Tonya is a consummate entrepreneur and the Group Chief Executive of Seal Group, a Conglomerate of Companies with business interests traversing Advertising, Hospitality, Retail, Print Media, Real Estate, and general merchandising with business experience spanning almost 15 years.
She started out with trading like a university undergraduate, a passion that helped her hone her skills in business.
Tonya has developed a notable drive for starting up and successfully growing her businesses organically. Her inspiring entrepreneurial story has been featured on the business magazine Whoot Africa, Today’s Woman, ThisDay, Vanguard, Punch, New Telegraph, Daily Independent and several others
Upon graduation from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Tonya sought to be an employer of people by establishing the Virgin Vie Angel Limited in 2005; A Merchandising & Retail outfit. She catered for most big corporate companies merchandising and branding needs making her name in the industry as one of Nigeria’s most consistent, innovative, and value-creating brands. Today, VVA is very well-positioned and has amongst its clients GlaxoSmithKline, UBA Group, PGS Exploration, Amni Petroleum, Dangote Group, Century Group, National Open University, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Orlando, AirFRance, Pacific Drilling West Africa Limited, Airtel Nigeria, Etisalat Nigeria, Eko Hotel & Suites, Multichoice, Wood styles Limited, Bank Of Industry, NIMASA, GIABA Senegal, ECOWAS, etc.
Her passion for branding stirred her to the establishment of an advertising subsidiary in 2006– ABC Inflatables Nigeria Limited; a Specialized innovative advertising Company; Most corporate launches and marketing drives in Nigeria engage the branding team at ABC to deliver effective and targeted advertising. ABC Inflatables Nigeria Limited remains a leader in its sector and continues to demonstrate stellar performance year on year. ABC Inflatables Nigeria Limited has amongst its clients; Transcorp Plc, GlaxoSmithKline, Reckitt-Benckiser, Cadbury, UBA Group, Century Group, National Open University, Zenon (now Forte Oil Plc), CFAO Motors, Visafone, Samsung (Sim Nigeria Limited), Nestle Plc, GTbank, AirFRance, Celtel-Zain (now Airtel Nigeria), Etisalat Nigeria, Arla Foods, Leadway Assurance, Lagos State Government and several Campaign Organizations and Groups alike.
The Virgin Hospitality Company was founded in 2010 by Tonya. The need for this company came about as a result of the branding activities of VVA but this time to engage specifically in branding of hospitality businesses. Today, VHC has over 500 hotel clients. Amongst its clients are all major hospitality brands in Nigeria including Eko Hotel & Suites, Intercontinental Hotels, Transcorp Hotels, Le Meridien, Southern Sun hotels, Obudu Mountain resort, The Moorhouse, Genesis hotels, De Edge hotels, IITA, Tinapa Lakeside, Wheatbaker, The George, Amber Residence, Protea hotels, Bon Hotels, All Seasons hotels, Sage hotel, La Cour, Lilygate hotels, The View hotels, and several others
The Quick Print Shop Limited was founded to complete the value chain of all activities in the SEAL group. The group no longer outsources its printing but now provides a modern state of the art printing facility in the heart of Nigeria’s commercial Print city- Shomolu, Lagos.
QPS is Fast growing with its loyal clients amongst which are; UBA Group, Century Group, National Open University, FMDQ, MTN, Arla Foods, Primum Fossores, Department of Petroleum Resources, Leadway Assurance, Eko Hotel & Suites, Wood styles Limited, Bank Of Industry, Ministry of Mines & Steel, British International School, Lead British International School, Credit Afrique MFB and several others,
Tonya has built many years of outstanding leadership and management skills. Her ability to grow businesses successfully to date in the unique terrains of Nigeria is applaudable. Tonya graduated with a BSc in Economics from the renowned Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. She went on to complete an MBA with the Metropolitan School of Business & Management, United Kingdom. Tonya’s drive to continuously improve her leadership style propelled her to attend the Lagos Business School- Owner Manager Programme, renowned for its unique delivery of leadership and business management courses in West Africa.
Her first paper on leadership was delivered at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — a Paper to a Youth group of Entrepreneurs.
In January 2019, Tonya convened ‘The Lagos Enterprise Summit’- the Largest gathering of Entrepreneurs in Nigeria discussing jobs for the Nigeria of tomorrow through the Enterprise initiative. This world-class event recorded over 3,000 attendees.
In April 2019, Tonya convened “The HSE Summit” to create some more awareness on HSE after being moved by the several Health, Safety, and Environment disasters especially after the itafaji Building collapse in Lagos island where several children were victims.
Again this Summit which played host to over 3,000 attendees, and key stakeholders in both the Private and Public sector recorded a huge success and now tagged as a first of its kind.
As the Chief Executive of the SEAL Group, Tonya oversees the successful running of all its subsidiaries which include Virgin Vie Angel Limited, The Virgin Hospitality Company, ABC Inflatables Nigeria Ltd, Green Cottage Investments Limited and The Quick Print Shop Limited.
Tonya Lawani is very well-traveled and believes one of the ways to nourish mental growth is by exposing oneself to the world and experiencing different cultures and perspectives to life.
Tonya grew up in Kaduna and speaks impeccable Hausa language.
An avid believer in recreation and healthy wellbeing, Tonya is a lover of the game of Squash and Golf.
Tonya is the Author of the iSucceed Business Planner, A must-have Productivity tool for the Smart Entrepreneurs and Business Managers! (www.isucceed.biz)
Follow Tonya on Instagram: @tonyalawani