Funke Opeke | |
---|---|
Born | 1961 (age 62–63) |
Nationality | Nigerian |
Education | |
Known for | Electrical engineering |
Notable work | Founder of Main Street Technologies |
Awards |
|
Funke Opeke (born 1961 in Ile Oluji) [2] is a Nigerian electrical engineer, founder of Main Street Technologies and Chief Executive Officer of Main One Cable Company, a communications services company based in Lagos State, south-western Nigeria. [3]
Funke Opeke attended Queen's School in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. [1] She grew up in Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State, although, she is a native of Ile-Oluji, Ondo state. Born into a family of 9, her father was the first Nigerian director of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria while her mother was a teacher. [1]
Funke Opeke obtained a bachelor's and a master's degree in electrical engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University and Columbia University, respectively. [4] After she graduated from Columbia University, she followed with a career in ICT in the United States as an executive director with the wholesale division of Verizon in New York City. In 2005, she joined MTN Nigeria as chief technical officer (CTO). She served as adviser at Transcorp and chief operating officer of NITEL for a brief period. [5] [6] [7] [8]
After moving back to Nigeria, Funke Opeke started MainOne [9] in 2008, when she noticed the poor internet connectivity in Nigeria. MainOne is West Africa's leading communication services and network solutions provider. [10] The company built [11] West Africa's first privately owned, open access 7,000-kilometer undersea high capacity cable submarine stretching from Portugal to West Africa with landings along the route in Accra (Ghana), Dakar (Senegal) in 2019, Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) in 2019 and Lagos (Nigeria). [12] [13] Her desire to add value to her home country birthed Africa's biggest cable company. After pledging all her savings, facing more challenges of raising capital for the start-up cable business, carrying out in-depth foundational works, feasibility studies, business plans, and technical plans, Main One Cable Company become more tangible. In 2015, her company started operations of what is reputed to be Nigeria's largest Tier III Data Center, also extending a submarine cable from Lagos into Cameroon. [14] Her achievements are a source of inspiration to many. [15] Funke is the inventor of Mainstreet Technologies, the developer of MainOne cable, a leading provider in West Africa. [16]
Ibadan is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 2,649,000 as of 2021, and over 3 million people within its metropolitan area. It is one of the country's largest cities by geographical area. At the time of Nigeria's independence in 1960, Ibadan was the largest and most populous city in the country, and the second-most populous in Africa behind Cairo. Ibadan is ranked one of the fastest-growing cities in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the UN Human Settlements Program (2022). It is also ranked third in West Africa in the tech startups index. Ibadan joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2016.
Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. As a Nigerian state, Ogun is the second most industrialised state after Lagos, with a focus on metal processing. It has good road and rail connections to the harbours in Lagos and Lekki. Wole Soyinka, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 1986, lives in Ogun.
Oba Otudeko CFR is a Nigerian businessman who serves as the founder and chairman of the Honeywell Group. He was a former chairman of FBN Holdings and founder of the Oba Otudeko Foundation. As of June 2017, his estimated net worth was US$550 million.
The University of Lagos is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in the country in major education publications. The university presently has three campuses in the mainland of Lagos. Whereas two of its campuses are located at Yaba, it's college of medicine is located at Idi-Araba, Surulere. Its main campus is largely surrounded by the Lagos lagoon and has 802 acres of land. The University of Lagos currently admits over 9,000 undergraduate students annually and enrolls over 57,000 students.
Oyo State is a landlocked state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State for 337 km, to the southeast by Osun State for 187 km, partly across the River Osun, and to the south by Ogun State, and to the west by the Republic of Benin for 98 km. With a projected population of 7,976,100 in 2022, Oyo State is the sixth most populous in the Nigeria.
Tanimowo Ogunlesi (1908–2002) was a Nigerian women's rights activist and the leader of the Women's Improvement League. She was one of the leading women activists of her era and co-founded the National Council of Women's Societies, the country's leading women's rights organization.
The Main One Cable is a submarine communications cable stretching from Portugal to South Africa with landings along the route in various west African countries. On April 28, 2008, it was announced that Main Street Technologies has awarded a turnkey supply contract for the Main One Cable System to Tyco Telecommunications.
Olufunke Ayotunde Akindele popularly known as Funke Akindele or Jenifa, is a Nigerian filmmaker, actress, director, producer and politician. Akindele starred in the sitcom I Need to Know from 1998 to 2002 and in 2009, she won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. for her role in Jenifa, which brought her into fame. Akindele reprised the role in a 2015 television series adaption titled Jenifa's Diary, for which she was named the Best Actress in a Comedy at the 2016 and 2017 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards. Akindele won the same award in 2020 and 2022, making it her fifth win for the Best Actress in a Comedy category. Akindele is the most nominated actress/filmmaker at the AMVCA and currently owns six wins which makes her the actress with most wins. She is the second director to gross over a billion naira at the Nigeria box office and currently the Highest grossing Nigerian Director in Nigerian Box Office with a total Gross of over ₦2.9 billion.
Ile Oluji is a Local Government Area in Ondo State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Ile Oluji.
Mosunmola Abudu, professionally known as Mo Abudu, is a Nigerian media mogul, philanthropist, and former human resources management consultant.
Ayeni Adekunle is a Nigerian entrepreneur, writer, and published author. He is known for founding Black House Media Group, which is headquartered in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.
Queen's School, Ibadan is an all-girls secondary school located in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, South-Western Nigeria.
Ibukunoluwa Abiodun Awosika is a Nigerian business woman, motivational speaker, and an author. She is the first female Chairperson of First Bank of Nigeria. She was appointed a member of Binance Global Advisory Board in September 2022.
Christie Ade Ajayi is a Nigerian specialist in early childhood education. She is the author of various English-language books for young children, and has made a point of writing stories with a Nigerian setting that her readers can relate to. As well as having long experience of teaching she has been active in a number of organisations concerned with children and education.
Funke Bucknor-Obruthe is a Nigerian entrepreneur and lawyer. She is the founder and CEO of Zapphaire Events and is regarded as one of Nigeria's pioneering event planners.
Dele Bakare is a Nigerian software developer and entrepreneur from Ibadan, Oyo State in Nigeria. He is the founder and CEO of Findworka, a Nigerian startup that hires software developers and builds custom software products. He formerly served as a senior software developer at Infinion Technologies and technology lead at BudgIT. In 2016, he was nominated for the Future Awards Africa Prize for Science and Technology.
Onyeka Akumah is a technology entrepreneur with a focus on transportation, agriculture, real estate, and media sectors. He is popularly known as the founder of Treepz Inc. Prior to founding his company in 2019, Onyeka Akumah was the CEO of Farmcrowdy. He is credited to have been involved in the success of various tech and e-commerce companies in Africa where he held positions and contributed to their growths.
Oluwatoyin Sanni or Toyin Sanni is a Nigerian investment banker, lawyer, chartered secretary, stockbroker, and author. In June 2018, she resigned from United Capital. where she was Group CEO for over four years and in July 2018, she became the CEO of Emerging Africa Capital
Gokada is a tech startup based in Lagos, Nigeria. The startup launched as a ride-hailing company in 2017, before diversifying into Logistics and Food Delivery in 2020 after a ban on commercial motorcycles by the Government of Lagos State.
Funke Adesiyan is a Nigerian film actress, politician and personal assistant on domestic and social events to Aisha Buhari, the Nigeria’s Former First Lady.