Jim James Ovia, the founder of one of the leading financial houses in Nigeria, Zenith Bank, has opened up about how he started what has now become one of the country’s leading and most profitable commercial banks. Ovia recounts how he started the company, back in 1990 with just 20 million Naira ($5 million dollars at the time).
“I started Zenith Bank with 20 million Naira in 1990. That’s about five million dollars at a certain rate of about Four Naira to the Dollar…back then” Jim told BusinessKings.ng
“At the same time 20 years later, Zenith Bank shareholders fund was four billion dollars. From Four million dollars to four billion dollars. You can do the math, it would give you some thousands of percentages of returns” – Ovia further expressed.
Jim Ovia, is also the chairman and the largest individual stakeholder with a stake slightly more than 9%. He also owns prime real estate across Nigeria and a mobile telecom company Visafone with roughly three million subscribers.
WHAT IS THE SECRET?
When asked what is the secret to such mouthwatering success, and how young people can learn from him, Ovia did not hesitate to open up about the secret to his success. He boasts that it’s easier to have his kind of success in Nigeria, than anywhere else in the world.
“They should remain focused and determined. This kind of success, you don’t get it even in God’s own country America, you don’t get it in Europe, but you can get it in Nigeria.”
Jim Ovia doesn’t only share his secret to success, he also outlines his challenges over these years of making Zenith Bank one of the biggest and profitable commercial banks in the country.
“…definitely You will always experience adversity in any business initiative whether it’s in Europe or it’s in America, you’ll always face those, but those are the areas where many people really give up. Don’t just give up in Nigeria.”
“What we were doing at that time was, we were building our own roads to our branches… we also bought power plants and generating sets to power electricity in our buildings. We also dug boreholes to supply water to our buildings. When we do all this, I call it Build Your Own Infrastructure (BYOI) anyone who has done business in Nigeria would agree with these challenges.” – He added
Ovia, 72, is currently among the top African bankers. He has stood the test of time with Zenith Bank Plc. and has made it not just a household name, but one of the most commercial banks in Africa.
