Bode Akindele was a Nigerian industrialist and the Parakoyi of Ibadanland, with an estimated net worth of $1.19 billion, according to a survey conducted by Ventures Africa and published in 2013 by The Daily Telegraph. He was ranked the 16th richest person in Nigeria according to BuzzNigeria. Akindele was the founder and Chairman of the Madandola Group, a conglomerate trading in maritime, manufacturing, real estate, financial, and flour milling industries, with headquarters in the United Kingdom.
Early life and education
Akindele was born in Ibadan, a town in the South-western part of Nigeria. His father, Pa Joshua Laniyan Akindele, was a Chief Tax Clerk for the Western Region. His mother, Rabiatu Adedigba, was a wealthy and influential trader from Ibadan. She was the first Ibadan woman who travelled to Mecca for pilgrimage. He began his education at the Olubi Memorial School, Ibadan, and then proceeded to Lisabi Grammar School, Abeokuta for his Higher School Certificate. He initially applied to attend Abeokuta Grammar School or Baptist Boys High School with his friends, but he was denied due to his inability to pass the arm test. Upon completing his secondary school education, he travelled to the United Kingdom to study law. Akindele was interested in starting his own business instead of studying. He used the money given to him for school and passport, purchasing a sewing machine, which he later sold at a good profit. In 1952, he received his first paid employment as secretary to an assistant district officer and later became a cadet manager with the United Africa Company, where he later rose to the rank of an Assistant to the Expatriate Manager. Akindele then left United Africa Company for the Western Nigerian Union of Importers and Exporters.
Business career
He registered his first company at the age of 20, sourcing and selling goods across the globe, including medicine, which he procured from a pharmacy in Lagos. He later bought land in Agege, a suburb in Lagos state, and constructed an 80ft by 350ft warehouse where he stockpiled and graded cocoa. Later becoming a shipping agent, he chartered vessels in London using old school connections with the National Bank of Nigeria, which had opened a London office in 1956, to finance his transactions. Akindele made his first major venture into business in 1993 when he bought a Swedish match manufacturing company, which he later shut down, and gained full control of the global match market, making him the single largest controller of over one-third of the world's matches. He also owned one of the biggest indigenous conglomerates in Nigeria, known as the Madondola Group of Companies, which operates across various sectors such as manufacturing, real estate, maritime, and agriculture. He also owned Fairgate Group, a top international company that deals in real estate and property He registered his first company at the age of 20 and was sourcing and selling goods from anywhere in the world including medicine which he got from a pharmacy in Lagos. He bought land in Agege and constructed an 80ft by 350ft warehouse where he stockpiled and graded cocoa. Later, after becoming a shipping agent, he chartered vessels in London using old school connections with the National Bank of Nigeria which had opened a London office in 1956 to finance his transactions. Akindele made his first major venture into business in 1993, when he bought a Swedish match manufacturing company, which he later shut down, and gained full control of the global match market, making him the single largest controller of over one-third of the world's matches. He also owned one of the biggest indigenous conglomerates in Nigeria, known as the Madondola Group of Companies, which operates across various sectors such as manufacturing, real estate, maritime, and agriculture.He also established Fairgate Group, a top international company, which deals in real estate and property and is headquartered in Bond Street in London, England. The company owns several properties across the country, some of which are currently rented by some of the UK’s foremost retail stores such as Asda, Walmart and Sainsbury's.
Philanthropy
In 1985, Akindele established the Bode Akindele Foundation, which has been involved with many projects for young people. To honour his mother, he decided to build the ARAMED in Ibadan, which provides health services to the community. Every year through the Sir Bode Akindele Foundation, he empowered more than 1,000 individuals on entrepreneurship in collaboration with the Good Worker Ministries International, the University of Ibadan, and the Federal University of Technology.
Death
Akindele died on Monday, June 29th, 2020 at his residence in Apapa, Lagos at the age of 88.
