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Unyime Idem is the man who thinks, dreams, loves and exemplifies entrepreneurship in words and in action. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but through dint of hard work and focus he has worked and turned himself into a reference point in the telecommunications sector. Idem is a moving figure in entrepreneurship and an employment creator. Where his father and mother stopped in petty trading, he has, with virtuoso and tenacity, upped the ante by adding immense value to the growing telecommunication industry in the country. Based on his superlative performance and consistency, he is the most decorated in the industry.
From a schoolboy in business, Unyime popularly known as Idems Ultimate has become a tacit force in the telecommunication conglomerate and banking sector that keeps many tongues wagging and minds wandering on his ingenuity. “I actually started business at the age of 12 when I was in secondary school. At that age, I started business indulgence and developed business ideas. Vividly, I could remember in one of my classes when one of my teachers taught us on how to create employment opportunities through business ventures.
“That was how I developed my ideas. Right from that moment, I actually developed ideas and interest about my life what I wanted to become in life. So, I came out with two cardinal objectives about my life. I decided that when I leave secondary school, I would take employment generation as my cardinal objective in my life as well serve and render service to humanity. I decided that I would be on my own so that I would be able to create employment opportunities for young school leavers and the teeming youths and to be of service to Akwa Ibom people and to Nigerians. Since that time till now, I have been working on those two visions,” Idem affirmed.
At a tender age, he had had a whiff of business ventures. As soon as he left secondary school, he simply followed the compass of his vision to actualise his prodigious dream. “I started foodstuff business in Akpan Assiek Market in Ukanafun with N45,000. When I earned the confidence of my suppliers, they used to give me more foodstuffs for sale and to return the money to them later. When I discovered that the business was limited to Ukanafun, I decided to venture into telecommunication industry. As at that time, Ukanafun did not have telephone system. I visited Aba, bought antenna and used it and Samsung phone to make and receive calls for people in the area.”
From a humble background, Idem has made waves in the industry. “In 2007, we moved the telecom business from Ukanafun to Uyo. What helped me was focus. I was not intimidated by the heavyweights I met on the ground. What has really helped me were diligence and consistency. We have consecutively emerged five times as the best telecom service provider in the country.
“During this time, it was very challenging because of the background we come from and the civil service nature of our state. Getting people to work and sustain the business for me for the past 17 years has been a very challenging thing. This is because the people you want to groom today to become a successful entrepreneur will not want to share the pains of business. The people may not understand that you have to go through certain strata to reach the managerial level,” he stated.
As an astute business man, he has paid the price. So far, he has presided over Idems Group as either Chairman or Managing Director. The roll call: Idems Ultimate Limited- 2005, First Network Limited- 2007, Ibom Communications Limited- 2008, Ibom Cement Company Limited in 2010, Villa Press Ltd- 2013, Ibom Liquids Company Ltd- 2013, Idems Property and Real Estate Management Ltd- 2013, Stanford MicroFinance Bank Limited Ltd- 2015, Data Partners and Stanford Express Limited- 2018.
To sharpen his professional stint on the job and arm himself for the challenging tasks, he attended Telecoms Customer Service Training in Accra-2007; Resource Management Course at Johannesburg, South Africa- 2010, Telecoms customer Service Training at New Delhi, India- 2011, Marketing Management Course at Beijing, China- 2006, Executive Management Course at Westminister, London, UK -2013. Others are Financial Management Course at Boroughs, London, UK- 2015, Public Administration Course at New York, USA- 2015, Financial Management and Strategic Management Course at Lagos Business School- 2015, Marketing Management Course at New York, USA- 2015 and World Telecoms conference, Abuja (FCT)- 2016.
Every tree must have root. And so his main plank of inspiration has been his mother whom he sees as his role model in business voyage. “My inspiration came from my mother. Despite pressure, she tried to save money for tomorrow. You could give my mother N2,000 and she was able to preserve it for a long time. In terms of financial management, she did well. In fact, she is my role model.The level of impact we have made has really amazed.”
Undoubtedly, this inspiration has propelled him to business pinnacle and eventually earned him a smashing success. He was appointed sole distributor for Zain Network Limited for Rivers State between 2008 and 2009, sole distributor for GLO Mobile Network Limited, Cross River State between 2013 and 2014.
He also partners Vmobile Network Limited, Zeltel Network Limited, Zain Network Limited, Airtel Network Limited, Globacom Nigeria Limited, MTN Nigeria Commuications, Zoom Mobile Network Limited, Visafone Communications Limited, Starcomms Network Limited and Etisalat Nigeria Limited (now Vmobile). Others are Dangote Cement PLC, United Cement PLC, Samsung Communications INC, Nokia, LG Mobile, Dell Computers and HP Computers.
In the telecom world, he is the biggest telecoms service partner in Nigeria. He has more than 450 Nigerians in his payroll, 9,000 customers, 3,200 appointed retailers and more than 900 sub dealers. His company was the first to have successfully commenced the launch of 3,000 POS i.e. Airtime Vending Machines, thus discarding the obsolete method of printing aritime on paper. In addition, he has facilitated the installation of GSM stations in several rural communities in the state.
He belongs to several professional bodies: Fellow, Chartered Institute of Commerce of Nigeria; Fellow, Chartered Institute of Operations Research of Nigeria; Fellow, Nigeria Communications Commission Licence Institute; Fellow, Chartered Institute of Leadership, Nigeria and Fellow, Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria; Fellow, Institute of Management Consultants, among others.
An indigene of Usung Atiat in Ukanafun local government of Akwa Ibom State, Idem attended QIC Group School, Ikot Akpa Idem and Western Annang Secondary Commercial School, Ikot Akpa Nkuk in Ukanafun. He later attended University of Uyo for a first degree in Business Management and also obtained a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the same university.
Married to Helen, a UK-Marine trained engineer with four children- two boys and two girls, he declared “I love my wife and love my children. Some of my children display a high level of intelligence beyond their age. I love and appreciate them. I also love my mother.”
A holder of Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) of the Rotary International, Idem is a telecom service provider, licensed management consultant, entrepreneurial guru, bank director, chartered manager, investor, social worker, philanthropist and Nigeria’s Most Awarded Telecom Partner. Indeed, Idem is Nigeria’s telecom whizkid, banking shining star and prudent financial management personified.
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