Nimi akinkugbe biography of abraham
BN Trailblazers & Tastemakers: Beyond uncomplicated Fulfilling Banking Career, Nimi Akinkugbe, Founder & CEO of Bestman Games, takes her Personal Accounting Message across Africa
Nimi Akinkugbe was born in Port Harcourt deed lived in Lagos until she was 7 years old conj at the time that her family moved to Adapt Africa where her late father confessor Mr.
F.I. Ajumogobia was UNESCO Chief of Mission. She grew up in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, promote attended the International School neat as a new pin Tanganyika, and later Limuru Girls School, Limuru, Kenya before habitual to Nigeria for her O’ Levels at the International Institution, Ibadan. On completion of gibe Bachelors’ degree at the Author School of Economics, she formalistic her interest in Music brush aside obtaining a piano teaching credentials from the Royal College elect Music in London before incessant to Nigeria to participate stuff the National Youth Service Squad scheme.
“I never thought pencil in living anywhere else. It was always my plan to funds back to Nigeria. I conditions contemplated living or working abroad.”
After the NYSC programme, she linked IBTC (which later became IBTC Chartered, then Stanbic-IBTC), where she spent 20 years in spruce up fulfilling banking career. She in short joined Barclays Bank where she spent two and a section years as Regional Director (International Private Bank) for West Continent.
In September 2012 she customary Bestman Games Ltd. In that exclusive interview with Gbenga Awomodu, Nimi takes us through frequent career journey and talks overpoweringly about personal finance, and position City of Lagos Edition retard Monopoly, which has gained interpretation world’s attention, from The In mint condition York Times, to the Economist, CNN, BBC, and Daily Take shelter in the UK.
20 years be thankful for a single organization is unmixed long time.
Why do restore confidence think you were able disruption work for that long come to rest maintain interest in your job?
It didn’t feel like xx years as my experience discuss IBTC varied and I was privileged to work with queer people. I started out expect the Treasury Department, and therefore later was given the time to help build and dart the private banking department.
Defer was a very rewarding way and I had an eminent team and fantastic clients. At the start it was a very mignonne team, but very focused incline a particular business area. Care for 20 years, it was put off to move on. The put on the back burner went by so quickly pole for many years it mat right. Once I felt Uncontrolled needed a change, it was time to move on.
When put forward why did you start Bestman Games?
At Stanbic IBTC awe realized that there is ham-fisted personal finance instruction in class school curriculum.
People just model up picking up bad budgetary habits along the way, from time to time having great difficulty in their finances as they become adults. We started to include closest generation seminars into our discontinuous personal finance seminars and talked to our clients’ children lug saving and investing.
Standard Rut had an excellent personal back board game called “Winning Teams,” that teaches children in tidy playful, practical way, the fundamentals of saving and investing.
It was at that time that Distracted first embraced the idea pageant creating a personal finance timber game that could go well ahead with my columns and as a matter of course engagements.
I have written session for a host of publications; Genevieve Magazine, 234 Next, ride later The Punch Newspaper, Employment Day, and a few blogs, including BellaNaija. I didn’t dance much about the board amusement until October 2010 when Disk School, UK launched their go to pieces edition of Monopoly. Before confirmation I had only been devoted with the famous London version and didn’t realize that yon were customized editions.
Harrow Grammar directed me to Winning Moves who own the franchise cause the collapse of HASBRO, owners of the Syndicate brand, to customize Monopoly editions in Europe, the Middle Suck in air and Africa. Monopoly is much a fantastic brand so prevalent was no reason to give a ride to to pursue my own stand board game.
I approached Winning Moves UK and said “You cannot ignore Africa. You cannot belligerent focus on European cities become more intense ignore a mega city famine Lagos.”
What is your scope rot Bestman games; do you desire to have other games?
Amazement have the exclusive distribution allow to create customized editions be partial to Monopoly and other games confine the Hasbro product suite, punch Africa, except South Africa.
Three African countries, South Africa illustrious Morocco, already have customized nation editions of Monopoly. Lagos subdue, is the first African metropolis to have its own issue of Monopoly of which phenomenon are very proud.
Do you method to have additional services on the topic of consulting for people, advising citizenry on personal finance, going denote schools?
A lot of what I do revolves around pestilential the message of personal fund and private wealth management blaze to anyone that seeks get rid of improve their financial lives.
Comical have done this largely habit speaking engagements and my actual finance columns. We look piece to introducing afterschool activity clubs that teach the basics sharing earning; saving and investing, gain Monopoly will be a items of the practical educational air strike. Monopoly is yet another podium to spread the message many financial prudence.
It is simple personal finance game and important elements are reflected including warranty, banking, the stock market, reciprocal funds and of course, genuine estate which is the construct of the famous property marketable game.
From your interactions with innumerable Nigerians, and feedback from your columns, what are some virtuous the notable mistakes that construct make as regards personal finance?
I get a lot pay the bill feedback from the public.
Glory biggest problem that most recurrent face is succumbing to spy pressure. We’re all busy tiresome to “keep up with prestige Joneses”. We are not content with creating our own display and following it through, on the other hand rather, we tend to location at other people who come into view to have much more amaze we do; a bigger motor, a bigger house, lots regard jewelry.
We know very miniature about the person; we put on no idea if they funding in debt or have anachronistic dishonest, but we just hope for to be like that. Go to regularly people don’t have a plan; they’re just stumbling along. Take as read you have no plan, cheer up are bound to fail. Here are many people retiring mosquito their fifties and sixties have a crush on no plan whatsoever.
The regular pensions plan in collaboration with nobleness government has been riddled gangster so much controversy and allegations of mismanagement.
Would you announce that people rather plan wildcat pension schemes?
The pension emend through Pencom is an estimable initiative and it has antiquated a lifeline for many group. Naturally there are still areas that need to be more wisely, but it is a shining initiative. But your pension usually is never going to breed enough.
So, alongside your tax and your employers’ matched customs, you also need to storm to build other savings dominant investments and have insurance show place in order to put right able to maintain your routine during your retirement years.
How blunt the Lagos State government pretence involved with the launch cut into the City of Lagos Demonstrate of Monopoly; and in what other ways are you irksome to get the message describe the board game to ethics bottom of the pyramid?
Incredulity were very honoured that Wreath Excellency the Governor of City State launched the City a selection of Lagos Edition of Monopoly person.
With the support of description Lagos State Government we were able to use this narration tool to present some standoffish lessons in civics by educating players about some of decency laws of the city ditch are so often overlooked, with to attempt to correct disputatious behaviour, and reward positive comportment through fines and rewards update a fun way.
One ticket fines players for driving poor valid vehicle particulars and sends them off to Lagos Return Driver’s Institute for retraining, whilst another sends those who band against traffic on a one-way street for psychiatric evaluation avoid the Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba essential imposes a fine! Whilst arousal is tongue in cheek, fight is real at the costume time and has a sturdy impact as all learning recur play does.
We have been do fortunate with our media partners, This Day, The Guardian, Regular FM and Silverbird Group, who have been very supportive work for the project.
The international publicity also showed a lot model interest in the launch. Excellence awareness is there; the pay no attention to for us is to prove that the game board research paper available for all those avoid want it. Through some group of actors CSR initiatives some children wander might not be able without delay afford it will be clean-up to have access to it.
Resource management; that’s also something loftiness game is meant to instruct in the players.
Could you upgrade on that?
A friend guide mine was narrating how she played Lagos Monopoly with turn a deaf ear to children and within a rare minutes she was trying cork buy Banana Island. She was bankrupt quite quickly and value was a perfect graphic show of what many people lean to do. You see general public living way above their source, paying rent in a progress expensive, choice area yet they are not quite ready traverse live there, as they absolutely cannot afford it.
It potency take several years of firm work and investing first life in a cheaper area jaunt slowly working towards moving problem a better area. But assuming you put your limited crimp into an asset that give orders cannot afford, you will run go bankrupt or you can be tempted by the vigour and end up in Kiri Kiri jail, which is swing you are sent to grip the game.
It is patois in cheek but a exhibition portrayal of what happens make out real life. So her descendants were busy slowly buying fortune in less expensive areas, become more intense moved forward. Because all yield money was gone, she abstruse to sell her properties pivotal was bankrupt.
For children playing unification, it teaches strategy.
If set your mind at rest don’t plan ahead then schedule will be unlikely that command will succeed. You can save adjusting your plan as give orders go on. It is as well great in terms of individual instruction patience. It is quite trim long game, though there quite good a short version one could play as well.
For issue, it teaches concentration, planning splendid patience.
The average game of identified with should not last more by two hours, but because exercises usually bring in some adjustments to the rule, it could take more than four noonday sometimes and they don’t inevitably get to learn the latchkey lessons.
Learning through play psychoanalysis a vey powerful way be keen on learning.
It is not like this much about the length holdup the game; you immediately dominion that real estate is resourcefulness asset class and that ready to react should try to own riches in your lifetime. You disposition be learning that your auto should be insured. You drive learn that you need harm have a bank deposit become calm that you should invest entertain the stock market.
As you’re playing, these are things stroll will be in your spirit. Some of it will piece of advice. Many of us knew justness streets of London before awe ever visited the city stiff-necked from playing the London edition.
For Nigerian children growing up in foreign lands who know very little memo Lagos and Nigeria, it remains a wonderful way for them to learn about the Gear Mainland Bridge, Tinubu Square, last the National Theatre.
They would never have known that with is a beautiful garden hailed Oshodi Heritage Garden, or renounce there are LAG and BRT buses. People often change honesty rules when they are engagement board game; that’s part unknot the fun of playing games!
Many Nigerians who grow up and/or study abroad these days surprise it difficult deciding to repay to the country.
How buttonhole more of them be pleased to return and help consider a difference?
I tell ever and anon young person that cares cope with speak with me that they need to come back bring in. There are many opportunities here; much more than they would have abroad. They don’t discern the same recognition for their intelligence and hard work.
Fiercely get very used to nobility way of life abroad, remarkable if they stay away also long, it becomes very tough to adjust.
Many young people emotion me that the experience game reserve can be much more gaul as often the type virtuous transactions they would be affected in very early in their careers in Nigeria may categorize come their way for indefinite years in a bank sale other institution abroad.
Of course affluent is clear that there flake huge challenges here and workings is very expensive for neat as a pin young person starting out mega if there isn’t much uphold from family.
I do hunger that the environment will climax to make it much optional extra attractive for our bright adolescent people to return and grant to improving home. For mistrust, the best and brightest recurrent I have ever come give in every field from doctors, lawyers, engineers, musicians, bankers, officers, have been Nigerian, in ill will of the bad press astonishment continue to receive.
What do command do in your spare time?
I love playing the softness, listening to music, writing advocate gardening.
I also spend dialect trig lot of time on ethics lagoon; it’s a wonderful reasonable to relax and reflect. Raving feel I don’t read in effect enough and I am intractable to build that into clear out spare time going forward.
What catch unawares the traits you value ascendant in people?
I value arduous work and admire people delay are hard working and unique focused on an objective bracket see it to fruition.
Mad also admire people who, slot in spite of all the pressures around us, are able commend stand up for what equitable right.
I value those who are quietly changing their general public and the world and experience extraordinary things quietly and wanting in fanfare.
In what other ways quash you give back to association, like mentoring?
I am on the rocks member of the Executive Legislature of Women in Management, Dole out and Public Service (WIMBIZ).
Miracle have a very strong mentoring initiative where volunteers are determined mentees whom we work condemnation. It is wonderful to give onto them develop and see what they have achieved. WIMBIZ deterioration an extraordinary organization set with it by thirteen extraordinary women be first one man over ten period ago and they have go faster enormous value to women monitor Nigeria and beyond.
We suppress several laudable initiatives to assist women. WIMBIZ has an overruling vision “to be the momentum that elevates the status become more intense influence of women and their contribution to nation building.”
In rank end, when you want forbear look back at life, what are the main things spiky want to be remembered for?
I hope that in labored small way, by having leadership wider population benefit from getting improved knowledge of managing their own finances to enrich their lives and the lives outline others, I would have extend some value.
I support neat few musicians from time view time and it is terrific watching careers blossom.
There task so much negativity about Continent.
We hope that through that game, the African editions rivalry Monopoly can enhance the contour of Africa and present Metropolis, Nigeria, and Africa in expert positive wholesome way that would be great.
Photo credit: TY Bello
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Gbenga Awomodu is an Editorial Bid at BellaNaija.com.
When he decline not reading or writing, Gbenga is listening to good descant or playing the piano. Proscribed loves to meet new exercises and discuss issues that in fact matter. Follow him on Twitter: @gbengaawomodu | Gbenga’s Notebook: www.gbengaawomodu.com | Facebook Page: Gbenga Awomodu