Names have a way of affecting an individual.A
man’s path and career could be
tied, some how, to his name.
Perhaps when he was growing up, he might
have said that he would, one day, become a
colossus in the Nigeria banking scene. His
detractors might have sneered at him.
You, a banker and a bank owner? Impossible,
they could have said.
Even in the days of liberalisation of banking
licenses in Nigeria, he was one of the few who
said banking could be a thing of joy but was
mockingly described by the older generation of
bankers as “cowboy banker.”
Nigerians
who are
much
older will
look back
and say a
little over
two
decades
ago,
Nigeria
was in
short
supply of
the
human
resources
and
infrastructure necessary to keep pace with the
rapid technological and economic change in
much of the developed world. Banking was a
nightmare, as queues were a common sight in
Nigerian banking halls.
An economic overhaul and the ensuing
banking license’ liberalisation in the early
1990s brought with it a wave of
entrepreneurs, among them Jim Ovia, who
sought to inspire progressive change in what
was then a highly underdeveloped banking
climate.
Ovia wanted to make a difference; he wanted a
change from the past when men who had bank
accounts would go to their banks and face a
long queue that snaked in the banking hall.
Jim Ovia introduced electronic banking that
would ease the laborious work load of manual
ledger entries in the bank. It was believed
then that they would soon fizzle out.
But with a magic wand in his hand, he turned
the industry around. His bank soon became a
reference point.
Although the race was tough and stiff, he
endured and today, with his Midas touch on
the bank he co-founded, the bank has
comfortably taken a leading position in the
banking industry not just in Nigeria, but in the
sub-region.
At every corner in Jim Ovia’s Victoria Island,
Lagos office, shelves of plaques, awards and
photographs of him with Bill Clinton, Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Goodluck Jonathan,
alongside pieces of literature and art, that
adorn the huge office. The younger generation
of bankers see him as one of the “godfathers
of Nigerian banking.”
Ovia began to make his contributions to the
development of banking in Nigeria more
pronounced when he founded Zenith Bank in
1990.
Nigeria’s banking system prior to the advent
of the Ovia-led Zenith Bank was characterised
by queues, and lots of them, as the over
country’s 120 million-strong population at the
time, customarily crowded the inside of
Nigeria’s precious few, ill-equipped and thinly
spread banks.
Ovia’s first move, therefore, was to bring ATMs
to Nigeria, effectively bypassing the human
traffic that clogged so many banking halls and
doing away with the over-the-counter culture
that reigned.
“When we started Zenith Bank in 1990, it was
extremely difficult as the necessary resources
and infrastructure to do business, particularly
banking, were not in place. There were no
ATMs, no mobile phones and ICT was a rarely
known concept in the business space,” he had
told Forbes.
Zenith Bank has greatly impacted banking in
Nigeria, lifting the sector from the era of over-
conservatism to one of healthy conflict and
dynamism, characterised by a culture of
excellence and global best practices. This has
been achieved through a combination of the
power of vision and a skilful union of banking
expertise and cutting-edge technology to
create products and services that meet and
anticipate customers’ expectations.
The bank blazed the trail toward digital
banking in the country, scoring several firsts.
Ovia began his career in 1973, working as a
clerk in Barclays Bank, now Union Bank. It
was there that he was introduced to an
industry he would later come to play a
significant role in transforming.
He obtained a B.Sc in Business Administration
from Southern University, Louisiana (1977)
and went on to earn a master’s degree in
Business Administration from the University of
Louisiana in 1979. He is also an Alumnus of
Harvard Business School (OPM).
One of the most crucial developments in
Ovia’s early career, and one that would shape
his business philosophy, was at Baton Rouge
Bank and Trust Company where he gained
experience in the use of computers while
working part-time in 1977. This stint, though
seemingly inconsequential, sparked an
appetite for technology and the realisation
that it would signal a brighter future for his
homeland.
Following a good few years of valuable
experience in the banking industry, Ovia
decided to establish a bank; one that would
later turn into a global brand and a dominant
player in Nigeria. Ovia was promptly granted a
banking license to bring his vision to fruition
on July 16, 1990.
He joined IMB as a Financial Analyst in 1980
and moved to the management cadre in 1987.
He headed the Corporate Finance Department
of Merchant Bank of Africa from 1987 to 1990.
His interest in computers was picked in 1977
when he worked as a part-time Computer
Operator at Baton Rouge & Trust Company,
Louisiana.
This interest, those close to him said, played a
large role in setting up his foundation, the
Youth Empowerment/ICT Foundation, which
focuses on improving the socio-economic
welfare of Nigerian youths by inspiring and
motivating them to embrace ICT. The
foundation supports the use of ICT “whenever
and wherever possible to enhance the
standard of living in the society and increase
human efficiency,” according to information on
its website.
He is the Chairman of the Nigerian Software
Development Initiative (NSDI) and also
Chairman, National Information Technology
Advisory Council (NITAC). He is a member of
the Honorary International Investor Council, as
well as the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI).
Ovia is a member of the Governing Council of
Lagos State University and also a member of
the Board of Trustees, Redeemer’s University
for Nations, Lagos. He was a member of the
Governing Council of the Nigerian Investment
Promotion Commission (1999 – 2007) and
also served on the board of American
International School, Lagos between 2001 and
2003.
He also serves as the Chairman of Quantum
Luxury Properties Limited and as Director of
Africa Finance Corporation. He served as a
Director at Transnational Corporation of
Nigeria (Transcorp) Plc. He is a motivational
speaker and an avid ICT person.
He is noted for his philanthropic gestures,
earning him the spot as head of numerous
Non-Government Organisations (NGO) at
various times including being the first
President of the Nigeria Internet Group
(2001-2003). In 2012, he donated N1 billion
to the rehabilitation of victims of the then
flood disaster. He is the founder and
Chairman of Mankind United to Support Total
Education (MUSTE), a philanthropic
organisation which focuses on providing
scholarship for the underprivileged. Today,
some of the beneficiaries are qualified
professionals in diverse fields.
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