Zion Oshiobugie CEO, Clever Minds Integrated Services Credit: Nairaland |
Let us
talk about Zion Oshiobugie, shall we?
Zion is
an entrepreneur, teacher, and On-Air-Personality with Crown 89.9 FM, Warri. He
is the CEO of Clever Minds Integrated Services, a consultancy firm
offering training and educational services to the public in the same city and
its environs, aided by fifteen employees working in three learning centres.
Zion was
born in Kaduna State, Nigeria, to a middle class family. He is the second of
five children. He lived a reasonably simple and content life until things
changed.
His
father lost his job.
When
living became progressively hard, especially in light of the constant
religious and political crisis that plagued Kaduna State, Zion and his
family had to move to Warri. His mother became a petty trader and each of his
siblings had to work. Zion carried blocks and helped his mother sell her
plantains. He eventually became a houseboy for a distant relative. It was
during this period that he made the resolve to be rich.
He worked
hard to put himself through The Petroleum Training Institute where
he studied Electrical Electronics Engineering.
He got
his idea to start up Clever Minds Integrated Services while working for a
private secondary school in Warri. He noticed the lack of quality education in
the poor riverine communities in the Niger Delta and knew he had to do
something about it. At that time though, he could not implement the idea
because of a lack of funds. And to make matters worse, he lost his job.
Zion
wanted to commit suicide.
He knew
what poverty was, how it tasted and what it could do to one’s mind and he
definitely didn’t want to go back to that place. Suicide seemed like a sensible
plan but after some months of depression, he was able to snap out it. This
crucial moment made him decide not to be a job seeker but a problem
solver. The idea of Clever Minds flitted back to him and he decided the
time was right.
He
started his first school in Edjeba Community in Warri and had just two people;
himself and his first student. That didn’t dissuade Zion at all. He was
providing quality education at a very cheap rate and he knew if he quit, the
town might never get the education it needed. Guess what? He stuck to it and things
began to pick up.
In 2015,
the glass ceiling finally broke. Zion applied for – and got into – the Tony
Elemelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Program. The Tony Elumelu
Entrepreneurship Programme, with $5,000 seed capital, a 12-week training and
mentorship phase as well as other resources including networking and a 3-day
boot-camp attended by policymakers and investors was like the cherry to Zion’s
hard work. In his words;
“Formerly,
I had one learning center in Kosini but after Tony Elumelu Foundation
Entrepreneurship Programme, I now have two more learning centers and I’m
planning to open another one in Benin this year. The Tony Elumelu Foundation
Entrepreneurship Programme has changed my story. Personally, the Tony Elumelu
Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme has made me a public speaker because I
gradually became a celebrity in Delta state when people discovered I was
selected for the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme. I have been
invited to speak about this in over 20 gatherings.”
Zion’s
goal is to educate over 20 million children in the next 20 years and “to use
education as a tool to end poverty and joblessness”. For about N3,000, he is
providing education, vocational training, entrepreneurship training, and
leadership training at the three centres being run by his company.
So far,
Zion and the Clever Minds Integrated services have trained over 500 students in
various fields.
From
being a houseboy, flirting with suicide and now being a CEO, it is worthy of
note that hard work and the right support system helps people achieve their
dreams and better than that, people who achieve their dreams are better able to
influence and improve society. Zion Oshiobugie is one of such people and we are
proud to make him our man crush today.
More
photos here.
If it's about my house, I look into glass of double glazing companies reviews for cottage first and then go for my window selection. Agents are really helpful at this.
ReplyDeleteThis is also an important point to be kept in the mind by an Entrepreneur. In this 21st Century, there are lot of non-genuine, fraudulent, fictitious Website
ReplyDeleteread the full info here
This book is a decent reference book regardless of whether you are not a scholastic or an understudy.go here
ReplyDelete