From barrels to basketball: The inner circle of Nigerian businessman Babatunde Folawiyo

Babatunde Folawiyo is one of Nigeria’s most low-key billionaires… while he may prefer the shadows to centre stage, his business footprint spans major sectors of the Nigerian economy, including oil, energy, finance and sports.

In a 2021 interview with Architectural Digest, Reni Folawiyo, wife of the Nigerian billionaire Babatunde Folawiyo, described the dynamics when the couple is hosting a party on their epic Ikoyi penthouse terrace – complete with an infinity pool: “My husband is much quieter than me. He always hides in the corner.”

But while he may prefer the shadows to centre stage, Folawiyo’s business footprint spans major sectors of the Nigerian economy. As chairman and chief executive officer of the Yinka Folawiyo Group, the 66-year-old industrialist has transformed a family trading empire founded before he was born into a diversified conglomerate spanning energy, technology, finance, agriculture, real estate, shipping and the creative economy.

Oil, innovation and influence

Inheriting a legacy trading firm founded by his father in 1957, Babatunde assumed leadership in 2008 and pivoted the group towards a historic milestone: Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum produced crude oil from the Aje field on OML 113, offshore Lagos, thereby making the country’s commercial capital an oil-producing state. The first production from Aje, in which YFP holds a 60% participating interest, served as a proof of concept for frontier development beyond the country’s traditional oil geography of the Niger Delta.

In partnership with commodity-trading giant Glencore Energy, Babatunde established Folawiyo Energy Limited in 2006. The company operates a petroleum storage facility in Lagos with a capacity of 66,000 tonnes of petroleum products. The group established Enyo Retail & Supply in 2016 and built it into a fast-growing fuel-retail network with over 95 stations before selling it to Ardova Plc in 2021.

A seasoned corporate governor, he has boardroom experience spanning multiyear tenures at MTN Nigeria, Access Bank and Ecobank Mali.

He chairs Coronation Merchant Bank and T1 Marine Services Limited, which provides marine support services to offshore oil and gas operators.

Folawiyo is not just a traditional industrialist; he is an investor championing Africa’s digital and cultural future. Through Pave Investments, which he co-founded and chairs, he has backed early-stage technology startups since 2014, including investments in funds such as Microtraction and Magic Fund. In sports and entertainment, he serves on the board of NBA Africa – which drives the Basketball Africa League – and chairs Temple Management Company, a Lagos-based creative talent agency.

He is also committed to social impact. He chairs Global Citizen Nigeria and Global Citizen Africa, part of the international anti-poverty movement, and ACT Foundation, the grant-making nonprofit established by Access Bank’s Aspire Coronation Trust. He also sits on the Global Advisory Board of the African Leadership Academy, helping mentor the continent’s next generation of leaders, and serves on the Advisory Council for Princeton’s Institute for International and Regional Studies.

In 2025, as Folawiyo celebrated his 65th birthday, President Bola Tinubu hailed the tycoon as “a beacon of Nigeria’s entrepreneurial excellence and a steadfast advocate for national progress”, highlighting his job creation and investments across critical sectors.

Once ranked among Africa’s 50 richest people with an estimated net worth of $650m in 2014, he has a formidable network spanning Nigeria’s political, business and financial elite.

Here is a look at some of the key figures who make up the inner circle of the quiet tycoon.

Family affair

Morenikeji (Reni) Folawiyo

Babatunde’s wife is an entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Alara, a Lagos-based luxury and contemporary African design space that has become a hub for fashion, art and high-end retail. She serves as a non-executive director at The Alternative Bank, a subsidiary of Sterling Financial Holdings Company, and sits on the boards of Riverside Properties, Sparkle Nigeria Limited and RFH Limited.

Lanre Folawiyo

Adebayo Folawiyo

Sayo Folawiyo

Business A-listers

Femi Otedola

The friendship between Folawiyo and Otedola, chairman of FBN Holdings and one of Nigeria’s most prominent billionaires, spans more than five decades. They have been close friends since meeting in 1974 as neighbours on Balarabe Musa Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos.

In his memoir Making It Big, Otedola credits Babatunde and the Folawiyo family with helping him break into the diesel trade. Babatunde introduced Otedola to a key figure at the Department of Petroleum Resources and facilitated a lease at the Folawiyo family’s cement factory for Otedola’s diesel storage tanks.

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede

Wale Tinubu

Aliko Dangote

Governors and governance

Babajide Sanwo-Olu

Folawiyo is known to be close to Babajide Sanwo‑Olu, Lagos State governor, since 2019. The relationship extends to Lagos’s creative and tech ecosystems – both attended the March 2021 launch of Ogidi Studios and have collaborated to bring global events to the state.

In 2025, Folawiyo, an NBA Africa investor, led NBA Nigeria’s leadership on a courtesy visit to Sanwo‑Olu, with the governor praising his “passion and interest in the game” and signalling the state’s readiness to partner on basketball development.

 

Dapo Abiodun

Hugh Evans

Running the shop

Obinna Okolo

Within the core corporate structure of the Yinka Folawiyo Group, Okolo is a critical business tie. He has been with the conglomerate for over 13 years, rising through the ranks of the legal department. He started as a legal assistant in January 2013, was promoted to legal officer in January 2015, and has served as the head of legal since June 2017.

Funmi Ogutuga

Kwamena Afful

Mentees

Idris Olorunnimbe

Idris Olorunnimbe is one of Babatunde’s closest links into Nigeria’s creative economy. The billionaire chairs The Temple Company, encompassing Ogidi Studios, Temple Motion Pictures, and Temple Sports. The company was founded by Olorunnimbe, who served as chief executive officer for over a decade before moving into public service as chairman of the Universal Basic Education Commission Board – an appointment made by President Tinubu. Last year, Folawiyo attended a ceremony to celebrate Olorunnimbe being conferred with the chieftaincy title of Asoju Oba of Iru land at Oniru palace in Lagos.

 

Oladapo Oyebanjo (D’banj)