Africa Rise And Shine: How a Nigerian Entrepreneur from Humble Beginnings Grew a Business to $16 Billion

by Jim Ovia

Overview

The road to success is rarely linear and never easy. Despite countless setbacks, Jim Ovia, founder of Zenith Bank, was able to achieve the unthinkable. Africa Rise and Shine is the story of Ovia’s business and banking success and how he was able to create one of Africa’s largest banks. Spanning decades of both world and Nigerian history, Africa Rise and Shine dives deep into the events that led to Ovia’s triumph. Drawing upon his educational experiences and relentless determination, Ovia was able to overcome every hurdle that stood in the way of his bank becoming the national icon that it is today. Africa Rise and Shine outlines the tough, yet necessary business decisions that were essential to Zenith’s prolonged success and is filled with valuable takeaways for every businessperson. Learn from one of the best in banking what it takes to truly be successful.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781946633408
Publisher:	Advantage Media Group, Inc.
Publication date:	07/24/2018
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

JIM OVIA is the founder and chairman of Zenith Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in Africa. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Southern University Louisiana, an MBA from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and an OPM from Harvard Business School. Jim is a philanthropist and chairman of the Jim Ovia Foundation. To date, over 1,500 students have been provided with university scholarships. The Jim Ovia Foundation also established the James Hope College at Agbor, his place of birth. In recognition of his achievements, particularly in support of the Nigerian economy, Jim Ovia was conferred with the national award of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2011.

Table of Contents

Prologue xi

1 Africa Rise and Shine: From Humble Beginnings to $16 Billion 1

2 Basic Instinct: Going with the Gut 11

3 The Power of Negotiation: Instinct and Trust 21

4 Logo and Branding 29

5 Licensing Zenith Bank 35

6 Commencing Operations at Zenith Bank 41

7 Seek Out New Ways of Doing Things 47

8 Building the Information Superhighway 53

9 Don't Agonize, Digitize! 61

10 Growing Zenith Aggressively 67

11 Y2K-The Millennium Bug 71

12 Our Legendary Zenith Bank CEO Awards 77

13 Owner President Management (OPM) 83

14 The Initial Public Offering 87

15 Philanthropy: The Jim Ovia Foundation 91

16 BYOI: Build Your Own Infrastructure 97

17 Harvard Lecture 103

18 Founding a Mobile-Telephone Company: Visafone 111

19 Nigerian Banking Crisis 117

20 How We Exceeded Customer Expectations and Achieved Superior Results 123

21 Civic Towers 129

22 Networking, Networking, Networking 137

23 James Hope College: Excellence and Empowerment 145

24 Nomination and Appointment of the Central Bank Governor of Nigeria 153

25 How and Why MTN Bought Visafone 157

26 Work/Family Ethic of an Entrepreneur 165

21 Private-Sector Health Alliance 171

28 A Landmark Partnership-Prudential UK 181

29 Global Summits 2017: Business and Climate Change 187

30 Zenith Today, Zenith Tomorrow: What Lies Ahead 197

Jim Ovia Foundation Programs and Resources 205

Appendix A Additional Links 221

Appendix B Recommendations for Further Reading 223