Funke Akindele

Renowned Filmmaker and Actress, Funke Akindele popular among her fans as Jenifa, has ascribed her success to divine grace, consistent hard work, and dedication to her craft.

As a guest speaker at the 2025 Media Sales Conference held by the Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) in Lagos, Funke stated that she built her brand from the scratch and her success was hers alone.

“Nobody made me a star, only God. I wrote my script, and that was it. The first ‘Jenifa’ was released in 2009, and that was the turning point,” Funke said.

However, she gave due honor to popular Singer, D’Banj, who she met in a club after the first “Jenifa” was released in 2009. She revealed that he encouraged her to make ‘Jenifa’ into the branded franchise we now appreciated, adding that he also financed its growth.

“Amidst the buzz, a club owner invited me to his club, where I met D’banj. He asked what I was doing with the ‘Jenifa’ brand. I told him I had moved on. But he insisted, ‘No, you have to milk it. That’s a brand. Go and write another script.’ He even gave me some money, and I went back and continued writing,” she stated.

Funke, now a bigwig in Nollywood, currently holds the industry record as the highest-grossing producer in Nigerian cinema history. Her 2024 movie, ‘Everybody Loves Jenifa’, is the highest-grossing film of all time in West Africa, surpassing N1. 6 billion in earnings.

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