(Newswire.net — August 25, 2022) —
Arnold Ekpe built Africa’s top bank, started a regional airline, and did many other things during his unconventional but extremely successful business career. Even though he is currently semi-retired, he is still a busy businessman. He works at the nexus of effect, sustainability, and technology.
Ekpe wrote the new book “The Bush Banker,” a masterful memoir that recounts his enthralling tale. Anyone looking at African business, banking, or industry should read it. It is enlighteningly candid, realistic, and humorous.
The Bush Banker also stands out because of its authenticity, which comes from being written by someone who was there. He was actively participating alongside some of the most prominent figures during one of the continent’s most significant eras of political and economic transition.
Unique Perspective
Ekpe has a fierce pan-African mentality due to his numerous travels throughout Sub-Saharan Africa with Citibank and later Ecobank. He feels at home no matter where he goes since he knows Africa up close. The issues and difficulties of the people he came to know were generally the same, even if languages and circumstances were different. He always found it interesting to get to know new people.
However, although some progress was made during his work, he always thought it might have happened more quickly. This made him even more eager to help Africa improve. He did not enjoy the underdevelopment he saw.
He discovered that a multinational corporation may still be run responsibly, despite Africa’s reputation as a corrupt region. As a result, things could move a little more slowly, however, progress is still made. He remembers having the opportunity to work with a consultant in one nation to get a banking license. They dubbed it “eating your own cooking” since the strategy called for the appointment of a project manager who would be in charge of creating a feasibility study and establishing Ecobank in each nation. As a result, we did not see the need for a consultant. Then it was explained to them that the consultant would expedite the approval of a banking license and that they should be aware of this as an African and a Nigerian.
Making it Through
In his book, Ekpe reflects on his experience and the lessons he took away from it. Now he can see it with objectivity and detachment. He acknowledges how fortunate he was to arrive where he did. Call it divine intervention, but he made it through the upheaval of the dissolution of the Federation of Nigeria and the Cameroons and the subsequent Biafran War. This trouble was to claim many of the lives of individuals he knew.
In addition, he was schooled alongside some of Nigeria’s brightest minds after being admitted to one of the top secondary institutions in the country. He just kept going to school because of the generosity of a compassionate principal. After that, he went overseas and was able to enter a university based on merit. There, he met even more amazing individuals, including his future wife.
He was able to acquire special insights from his work in the Euromarkets and abroad. These insights gave him a unique advantage, helping him lead Ecobank and have an impact on the African banking sector. After retiring, he continues establishing a fascinating professional presence in Europe, the US, Africa, and Asia. He is concentrating on financial technology and impact.