s, Dangote Group strategically transitioned to manufacturing in the late 1990s, leveraging Nigeria’s import substitution policies. By the early 2000s, it expanded into strategic asset acquisition and backward integration, creating Africa’s largest cement, sugar, salt, flour, and logistics operations.

In 2024, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) and its subsidiaries, including Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar, NASCON, and Dangote Packaging, collectively paid over N402 billion in taxes.

Recent landmark projects

In recent years, Dangote Group has taken on transformative projects that cement Nigeria’s position on the global economic map:

• Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemical Project (2023 launch)
• A $19 billion integrated project located in Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos.
• One of the world’s largest single-train refineries with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
• Includes a petrochemical complex producing polypropylene, a urea and ammonia fertilizer plant, and a deep-sea port.
• Aims to make Nigeria self-sufficient in refined petroleum products and a net exporter to Africa and beyond.
• Dangote Fertilizer Plant (commissioned 2022), located in Lekki, it is Africa’s largest granulated urea fertilizer complex.

It has a production capacity of 3 million metric tonnes annually, supporting Nigeria’s agriculture sector and export ambitions.

14. Zinox Group

Family: The Ekes

With more than 10 million products, innovations, and deployments over the years, Zinox Group has emerged as one of Africa’s foremost technology conglomerates. Founded in 2001 by Nigerian entrepreneur Leo Stan Ekeh, the company was born with a bold ambition: to domesticate computer manufacturing in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ekeh, who grew up in Ubomiri, Mbaitoli, Imo State, to a nurse father and a dietitian mother, envisioned a future where Nigerians could access world-class technology locally. Zinox Computers launched with WHQL certification, a first in sub-Saharan Africa, and later secured NIS ISO 2000: 9001 QMS Certification. By 2013, Zinox expanded into consumer electronics with the Zipad tablet line.

• The group’s most transformative move came in 2018, when Ekeh acquired e-commerce platform Konga.com, positioning Zinox at the intersection of hardware and online retail. Today, the company boasts 23+ years in operation, powered by a team of over 800 professionals, with operations across Nigeria and beyond.

Beyond business, Ekeh has consistently invested in education and digital empowerment. Through the Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation, he has donated multimillion-naira tech centers, including a Starlink-powered hub at the Federal University Birnin Kebbi, equipping students with skills for global competitiveness.

13. Eleganza Group

Family: The Okoyas

Few Nigerian names are as closely tied to local industry as the Okoyas. Their flagship, Eleganza Group, has been shaping consumer goods manufacturing for nearly five decades. With trading roots traced to the late 1960s, Eleganza formally began manufacturing in 1978, opening its first factory in Oregun, Ikeja.

From plastics and packaging to fans, chairs, diapers, and cosmetics, Eleganza products are fixtures in households across Nigeria and neighboring African countries.

• At the helm is Chief Razaq Akanni Okoya, CON, billionaire industrialist, Aare of Lagos, and founder of Eleganza. His empire extends beyond manufacturing into real estate through RAO Property Investment Company.
• Today, Eleganza employs about 5,000 people nationwide, making it one of Nigeria’s largest private-sector employers.

Leadership has since evolved into a family affair. Folashade Nimota Okoya, MON, wife of Razaq and current MD/CEO, has expanded Eleganza’s portfolio and strengthened its market presence. Together, the Okoya family represents a rare story of Nigerian industrial resilience, building a brand that powers everyday life.

12. Heirs Holding

Family: The Elumelus

Founded in 2010 by Nigerian entrepreneur and philanthropist Tony Elumelu, Heirs Holdings is one of Africa’s most influential family-owned investment companies.

With a portfolio spanning financial services, energy, real estate, insurance, healthcare, and technology, the group’s mission is rooted in Africapitalism, the belief that the private sector must drive both economic transformation and social development on the continent.

• The company’s holdings include controlling stakes in United Bank for Africa (UBA), a pan-African financial services powerhouse; Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp Plc), and Heirs Energies, its upstream oil and gas business, which owns the OML 17 oil block.
• Beyond energy and finance, Heirs Holdings also operates Afriland Properties, Heirs Insurance, and Heirs Life.

As of June 2025, the group’s portfolio companies are valued at N15.6 trillion ($10.2 billion), spanning nine sectors, 24 countries, and employing more than 40,000 people across four continents.

11. Honeywell Group

Family: The Otudekos

Founded in 1972 by Nigerian entrepreneur Oba Otudeko, Honeywell Group began as a food trading business before expanding into imports of dairy, steel, and stockfish for Nigeria’s growing domestic market.

The Group’s milestones trace Nigeria’s own economic journey: the relocation of its headquarters to Lagos in 1993; the 1997 construction of a 23,000-metric-tonne tank farm in Apapa; the 2009 listing of Honeywell Flour Mills on the Nigerian Stock Exchange; and the 2011 opening of the Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, the first of the global brand in West Africa.

Oba Otudeko, through Honeywell Group, was a major shareholder and former chairman of FBN Holdings (now First HoldCo), but he recently divested his significant stake in July 2025, selling 10.43 billion shares in a block deal worth over N323 billion.

Today, Obafemi Otudeko, son of the founder and current Managing Director, is driving the Group’s next chapter. With more than 25 years of investment leadership, he has overseen landmark transactions, including Airtel Nigeria’s multi-million-dollar divestment and the 2022 sale of Honeywell Flour Mills.

10. BUA Group

Family: The Rabius

BUA Foods Plc, headquartered in Lagos, is a leading Nigerian food company and a key arm of the BUA Group conglomerate, founded by Abdul Samad Rabiu. The company operates across multiple food segments, producing, processing, and distributing sugar, flour, pasta, rice, and edible oils, serving millions across Nigeria and beyond.

Its sugar division handles the production, refining, and distribution of raw sugar and by-products. The rice division operates a mill capable of processing over 200,000 tons annually, while the edible oils division specializes in converting crude palm oil into palm oil, stearin, and distilled fatty acids.

• Founded as BUA International Ltd. in 1988 to import rice and steel, the company gradually expanded into food production with key milestones: the takeover of Nigeria Oil Mills Ltd.
• In 2000, the establishment of BUA Sugar Refinery Ltd. in 2005, BUA Flour Mills in 2007, a rice division in 2014, and a pasta division in 2019.
• In 2021, the company went public, becoming BUA Foods Plc, and is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. With a market capitalization of $2.6 billion in 2022, it ranks among Nigeria’s most valuable companies.

A previous report by Nairametrics reported that the group is investing over $65 million entirely self-funded to reconstruct Terminal B of the Rivers Port Complex, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2026.

Re: See 18 Richest Family-Owned Businesses In Nigeria by AmazingGenius: 7:48am On Sep 09

9. Pacific Holdings

Family: The Adelekes

Founded by Tajuddeen Adedeji Adeleke on December 13, 1983, Pacific Holdings Ltd. began as Pacific Drilling Company, a specialist in geophysical surveys, borehole drilling, and water treatment services. Over the next decade, the business expanded rapidly, adding three more companies and transitioning from a single enterprise into an emerging Nigerian conglomerate.

To consolidate its growing portfolio, Pacific Holdings Limited was incorporated on December 28, 1990, uniting its businesses under one umbrella. Today, the group has streamlined its operations around two major sectors: Freight Services and Energy/Power Generation, while continuing to explore critical business opportunities that support life and living in Nigeria.

The group’s operational footprint spans banking (the early Pacific Merchant Bank), education, civil engineering, energy and power generation, manufacturing, agriculture, trading, freight services, gas, and real estate. With over 2,000 employees

8. Zenon

Family: The Otedolas

The Femi Otedola’s business journey is deeply tied to Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, established in 2003. Zenon disrupted Nigeria’s downstream oil sector by investing heavily in oil storage facilities and tank farms, alongside a fleet of over 1,000 trucks.

At its peak, the company controlled a significant share of the diesel market, supplying major manufacturing giants such as Dangote Group, Cadbury, Coca-Cola, and Nigerian Breweries. Zenon became synonymous with efficiency, large-scale distribution, and financial daring.

• Over time, Femi Otedola expanded beyond Zenon into strategic equity stakes in major institutions like Forte Oil Plc, which he eventually sold to new investors, led by Abdulwasiu Sowami through Ignite Investments.
• The company was renamed Ardova Plc.
• The name change was approved by shareholders in December 2019 and formally registered in February 2020, marking the return of the historic “AP” name. He further ventured into power generation, aligning with the government’s push for electricity sector reforms, before divesting in 2019 to focus on Geregu Power Plc.

Geregu has since become a publicly listed company on the Nigerian Exchange, with ambitious plans to shape Nigeria’s energy future. He also bought shares in Dangote Cement , according to a report by Nairametrics.

The Otedola business vision has always reflected a mix of calculated risk, diversification, and legacy-building.

7. Ibru Organisation

Family: The Ibrus

Founded in 1956 by Michael Ibru, the Ibru Organization has grown into one of Africa’s largest and most enduring conglomerates, with interests spanning shipping, port management, hospitality, aviation, real estate, agriculture, oil and gas, banking, and media. From pioneering Nigeria’s frozen fish trade in the 1950s to owning extensive industrial and agricultural real estate, the group has left an indelible mark on Nigeria’s economic landscape.

The Ibru story is deeply rooted in family. Descended from Chief Peter Epete and Janet Omotogor Ibru of Delta State, the siblings built a dynasty that blended entrepreneurship with public service. Alex Ibru co-founded The Guardian newspaper and served as Minister of Internal Affairs; Felix Ibru became the first executive governor of Delta State; Goodie Ibru led the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Ikeja Hotels; while Cecilia Ibru headed Oceanic Bank.

Today, under the leadership of Olorogun Oskar Ibru, the family continues to drive the multi-billion-dollar organization, recognized by Forbes in 2014 as one of Africa’s top family businesses.

6. Yinka Folawiyo and Sons

Family: The Folawiyos

Founded in 1957 by the late Chief Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo, the Yinka Folawiyo Group has grown from a commodity trading business into one of Nigeria’s most diversified family-owned conglomerates. Beginning with sugar, cement, dairy, and frozen fish, the group quickly expanded into shipping, creating Maritime Associates International and Nigerian Green Lines, building one of Africa’s largest privately owned fleets.

In the 1970s, the family entered real estate with United Property Developers, delivering landmark projects across Lagos, before moving into oil and gas in 1982 with Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum, now operating the Aje field. The group later expanded its energy portfolio through Folawiyo Energy and Enyo Retail & Supply, while Folawiyo Farms diversified into agriculture.

Since 2008, Tijani Babatunde Folawiyo, the founder’s son, has led the group, upholding family governance principles while driving growth. Today, the Yinka Folawiyo Group remains a key family-owned enterprise shaping Nigeria’s industrial and economic development.

5. Henry Stephens Group

Family: The Fajemirokuns

One of Nigeria’s most storied family ventures began with Chief Henry Oloyede Fajemirokun, CON, a visionary industrialist whose influence spanned trade, industry, and regional integration. Upon his death in 1978, the eldest son, Chief Dele Fajemirokun, inherited the sprawling Henry Stephens Group, comprising 19 companies including industrial manufacturing, trading, shipping, and service enterprises.

Facing heavy debt, Dele revitalized the group, securing loans and restoring operational stability. His bold acquisition of a majority stake in T-CAS, an American firm owed millions by the Nigerian Ministry of Communications, transformed a modest N50,000 loan into a lucrative venture, exemplifying the family’s entrepreneurial audacity.

• He went on to build an empire across insurance, food, telecoms provisioning, and investment.
• His personal gambit during AIICO’s privatization using 11 shell companies to secure an 11% stake, later acquiring the Bahamian 40% holding made him the majority shareholder.

He chaired AIICO’s board, Kings Guards Securities, Johnson Wax (Baygon & Raid), Food Concepts & Entertainment (Chicken Republic), Xerox Nigeria, FSS Gases, Bluechip Communications, and DF Holdings

Today, the Fajemirokun family continues its multi-generational legacy, with Kikelomo Fajemirokun serving as director at AIICO Insurance.

4. Adenuga Group

The Adenugas

The Adenuga Group, led by billionaire tycoon Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., is one of Nigeria’s most powerful family-owned business empires, with stakes in telecommunications, oil & gas, banking, and real estate.

• His marquee venture, Globacom (Glo), launched in 2003, disrupted Nigeria’s telecom sector with innovations like per-second billing and drastically cheaper SIM cards.
• Today, Glo serves millions of subscribers across West Africa and pioneered the Glo-1 submarine fiber-optic cable, boosting continental broadband capacity.
• In energy, Adenuga’s early license acquisition led to Conoil Producing, the first Nigerian firm to strike oil in commercial quantities in 1991.
• At the moment, Conoil operates six oil blocks and holds over 400 million barrels of recoverable reserves, producing around 20,000 barrels per day. Its sister entity, Conoil Plc, controls Nigeria’s oil marketing (with lubricants under the Quatro brand).

The Adenuga portfolio also includes a significant 30.6% stake in Sterling Financial Holdings, a key player in banking and non-interest finance, and a 25.1% ownership in Julius Berger, one of Nigeria’s leading construction companies

Furthermore, Cobblestone Properties headed by his CEO daughter Bella Disu(vice chairman Globacom), leads his real estate ventures, with luxury residential and commercial projects across Nigeria.

3. FCMB Group

Family: The Baloguns

The First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Group is one of Nigeria’s most prominent family-owned financial services groups, founded by Otunba Michael Olasubomi Balogun (1934–2023).

Often referred to as the “grandfather of investment banking in Nigeria”, he established City Securities Limited in 1977, which later gave birth to First City Merchant Bank in 1982, the first wholly Nigerian-owned merchant bank, without foreign or government backing. This was a groundbreaking feat at a time when foreign interests dominated the financial sector.

Over the decades, FCMB transformed into a full-fledged commercial bank, later evolving into a holding company structure FCMB Group Plc with subsidiaries in commercial banking, investment banking, asset management, pensions, microfinance, and fintech services.

The Balogun family remains central to the bank’s identity. Although the founder, Subomi Balogun, retired from active management, his vision and values continue to guide the group.

His children have taken up leadership roles, ensuring continuity. Ladi Balogun, one of his sons, served as Group CEO of FCMB Group Plc for nearly 17 years and now serves as the Group Chief Executive of FCMB Group Holdings Plc, driving strategy, digital transformation, and expansion into inclusive banking.

2. Dantata Organization

Family: The Dantatas

The Dantata Organization Ltd stands as one of Nigeria’s most enduring family-owned conglomerates, with operations spanning diverse industries and expansion plans reaching Saudi Arabia and beyond. The company’s foundation and growth are credited to Aminu Alhassan Dantata, born in 1931 in Kano State, Nigeria. A visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist, Aminu Dantata has been recognized nationally with the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) and served as the first Chancellor of Katsina State University.

The second generation of the family continues the legacy with Tajuddeen Aminu Dantata, Group Managing Director; Abubakar Sadik Aminu Dantata, Managing Director of Express Petroleum and Gas Company Limited; and Hassan Aminu Dantata, Director and Managing Director of Fertilizer Processing Company Limited.

Hailing from a lineage of accomplished business figures, including Ahmadu, Sanusi, and Abdulkadir Dantata, the family remains deeply involved in all aspects of the business.

1. Doyin Group

Family: The Doyins

The Doyin Group of Companies stands as one of Nigeria’s most prominent indigenous family-owned conglomerates, with a legacy spanning over 40 years. Founded in 1968 by Prince Samuel Adedoyin, who began his entrepreneurial journey as a trader before expanding into multiple industries, the group has grown into a powerhouse in manufacturing, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals.

The conglomerate comprises subsidiaries such as Doyin Investment Nigeria Ltd., Doyin Motors Ltd., Starco Motors Ltd., Doyin Property and Trading Company Ltd., Mat Manufacturing Company Ltd., and Doyin Cash and Carry Stores. These companies are behind the production of household and essential goods, including toothpaste, seasonings, detergents, fruit juices, noodles, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemical products, many of which are distributed not only across Nigeria but also in regional markets such as Niger, Gabon, and Togo.

Other family-owned businesses in Nigeria

• Emzor Pharmaceuticals- The Okolis
• Famfa oil – The Alakijas
• Okada Group – The Igbinedions
• Moni Pulo limited – The Briggs
• Leadway Assurance- The Odukales
• AABC Transport Plc – the Nnejis
• Lapo Microfinance Bank- Ehigiamusoe Family
• Chagoury Group – The Chagourys
• Atlas Petroleum International Limited- The Ezes
• FoodCo Nigeria Limited- The Bashoruns

NB: This list is by no means exhaustive. Nigeria is home to numerous thriving family-owned businesses that have played, and continue to play, an extensive role in driving the nation’s economy. Many of these enterprises have evolved across generations, adapting to market realities while sustaining their legacy. Feedback is welcome, and this list will be updated periodically to reflect changes in family leadership, and business structures.