Nnewi is a commercial and industrial city in Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria. It is the second largest and second most populated city in Anambra State located in the southern Eastern part of the state.
Nnewi is also Projected to be the twelfth fastest growing city on the African continent between 2020 and 2025, with a 5.18% growth. Nnewi is famous as a hub for automobile spare part dealers.
The first indigenous car manufacturing plant in Nigeria is located in the city while the first wholly Made-in-Nigeria motorcycle, the ‘NASENI M1’ was manufactured in Nnewi but that is not the only story.
Nicknamed the Japan of Africa, the city spans over 200 square miles (520 km2) in Anambra State with an estimated population of 391,227 according to the Nigerian census. The 2019 population estimate shows that Nnewi has a population of over 900,000.
Nnewi also produced the first billionaire in the country, Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, who founded the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1960. We curate a list of the 5 top wealthiest prominent billionaires from Nnewi, in no particular order:
(1) Cletus Ibeto
Cletus Ibeto started out as a spare parts import dealer, after spending some time as an apprentice in the motor parts business, a gradual step taken by many eastern traders. In 1988 he stopped direct importation of lead-acid automotive battery and plastic motor accessories, after completing his factory in Nnewi. By 1995 The Ibeto Group had become one of the largest auto spare parts manufacturing outfits in the country.
On October 2, 1996, he established Ibeto Petrochemical Industries Ltd. which is engaged in the blending of oil lubricants as well as the production of various types of petroleum products for local and international markets. The Company owns the largest liquid storage facilities for petroleum products in Nigeria with a capacity of over 60,000 metric tonnes located at Apapa Wharf and Ibru Jetty Complex, Lagos.
In May 2018, Ibeto Cement Company Limited announced a reverse merger with Century Petroleum Corporation, a United States publicly-traded petroleum exploration and production company in a move to enter global markets and bypass the complex process of listing. Ibeto acquired a 70% controlling stake of the company and Cletus Ibeto was subsequently made the Chairman of the Board of Directors. He graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka with a degree in Accountancy.
(2) Cosmas Maduka:
Maduka formally ventured into business at the age of 17 after being wrongly dismissed with the sum of N200.00 by his uncle who had earlier engaged him as an automobile apprentice. He co-founded a spare parts company known as CosDave with his friend named Dave. The startup also failed sooner than expected and Maduka went to found the Coscharis Motor with the sum of three hundred naira (N300) which focused sales of automobile spare parts in 1977. The name of the company according to him is a combination of his first name, Cosmos and his wife, Charity, whom he married at age 21. Maduka business breakthrough started in 1982, when the Nigeria government granted ten (10) motor companies import license, which Coscharis was selected.
Today the Coscharis Group is a conglomerate with a net-worth of $500million with several subsidiaries including Manufacturing, ICT, Petrochemical, Auto care and Auto Components, Automobile Sales and Services, Agric and Agro Allied business sectors. Coscharis Motors is a leading distributors of several brands of luxuries cars including Range Rover, Ford and Jaguar.
In 2015, Coscharis Motors became the sole distributors of the BMW in Nigeria and the first company to build an Assembly Plant of Ford Ranger in Nigeria and won the Auto Brand of the Year at the Marketing World Awards held in Ghana. In 2016 the Anambra State approved 5000 hectare of land for Coscharis Farms to cultivate rice, the project has been reported to generate 3000 jobs upon completion. The Coscharis Group is rated one of the top 50 brands in Nigeria by Top 50 Brands Nigeria.
Maduka attributed his success in business to his affiliation with the Japanese. According to Maduka his early close contact with the Japanese made him develop the values of commitment, humility, precision and hard work which were fundamental to his success in business. He had promised to acknowledge in his autobiography.
Cosmas Maduka seats on the board of several reputable companies and organization. He served as a Director in Access Bank Plc., one of the leading banks in Nigeria for 12 years from 2000–2012
(3) Ifeanyi Ubah
Ifeanyi became an exporter of motor tyres and spare parts majorly in West Africa including Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and DR Congo before he expanded his business ventures in some countries in Europe including Belgium and the United Kingdom.
In 2001, he founded Capital Oil and Gas Limited.
He is the founder of The Authority Newspaper, a Nigerian daily newspaper and also the owner of Ifeanyi Ubah F.C., a football club in the Nigeria Premier League, following its purchase as Gabros International Football Club.
Ifeanyi Ubah‘s wealth comes from investments in oil and gas, as well as exportation of motor spare parts.
In 2014, Ifeanyi Ubah lost at the 2014 Anambra gubernatorial election under the platform of the Labour Party.
On 24 February 2019(5 years later), Ifeanyi Ubah was declared winner of the Anambra South Senatorial elections under the platform of the Young Progressive Party (YPP)
(4) Louis Onwugbenu
Louis Onwugbenu is the head of Louis Carter Industries. He sold spare-parts under the Carter Bridge in Lagos, before diversifying into manufacturing car batteries and pipe fittings, agriculture, food processing, real estate.
Widely referred to as the head honcho of Louis Carter Industries, he dropped out of school in 1967 when the Nigerian civil war broke out. He got his nickname from weekly trips to Lagos to sell motor spare parts under the popular Carter Bridge in the city.
The headquarters of his conglomerate sits in the Carter Industrial Estate, spanning many acres in Nnewi.
Obiajulu Uzodike
is a Harvard Business School alumnus whose cable company Cutix Nigeria was the first indigenous company in the South-East to be listed in the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Chief Obiajulu Uzodike is the owner of Cutix Cable Nigeria, one of the best Cable companies in the world, His products are exported outside Nigeria.
His current Net Worth is valued at $330 Million. His company, Cutix cables, which is one of the leading manufacturers of assorted cables for electricity, telecommunications and automobiles, was founded in 1982 with just N400,000
The idea for the Company was conceived in 1981, when Dr. (Engr.) Ajulu Uzodike decided to leave Raychem Corporation, a major international manufacturer of aircraft & military wares and accessories, to set up an indigenous firm to manufacture electrical cables and switchgear assemblies. Adtec Ltd, a venture capital and management firm, which was incorporated in 1978, started the two projects as separate divisions in 1982. Cutix Plc was incorporated on November 4, 1982 as a Private Limited Company, manufacturing electric cables and wires. -cutix.com
Additional links and resources from Wikipedia and forbes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nnewi
mymediaAfrica.com
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