By Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon
For a long time, banking was considered one of the best jobs. Everyone wanted to work in a bank, and most did not care what it took them to get in, but an interesting narrative played out in that, while others would gladly have left what they were doing to work in a bank, Nnaeto Orazulike left the bank to start a food business.
We can well say that the risk paid off, and just so you know, this is the Nnaeto Orazulike that Duncan Mighty mentioned in the second stanza of his 2010 song – I’m a Port Harcourt Boy – which he did to praise some of the billionaire businessmen who trace their roots to the oil city.
How it started
The unusual story of Genesis Foods dates back to the early 1990s. Already a graduate of Accounting from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Nnaeto was working as a banker in Port Harcourt.
It is recounted that he had gone on a date with a friend, and given how important the outing was to him, he carefully selected what he thought to be the best restaurant at the time.
Despite his careful selection, the quality of service he received left a very bad taste in his mouth. It was not necessarily about the taste of the food, but the quality of everything else – The environment, ambience, and even customer service.
He was so dissatisfied that he toyed with the idea of going into the sector to address the problem. By the time he got married and started a family there in the city, the problem became even more crystallized. As a working-class man, he noticed that there were hardly choice destinations for middle- to high-income family entertainment on weekends.
Busy parents, who needed a place to spend quality time with their family on weekends, did not have many options. Sometime after this, in 1993, he started Genesis Restaurant in Enugu, Enugu state. The food business only paved his way into entrepreneurship, as Nnaeto Orazulike has since diversified his business interests into several sectors to address the problems he had in mind.
Genesis Deluxe Cinemas was launched in 2008 and has grown to 4 cinemas with 18 screens and over 2,500 seats in Port Harcourt, Lagos and Enugu. He has several successful businesses like the Orazulike Trading Company Limited; a premium estate company in Port Harcourt, Stanchions Nigeria Limited and one of your favourite premium cinemas, Genesis Deluxe Cinemas Limited. Genesis Group also includes; Genesis Sojourner Limited, Genesis Restaurant Limited; Genesis Hub Limited, Genesis Technical Company Limited, and Stanchions Logistics Limited.
What started as a food business has today grown into a hospitality group involved in Contract Catering, Hotels, Restaurants, Cinemas, and Snack Production.
The Genesis Group also has interests in Real Estate Development and Oil and Gas Services.
Genesis Group Of Companies now has its corporate Head Office situated in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. No wonder, he was one of the “Port Harcourt Big Boys” that received recognition in Duncan Mighty’s song – Port Harcourt Son.
Nnaeto Orazulike is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, Executive Training Program. He was also awarded the prestigious Honorary Doctor of Science degree by the University of Port Harcourt in 2015.
Orazulike has participated in several Hospitality and Restaurant-related events and forums as a Speaker or panellist.
He was also on the Panel discussion at The Global Restaurant Investment Forum 2017 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Still serving on other fronts
Nnaeto Orazulike did not completely abandon the banking sector to pursue his fine-dining dreams. He was one of the founding members of Fidelity Bank Plc and served as non-executive director on the board between 2008 and 2017.
In 2022, EcoBank appointed Mr. Nnaeto Orazulike to the board of Ecobank Nigeria Limited as a non-executive director. The notice of this appointment said that he “embodies the pan-African vision of the bank and brings with him the wealth of experience, professionalism, and integrity which has earned him national and international acclaim.”
Nnaeto Orazulike still sits on the boards of other companies and sectors where he has interests. For instance, he sits on the boards of Shelf Drilling Nigeria, West African Metal Processing Co. Ltd., Fate Foundation, and Spiritan University, Nnochi Imo State.
Orazulike is the National Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture Trade Group on Tourism and Hospitality.
Awards
There is hardly any rock under the sea that would be big enough to hide a goldfish for long. With his contributions to the economy, by building a conglomerate that now has over 2,500 staff, it is expected that Orazulike would have received his due recognition.
In 2021, Orazulike won the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) 60-anniversary awards, in acknowledgement of his exemplary role in the entertainment and hospitality sector.
Nnaeto Orazulike won the 2022 FATE Foundation Model Entrepreneur of the Year (FME) Award, an award that celebrates entrepreneurs who are significantly contributing to the nation’s socio-economic growth and development.
Other entrepreneurs who have received the notable award include Ibukun Awosika, Aliko Dangote, Cosmas Maduka, Nike Ogunlesi and a host of others.
Also in 2022, he was honoured with the conferment of the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari.
A good insight into the way this business maverick thinks can be seen in his speech while accepting the Honorary award at the University of Port Harcourt.
“We need to change our perception about our country and start looking at the opportunities and how to harness them. I am not saying that the challenges are not real, but beneath every challenge exist legitimate business opportunities. It was this desire that inspired the Genesis Group.”
And if you want to think it further, you might ask, how many people who started a restaurant in 1993 have been able to build it into a conglomerate?
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