Some companies in Nigeria have been around so long, they’ve seen the country change more times than most of us can count.
They started during the colonial era, trading goods and building businesses in a world very different from the one we live in today.
And yet, they’re still here, strong, evolving, and adapting.
These aren’t just old companies. They are survivors. They’ve weathered economic crashes, political shifts, currency swings, and endless policy changes, things that have forced many others to fold. And through it all, they’ve learned how to bend without breaking.
In contrast, last year saw several major companies exit the country, citing challenges like inflation, a weak naira, and declining consumer purchasing power. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) reported that about 767 manufacturing companies shut down in 2023 alone, showing that even strong businesses are not immune to economic pressures.
This list of the oldest companies in Nigeria, excluding government-owned entities, doesn’t just represent history; they are a crash course in resilience. They offer a practical blueprint for modern businesses to survive and adapt in an economy that remains volatile.
Right now, with inflation biting, exchange rates swinging, and interest rates climbing, their continued presence in the market is more remarkable than ever.
Here is a list of companies founded before independence that remain operational today
Nigerian Breweries Plc (NB) was incorporated in November 1946 under the name Nigerian Brewery Limited. Its first major milestone came in June 1949, when the first bottle of Star Lager rolled off the bottling lines of its Lagos brewery, a moment that marked the birth of local mass-produced beer in Nigeria.
From those early days, the company steadily expanded its production footprint. A second brewery in Aba opened in 1957, followed by a brewery in Kaduna in 1963 and another in Ibadan in 1982. The company continued to grow, commissioning a brewery in Enugu in 1993. In 2003, NB completed the Ama Brewery in Enugu State, today among the largest and most modern breweries in Nigeria.
Over decades of growth, NB broadened its product range well beyond lager. In addition to Star Lager, it introduced Gulder in 1970, the malt drink Maltina in 1976, and the stout Legend Extra Stout in 1992. Subsequent years saw further diversification into non-alcoholic malt drinks, soft drinks, and a broader portfolio that includes dozens of brands to meet varying tastes and market needs.
Nigerian Breweries also expanded through acquisitions and mergers. In the early 2010s, the company absorbed two other brewing firms, adding their breweries and malting assets to its network. A merger with Consolidated Breweries Plc in 2015 added more production sites and broadened distribution reach across the country.
Aside its broad portfolio of beers, stouts, malt drinks and soft drinks, the company has also moved into spirits and wines, following the 2024 acquisition of a majority stake in Distell Wines and Spirits Nigeria Limited. In the same year, the company achieved remarkable growth in its full-year revenue, soaring by 80.8% year-over-year to reach N1.08 trillion, up from N599.6 billion reported in the prior year.
Wema Bank traces its origins to May 2, 1945, when it was established as Agbonmagbe Bank Limited by the late Chief Mathew Adekoya Okupe. The bank began life as a modest, locally owned institution focused on providing basic financial services, savings accounts, loans, and money transfers to traders, farmers and small businesses in communities underserved by colonial foreign banks.
Early branches were located in places like Ebute-Metta, Sagamu, Abeokuta and Ijebu-Igbo, a footprint modest by today’s standards but significant at the time.
In 1969, the bank underwent a change in ownership when the Western Nigeria Marketing Board converted a large deposit into equity and took control, renaming the institution Wema Bank. Over time, it expanded its services, embracing broader banking functions beyond deposit-taking and loans, including foreign exchange and computerized systems as banking evolved in Nigeria.
In 1969, the bank underwent a change in ownership when the Western Nigeria Marketing Board converted a large deposit into equity and took control, renaming the institution Wema Bank. Over time, it expanded its services, embracing broader banking functions beyond deposit-taking and loans, including foreign exchange and computerized systems as banking evolved in Nigeria.
By 1987, Wema Bank had become a public limited company, and three years later, in 1990, it was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. In February 2001, it obtained a Universal Banking License from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), enabling it to offer a full array of banking and financial services across the country.
The bank’s recent decades have been defined by digital innovation and expansion. In 2017, Wema launched ALAT, widely recognized as Africa’s first fully digital bank, allowing customers to open accounts, make transfers, pay bills and access banking services entirely online without needing to visit a physical branch. ALAT quickly gained traction.
According to the Bank’s 2024 Annual Report, Wema Bank, in 2024, recorded an all-time-high performance, with Gross Earnings growing by 91.51% from N225.75 billion in FY 2023 to N432.34 billion in FY 2024
Shell Nigeria traces its roots to 1936, when the Shell D’Arcy was established as the first Shell company in Nigeria. It was granted an exploration licence in 1938 and, in 1956, made the first commercial oil discovery at Oloibiri in the Niger Delta. By February 1958, Nigeria exported its first shipment of oil, marking the beginning of its journey as a major oil-producing nation.
From that foundation, the company formally evolved into the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in 1979, consolidating onshore and shallow-water oil operations under a joint-venture structure. The joint-venture partners included the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and other international firms.
Through SPDC, Shell built extensive infrastructure, thousands of kilometres of pipelines, numerous flow stations and gas plants, and hundreds of producing wells, becoming a cornerstone of Nigeria’s oil and gas output.
Over time, Shell Nigeria expanded beyond onshore oil. In 1993, it formed the Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), which pioneered deep-water oil and gas production, tapping offshore resources.
The group also diversified into natural gas distribution through the Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) business, and into liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) via the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) venture, making Shell a major player not only in crude oil, but in gas and downstream energy supply across Nigeria.
In March 2025, following approvals by the Nigerian government, Shell completed the sale of its onshore subsidiary SPDC to a consortium called Renaissance Africa Energy Company (RAEC). This marked a strategic shift; Shell exited onshore oil production in the Niger Delta to focus on deep-water and integrated-gas operations. While SPDC now RAEC continues to operate the joint-venture assets, Shell retains its interest and continues upstream and gas operations through SNEPCo, SNG, and its stake in NLNG.
Shell Plc paid $5.34 billion in taxes to the Nigerian government in 2024, up from $3.8 billion in 2023.
Chellarams Plc is a diversified Nigerian conglomerate that trades, manufactures, and distributes industrial chemicals, consumer goods, food‑ingredients and supplies, packaging materials, machinery and related industrial raw materials across Nigeria.
The company began business in Nigeria in 1923, when the firm set up trading operations. It was formally incorporated on August 13, 1947, as a private limited liability company, and later converted into a public limited company before being admitted to the official list of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on 29 November 1974, with full listing completed by 1978.
At its start, Chellarams traded textiles and other imported goods, leveraging its international trading roots. Over time, the company expanded its operations into both consumer products and industrial raw materials. Today, its business spans manufacturing, distribution, marketing, power generation, logistics and distribution services, serving diverse sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Chellarams now comprises several subsidiary companies, among them Dynamic Industries Limited, Chelltek Industries Limited and United Technical & Allied Services Limited, each focused on manufacturing, industrial supply, and distribution services.
Its product and service offerings include industrial chemicals, packaging materials, machinery, consumer goods, frozen foods, and even logistics services such as temperature‑controlled warehousing and customs brokerage.
The company also has a dairy and food business arm under a joint venture with Germany’s DMK Group, operating through Chellarams DMK Limited to manage dairy‑product distribution and production in Nigeria.
Unilever Nigeria has a century-long presence in the country, tracing its origins to 1923 when Lever Brothers (West Africa) Ltd began trading soap in Nigeria. Initially focused on household soaps, the company gradually expanded into food and laundry products, introducing Omo in 1960 and starting local production of the brand in 1964.
Over the decades, the company has evolved into one of Nigeria’s leading consumer goods diversified its product range to include personal care and food items, and in 2001, it adopted the name Unilever Nigeria Plc to align with its global identity.
The company’s product portfolio includes some of Nigeria’s widely used brands like Sunlight detergent, Closeup toothpaste. The company’s Knorr range of seasonings and stock cubes is equally popular, standing out as one of Unilever Nigeria’s most successful products.
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc is one of the country’s oldest financial institutions, tracing its origins back to 1917 when it was established as Colonial Bank. The bank’s early operations focused on supporting trade and commerce during the colonial era, providing essential banking services across Nigeria.
In 1925, the bank became part of Barclays Bank DCO following an acquisition, and by 1969, after Nigeria gained independence, it was incorporated locally as Barclays Bank of Nigeria Limited. Over the next decade, changes in ownership and regulatory developments gradually transformed the bank into a fully Nigerian-owned entity, leading to its rebranding as Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.
By 1993, the federal government had divested its controlling stake, making the bank wholly owned by Nigerian private investors. During Nigeria’s banking consolidation in the 2000s, Union Bank strengthened its position through acquisitions, including Universal Trust Bank Plc and Broad Bank Ltd, and absorbed its former subsidiary, Union Merchant Bank Ltd.
Union Bank underwent a major change in ownership and structure in 2021. The bank’s majority shareholders agreed to divest their stakes to Titan Trust Bank, and by June 2022, Titan Trust became the controlling shareholder. This triggered a mandatory takeover of remaining shares, followed by a scheme that acquired all outstanding shares, leading to the bank’s delisting from the Nigerian Stock Exchange in November 2023.
Following the completion of regulatory approvals, the merger between Union Bank and Titan Trust Bank was finalised, with Union Bank emerging as the main operating entity. The bank also divested all non-core subsidiaries to align fully with its core banking business model.