Nigeria’s Zinox Group was formed in order to create an IT identity for the nation, according to chairman Leo Stan Ekeh, who said the company has grown to become the largest of its kind of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Speaking on the Fidelity SME Forum radio programme, Ekeh – who in December last year was appointed as the only African global partner advisor by software giant Microsoft – said Zinox’s vision of creating a digital identity for Nigeria had assisted in its success.
“The Zinox group is the largest ICT group in Sub-Saharan Africa. We are into ICT products manufacturing, distribution, upscale core technology solutions and support and more,” he said. “I launched Zinox to create a digital identity for Nigeria. Within the group, we also have a digital internet hub called Zinox Telecom which is streaming online content using our robust broadband infrastructure to about 226 tertiary and over 1,000 secondary institutions and other strategic corporate organisations in the country.”
To be successful, he said entrepreneurs must define what they want.
“Entrepreneurs must be very clear on what they want and attach humility to it because smarter people learn from smart people, rework it a little bit and become global whizz kids and that is what access to technology has brought to our doorstep and that is why I say there is no one created by God in the 21st century to be poor,” he said.
“Money is available but what is critical in the 21st century is knowledge of the business, humility and integrity. If you have integrity, then you don’t need money from the bank. And that’s what I’ve done.”
To be known in the market, he said entrepreneurs must be able to identify available opportunities and cause positive disruption in the system.
“To identify opportunities that abound, you must look at your earlier script with less greed and it must be commercial opportunities that are in line with your prescribed road map and must add value. I wrote the script of my group clearly from day one and that’s why I stay focused on the ICT business.”
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