Updated: After 'Selling' His Father’s Diamond Bank, This is What Uzoma Dozie is Doing Now

• Uzoma Dozie left Diamond Bank to do something only a few people are currently doing in the world, and handed over the bank to capable hands
• The young man is still in banking, but on a different level and terrain, which many people did not know or see because it is in the fintech industry
• Uzoma wanted to be a heart surgeon, but opted for chemistry and later veered into banking when his father was about to retire

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

Uzoma Dozie, the scion of Paschal Dozie, founder of Diamond Bank and erstwhile chairman of MTN, may have been vilified by a lot of people for selling out or rather squandering generational wealth built by his father.

The acquisition or merger (depending on which divide you belong to) of Diamond Bank to Access Bank reverberated across the banking world. Many called the younger Dozie a traitor and a squanderer for handing over what took his father years to build to other people.

They pointed him to Otunba Sumbomi Balogun, founder of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and his son, Ladi Balogun, who built FCMB from ground zero up.

He retired and handed over to his son, who successfully navigated the bank through murky waters and also retired without a dent in his reputation.

While the gossip was swirling around concerning the motive behind Uzoma’s actions, the junior Dozie was being pulled in another direction.

How Uzoma changed his course of history

A chemist by education, Uzoma had the mantle of leadership of one of the most famous banks in Nigeria thrust on him either by providence or by choice. He wanted to be a heart surgeon but ended up counting money instead.

“In Nigeria then, you were either a doctor or an engineer. It was when we went for an open day at the University of Sheffield, where I was told that I had to spend seven years to become a doctor, that I decided to change my intended course of study.

“I later went to the University of Reading where I studied chemistry. After that, I went to the University College London to obtain a master’s degree in organic chemistry. We worked really hard to develop products that would help fight a number of diseases,” he recounted in an interview, reproduced by Nairametrics.

That Diamond Bank did not liquidate under him is a commendable feat that many find interesting. He was also very wise and shrewd in handing over his father’s hard-earned work to a profitable institution.

Access Bank remains the biggest bank in Nigeria by customer base and assets.

Where is Uzoma now?

The fintech industry was calling Uzoma. He left money, but money did not leave him. He co-founded Sparkle Microfinance Bank to help small businesses grow, a big feat that Money Deposit Banks find unattainable, helping SMEs.

He has been lured into the fintech world, where he continues with banking but on another pedestal.

Chijioke and Ngozi Dozie run Carbon Finance

Uzoma's brothers, Chijioke and Ngozi Dozie, are also invested in the fintech world and now run their own neo-bank.

It is not clear where Chijioke and Ngozi were at the time of the landmark decision to merge Diamond Bank with Access Bank, but they now play a forefront role in the fintech space with Carbon Finance.

Carbon Finance, co-founded by Chijioke and Ngozi, is over a decade old with a promise to transform the banking industry.

Digital banks want to make banking more accessible and flexible for customers.

According to the Guardian, Carbon Finance was initially set up as a lending company with over a million users across Nigeria and operates in two African countries.

It began operations in 2012 as One Credit, a consumer lender. In 2016, the firm became a digital lender through its app, Paylater.

Chijioke said the company seeks to focus on its customers' needs and adapt to market demands.

Ngozi said that the company's newly launched product gives its customers the flexibility to shop when they want at zero per cent interest rates.

In 2019, the bank processed over $240 million in payments.

Four Nigerian companies that are family businesses

In a previous story, Legit.ng highlighted four prominent Nigerian companies that are family-owned.

These businesses have been shaped by influential families—the Odukales, Adenugas, Dozies, and Hassan-Odukales—who have maintained leadership within their households over generations.

Their success underscores the enduring impact of family-driven entrepreneurship in Nigeria's corporate landscape.

This article has been updated by head of business desk, Victor Enengedi, with additional information.

Source: Legit.ng