Dr. Julius Kunle Oni, Leslie Awasom and Tenny Tolofari Recognised Among Africa’s 100 Most Impactful People in Construction & Real Estate 2026
From healthcare and cybersecurity to a $276 million real estate platform, the three co-founders of XSITE Capital Investment are demonstrating how African entrepreneurship, collective investment and an ambitious return to the continent can reshape property ownership.
An editorial recognition by RanksCORE, powered by Ranks Africa.
Some of the most consequential stories in real estate do not begin on a construction site. They begin with individuals who recognise an opportunity to build something beyond the professions in which they first found success.
For Dr. Julius Kunle Oni, Leslie Awasom and Tenny Tolofari, those beginnings were in medicine, nurse anaesthesia and cybersecurity. Their shared ambition would eventually bring them together as co-founders of XSITE Capital Investment, a multifamily real estate investment firm whose growth has become a notable example of African diaspora entrepreneurship.
In recognition of their entrepreneurial leadership, investment achievements and contributions to expanding participation in real estate ownership, RanksCORE, powered by Ranks Africa, recognises the three founders among Africa’s 100 Most Impactful People in Construction & Real Estate 2026.
Their recognition reflects a story of professional reinvention, capital mobilisation and the pursuit of new models for property investment, particularly as their business extends its ambitions towards Africa.
A Defining Year: The Impact of 2026
The year 2026 marked an important period in the development of XSITE Capital Investment.
In February, the company announced the acquisition of The Park at Arlington, a 188-unit multifamily residential property in metropolitan Atlanta, United States.
Leslie Awasom, Dr. Julius Kunle Oni and Tenny Tolofari Recognised Among Africa’s 100 Most Impactful People in Construction & Real Estate 2026.
According to its announcement, the acquisition brought the company’s portfolio to approximately $276 million in assets under management across 1,422 residential units.
The transaction also represented its third major acquisition closing within a twelve-month period, with the company reporting more than $100 million in property acquisitions during that period.
Beyond portfolio growth, XSITE reported participation from a community of more than 400 working professionals, including physicians, nurse anesthetists, engineers and attorneys.
These achievements illustrate the founders’ ability to bring together individual investors around professionally managed residential property assets.
Yet perhaps the most significant development for their African story in 2026 was the advancement of their ambitions in Lagos.
Building on the 2025 launch of XSITE Africa, the founders began publicly advancing LUMINA at Eko Atlantic, a proposed hospitality and real estate investment development in Lagos designed around a co-ownership model.
The project represents an important evolution in their vision: moving beyond connecting African investors with international property assets towards creating opportunities for shared ownership in developments on African soil.
Together, these milestones distinguish 2026 as a year in which the founders strengthened their established investment platform while giving greater visibility to their long-term ambitions for Africa.
Dr. Julius Kunle Oni — A Vision for Ownership and African Development
An accomplished orthopaedic surgeon and Chief Executive Officer of XSITE Capital Investment, Dr. Julius Kunle Oni represents a distinctive intersection of professional achievement and entrepreneurship.
His medical career, which includes experience at Johns Hopkins, established his reputation in specialised joint replacement surgery. His subsequent return to Nigeria to pursue advanced orthopaedic healthcare demonstrated a commitment to applying internationally developed expertise within his country of origin.
Through Ortho Nigeria International, Oni has pursued improved access to specialised medical services and professional development.
In real estate, his leadership has helped establish XSITE Capital as a platform through which working professionals can participate in multifamily investment opportunities.
His 2026 impact is reflected in the company’s portfolio expansion and the continued development of XSITE Africa’s investment vision.
Oni’s contribution is especially significant because it connects two dimensions of African development: the return of specialised professional knowledge and the creation of investment structures intended to support long-term asset ownership.
His work illustrates how African professionals can use international experience to build businesses with ambitions extending beyond national borders.
Leslie Awasom — Building the Systems Behind Growth
For Leslie Awasom, the transition from healthcare to real estate investment has been shaped by a consistent principle: sustainable growth requires discipline.
A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and Chief Operating Officer of XSITE Capital Investment, Awasom brings experience from demanding clinical environments into the management of an expanding investment organisation.
His contribution to XSITE extends beyond individual transactions. It involves the operational structures, professional coordination and organisational systems necessary to support a growing portfolio.
In 2026, as XSITE reported further acquisitions and increased assets under management, that operational responsibility became increasingly important.
Awasom has also contributed to investor education and mentorship, encouraging professionals to consider the role of ownership and long-term investment in building financial security.
His public discussion of LUMINA at Eko Atlantic has connected the founders’ American real estate experience with the ambition of creating shared property ownership opportunities in Nigeria.
His recognition celebrates operational leadership, professional mentorship and his contribution to developing a scalable real estate investment platform.
Tenny Tolofari — Driving Acquisitions and Expanding Opportunity
Tenny Tolofari’s professional journey demonstrates the value of bringing technical expertise into real estate entrepreneurship.
With a background in cybersecurity and experience in major international organisations, Tolofari developed an understanding of risk, analysis and structured decision-making before pursuing commercial real estate.
As Chief Growth Officer and Head of Acquisitions at XSITE Capital Investment, he plays a central role in identifying investment opportunities and supporting the company’s acquisition strategy.
The February 2026 acquisition of The Park at Arlington highlighted this approach.
Rather than pursuing geographic expansion without regard to operating efficiencies, XSITE emphasised its strategy of concentrating properties within established investment markets.
That approach reflects the importance of disciplined acquisitions in building a sustainable property portfolio.
Tolofari has also been a prominent advocate of XSITE Africa’s vision, discussing the need to create greater access to real estate investment opportunities for Africans at home and abroad.
His 2026 impact is demonstrated through acquisition-led portfolio growth, investment strategy and his contribution to advancing the group’s African expansion ambitions.
LUMINA at Eko Atlantic: Bringing the Vision Home
Among the developments associated with the founders in 2026, LUMINA at Eko Atlantic offers one of the clearest connections between their international investment experience and their ambitions for Africa.
Presented as a proposed 180-apartment hospitality development in Lagos, LUMINA is intended to introduce a model through which participating investors can hold interests in a professionally managed real estate asset.
The concept responds to an important challenge in African property investment: enabling broader participation in substantial developments through structured investment arrangements.
For the founders, the project also represents a personal milestone.
Their careers and investment activities have been shaped by international experience, but LUMINA signals an intention to apply their knowledge and investment model to the African built environment.
Its eventual impact will depend on execution, delivery, governance and investor outcomes. Nevertheless, its advancement during 2026 is an important part of the founders’ recognition story.
Why They Are Among Africa’s 100 Most Impactful People in Construction & Real Estate 2026
The CORE 100 recognition considers industry contribution, achievements, economic and community impact, leadership, and the scale and reach of an individual’s work.
For Dr. Julius Kunle Oni, Leslie Awasom and Tenny Tolofari, their collective achievements demonstrate the relevance of these principles across several areas.
Their reported $276 million investment portfolio reflects substantial business growth and experience managing residential property assets.
Their investment community demonstrates an approach to mobilising private capital and introducing professionals to real estate ownership.
Their leadership illustrates the value of combining expertise from different industries to create a commercially significant enterprise.
And through XSITE Africa and the development vision for LUMINA at Eko Atlantic, they have begun connecting their international experience with opportunities for investment and development in Africa.
What makes their journey particularly compelling is not simply the value of the properties associated with their company. It is their effort to build an investment model that brings together professional expertise, collective capital and long-term ownership.
For an African construction and real estate industry seeking greater access to capital, experienced operators and innovative development structures, that model deserves attention.
Building Beyond Boundaries
Dr. Julius Kunle Oni, Leslie Awasom and Tenny Tolofari did not begin their professional journeys as conventional real estate developers.
One built a career in surgery. Another developed expertise in nurse anaesthesia. The third worked in cybersecurity.
Together, they established a business that has grown into a substantial multifamily real estate investment platform, while pursuing an ambition to connect African investors and developments with new models of ownership.
Their achievements in 2026 reflect both measurable commercial progress and the development of an African investment vision.
As members of the CORE 100 — Africa’s 100 Most Impactful People in Construction & Real Estate 2026, the three founders are recognised for their entrepreneurial leadership, contribution to real estate investment and efforts to broaden the possibilities of property ownership.
Their story demonstrates that the future of Africa’s built environment will be influenced not only by those who construct buildings, but also by those who develop the capital structures, investment platforms and partnerships that make development possible.
They are building more than a portfolio. They are building a model for participation, ownership and opportunity.
ABOUT THE RECOGNITION
CORE 100 — Africa’s 100 Most Impactful People in Construction & Real Estate 2026 is an industry recognition initiative by RanksCORE, powered by Ranks Africa, celebrating individuals whose leadership, achievements, innovation and contributions are shaping construction, property development, infrastructure and real estate investment across Africa and its global professional community.
Class of 2026 | Special Recognition Feature
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