Reaching for the Zenith

Jim Ovia

What is in a name? Not much one would say, just a label to identify a person, institution, place or thing. But there is much to a name. More than a means of identification, it is believed that names have a way of affecting an individual or institution.

Nothing is farther from this truth than the story of Zenith Bank Plc. Older generations of Nigerians will recollect a time when banking was a nightmare. Operations and services were manually driven, queues were a common sight in banking halls as customers were subjected to delays and stress.

The Zenith of banking

All that changed with the banking liberalisation of the 90s; in came banks that were nimble, trim, fit and swift, and dared to tread where the old generation banks feared. Among the change agents was Zenith Bank Plc. The name of the bank suggests that the founders had big dreams; they knew where they want the bank to be.

From a small commercial bank operating out of Ajose Adeogun Street on Victoria Island, Lagos, the bank today, is one of Africa’s biggest financial institutions.

Zenith Bank Plc was established in May 1990, and commenced operations in July of the same year as a commercial bank. The bank became a public limited company on June 17, 2004 and was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on October 21, 2004 following a highly successful Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Currently, it has a shareholder base of about one million and is Nigeria’s biggest bank by tier-1 capital. In 2013, the bank listed $850 million worth of its shares at $6.80 each on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

Zenith Bank Plc has over 500 branches in Nigeria with subsidiaries in Ghana, Sierra Leone Gambia, United Kingdom, UAE, South Africa and Peoples Republic of China. The bank plans to take the Zenith brand to other African countries as well as European and Asian markets.

The man Ovia

Behind this stellar success is Jim Ovia, the pioneer MD/CEO and now chairman of the board. Jim Ovia was born November 4, 1951 in Agbor, Delta State. At an early age, he displayed a knack for figures which saw him pursuing studies in business administration. After gaining degrees at both Southern University and University of Louisiana at Monroe, he attended Harvard Business School.

Returning home, Jim Ovia started his working career at Barclays Bank, DCO, now Union Bank in 1973. Thereafter, he worked as Financial Analyst at International Merchant Bank (IMB) where he rose to Senior Manager Position in 1987. From 1987 to 1990, Ovia was the Head of Corporate Finance department at the Merchant Bank of Africa. He had previously gained experience in the use of computers in 1977 when he worked as a part-time computer operator at Baton Rouge Bank and Trust Company.

His stint at Baton Rouge Bank and Trust Company was an indelible experience and one that was later to define the character of Zenith Bank as ICT, which he saw as a panacea to the laborious work load of manual ledger entries in the industry, became the hallmark of the bank. 

“When we started Zenith 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,” Ovia says.

“When in 1990, banking licenses were being issued, indigenous private individuals were being offered the opportunity to set up financial institutions, Prior to that, you either needed to be a foreign global financial institution, or a federal or state government institution, to own or set up a bank in Nigeria. Businesses and entrepreneurs could not possibly get these licenses because of the prerequisites attached. It was perceived then that Nigeria did not have the technical expertise to run or manage banks,” he adds.

Undaunted by these barriers, Zenith Bank under his leadership, blazed the trail in digital banking in Nigeria, scoring several firsts in the deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure to create innovative products that meet the needs of its teeming customers. For instance, the bank was the first bank in Nigeria to introduce the online-real time banking, which enabled the entire grid of branch offices to be networked.

Although the race was tough and stiff, he endured and today, with his Midas touch, the bank he co-founded, is a reference point. The bank is not only a leader in the deployment of various channels of banking technology, but also the Zenith brand has become synonymous with the deployment of state-of-the-art technologies in banking.

This was not an accident but one borne out of passion, insight and making the right decisions. Half way through his studies at the Southern University, Louisiana, United States, he fell in love with computer technology and decided to incorporate it into his programme against the advice of one his uncles who thought that it was an immature industry then.

“It so happened that halfway through my studies, my keen interest in computer science and information technology was heightened… I couldn’t help it and decided to incorporate computer science into my program. One of my uncles advised me against this, as he reckoned that it was an immature industry at that point. Business administration was the way forward,” he says.

Young Jim Ovia disregarded his uncle’s warning and pursued his passion. He says “like any young man, I was full of hopes… (there were) tremendous opportunities in the future. It wasn’t so much what you studied but what you did with the knowledge that mattered.” Today, the rest as the saying goes, is history. He has created a business empire spanning banking, real estate, petrochemicals, hospitality industry and until recently telecommunications. In the process, he has amassed over $550 million fortune making him 37th on 2015 Forbes Africa’s Richest list.

Boardroom guru

Ovia sits on the board of many organisations. 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 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 Director of Africa Finance Corporation. He served as a Director, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) Plc.

Jim Ovia is the Proprietor of the University of Information and Communication Technology, Delta State and founder, ICT Foundation for Youth Empowerment, which focuses on improving the socio-economic welfare of Nigerian Youths by inspiring and motivating them to embrace Information and Communication Technology.

Philanthropy

He is noted for his philanthropic gestures, which earned him positions as head of numerous Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) at various times, including being the first President of the Nigeria Internet Group (2001-2003); Chairman of the Committee on “Nigeria Polio-Immunisation Action Group”. The committee in collaboration with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation seeks to eradicate the scourge of the dreaded polio disease in Nigeria.

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.

A renowned motivational speaker and avid ICT person, Jim Ovia has been conferred with a National Honour and a Zik Award for Professional Leadership. He bagged the Business Day Award for top 10 bankers in Nigeria and was among Vanguard’s 20 most outstanding CEOs in corporate Nigeria in 2002.

By Chidi Nduka Aja