After 'Selling' His Father’s Diamond Bank to Access Bank, This is What Uzoma Dozie is Doing Now
- Uzoma Dozie left Diamond bank to 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
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) 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.
Source: Facebook
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 on his reputation.
While the gossips were swirling around concerning the motive behind Uzoma’s actions, the junior Dozie was being pulled in another direction.
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How Uzoma changed his course of study
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 a institution. Access Bank remains the biggest bank in Nigeria by customer base and asset.
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 Money Deposit Banks find unattainable, helping SMEs.
He has been lured into the fintech world where he continues with banking but on another pedestal.
Four popular Nigerian companies you don't know are family business
Legit.ng had reported that some say don't mix business with family, but not the Dozie, Adenuga and Hassan-Odukale families. To them, the foundation of a successful venture is one that is supported by a family tree. Family is everything to these households. The bond they have goes beyond sharing a name.
Family dinner is just another boardroom meeting, where they transform their ideas into a family business.
Their legacy in the private sector proves, sometimes, mixing business with family might just be the right strategy for a venture.
Source: Legit.ng
