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With Funsho Arogundade
Billionaire magnate, Orikolade Adebayo Karim, is on a roll. For the Shoreline Group founder and CEO, the year 2026 appears to be unfolding like a carefully scripted success story. Unarguably, Karim is floating on an epic blaze of glory like the fabled titan whose exploits dwarfs the attainments of peers. His investment style has been that of subtlety thus many hardly knew the suave investor has been cleaning out on some high-profile deals. Given his sharp business instincts, Karim —in recent months— has once again been commanding attention across global business circles with a string of ambitious investments stretching far beyond the shores of Nigeria.
Earlier February, the Agbaoye of Ibadanland further cemented his reputation as one of Africa’s most aggressive and globally minded investors when he announced his company’s expansion into the United States hydrocarbon ecosystem with the acquisition of a producing oil asset in the country. Karim framed the acquisition as a symbiotic exchange between two very different energy environments —from Nigeria to the United States. The acquisition will also provide a revenue hedge as Nigeria navigates shifting fiscal terms and the ongoing divestment by oil majors.
Early May, Karim moved into the North African country of Algeria as his Italian EPC Company, Arkad Engineering and Construction, signed a $1 billion contract for the development of the Hassi Bir Rkaiz oil field in southern Algeria. He is partnering Egypt’s PETROJET in a deal that represents the most consequential transaction since he moved to expand his engineering empire beyond Sub-Saharan Africa.
Oil and gas has long been the business pillar for polo-freak Karim. His Shoreline Natural Resources is one of Nigeria’s leading independent oil producers with its flagship asset, OML 30 —acquired from Shell in 2010 as part of the broader divestment of the global firm’s onshore Nigerian portfolio— holds approximately 1.2 billion barrels of 2P oil reserves and 2 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves. This has been pivotal to growing his wealth. But the 57-year-old oilman has been expanding. He has also been playing big in infrastructure, power and real estate across the continent. Karim’s latest interest is in hospitality.
During the recently concluded Africa Forward Summit 2026 jointly hosted by Kenya and France in Nairobi, Karim became the cynosure of all eyes and a huge pride to Nigeria and Africa. His Shoreline Group inked a milestone deal with Accor, one of the world’s foremost hospitality groups, to establish Nigeria’s first national hotel platform. The ambitious partnership, backed by a staggering $300 million investment is expected to reshape Nigeria’s hospitality landscape. The collaboration aims to develop a network of 10 luxury hotels spread across eight Nigerian cities, delivering over 1,200 rooms before 2030. The proposed hotels will cater to various market segments, ranging from midscale offerings to ultra-luxury accommodations, positioning Nigeria as a more competitive destination for business and leisure travellers alike.
