Business
Media Mogul says Nigerian Entrepreneurs Must Take Risks
Martin Udogie is a trainer and a media personality with a peculiar story. After blazing through his academic pursuits, and graduating with First-Class in Business Administration, young Martin secured an automatic employment in a bank to the admiration of his peers. As he progressed in his job, he went on to study Accounting and subsequently got certification from the Institute of Charted Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). Many watched with envy as Martin waltzed his way into a glamorous banking career for different banks.
But Udogie had another ambition he rated far greater than the banking profession. He was poised to break out into the society and test the water of running a private enterprise. He craved to impact lives rather than working in a cozy office with a steady pay check at the end of every month.
“I learnt what it means to make an impact. If you read John Maxwell, he says that there is a difference between when you are successful and when you make an impact, or achieve a life of significance.” In his quest to add value to people’s lives, the former banker took his destiny in his own hands, walked out of the secured environment of banking, and walked into the foggy territory of media practice.
Today, he is the brain behind BottomLINE magazine, a subscription-only newsletter targeted at Nigerian professionals and business executives. He is also the anchor of the Fidelity SME Forum, a popular radio programme that runs in many private radio stations in different parts of the country and in all FRCN broadcast stations in the 36 states of the federation.
And for more than 10 years, Martin Udogie has trudged on on the path of self-employment. He disclosed how the journey has been, his most trying period in business, his major motivation, among other issues. He spoke to HENRY OKONKWO. Excerpts…
Background
I graduated with a First Class degree in Business Administration at the University of Benin. After which I was trained and qualified as a chartered accountant of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
My first job was with City Bank of Nigeria. I was recruited straight from school because City Bank came to our graduation and offered employment to all First Class graduates. I worked with City bank for awhile and then joined Citizens International Bank. Thereafter, I worked in another bank called Commercial Trust Bank and my last banking job was with Fidelity Bank Plc. But in between these banks, I also had a career experience with a company called Anderson Consulting, but now it has been renamed Accenture.
