Africa’s serial digital entrepreneur, Leo Stan Ekeh, was the toast of Governor Hope Uzodimma on Friday, September 27 in Owerri, Imo state. The event was the maiden graduation ceremony of trainees of Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation (LSEF) Centre free entrepreneurship boost programme at Imo State University (IMSU).
Ekeh, the iconic Forbes Best of Africa Leading Tech Icon and his family have used the platform of the foundation to impact humanity at home and in the Diaspora. On April 4, this year, the foundation launched two entrepreneurship centres at IMSU and at St. Augustine University in Epe, Lagos. The birthing of the centres to fire up the passion of entrepreneurship in Nigerian youths was triggered by Ekeh’s abiding desire to upskill Nigerians, irrespective of tribe and tongue, and prepare them to become wealth and job creators, rather than job-seekers.
At the IMSU centre, it was an epiphany for about 200 young Nigerians who were the first set of beneficiaries of the 3-month entrepreneurship boost programme. The excitement that lit their faces, the raw confidence they exuded as they received their certificates showed the plucky courage of a people primed and ready to conquer new heights. They were taught the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, free of charge, by the best coaches and experts drawn from Nigeria, United States and United Kingdom. Not only were they tutored by the best whizzes in diverse fields of human endeavour, they were also kept on a stipend throughout the duration of the programme to augment their weekly commute to the centre. In addition, each trainee was gifted a new Z-pad tablet to aid their learning and upskilling process.
A key highpoint of the programme is the choice of the courses available to the trainees. They include social media marketing, Artificial Intelligence, career planning, public speaking, financial management, etiquette, business law and ideation, digital publishing, selling and branding, among others. These are contemporary skill sets that drive the marketplace in the 21st century. The essence, says Professor Gloria Ernest-Samuel, the Director of the Centre, is to prepare the trainees to become wealth-creators.
The centre is an expression of divinity and humanity. Ekeh loves God and in all his conversations, he never ceases to acknowledge God’s role in his eventful life. From God giving him a good wife, Lady Chioma Ekeh, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Certified Accountants (FCCA, UK) to blessing him with responsible and brilliant children, Ekeh gushes with gratitude to the Almighty. His humanity, humility and avid desire to make life better for the next man stands him out. Ever seen a man whose pastime is to seek out the poor and help them come up the ladder of life? Ever seen an entrepreneur who draws a distinction between capitalism and welfarism? Ekeh does. He believes that capitalism must wear a human face; that profit must not take the place of empathy.
A man of affluence and influence, yet he does not ascribe such success to himself. He links his fame and fortune to God. He believes in hard work, self-denial, discipline and strategy, but all that could come to zilch without a God factor, he says.
“I love God and will never hesitate to do anything in the service of God and humanity. I have the best wife any man would wish to have. She is a super star. She is intelligent, beautiful and unlike some women, she is not expensive and more importantly we operate on the same wavelength. If for any reason I get stuck she is the one to figure out the solution for me. God blessed me with brilliant and responsible children too. I am grateful to God because He has seen me through the valleys and mountains of life. As a mark of God’s mercy to me, I pay tithe for my companies. I didn’t read it in the Bible but I do it”, he once told the audience at a Catholic Church he built in his community, Ubomiri, near Owerri.
The centre is one of such gestures of giving back to society. The gesture is not lost on Imo state Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, who showered Ekeh with praises. The governor said Ekeh’s commitment to give back to society is in tandem with the Shared Prosperity Initiative of his administration. He pleaded with other wealthy Imolites to toe the path of Ekeh by helping to empower Imo youths. Uzodimma was represented by his deputy, Lady Chinyere Ekomaru.
The Vice Chancellor of IMSU, Professor Uchefula Chukwumaeze, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, could not hold back his excitement as he narrated how Ekeh has intervened at different times in the university including sending them 100 laptops at short notice during a verification exercise. He described Ekeh and his wife as a “busy couple who share a passion for excellence, integrity and love for humanity.”
With intake of the next batch of trainees ongoing, Ekeh through the centre, is helping to fuel the fire of industrialisation in Imo state. The same is being planned for the centre at Epe in Lagos – building and empowering the youths for the transformation of the nation’s economy. Ekeh’s philanthropy and humanity fit into the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s government. Ekeh is renewing the hope of Nigerian youths in digital economy, creative arts, innovation and industrialisation to boost indigenous manufacture and entrepreneurship. Trainees graduate from the programme and become instant contributors to the nation’s GDP. They become assets, not liabilities.
The nation needs more of such freewill initiatives from wealthy Nigerians across the country. It fills the needs gaps left by governments, both national and sub-nationals. Like Uzodimma pleaded, those who are wealthy should help to create oasis of hope for the less privileged. Ekeh has raised the bar through a rare and critical tool, entrepreneurship; others should follow suit and brick by brick, President Tinubu’s Renewed hope vision will become a reality in no distant time.
The centre is a showpiece of the limitless possibilities that technology offers. Equipped with an intelligent smart board which enhances virtual learning, it is easy for resources persons and sundry experts to interact with the trainees and impart in them the critical skills needed in the 21st century marketplace. The fusion of technology into the mentorship process at the centre stands it out among the pantheon of skills acquisition centres dotting the nation.
The innovativeness at the centre has rubbed off on IMSU with the university now running a three-month programme on caregiving, far ahead of other universities in the country. Caregiving is a niche in the healthcare space and certified personnel in this specialty command high patronage in the healthcare ecosystem worldwide. IMSU has become a pacesetter in this area courtesy of Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation (LSEF) Centre.
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Chukwu, a development economist, who witnessed the event, writes from Owerri
