Bagging a BSc from an extremely reputable higher institution the calibre of University of Lousianna and spiced-up with a distinguished degree from world’s renowned Harvard University greatly prepared Jim Ovia for the successes he achieved today. Call him Africa’s banking Colossus, a remarkable financial czar and a debonair investor, Jim Ovia is clearly, one of the movers and shakers of global economic value-chain. He founded Vodafone years back to make available a comprehensive information and communication technology for the vast populace of Nigeria. His dream of actualizing the best of mobile information communication remains legendary today.
Jim James Ovia, the founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank, was rated among the top 50 most influential and richest business investors in the world, a man that has attracted classical innovations into several aspects of banking and financial protection. Jim is a unifying factor in the African business space having diversified into various lucrative ventures aimed at transforming and enhancing the economic growth of the African continent. He is a multiple award winner who has bagged different recognitions from different reputable organizations both nationally and internationally in recognition of his integrity, courage and determination into achieving greatness. This is a man who inculcated valuable tenets of banking spiced with innovative information technology to enhance customer’s satisfaction and achieve optimum service delivery. An apostle of equity and genuineness in all life’s endeavors, Jim Ovia stands tall among privileged successful businessmen and women who epitomizes patriotic zeal for Nigeria’s and Africa’s sporadic economic advancement.
Having founded Zenith Bank in June 1990, Jim Ovia served meritoriously as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer till the year 2010 when he retired to emerge as the bank’s chairman. Ever since then, he has enacted several positive and life transforming policies into Zenith Bank resulting in it being referred to as the most reliable commercial bank in Africa. Zenith Bank is not just a reliable bank, it is arguably the most revered, the most reputable and ICT compliant financial hub in the entire continent.
Jim Ovia, a member of the World Economic Forum has played significant roles in supporting all the policies targeted at transforming the lives of Africans, most especially the youths whom he has always been advocating for. Though he delved into the communications sector through Vodafone which did not last a lifetime, Jim Ovia, a never tired and non-relenting business colossus, moved into other viable sectors where he is actualizing his developmental aspirations as at the moment.
So much passionate about the youth, Jim Ovia through his James Hope College contributes bountifully to the education of indigent children and with Jim Ovia Foundation, about 50% of students of James Hope College are beneficiaries of the foundation’s scholarship program. Till date, the Jim Ovia Foundation has sponsored over 1000 people who are now graduates from various disciplines. The enigmatic and proactive contributions of Jim Ovia to the growth of the Nigerian brand, encouraged former President Goodluck Jonathan to honour him with the revered Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON). Dr. James Ovia, a motivational speaker, brilliant economic and social analyst and a quintessential boardroom guru has touched many lives, strengthened so many weak souls and has given hope to the hopeless in the vast majority.
Jim Ovia is a detribalized businessman who although hails from the south eastern part of the country, gave employment opportunities to other tribes to ascertain reality. He has in no small measure contributed his personal quota to the emergence of astronomic economic growth of Nigeria and Africa as a whole, which has led to massive job creation, regional and national peaceful coexistence and an assurance of a stabilized future for the continent’s younger generation.
Through James Hope College, Lekki, Lagos Nigeria, Dr. Jim Ovia CFR, has patriotically created a solid academic platform for the continent’s teaming youths to actualize their dreams of becoming successful doctors, lawyers, civil engineers etc. He is a man blessed with uncommon passion for human capacity development thus taking improved welfare of all staff of Zenith Bank and other of his investments paramount. Dr. Jim Ovia is a leader of leaders, a distinguished business tycoon and an outstanding billionaire highly rated globally and worth billions of dollars.
Again, Jim Ovia has several architectural masterpieces as properties scattered all over highbrow areas in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, his country home in Agbor amongst others. Dr. Ovia is quiet, easy going, blessed with cool mien and an amazing personality. He is an unrelenting giver and an addicted philanthropist who detests seeing people suffer around him. His network of business partners is impressive, building a very wide connection of both local and international thinktanks and friends with the common motive of transforming the world’s economy.
His book “Africa Arise and Shine” published by Forbes Books speaks volume about Jim Ovia’s magic wand on Zenith Bank and tells it all about his rise to success, the challenges, the rigors, the rough and tough and the eventual breakthrough. A dynamically quintessential business originator and activator, Jim Ovia has placed Africa’s business and investment geographical perspectives to a monstrously great height, enabling the continent to compete with its counterparts. He solidified entrepreneurship, paving ways for indigent and helpless students to have reliable platforms for their future success. Today, many are products of his magnanimous acts of providing academic excellence for the youths.
Basically, Jim Ovia presents himself as a charismatic personality extremely committed to the overall growth, enhancement and development of humanity. As Chairman of Nigerian Software Development Initiatives, Dr. Jim Ovia CFR has unified, actualized optimum transformation of the country’s information and communication value-chain. His great impact on rephrasing and revamping the digital space upholds a legendary status with a view to easily turning the entire world to a global village. Very unassuming and an elitist, Dr. Jim Ovia is an agent of change in Nigerian banking security and has developed quite a lot of aspiring banking gurus through his James Hope Business School (JHBS).
The establishment of JHBS was spurred by the deep interest of Dr. Jim Ovia in comprehensive academic delivery of the younger generation of Africans. As a young boy growing up, living with his elder brother and working as a clerk in a bank, Jim Ovia has always pursued the dream of achieving 80% of his dream but today, he has achieved more than a 100% of the dreams.
After thoroughly studying the rudiments of banking while moving through the ladder, youthful Jim in his late 30s founded Zenith Bank with N20 million naira under a military regime reputable with having low tolerance for business establishment and low support base for investors. Jim Ovia however, weathered the storm and ensured he took Zenith Bank to the Zenith.
