Despite his numerous
landmark achievements in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
sector, serial digital entrepreneur, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh has sensationally
declared himself an orphan in the digital business world, noting that his
success and achievements can only be put down to his reliance on God and dint
of hard work.
Ekeh made this declaration during a revealing and incisive talk
to select postgraduate students and aspiring entrepreneurs in Dubai Marina, the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday August 17th while sharing
success tips with the participants on overcoming Africa’s peculiar and challenging
business terrain, with the renowned ICT pioneer using himself as a case study
for the interaction.
“Although my parents
are late, I still have siblings. However, I see myself as an only child and an orphan
in the digital business world as my success tools remain the dependence and
reliance on God, hard work and innovation. Seeing myself as an orphan and an
only child guides me in digital business decisions because if it fails, you cry
alone.
With this, I apply great caution in business decisions and that is why
my entire family members are in technology business because we understand the A
– Z as it is a knowledge-driven business and you need only God as a main Godfather
and quality friends to support you. Technology business does not lie.
According to him, venturing
into entrepreneurship requires a determination to take pains before pleasure. Hence,
an aspiring entrepreneur must see himself not only as an only child but also as
someone who wants to earn the position of a Field Marshall in the Army after
conquering many creative wars. He referred those of them who are Christians to
1 Corinthians 9:24 as a guide in joining the race of entrepreneurship.
Ekeh cautioned the
participants to look out for the gaps in business which could lead to
insolvency, while affirming that success comes with various pitfalls including
malicious attacks and blackmail from competition and other faceless
individuals.
“I have faced numerous
blackmails and campaigns of calumny from various quarters, even from people who
have no offices and are just out to rubbish my name. This is part of the
problems we have in Africa. However, I urge you all to see these as part of the
perks of being successful as no one throws stones at an unripe mango. My
happiness stems from the fact that despite all these, a few people still
appreciate quality and integrity, hence I urge you all to remain on the path of
worthy greatness.
"In all the accolades I have received, two of them remain dear
to me: the Icon of Hope Award presented to me by former President Olusegun
Obasanjo on Nigeria Independence Day celebration on October 1st 2002 and my
selection by the EFCC as Special Personality to cut the 5th
Anniversary stamp as a worthy Nigerian. These are some of the things that keep
me going,” he enthused.
Sharing experiences
from his beginnings, Ekeh noted that business success begins from childhood as
the decisions taken in that stage of one’s life go a long way in shaping the
future.
“Success in business as
an entrepreneur is not down to serendipity or a chance occurrence. It begins
from childhood: who you want to be, personal discomforts or sacrifices you are
willing to take in order to build a strong foundation for your business destination.
"As a young child growing up, I had taken a decision to abstain from alcohol and
cigarettes because as an entrepreneur you need to be reasonably principled and
sane to continuously interpret and guard the DNA (DeoxyriboNucleic acid) of your business. I am not
saying you should not drink or smoke, but in my case I like to test my capacity
as number one in everything I do except in education.
"Without that discipline,
perhaps I would have been a drug addict or a drunk as entrepreneurs go through
intense depressions occasionally and you need something to excite you but you
just have to pray it is nothing destructive that could negatively alter your
brand equity in the market place.”
While declaring that
the 21st century does not require collateral to build wealth, Ekeh
identified integrity as the biggest collateral he had relied on in his over 29
years of outstanding achievements.
“My strategy from
childhood as a poor fellow was to cause disruptions hence the decision to
venture into technology which allows room for constant innovation.
Nevertheless, I have always held fast to integrity as my biggest collateral.
This has gone a long way in helping me gain the confidence of various
multinational partners we do business with.
I have discovered the only way I
can sustain my dominance in the market place is through constant innovation and
this is tied to sleeping less and eating healthy. Added to this is the over 18
hours I put in every day together with my wife who, apart from God, has been my
greatest strength when strategies and tactics fail temporarily.
“It is important that
in that hunger to be successful, you institute strong auditable systems and
structures, this is the only way to sustain your business. In Africa, you have
a lot of portfolio billionaires who are also classified as entrepreneurs. These
are publicly perceived billionaires created overnight by their respective
governments based on political connections.
"Some of these people don’t have
offices not to talk of Accountants and HR executives. Avoid these people
because their end lies with the government in power. You have been trained and
exposed to be better than all present billionaires and the future is better
than today because you have less clannish burden waiting for you plus you have
age on your side.”
Ekeh who has overseen a
number of pioneering efforts in the ICT sector in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan
Africa, charged the participants to leverage on the limitless opportunities on
the continent to create and sustain wealth. He rounded off by advising them on
the need to take street-wise decisions such as avoiding excess bank loans where
possible and working hard to achieve ownership of their office space and
personal residences to avoid competitors causing disruption in their business
life in a continent with very weak legal structure.
Noting that every
entrepreneur has a divine call from God to fulfill on earth in order to make heaven,
Ekeh disclosed that his own call is to create thousands of creative and futuristic
jobs in Africa.
“Though I have not had
the greatest support of my government to achieve this, but I assure you, I am
almost at the point of realizing this and this would be soon as I have found a
most creative platform to achieve it and I assure before I retire soon, I shall
support platforms that help me achieve this ambition. It is, therefore,
important that in that ultra-ambition to create and enjoy wealth, you realize
early enough what that special call from God is all about and try to fulfill them
on earth,” he concluded.
ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!
No comments:
Post a Comment