In a world where ambition often races ahead of meaning, Adesuwa Belo-Osagie is a refreshing reminder that leadership can be both bold and deeply rooted in purpose. A lawyer by training, an entrepreneur by instinct, and a tastemaker by design, Belo-Osagie wears many hats—but wears them all with clarity and grace. As the Co-Founder and Director of 7-Fifteen Capital, she is reshaping Nigeria’s luxury real estate and hospitality landscape, fusing architectural sophistication with local context to create experiences that are as aspirational as they are intentional.

Educated in the UK and the U.S. and having built her early career at the prestigious Clifford Chance LLP, Belo-Osagie returned to Nigeria not just with credentials but with a vision—to create spaces that feel like stories and businesses that move culture forward. Whether it’s through 7-Fifteen’s innovative residential estates or the quietly elegant Husk Collection in Abuja, her work is marked by precision, emotional intelligence, and a keen sensitivity to beauty and belonging.

But beyond boardrooms and blueprints, Belo-Osagie is also a woman of heart. She chairs a philanthropic foundation focused on education and welfare, serves on multiple corporate boards, and mentors emerging leaders with the same thoughtful energy she brings to her projects.

In this interview with THEWILL DOWNTOWN’s Johnson Chukwueke, we explore her design philosophy, her drive to build a legacy in Nigeria, and what it really takes to lead with both strategy and soul.

What inspired the creation of 7-FIFTEEN CAPITAL, and what gap did you hope to fill in the investment space in Africa?

7-Fifteen Capital was born out of a deep conviction that Africa and Nigeria, in particular, needed more high-quality and value-driven real estate firms that not only understood the local landscape but also had the tenacity and the foresight to contribute towards transforming it. We saw a gap in the real estate sector where much capital was either too risk-averse or too disconnected from the lived realities on ground, and our goal was to bridge that divide by deploying smart sustainable investments into real estate really focusing on identifying prime locations with the promise of value retention as well as significant scope for value appreciation functionality-led design, the use of high-quality materials, and a relentless drive not merely to promote luxury, but to deliver substance and value to our clients as well. We believed we could ultimately reshape communities and prove that African solutions backed by African capital can produce fantastic results. Real estate, in particular, intrigued us for several reasons, primarily due to the realities of supply and demand in this sector. With the Nigerian population growing rapidly, a housing deficit of around 28 to 30 million homes is estimated. We really embrace the idea of contributing towards growth in this sector.

Your firm has a strong focus on private equity and strategic investments—how do you identify companies or sectors that align with your vision?

We ultimately start by looking for alignment not just in the numbers and the commercials but in the overall purpose and with regard to the people involved in the businesses in which we are interested. At 7-Fifteen, we invest in companies and sectors that demonstrate long-term value creation, strong fundamentals and a clear strategy for growth. Real estate development remains our anchor and when it comes to our sister business, HusK Collections, hospitality remains our anchor. But we do pay close attention to adjacent sectors like construction tech, affordable housing, green infrastructure, rentals, and other related businesses. We ensure that we do deep due diligence. Also, trust our local intelligence. Our presence in Abuja and now Lagos gives us real-time insight into shifting market dynamics. And our team is constantly engaging with entrepreneurs, regulators, communities and potential partners in order to stay ahead of the curve.

You’ve spoken about innovation in Africa. Where do you think the next big opportunity lies in terms of business or social change?

Well, I think there are various exciting opportunities when it comes to the continent. When I think of the real estate development industry in Nigeria specifically, I think a big opportunity that I find exciting lies in infrastructure that enables better access, especially in housing, clean energy, and financial services. In real estate, for instance, I strongly believe that we’re only scratching the surface when it comes to affordable and resilient urban development. Innovation won’t always be solely in new technologies, it can be in new financing models, better land administration systems, or inclusive design approaches that reflect how people actually live and work. At 7-Fifteen, we believe that innovation is about unlocking systems that have been closed or inefficient for too long.

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced running a female-led firm in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem, and how did you navigate them?

To be candid, being a woman in leadership in Nigeria’s real estate investment sector certainly comes with a range of challenges. There’s the subtle underestimation from time to time, a heightened level of scrutiny, a frequent need to prove one’s credibility in rooms where you might be the only woman. But at the end of the day, I think I’ve found that performance often speaks louder than bias. At 7-Fifteen, we seek to let our track record do the talking. And in terms of finding ways to navigate this space. I seek out female mentors who can provide guidance and advice. I try to build strong alliances with other females who have had these same sort of experiences and who have overcome these sorts of challenges. And then I also seek to sensitise some of the males within the company and within the industry at large so that they have a better awareness of some of these challenges and can also contribute to improving the system for women out there who are in this industry as well. I’m very keen, along with my co-founder and business partner, that at 7-Fifteen we don’t simply tolerate diversity, but we truly and genuinely champion it.

Do you believe young professionals in Nigeria have enough mentorship opportunities? How can that ecosystem be strengthened?

There’s a hunger for mentorship among young professionals in Nigeria, but the structures to support it are still underdeveloped. We have incredibly talented youth, but not enough access to real, consistent guidance. To strengthen this ecosystem, I think we need more intentional partnerships between industry leaders and educational institutions, and more platforms, digital and physical, that allow for ongoing engagement. At 7-Fifteen, we strongly support and sponsor internal and external trainings for our professionals. We take on interns and youth corpers to contribute to skills acquisition for young professionals as well. Beyond this, via the 7-Fifteen Foundation, our philanthropic arm, we support scholarships and programs across all levels of education to support more opportunities for young professionals now and young professionals in the future, and we continue to explore ways to scale our various initiatives for increased impact.

What legacy are you hoping to build or leave behind in the industries you’ve touched?

I want the 7-Fifteen legacy to be one of transformation and integrity. I want people to feel that our business has not merely been about constructing buildings, but about futures. I want 7-Fifteen to be viewed not just as another real estate firm hunting financial returns, but as a positive force that established a business based on structure, sound systems, transparency and tangible value creation within the real estate investment and development spaces. My co-founder and I hope to leave behind systems and processes that outlive us and that promote developments that are people-centred, sustainable, and culturally relevant. More personally, I deeply want to inspire young women. I want young women to look at what we’ve achieved and have conviction that they can achieve success as well. If I’m able to inspire women out there to get into business and to have the confidence to let their skills and intelligence shine, I’ll feel really excited about our impact and the legacy that I personally have left behind.

If you could change one thing about how business is done in Nigeria today, what would it be?

I would probably change the culture of short-term thinking. Too often, decisions are driven by immediate gains rather than sustainable impact. Whether the way we deal with clients and business partners or the way we formulate and execute contracts or corporate governance measures. There’s often a need for more patience, more discipline and long-term vision. If we can’t shift from opportunism to strategy and from extraction to value creation, then we can miss out on a lot of opportunities to improve our commercial environment. But if we can make these positive changes, Nigeria’s business environment will evolve in a positive manner rapidly. And I feel for the benefit of us all. At 7-Fifteen, we are playing our part by investing for the long run. And by focusing on long-term value creation, not just for ourselves as a business but for our clients as well.

When you’re not breaking new ground professionally, what does a perfect day off look like for you?

Well, I am the absolute opposite of a morning person. So a perfect day off for me absolutely involves a very nice lay in, waking up late. I love a good brunch. I’m a big fan of a good brunch. So perhaps some mimosas, some scrambled egg whites and pancakes. With some yummy maple syrup or agave nectar, something really indulgent and fun because I do love to eat. I adore good food. I have two extremely energetic but absolutely adorable young boys. So my perfect day off would absolutely involve lots of playtime with them, just doing fun things, running around the garden, splashing in the pool together. I’m sure a bit of hide and seek and a couple of superhero versus the bad guys games chucked in there as well. It would involve some R&R time with my husband, with some of our closest friends as well. I really enjoy great restaurants. I enjoy travel. I enjoy the beach. So perhaps that perfect day would involve some beach time, some good music, letting me just completely disconnect and ultimately have a really fun time with the family and friends that bring a lot of joy to my life. It would end with some yummy cocktails. If I had energy, a good, you know, bar lounge slash club where I can do some dancing to my favourite type of music, which is forever hip-hop and R&B and some Afro beats chucked in there and then passing out in my bed with some indulgent naughty food like a really yummy pizza with lots of cheese on it or you know shawarma or hot dogs or something similar bad for me but amazing tasting at that time in the morning post a late night out.

Are there hobbies or creative passions you pursue that people might be surprised to learn about?

I don’t know that people will necessarily find any of my hobbies or creative passions and felt surprised, but I love art. I really enjoy West African art in particular. I love curating events. It’s something that I really get excited about. It allows me to express the most creative sides of my personality. So, putting events together and thinking through all the ways to make them really special, feel customised, and meticulously planned. I enjoy going through a lot of the things that other people don’t necessarily enjoy, like all the logistics of the guest experience. I love thinking about colours and textures and the design of the event, and all those sorts of things really bring me joy. For now, I am able to explore this passion via parties for my kids, parties for my family, and sometimes with our corporate events as well. So all those sorts of events bring me a lot of joy because event curation is something that I really really get excited about. I also enjoy various aspects of interior design that goes very well with being a real estate developer but you know going through different interior designs, thinking of ways in which one can put different elements of design together, things that pair well together, things that perhaps a lot of other people may not think would pair well together but that you find intriguing ways to place together and to find things that can be complementary but surprising. I really enjoy those sorts of activities and experiences, and again, they allow me to express the really creative sides of my personality.

How do you recharge when things get overwhelming? Any rituals or wellness practices that keep you centred?

I’d love to be the sort of person who meditates. I keep saying I will get into meditation because I am certainly a believer in the fact that it has a lot of positive repercussions and impacts. But if I’m being honest, when it comes to how I recharge, I really love just some me time. Relaxing holidays are a fantastic way for me to recharge. Time with my husband, time with my kids. I find it allows me to recharge because I can take my mind off some of the more stressful elements of work and just embrace being present with them and having a good time, even when I’m doing something particularly silly with my boys, especially. It’s a different way of me releasing energy. And so, in its own way, it does help me to recharge and reset. I also like to watch completely trashy, lowbrow reality TV shows. I have to say that I find they require very little brain power, which is a good thing. They’re high on drama, high on ridiculousness, high on laughs. And for me, that is actually a way to completely reset, disconnect, not dealing with anything too serious, not dealing with anything that requires much mental focus. And it allows me to just completely relax, completely get wrapped up in the silliness, have a bunch of laughs, and I’ll often finish an episode or two and just be feeling reset and relaxed because I’ve been able to really disconnect from a lot of the more serious aspects of life and a lot of the more intense, sometimes stressful elements of the job that I do. Beyond that, I think I also try to focus on gratitude and the things that I’m grateful for. And I think that just having that mental perspective and approach really helps in terms of mitigating some of the more difficult aspects of feeling overwhelmed.

So just pausing to think through the things that I’m grateful for and pausing to think through ultimately whatever you’re facing, what are the worst-case scenarios?

Can you deal with the worst-case scenarios?

Are they things that you know, life ending or world ending. And if they are, which they pretty much always are, then you can get past them.

You can figure out a solution or a way to pivot.

And I think that really helps me stay centred and deal with moments that can feel overwhelming.

As a company, while we move really quickly, we work in a fast-paced environment.

We are really intentional about trying to build a culture that respects mental wellness and embraces a mentality of building holistically and making sure that our employees are clear that, as a company, we value them feeling mentally well. Thank you so much.

Johnson Chukwueke
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