General News
Leo Stan Ekeh: A “Rare Avis”, an Unconquerable Entrepreneur
By Tim Akano
Leo Stan Ekeh (LSE) is an extraordinary human being. He is extremely hardworking, hugely brave, and massively intelligent. He is a shrewd businessman but with a cathedral-size heart of butterfly
Leo Stan Ekeh
I’m a product of LSE’s generosity. But not only me, I am close enough to know. We are uncountable.
I was always with him after office hours in his office twenty years ago when he was constructing a church in his place of birth. He was so committed to details and beauty that when the church was roofed and he went for inspection and discovered some misalignment, he instructed the contractor to remove the roof and redo it, without minding the extra cost coming from his pocket.
There was this physically challenged fellow that LSE bought a car for, including a driver to make life easier for her.
During one of his birthday celebrations, he told me, Tim, I am not inviting my friends for any birthday party this year, all the money I would have used in buying expensive wine, I am donating everything to charity
LSE & I
He actually looked for me when I started New Horizons. He read my interview in the Vanguard news paper and asked his staff to look for me.
Prayer:
May each of us receive a telephone call before the end of 2025 that will change our life’s trajectory for good for ever in Jesus name, Amen.
I did.!
Our conversation on that fateful Friday went like this:
LSE: Tim, I read your interview in the newspaper. I would like us to meet.
Tim: You are our LEADER in the Technology ecosystem, Sir.
I can come to your house tomorrow Saturday morning for a breakfast.
LSE: Tim, that’s good, I will be expecting you by 8am tomorrow in my house.
By 8am the following day, I was in his massive, intimidating house.
As I entered the premises I said a simple prayer: The God Almighty who is blessing LSE, please Daddy God be kind to me also in my entrepreneurship journey Amen.
That day the breakfast meeting went well. He wanted to see the man behind the ambitious vision of transforming the ICT education in Nigeria.
He saw tomorrow!
1 LSE First Intervention: Two years after I started my company, New Horizons, I ran out of cash, even to pay salary was a prayer item every 30th of the month. That was May, 2007 it remained just 72 hours for Heaven to fall on my head, metaphorically speaking, that is!
I needed N10M to stop HEAVEN FROM CRASHING ON MY HEAD!
Banks in Nigeria are irrelevant to Start-ups, except and until you START WALKING, Banks will not come to your assistance in Nigeria.
It is O.Y.O (On Your Own) for every Start-up. If you don’t have God 100% on your side, don’t dabble into entrepreneurship in Nigeria!
This is why over 80% of Start-ups failed in Nigeria. In America, it is about 50%.
LSE was in Abuja on this particular Thursday. I called him and requested to see him. He told me to come.
Our conversation went like this:
LSE: Tim, I know you are keeping well.
Tim: My chairman, I am strong in faith, but in reality, heaven is hot on my side o! I need help, Chairman.
LSE: What is the matter, Tim?
Tim: I need N10M soft loan to keep afloat. It is urgent, critical and time- bound.
LSE ok, Tim, see me on Monday (that meeting took place on a Thursday).
Tim: My chairman, I am not exaggerating the criticality of my situation. by Monday it would be too late because Heaven would crash on my head in another 72 hours without the N10M! And it would be all over.
LSE adjusted himself, he breathed in , he looked me straight in the eyes. I wouldn’t know what LSE saw in my eyes that day.
But he stood up, went to the inner room and he came out with his cheque book. He gave me an Access Bank cheque for N10M, which I later refunded 3 months later without interest.
I survived, heaven didn’t fall that day, glory be to God and thanks to LSE.
LSE intervention 2:
This time we had grown, having survived the ABIKU YEARS (The first 5 years of Start-up are the ABIKU YEARS, years of premature, sudden death. If you survive the first 5 years, your chances of living to celebrate your 20 years in business are bright). We did, all gratitude to God.
I got a business that required huge capital to execute- very big money, which was beyond my capacity.
I went to my destiny- helper again. He is never tired of seeing me. He picks my calls on the first ring. But I don’t abuse the access too. No frivolous conversations. No irrelevant calls. Every call is about matter and mission critical
This particular day LSE was looking extremely tired, having over flogged his body.
He told me he had been sleeping in the office for about 3 days, busy putting his papers together to enable him close a massive business deal, which he eventually got, after fighting like a lion whose cub was taken by a lone leopard!
LSE overwhelmed every opposition. He fought like Mohammed Alli, the world’s greatest boxer of all time. LSE won.
And that changed everything for him, too, forever. Fortune favours the Brave
Our conversation that day went like this:
LSE: Tim, congrats you are doing well, I can see. Indeed I instructed all my staff to make sure they read any article you published (“I felt flattered”).
Tim: Chairman, I need your help, KONGA is not ready to give me the products I needed on credit and I don’t have cash to pay and the client will not pay me until after 9 months.
Tough one, indeed.
LSE: Tim, I will be honest with you, there is no way KONGA would give you products worth N500M (10 years ago money!) on credit.
Indeed, we held a meeting on Monday over your matter, the resolution of the Zinox Group is that you must look for cash before you can get the products. Let me tell you, my staff made me to sign-off on our resolution that as the Chairman of Zinox , I, LSE will not go behind to do the opposite of what we all agreed to, and I signed. Tim, I am sorry, my hands are tied!
As of that time, some of the young people LSE helped disappointed him badly. So bad, some souls are ungrateful.
Tim: Chairman, I know some of the people you helped even went to the extent of wrongfully blackmailing you in the media. I know that for a fact.
But Chairman, I am different. I am Tim Akano, I won’t disappoint you.
I will remain eternally grateful if you can still think out- of -the box and help me out.
I added: Chairman, you recall you were the one who looked for me that you would give me a helping hand in life.
I think my last statement touched him.
LSE Tim, I will give you my personal cheque. Here is the cheque for you, take it to KONGA and pay for your goods to meet your deadline.
Tim On getting to KONGA, from my steps and tone, the staff knew something positive had happened.
I confidently presented my cheque to Loretta & Co, the lady managing our account in KONGA then
They were shell shocked that God pulled it through for me another time, using Leo Stan Ekeh.
There were many more positive interventions, which I will reserve for my memoir.
Lessons: The reason behind the rise and rise of Leo Stan Ekeh (LSE) has to do partly because of his massive generosity, most of them are done silently.
Yes, LSE is a shrewd businessman, but he has a heart of a butterfly.
2 LSE is unconquerable and himself and his lineage will remain so because of several lives he has impacted positively
3 We are all products of people’s generosity. No one is a self-made man. In my own corner, through the TIM AKANO FOUNDATION, I am giving back in thousands folds all the kindness I am enjoying from people like LSE & others. I’m not withholding any kindness from people who need it when it’s within my capacity. God saw my heart, too, that when he must have helped me to stand, I will light thousands of candles.
It was William Shakespeare who admonished his followers to tell him all the good things they wanted to tell him while he was still alive because tributes written in beautiful prose means nothing to a dead person.
I congratulate LSE children, they have a great father in and his legendary generosity will always speak for them up to the 4th generation., as the Holy Bible said. LSE children should be proud of their father, he is a Lion, an Eagle and a butterfly, (LEB) all together at the same time.
@LSE: Sir, if you manage to read this short public appreciation, which I was inspired to write in a wedding event (the couple is taking over one hour to come out, instead of joining people who are anxious, I decided to use my idle time to pay you this tribute today), I want you to feel proud of yourself; what you have achieved will take an average person 10 lifetimes to achieve.
Your positive numerous interventions in my entrepreneurship journey have germinated and I am also touching lives- like you- in thousands across Africa, not only in Nigeria, especially with regards to Youth Empowerment.
I am eternally grateful, my chairman, my destiny-helper.
My prayer for you my Chairman, LSE: The Lion, the Eagle, the Butterfly (LEB) is for God to keep you continuously in sound, divine health, peace and happiness- that you will still remain strong at 120 years of age like the Biblical Moses who miraculously escaped physical depreciation in his eyes, strength and mental magnitude.🙏
Gratitude!
Gratitude!!
Gratitude!!!
The IMF on Tuesday warned of risks surrounding Nigeria’s plan to borrow up to $5 billion through a derivatives agreement with First Abu Dhabi Bank, saying such transactions are often opaque and complex.
Recall that the Senate in April gave its approval to the agreement, joining other Africa borrowers like Senegal and Angola who have tapped similar arrangements over the past year.
“Our view is that the transaction in these types of structures carry risks. Usually they are opaque so the terms are not always very transparent when we reviewed these instruments across countries,” Christian Ebeke, IMF resident representative in Nigeria, told reporters.
Ebeke said Nigeria could instead issue eurobonds to finance its deficits or other means to raise funding, including on concessional terms.
Nigeria intends to use proceeds from the total return swap, or TRS, to refinance expensive debt and pay for infrastructure.
In its latest Article IV review, the Fund praised Nigeria’s sweeping reforms, saying they had strengthened economic stability and investor confidence, but warned that the benefits had yet to reach millions of citizens and could be undermined by global shocks, including the Middle East conflict.
The reforms since 2023 under President Bola Tinubu – including fuel subsidy removal, tighter monetary policy and exchange rate liberalisation – had rebuilt buffers and improved macroeconomic management, the IMF said.
However, it cautioned that the reforms were also contributing to social strain, with poverty levels at 63% and millions facing food insecurity, underscoring a widening gap between macro gains and household realities.
The IMF said improved policy credibility and forex reforms had helped Nigeria regain access to international capital markets and attract portfolio inflows, while reducing risk premiums. The central bank says gross reserves are at $50 billion, the highest in 17 years.
But reliance on volatile foreign portfolio investment poses rollover risks, the IMF said, urging a shift towards more stable, long-term capital such as foreign direct investment.
Security Skills Development Company (SSDC) has released its 2026 Security Outlook, highlighting four major security challenges expected to shape Nigeria’s business and operating environment as the country moves closer to the 2027 general election.
The report, developed from a nationwide survey and expert contributions at the recently concluded Security Thought Leadership Roundtable, identifies internal security threats, protection of national assets, cyber risks and election-related instability as the most significant concerns facing organisations and institutions in the coming year.
According to SSDC, findings from the survey and stakeholder discussions reveal growing concern over the increasing complexity of security challenges and their potential impact on business continuity, economic stability and public confidence.
A substantial number of respondents identified internal threats within organisations as an emerging risk, pointing to the need for stronger corporate governance, workforce integrity measures and structured risk management systems.
Security experts at the roundtable noted that weaknesses in critical public infrastructure and national assets could have far-reaching consequences for the economy and national development if not adequately addressed.
The report also highlights cybercrime as a persistent and evolving threat to both public and private sector institutions.
Participants stressed the importance of strengthening cyber resilience through proactive monitoring, investment in technology-driven safeguards and improved security awareness.
Another key concern raised in the outlook is what SSDC described as the “2027 Election Shadow.” Many respondents expressed concerns about the possibility of heightened political tension as the election season approaches, warning that uncertainty and security disruptions could affect business operations, investment decisions and overall economic confidence.
Speaking on the report’s findings, Mike Igbodipe, managing director, SSDC, called for a more strategic approach to security management across both public and private sectors.
He said organisations must move beyond reactive security measures and integrate security considerations into their broader strategic planning and decision-making processes. He also advocated the development of a gold-standard, locally certified training programme for security professionals tailored to Nigeria’s unique security environment.
SSDC, a security training and consulting firm focused on advancing professional standards in Nigeria’s security sector and strengthening industrial resilience through capacity building and strategic expertise, said the Security Outlook forms part of its ongoing thought leadership initiative aimed at promoting informed dialogue on national security, institutional resilience and risk management.
The company reaffirmed its commitment to supporting stakeholders through research, training and strategic advisory services designed to improve preparedness and response to emerging security challenges.
General News
Moniepoint DreamDevs Bootcamp Graduates Second Cohort to Strengthen Homegrown Talent Pipeline
Moniepoint Inc., Africa’s leading digital financial services provider, has officially graduated the second cohort of its flagship DreamDevs Bootcamp, marking a significant milestone in the company’s ongoing effort to build world-class engineering talent from the ground up.
The graduation was celebrated at a Demo Day event held in Lagos, themed “Training Done! Demo Up!”, where participants presented capstone projects built to real-world engineering standards.
The graduation comes at a crucial time for Africa’s tech ecosystem. Although Nigeria’s tech talent is growing, it isn’t sufficient, especially at the mid-to-senior engineering level, where demand far exceeds supply. By 2030, the global shortage of software developers could reach 85 million, leading to economic losses of $5.5 trillion. For a continent developing its digital infrastructure, this is critical. Moniepoint’s DreamDevs Bootcamp is a strategic response to these challenges.
The nine-week curriculum, created by Moniepoint’s Engineering Unit in partnership with Semicolon, covered Java Object-Oriented Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms, Software Testing, MySQL, Spring Boot APIs, System Design, Docker, Messaging Queues, Frontend UI, and Cloud Infrastructure. Participants received programme stipends and mentorship from experienced Moniepoint software engineers, gaining valuable exposure to the production environment of one of Africa’s fastest-growing fintech firms.
During the Demo Day presentation, the participants paired into 9 teams were excited to showcase how they have deployed knowledge and skills gained during the course of the bootcamp into real and useful solutions in real estate, hospital management, event management, food and agriculture.
Commenting, Felix Ike, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Moniepoint, said, “DreamDevs is a structural investment in Nigeria’s digital economy, not a recruitment exercise, not a pipeline built solely to serve Moniepoint’s hiring needs. That said, we are proud that some graduates from our first cohort are already active members of our engineering team, proof that when young African engineers are given the right training and the right environment, they can compete at the highest level”.
Felix added that “Engineering excellence is not a naturally occurring phenomenon. It is a curated and intentionally built process that requires the right systems, the right resources, and sufficient time to take hold. Building that process and making it accessible to the brightest young engineers on this continent is a responsibility we have chosen to own.
Africa’s digital economy is attracting significant global capital, yet the talent infrastructure required to sustain that growth remains underdeveloped. The DreamDevs Bootcamp and our other capacity-building initiatives across some of Nigeria’s public universities demonstrate Moniepoint’s commitment to this responsibility.
The initiative also aligns with Nigeria’s broader national agenda on technology skills development. Moniepoint serves as a key sponsor of the Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, which focuses on mass technical skills training across the country. While 3MTT addresses the scale challenge, DreamDevs provides depth, offering a specialised, end-to-end pathway from foundational training through to employment within Moniepoint’s complete development ecosystem.
As Nigerian fintechs deepen their infrastructure ambitions, the ability to grow engineering capacity that feeds these aspirations requires an urgent industry intervention, as Moniepoint is demonstrating to address Africa’s engineering talent challenge.
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