Taiwo Afolabi Biography: Net Worth, Wife, Age, Children, Hotel, Parents, Siblings, Parents
Biography
Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi, MON (born April 29, 1962), is a prominent Nigerian business magnate, lawyer, and philanthropist.
Born in Ondo State to Chief and Chief (Mrs.) Samson Afolabi, he hails from Idokunusi Ijebu in Ogun State’s Ijebu East Local Government Area. He earned a law degree from the University of Lagos and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2009.
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Afolabi began his career in shipping with Nigerian Express Agencies Limited before founding SIFAX Group in 1988, a multinational conglomerate specializing in maritime, aviation, haulage, hospitality, financial services, and oil and gas.
Under his leadership as CEO, SIFAX has become a key player in Nigeria’s logistics sector, including concessions for major ports like Tin Can Island.
Afolabi is a sought-after speaker on industry topics and has received numerous honors, including the 2014 Sun Awards “Businessman of the Year” and honorary doctorates from several universities.
He is married to Folashade Afolabi, with whom he has children, including musician L.A.X., and is an avid sports enthusiast.
| Nigerian business magnate, lawyer, and philanthropist | |
| Taiwo Afolabi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Wiki Facts & About Data | |
| Real Name: | Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi |
| Stage Name: | Taiwo Afolabi |
| Born: | 29 April 1962 (age 63 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Ondo town, Ondo State, Nigeria |
| State Of Origin: | Ondo State |
| Nationality: | Nigerian |
| Education: | St. Stephen’s Primary School |
| Height: | 1.78 m |
| Parents: | Samson Babatunde Afolabi, Felicia Adebisi Afolabi, Baptist Academy, Lagos, Ondo Boys’ High School, University of Lagos |
| Siblings: | Akin Afolabi |
| Spouse: | Folashade Afolabi |
| Girlfriend • Partner: | Not Dating |
| Children: | Mariam Afolabi, L.A.X, Christopher Young, Olayinka Afolabi |
| Occupation: | Business Magnate • Lawyer |
| Net Worth: | $26 million (USD) |
Early Life & Education
Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi, MON, was born on April 29, 1962, in Ondo town, Ondo State, Nigeria.
He is of Yoruba ethnicity, specifically from the Ijebu subgroup, and his ancestral hometown is Idokunusi Ijebu in the Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State. A devout Christian, he is a Knight of the Order of St. Christopher in the Anglican Communion.
He is the son of Chief Samson Babatunde Afolabi, a prominent businessman and community leader in Ondo, and Chief (Mrs.) Felicia Adebisi Afolabi, a successful trader and philanthropist. Taiwo grew up in a disciplined, entrepreneurial middle-class home that exposed him to business and the value of hard work at an early age.
He has several siblings, including a younger brother, Akin Afolabi, though most have maintained relatively private lives.
For his education, he attended St. Stephen’s Primary School in Ondo, then Baptist Academy in Lagos for part of his secondary education, and later completed his secondary education at Ondo Boys’ High School.
Many years after establishing his business empire, he returned to academics. He obtained a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from the University of Lagos, after which he was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2009.
In recognition of his contributions to industry and society, he has also been conferred with multiple honorary doctorate degrees by Nigerian universities.
Career
Taiwo Afolabi began his professional journey in the early 1980s at Nigerian Express Agencies Limited in Lagos, where he worked across shipping, freight forwarding, customs clearance, and maritime logistics.
The experience shaped his understanding of the industry from the ground up. In 1988, at just 26, he founded SIFAX Group with modest resources and a small team, initially concentrating on freight forwarding and shipping agency operations.
Under his strategic leadership, SIFAX soon grew into a diversified conglomerate. A major turning point came in 2006 when the group’s subsidiary, Ports & Cargo Handling Services Limited, secured the concession to operate Terminal C at Tin Can Island Port. This achievement made SIFAX the first wholly Nigerian-owned company to run a major port terminal, effectively breaking decades of foreign dominance in the sector.
Afolabi later broadened the group’s aviation footprint through the acquisition and restructuring of Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) during Nigeria’s privatization era.
He transformed the company into one of the country’s top ground-handling service providers and eventually oversaw its successful listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The group’s expansion continued with SIFAX Haulage & Logistics, SIFAX Shipping, and ventures into the oil and gas sector, including offshore support services.
In 2021, he led the development and launch of the Lagos Marriott Hotel in Ikeja, marking SIFAX Group’s entry into premium hospitality and introducing the first Marriott-branded hotel in Nigeria.
Today, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi serves as the Group Executive Vice-Chairman of SIFAX Group, while the Group Managing Director handles day-to-day operations. The conglomerate now spans maritime, aviation, logistics, oil and gas, hospitality, and financial services, employs thousands of people, and operates in multiple African countries.
Celebrated as a pioneer of indigenous enterprise in Nigeria’s maritime and logistics sectors, Afolabi remains committed to integrity, innovation, and the development of human capital in business.
Social Media
- Wikipedia: Taiwo Afolabi
- Twitter: Taiwo Afolabi (@Tewogbola14) / X
Personal Life
Dr. Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi was born on April 29, 1962, making him 63 years old.
He has been married only once, to Mrs. Folashade Omotowa Afolabi, a lawyer and businesswoman. The couple wed in the early 1990s and has maintained a stable partnership, with Folashade serving as Executive Director for Human Resources and Administration at SIFAX Group and actively participating in family philanthropy.
Taiwo and Folashade have four children: three sons and one daughter, including Mariam Afolabi (who holds a top management position at SIFAX Group), L.A.X (real name Damilola Afolabi, a renowned Nigerian singer and songwriter), Christopher Young (a music producer), and their eldest son Olayinka Afolabi (also known as Ladi or Yinka), who serves as the Group Managing Director of SIFAX Group.
His reported height is approximately 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m).
Net Worth
Dr. Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi, the Nigerian logistics tycoon and founder of SIFAX Group, has an estimated net worth of approximately $26 million.
This figure primarily reflects his substantial business holdings, including a 60.76% stake in Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO), valued at around $48 million in August 2025—up significantly from $18 million at the start of the year—driven by SAHCO‘s revenue surge of 74% to $13.7 million in the first half of 2025 and a market cap reaching $79.5 million.
However, his overall wealth extends beyond this to unlisted assets in maritime operations (like the Tin Can Island Port concession), oil and gas, haulage, hospitality (including the Lagos Marriott Hotel), and international ventures in Africa and Europe, suggesting a potentially higher total valuation not fully captured in public estimates.
Afolabi‘s fortune accentuates his pioneering role in indigenous Nigerian enterprise, with SIFAX employing thousands and contributing to economic growth amid volatile markets.
FAQ
Dr. Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi is a Nigerian business magnate, lawyer, philanthropist, and founder/Group Executive Vice-Chairman of SIFAX Group, one of Nigeria’s largest indigenous conglomerates in maritime, aviation, logistics, hospitality, and oil & gas.
He was born on 29 April 1962 in Ondo town, Ondo State, Nigeria. He is currently 63 years old.
His net worth is estimated at approximately $26 million USD, though the true value of his unlisted assets in SIFAX Group is believed to be significantly higher.
He is married to Mrs. Folashade Omotowa Afolabi, a lawyer and Executive Director (HR & Administration) at SIFAX Group. They have been married since the early 1990s.
He has four children: Mariam Afolabi (senior executive at SIFAX), Olayinka “Ladi” Afolabi (Group Managing Director of SIFAX Group), Damilola Afolabi (popular singer known as L.A.X), and Christopher Young (music producer).
SIFAX Group includes Ports & Cargo Handling Services (Tin Can Island Terminal), SAHCOL (aviation ground handling), SIFAX Shipping, SIFAX Haulage & Logistics, SIFAX Oil & Gas, and Lagos Marriott Hotel Ikeja, among others.
At age 26 in 1988, with very little capital, he founded SIFAX as a freight forwarding agency after gaining experience at Nigerian Express Agencies. It has since grown into a multibillion-naira conglomerate.
Yes. Although he built his business empire first, he later returned to school, obtained an LL.B from the University of Lagos, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2009.
He has received the national honours (Member of the Order of the Niger – MON), multiple honorary doctorates, The Sun Business Person of the Year 2014, and several industry leadership awards.
He is approximately 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 metres) tall.
Yes, Afrobeats star L.A.X (Damilola Afolabi) is the son of Dr. Taiwo Afolabi and Folashade Afolabi.
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