Nigerian billionaire banker Jim Ovia has published his autobiography chronicling the story of how he built one of Africa’s largest financial conglomerates within the last three decades.
The book, titled ‘Africa Rise And Shine’ is published by ForbesBooks, and recounts the series of events that led to Ovia’s triumph in Nigeria’s treacherous business terrain.
Drawing upon his educational experiences and relentless determination, Ovia was able to surmount many challenges that stood in the way of the bank he founded, Zenith Bank, becoming the billion-dollar entity that it is today. The book outlines the difficult, yet crucial business decisions that were essential to Zenith’s prolonged success and is filled with valuable takeaways for every African businessperson.
Ovia joins a growing number of extremely successful African businessmen who are writing their autobiographies and documenting their success stories.
Tanzanian media and mining mogul Reginald Mengi recently published his autobiography, titled ‘I can, I must, I will’ which documents his journey from a humble background in a small village in Northern Tanzania to his emergence as one of the most successful businessmen in Africa. Kenyan steel and cement tycoon Narendra Raval has also published his memoirs, Guru: A Long Walk to Success, which becomes available later this month.
Jim Ovia is the founder of Zenith Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in Nigeria with a market cap i. He is the chairman and largest individual shareholder with a stake of slightly more than 9% stake, which has a current value of more than $200 million. He also owns prime real estate across Nigeria, and previously owned mobile telecom operator Visafone that he has since sold to MTN.
