By Alphonsus E.W

Nigerian ICT Czar and Chairman, Zinox Group, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh has been honored as the Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 by the Nigeria Business Elite Awards. The honor was bestowed on him recently at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, before top government functionaries, captains of industry, celebrities and the media.

The awards which honored distinguished companies and personalities in the private and public sectors pitched three highly successful businessmen in the Entrepreneur of the Year category.

Nominated for the Entrepreneur of the Year award were Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, commodities manufacturer and merchant, and President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange; Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman Zinoz Group, Africa’s most integrated ICT firm and Alhaji Abdul Mutallab, former Managing Director, Nigerian Arab Bank, former Chairman First Bank of Nigeria and Chairman Jaiz Bank.

Presenting the award to Leo Stan Ekeh, the NEBA noted the pioneering role that he was playing in the IT sector. The citation noted the fact that his innovations in the ICT market were not based on a profit motif but on the need to structure a market that has the potential to catalyze national development.

Commenting on the award, Leo Stan Ekeh thanked the Elite Business Africa Network for naming him the Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 and dedicated the award to his staff in Nigeria and overseas saying that the innovations for which he has been honored were often conceptualized and developed by them.