User:Olaniyan Olushola/Funke Opeke

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Funke Opeke
NationalityNigerian
Occupations
  • Electrical
  • engineer
  • technology
TitleChief executive officer

Funke Opeke is a

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.She was born into family of seven; two boys and five girls. Her father was the first Nigerian Director of Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria
. Her mother is retired teacher and coordinator of many private schools in the country.

She started her early school education at Queen's school,Ibadan, south west Nigeria. She graduated with BS in Electronics & Electrical Engineering from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-ife, in 1981.Funke left Nigeria for America to further her education at the Columbia University, New York where she obtained MS in Electronics & Electrical Engineering.

She worked for over 20years in America with

Transcorp
, where she occupied the position of interim Chief Operating Officer.

Funke started the optical fibre cable project in the year 2007 with the sum of $240 million plus $28million in contingency. The project connected

Atlantic ocean from Portugal to Accra,Ghana
and Lagos, Nigeria. The project is fully owned by African investors:African Finance Corporation, Nigeria;Pan African Infrastructural Development Fund, South Africa; FBN Capital Nigeria; Skye Bank, Nigeria;and Main Street Technologies Nigeria.

Funke, bagged the award of All Africa Businesswoman of the year in the year 2012 by CNBC.



Background

Funke was born in Nigeria and grew up in

Aljazeerah... "She was a quiet kind of student who nobody ever saw studying, but who somehow still managed to leave her classmates far behind. When she graduated and the prizes for the best students were handed out, she was called to the stage for every single subject she took. Her last name sounded so many times during the ceremony, that it ended up becoming a song: "Opeke, Opeke, Opeke..." [1][2]. Her father was the first director of Cocoa research institute in Nigeria. Her mother is a retired teacher and coordinator of many private schools in the country [3]
.

Funke was a contemporary of Asue Ighodalo in the city of Ibadan, who described her according to Aljazeerah thus... "Funke is one of the most trustworthy, moral people I've ever met," Ighodalo reflects. "Also, we come from the same background. We hit it off right away."[1]. Ighodalo is also one of the few Nigerians that worked withr funke in the mainone project.

Career

She started her early education at Queens school in the ancient city of Ibadan in the early 1970s [4][3]. She obtained a bachelor and master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University and Columbia University respectively.[5]

After her graduation from Columbia University, she worked with many ICT organization in the United States of America which include Verizons Communications,Telcordia Technologies (Bellcore), Piscataway; Allied Signal Corporation, Morristown; PA Consulting Group, Highstown; and RCA American Communications in various senior positions

NITEL for a brief period.[4][7][8][9]. Mainone cable project was launched in the year 2007[10]. The project is a cable system, launched in the 2007 and completed within two years of commencement [11]. It involves the laying of fiber optics cable deep sea over a distance of 7000km running across Europe and Africa; starting from Portugal,Accra and Lagos[11]. Funke initiated the mainone idea was fully financed by core African investors such as;African Finance Corporation, Nigeria;Pan African Infrastructural Development Fund, South Africa; FBN Capital Nigeria; Skye Bank, Nigeria;and Main Street Technologies Nigeria[12]
.

The birth of this project emerged due to the challenges facing the NITEl, the main organization in charge of wire telecommunications operation in Nigeria. Her stint in the company served as high opener to the opportunities beckoning the sector and the best ways for fixing them.She left NITEL because

External links

References

  1. ^ a b Femke, van Zeijl. "Funke Opeke: Nigeria's cyber revolutionary". Aljazeera. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b Isabelle, Paradis. "INTERVIEW: Funke Opeke - CEO Main One Cable". Total telecoms. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  3. ^ a b Dee, Apphiaanna. "Funke Opeke: The Superwoman Whose Mission Is To Connect Every Nigerian". Stargist. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Femke, Van Zeiji (24 September 2015). "Funke Opeke: Nigeria's cyber revolutionary". Aljazeera. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  5. ^ The Editor. "Executive Profile". Bloomberg. Bloomberg. Retrieved 13 October 2016. {{cite web}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ Adejuwon, Osunniyi. "Funke Opeke: The broadband Amazon". National Mirror. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  7. ^ "Shittu, Ndukwe, Ovia, others to enter DS-IHUB hall of fame". Vanguard Newspapers. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  8. ^ Emma, Okonji (11 August 2016). "Govt Urged to Leverage Power of Broadband Technology". This Day Live Newspapers. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  9. ^ Olubunmi, Adeniyi (8 October 2012). "Mainone becomes first west African carrier to connect London internet exchange point". Technology Times. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  10. ^ Vladimir, Volkov. "25 Faces of the New Africa". BRICS Business Magazine. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  11. ^ a b Women NG. "he Leading Woman: FUNKE OPEKE – The Main Woman Behind The Main One Cable Company". The Woman.NG. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  12. ^ Iraq Telecom Monthly Newsletter February 2010. IRAQ TELECOMS. February 2010. p. 3. Retrieved 7 November 2016.


Category:Nigerian businesspeople Category:Living people Category:Yoruba women in business Category:Nigerian women in business Category:21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Category:Nigerian motivational speakers Category:Nigerian philanthropists Category:Yoruba philanthropists Category:Women company founders Category:Nigerian women engineers Category:Yoruba engineers Category:Nigerian expatriates in the United States Category:Obafemi Awolowo University alumni Category:Columbia University alumni

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Olaniyan_Olushola/Funke_Opeke&oldid=760103590"