The Big Picture: Hakeem Belo-Osagie on African Entrepreneurship

Grit & Growth

What are the unique challenges facing the African entrepreneurial ecosystem? How is the rapid growth of fintech startups impacting the Nigerian economy? And what does it take to become a modern business leader? Hakeem Belo-Osagie, accomplished businessman, philanthropist, and educator, has the experience and expertise to tackle all three.

Few business leaders understand the systemic challenges facing African finance as well as Hakeem Belo-Osagie. For three decades, he’s been a driving force in the Nigerian economy, working across the energy, finance, and telecom sectors. He left a decade-long career in the Nigerian government for the life of an entrepreneur — and he hasn’t looked back. But it didn’t start well, as Belo-Osagie explains:

“I think I mightily over-estimated my abilities, and my first entrepreneurial venture in finance was a complete failure, the bulk of which was entirely my own fault. It was a wonderful lesson. And I was able to pick myself up. The second venture of mine, which was a securities trading company, went very well. Subsequent to that, I staged the takeover of a large government-owned bank that I realized after buying was effectively bankrupt.”

Managing a hostile workforce at that bank, UBA, and working with seemingly hostile government regulators has taught Belo-Osagie about the importance of empathy, patience, and courage. Being aware of how much your employees and regulators really understand about the situation is key to success. As he explains about the bureaucratic mindset, when government officials don’t understand something, the instinctive reaction is to say no.

Ultimately, Belo-Osagie defines success, especially in Africa, this way:

“We have to measure how well we're doing, not by how many people are on the Forbes cover, or by how many billionaires Africa has, but basically what has happened to the bottom 40 percent. Business success has to enable people to make good sums of money, but it also has to be a system that lifts people out of poverty, large proportions of the overall population.”

Listen to Belo-Osagie’s turnaround story at UBA, his thoughts on the role of regulation in the future of fintech, and what it takes to be an effective leader … in Africa and beyond.

As we said at the beginning of the episode, the Seed Transformation Program will open applications for the 2023 class on April 1st, 2020. Founders and CEOs of companies based in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia with annual revenue of at least $300,000 are eligible to apply. To apply or find out more, visit: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/seed/transformation-program/admission

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