Jim James Ovia (born 4 November 1951) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

businessman and author. He is the founder of Zenith Bank, which he founded in 1990, and is now the country's most profitable bank. In 2018, Ovia published what he described as an "entrepreneurial manual" he called ''Africa Rise and Shine''. His memoir also tells about his early life, his business career and how he developed Zenith Bank and other related interests.

Early life and education

James "Jim" Ovia was born in 1951 into the large family of Obi Olihe of Agbor-Obi, in what is now Agbor,

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

. His father died when he was four, and older siblings helped support their mother and the family. One elder brother paid for his early education. Ovia later moved to

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

to live with that brother and started work as a clerk in a bank. After three years, he traveled to the United States for college and graduate school, earning a B.Sc. degree in Business Administration from

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It i ...

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

(1977), and an MBA from the

University of Louisiana, Monroe The University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it becam ...

, in 1979. He is also an alumnus of

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

Career

Jim is the founder of Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria's tier-1 bank and one of the most profitable financial institutions in Nigeria. In 2010, he assumed chairmanship of the bank. He was the recipient of a Nigerian national honor. Ovia is the founder of Visafone Communications Limited and the chairman of both the Nigerian Software Development Initiative (NSDI) and the National Information Technology Advisory Council (NITAC). He is a member of the Honorary International Investor Council as well as the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI). He is the Chairman of Cyberspace Network Limited. He was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in the 50th convocation ceremony of the University of Lagos. In September 2018, Ovia announced the publication of his book Africa, Rise and Shine published with ForbesBooks.

Leadership roles

Ovia is a member of the Governing Council of

Lagos State University Lagos State University (LASU) is a state-owned university established by the Lagos State government in 1983. Its main campus is situated at Ojo, Lagos State, Ojo, with sub-campuses at Ikeja and Epe. The university was set up "for the advanceme ...

and a member of the Board of Trustees, Redeemer's University For Nations, Lagos. He was a member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (1999–2007) and served on the board of American International School, Lagos (2001–2003). Ovia headed numerous

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

at various times including serving as the first President of the Nigeria Internet Group (2001–2003). He is the founder and Chairman of ''Mankind United to Support Total Education'' (MUSTE), a

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

organization focused on providing

scholarships A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need, research ...

to the less privileged. He is the founder of the Youth Empowerment / ICT Foundation, which focuses on improving the

socioeconomic Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

welfare of Nigerian youths by inspiring and motivating them to embrace

Information and communication technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computer ...

Award

In October 2022, Jim Ovia was conferred with the Nigerian national honor of

Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic The Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) is one of two orders of merit, established by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1963. It is senior to the Order of the Niger. The highest honours are the Grand Commander in the Order of the Federal Rep ...

(CFR) by President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

. In March 2025 he was awarded the Freedom of the City of London for his global financial impact.

References

1951 births Igbo businesspeople Living people Southern University alumni University of Louisiana at Monroe alumni Harvard Business School alumni 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople People from Delta State Nigerian company founders Nigerian bankers Lagos State University people Nigerian chairpersons of corporations {{Nigeria-bio-stub