Jim Ovia
He is the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, founded in 1990. He grew the bank astronomically to become one of the leading financial institutions in Africa, with a presence in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, China, and the United Kingdom. He is also the Founder and Chairman of the Jim Ovia Foundation, as well as the Chairman of Prudential Zenith Life Assurance, one of the leading life assurance companies in Africa.
Additionally, Ovia is the Chairman of Zenith General Insurance Limited, Nigeria’s most profitable general insurance company, and owns the popular Civic Center and Aquamarine Boat Club, a hospitality company aiming to exploit the fast-growing hospitality sector in Nigeria. He is also the owner of Civic Towers, a fifteen-story commercial building. He founded James Hope College, an education school providing scholarships and educational services to Nigerian students, and received two national honors from Nigeria, MFR (2000) and CON (2011). Born on November 4, 1951, Ovia is the author of ‘Africa, rise and shine.’
