Uzoma Dozie as the Face of a New Bank Seen as a Wrong Move
- Uzoma Dozie's face on an advertorial by his new bank, Sparkle has raised some concerns from analysts
- According to the analysts, he should not have moved so fast to establish himself as the face of the new bank
- Others believe that he is the perfect fit of an image maker, having managed a huge bank as Diamond Bank
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Uzoma Dozie, erstwhile Managing Director of Diamond Bank and scion of Pascal Dozie, has floated a new bank, Sparkle Microfinance Bank, a digital-only bank and he is referred to as the chief sparkler of the new bank.
Recently, advertorials emerged on social media and elsewhere of the ex-Diamond bank chief flaunted as the image-maker of the new bank.
Source: Facebook
Analysts have taken a swipe at the move, calling it a miscalculated one by the nascent financial institution.
What the analysts say
They believe that having merged or sold a huge bank like Diamond Bank to Access Bank, the junior Dozie does not fit exactly into the mould of an image-maker.
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Justin Okpara, a financial and stock market analyst told Legit.ng that Dozie should not have moved so fast not just to start a new bank but become the face of the bank.
Okpara said many still believe that Dozie left Diamond Bank worse than he met it.
Okpara stated:
“I am surprised at the picture you are showing me. He shouldn’t be. He should not have been. If I remember correctly, he was flaunted that way when he was in Diamond Bank. What has come out of it?”
Okpara said what Dozie should have done is to take the back seat and drive the bank from behind the scenes.
He said:
“The thoughts racing through my mind right now is that of a man who is desperate to show the world that he is not a failure. But that should not be his concern. There is an image problem here.”
Orjiugo Okere, a stockbroker said the chief sparkler displayed as a new image-maker for a bank that is barely three years old does not sit well with people who know what happened at Diamond Bank where he was the Managing Director.
Okere said:
“Usually, I should say that is his business, but it is not. If he wants to make a success of the latest venture, Uzoma should take the back seat, literally, and drive the process from behind the scenes. He loves banking, notwithstanding, but he does not have a good standing with the banking public.”
Okere said Dozie should learn how to train people to represent the bank and not let his personality influence the new venture.
He is the perfect image-maker, others say
Godwin Oche, ex-banker and brand journalist does not believe that the move to use Dozie as the face of Sparkle is going to ruin the chances of the bank.
He said:
“The Uzoma Dozie that I know is charismatic and a risk-taker. At the time he gave up Diamond Bank, I think he had no other option than to do so. So, if you believe because he left Diamond the way he did that he should not try something new, you are mistaken.
“He didn’t fail at Diamond Bank. The bank did not collapse as many believe. What he did was a deft move in order to save his father’s sweat. And now, here he is telling everyone, I can fly unaided.”
Sparking to $3.1 million funding
In October 2021, Sparkle raised N1.2 billion to drive Sparkle to a neobank.
Dozie said Sparkle is different because it fuses financial services with lifestyle.
He told TechCrunch that the bank is bringing both banking and lifestyle together, especially as more people are beginning to lead more digital lives.
Dozie said.
“It means that we don’t see our customers from accounts, payments, deposits or credit perspectives, but from how can we help them do what they want to do at any particular time.”
Access Bank and Sunny Odogwu's Family Battle for Ownership of Property Over N50bn Loan
Legit.ng has reported that one of Nigeria’s biggest banks, Access Bank and the family of late business mogul, Sunny Odogwu are locked in a legal tussle over the sale of N50 billion property in Lagos.
Last week, a debt recovery was instituted by Access Bank against the Late Odogwu and two of his companies.
A court gave Access Bank approval to recover over N50 billion from the late businessman and two of his enterprises, Robert Dyson & Diket Limited, and SIO Property Limited.
Source: Legit.ng
