In Nigeria, family-owned businesses remain a cornerstone of the economy, contributing roughly 70% of GDP and employing millions nationwide.
Within this landscape, some of the country’s most successful enterprises are built not by individuals alone, but by couples who align their personal and professional ambitions.
Power couples, spouses who combine complementary skills and strategy, have shown that marriage can be more than a personal partnership; it can become a force multiplier for economic growth and social influence.
In a patriarchal society where leadership is often male-dominated, these duos highlight the potential for gender empowerment, with women increasingly taking prominent roles in major companies and boards. Their collaborations demonstrate how shared ambition, strategic alignment, and calculated risk-taking can scale businesses faster than traditional solo-led ventures.
By profiling Nigeria’s most influential couples, we see how marriages can transform not just households, but entire industries. From oil and gas to technology, banking, and manufacturing, these partnerships create platforms for innovation, societal impact, and wealth generation.
Methodology
This feature profiles Nigeria’s most influential business couples, individuals whose combined ambition, strategy, and leadership have shaped industries, created jobs, and driven economic growth.
The couples were considered based on at least ten years of active business operations and demonstrable growth in revenue, scale, or market share.
At least one partner must hold a controlling role as CEO, Managing Director, or equivalent,t actively steering strategy, operations, and decision-making.
All couples must have clean legal records, with no unresolved criminal cases or allegations of fraud, ensuring the integrity and credibility of their enterprises. Beyond business performance, the methodology considers the economic and social impact of these companies, including job creation, and the long-term viability of the products or services offered.
Taiye and Kemi Fajana are the understated force behind Twinsfaja Group, one of Nigeria’s most formidable privately owned business empires.
Taiye holds a primary school certificate, while Kemi has an SSCE. The couple built their fortune through discipline. Their journey began in the mid-1990s with just 50 bags of cement taken on credit and delivered on a motorcycle, at a time when trust mattered more than balance sheets.
Taiye drew on skills gained as an apprentice in a building materials shop, while Kemi, who traded baby items and braided hair at Ikotun Market, later stepped in to professionalize the business.
Founded in 1994 and incorporated in 2007, Twinsfaja has since grown into a diversified group spanning building materials distribution, 13 supermarket branches across Lagos and Ogun, a fast-growing e-commerce operation, and a network of filling stations serving both its logistics fleet and thousands of retail customers. The group is now one of the largest distributors of Dangote Cement in Lagos and Ogun, moving tens of thousands of tonnes in strong trading weeks and employing over 2,000 people.
