Here is a story of Jim Ovia, a man who loss his father at four, started his banking career as a clerk, but now owns one of the biggest financial institutions in Africa.
When the the ‘Godfather of banking’ and founder of Zenith Bank Mr Jim James Ovia was appointed as the Chair of the Board of Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) on April 26, 2024, those who have been keeping track of his philanthropic records know that he is the right man to inspire the loan agency to achieve its goals.
Philanthropic works
Through his Jim Ovia Foundation, which was founded in 2003, close to 2,000 students across Nigeria have benefited from scholarship and been able to foot their academic bills and fulfill their life dream of getting access to higher education.
The foundation doesn’t only focus on higher education, aspiring entrepreneurs in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are also captured by giving them tools and support they need to be employers of labour.
Ovia, who is also the founder of James Hope University, Lekki, Lagos State, is known to support the government in times of national crisis. For instance, during the COVID-19 outbreak, he was one of the biggest donors to the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 in 2020, a support fund setup by the government.
Growing up
Born on November 4, 1951 into the family of Obi Olihe of Agbor, Agbor, Delta State, the young Jim lost his dad at four, but that would not deter him from getting the best education. After attending Ika Grammar School, he joined one of his elder brothers in Lagos.
After his secondary school qualification, he applied and got a clerk job in 1973 at Barclays Bank (now Union Bank) at Oba Akran branch of the bank, Ikeja, Lagos.
Banking experience
At the time, many of his colleagues who took the same role as clerk at Barclays continued on the same grade, but the ambitious Jim only worked as a clerk for three years and moved to the United States, where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in
Business Administration from Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1977 and capped it with an MBA from the University of Louisiana, Monroe, in 1979.
He returned to Nigeria for the one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), serving at the Union Bank branch at 121 Broad Street, Victoria Island (V.I).
He moved from Union Bank to International Merchant Bank (IMB) as a financial analyst in 1980 and later became a branch manager.
He was instrumental in setting up the corporate division of Merchant Bank of Africa before joining Lion Bank and rose to become a branch manager in Lagos.
Starting small, growing big
While working in the banks aforementioned, he knew exactly what he wanted. His plan was not just a bank, but the one that will make an impact by creating job opportunities and supporting the economic development of the African continent.
So, Mr Ovia was already doing his homework till 1990, when Zenith Bank opened its first office for financial operations.
The start wasn’t rosy as some people thought because buildings that were specifically designed for commercial purposes were hard to come-by the way we see them almost everywhere today. He had to convert a residential quarter into banking operations.
Despite the political and economic uncertainty during the military era, the ambitious young Jim Ovia kicked off Zenith Bank with N20 million in shareholders’ funds.
He has grown shareholder’s funds of N20 million to over N4 Trillion ($3 Billion USD) between 1999-2022. That’s not all, the bank’s assets are now worth over N34 Trillion ($24 billion). No wonder Forbes Africa, a subsidiary of Forbes Magazine known for tracking legitimate wealth, described him as “Godfather of banking”.
After successfully listing Zenith Bank on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (now Nigeria Exchange), he moved to one of the biggest exchanges in the world, London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 2013 after meeting the $850 million GDR benchmark.
The bank can now be found in some African countries such as Ghana, The Gambia, Sierra Leone plus operations in Dubai, United Arab Emirate; China, and London in the United Kingdom.
Honours
Apart from being a member of the World Economic Forum Community of Chairpersons, and a champion of the Forum’s EDISON Alliance, Jim Ovia was honoured three times with national honours by the government of Nigeria, including:
- Member of the Order of the Federal Republic, MFR in 2000
- Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON in 2011
- Commander of the Federal Republic, CFR in 2022
- National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) in 2022
His investment in education
Ovia’s giant stride extends beyond the financial sector and technology, he is also the founder of a Lagos-based private higher institution James Hope University Lekki.
The university, which only offers postgraduate degrees in business-related programmes, received operating licence from the National Universities Commission (NUC) in 2021 and began academic activities in September 2023.
Appointment as NELFUND Board Chairman
The appointment of Jim Ovia by President Bola Tinubu on April 26, 2024 as the Chairman, Board of Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) was as result of the banker’s love for education, having sponsored hundreds of students under his foundation.
One of such nobility is offering scholarships to indigent students through the Mankind United to Support Total Education (MUSTE) initiative. Most of the beneficiaries are now employers of labour and captains of industries. He will inspire the NELFUND management team to achieve the scheme’s goals.
The National Student Loan Programme is the first intervention in education that seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education after the collapse of Student Loan under the military era.
“Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds and of ensuring that Nigerian youths,” Tinubu said in a statement by his media chief.
Jim Ovia’s story is a testament that it can be done regardless of the challenges or obstacles.
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