Ekeh, Zinox boss urges Nigerian women in ICT, be more ambitious

DigitalSENSE Business News:

Chairman of Zinox Group, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, has urged Nigerian women in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry in the 21^st Century to be more ambitious since they have all it takes to achieve that, , reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

He also said that with the right mix of innovation, business focus, accountability and ambition, women entrepreneurs could lead the on-going evolution of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry in the 21^st Century, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

Ekeh who was speaking at the Women in ICT session hosted by Technology Distributions at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, told DigitalSENSE Business News that evolution of women in ICT at the top, would definitely relegate their male counterparts.

Dr. Ekeh who was the guest speaker at the meeting outlined a number of statistics which showed that IBM which now has Ginni Rometty, a female as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), citing the increasing role of women in the corporate sector, and enjoined them to play in the global arena by being more ambitious in growing their businesses with target of bigger ventures.

Women, he told DigitalSENSE Business News are naturally more structured, trustworthy, less greed and more prayerful than men.

“These innate qualities have strategically endowed women with the basic ingredients for leadership. As entrepreneurs, all you need to do is combine these innate qualities with absolute commitment, capacity for innovation, credibility and sound digital knowledge and very soon, the male folk will be struggling to keep pace with the women in the industry,” he said.

According to him, “ICT is a business of the future, one that you can bequeath to your children and unborn generations. It is an industry of constant innovation, requiring a sound business model and structure. Hence, I encourage you to enhance your knowledge in the digital business and build capacity which will in turn enable you accommodate the short term business shocks and eventually take charge of the digital economy.”

Dr. Ekeh also urged participants to leverage on the emerging force of electronic commerce (e-Commerce) and mobile commerce (m-Commerce) which has the potential of laying a foundation for women to control the wealth and leadership of nations in the third quarter of the century. 

While assuring the women ICT entrepreneurs of the utmost support from Technology Distributions in their respective roles as business partners, the Zinox Boss cautioned against excessive borrowing and emotional decisions which he says are two factors capable of negating business success.

Equally speaking, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Technology Distributions Limited, Mrs. Chioma Ekeh, counseled the women entrepreneurs to break out of the outdated stereotypes that have long held them back and take their rightful place in the scheme of things, especially with regards to driving the revolution in the ICT industry.

Noting that women are credible, balanced, emotionally intelligent beings, proven masters of crisis and opportunity management as well as great managers of resources; Mrs. Ekeh challenged the participants to borrow a leaf from Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer,  Sheryl Sandberg, who has urged women to seek leadership roles and own their success.

“It is no accident that women make up over half of the world’s population. Why then are there so few women occupying positions of authority?  It is high time for us to unleash our potential and begin to take charge of things happening around us. There is a growing trend of more women in ICT which is quite encouraging and despite the challenges in the system, we must capitalize on this to lead the revolutions in the industry,” she said.

DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that Technology Distributions, one of the largest ICT distribution companies in Africa with over 65 per cent spread of ICT products distribution in the West African sub-region and boasts of a strong gender-sensitive structure, with over 80 per cent of women occupying managerial positions in the company.

 
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pix: Zinox chairman, Leo-Stan Ekeh