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Ziggy Xolane Ndhlovu

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Ziggy Xolane Ndhlovu

Ndhlovu at SAECEO Summit in October 2018

Personal
Born (1985-03-12) March 12, 1985 (age 39)
Nationality South African/Nigerian
Notable work(s)
Alma materGeorgia Institute of Technology
Known forPhilanthropic deeds
OccupationBusiness Executive
Founder ofDafriGroup PLC
Senior posting
Period in office2020 - present
Previous postCEO, UMEH Group
Present postChairman, DafriGroup PLC
Websitedafrigroup.com

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Ziggy Xolane Ndhlovu (born March 12, 1985) is a South African / Nigerian billionaire and the Chairman of the Board of DafriGroup PLC, a South African-based public company with DafriTechnologies, UMEH, DafriBank Digital, DafriXchange Africa, and OMAHA Hotels as subsidiaries.[1][2]

Early Life[edit]

Ndhlovu was born to a Nigerian father and a South African mother in the dusty streets of Burgersfort, a town in Mpumalanga province of South Africa. He holds a diploma in Media Management, B.Com Economics, and Masters in Business Administration from Georgia Institute of Technology.[3]

Life wasn't so rosy for young Ndhlovu while growing up. He did odd jobs like dishwashing at the age of 17 to survive before venturing into disk jockey, where he earned the name "Master Ziggy". Events took a wrong turn for him when he joined a gang involved in violent activities. He was eventually arrested and convicted for attempted murder and possession of a semi-automatic weapon in 2013.[4][5]

Career[edit]

Inspired by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, he founded UMEH Group and led it to some R500 million evaluation. In 2017, Ndhlovu became one of the early investors in Binance (BNB) with an investment that is now estimated to worth R1.3 billion, making him one of the most successful crypto blockchain investors in Africa. In 2020, DafriGroup PLC merged with UMEH and Ndhlovu became the Chairman of the Board.[6]

He is responsible for leading the Board and focusing it on strategic matters, overseeing the Group's business, and setting high governance standards. He plays a pivotal role in fostering the board and individual directors' effectiveness, both inside and outside the boardroom.[7]

Prior to that, he was the CEO of UMEH Group Ltd, overseeing a portfolio of over 16+ companies that employed nearly 200 people. Under his leadership, UMEH enjoyed rapid growth including establishing and acquiring UMEH Media, Daily Afrika, WIF Global, Royal IVY South Africa, OMAHA Hotels, UMEH Motors, and Star Magazine Africa, among others.[8][9]

Breakthrough[edit]

The alchemy success story of Ndhlovu is quite an inspirational one, having reformed from a background riddled with crime into building a R1.7 billion firm currently being chaired by him. He made his first million dollars in prison investing in startup tech companies through IPOs. In 2016, he invested in crypto blockchain technology which would later earn him his first billion rand fortune. His determination to become one of the publicly quoted entrepreneurs can be attributed to his billionaire role model autobiography, Richard Branson's "Losing My Virginity," which he read while in prison.[10]

Philanthropy[edit]

Xolane Ndhlovu is a notable philanthropist in Africa. He is the founder and the President of the South African Entrepreneurship Centre For Ex-Offenders (SAECEO), which offers various entrepreneurship skill programs to ex-offenders.[11] He has contributed and donated to multiple educational and poverty-fighting campaigns and organizations in countries like South Africa, Namibia, and Nigeria.[12][13]

He is listed as one of the donors in President Cyril Ramaphosa's Solidarity Response Fund, where he donated a half million rand. In 2020, DafriBank Nigeria, a subsidiary of DafriGroup PLC, announced a hundred million naira educational support grant in Nigeria to assist underprivileged children access quality education.[14]

SafeBank[edit]

Under the leadership of Ndhlovu, Dafribank Digital launched a liquidity generating protocol code-named 'SafeBank,' built on Binance Smart Chain. The protocol was launched on PancakeSwap on 3rd May 2021, breaking an industry record by becoming the first BSC project to achieve a $1.6-billion market capitalization within the first 24 hours of launch.[15]

References[edit]

  1. "Leadership Hierachy at DafriGroup PLC". dafrigroup.com. August 2019.
  2. "Exclusive Interview with DafriGroup PLC's Chairman Xolane Ndhlovu". news.yahoo.com.
  3. "Meet Xolane an Epitome of a Successful Entrepreneur". businessday.ng. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  4. "The untold story of Xolane Ndhlovu's arrest and his journey to restitution". Vanguard News. 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  5. "Why going to prison was a blessing in disguise- Xolane Ndhluvo". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  6. "Xolane Ndhlovu: Winning with blockchain and cryptocurrency". guardian.ng. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  7. "Dafrigroup Plc Announces Completion Of $5 Million Investment In Dafribank Digital". The Washington Mail. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  8. "UMEH Group unveils expansion of media businesses in Africa". Businessday NG. July 25, 2019.
  9. "Royal IVY Franchise for launch in Nigeria". THISDAY Newspapers Ltd. August 23, 2019.
  10. "Meet 33-year-old Gangster who left prison to build Sh132 billion empire". Watchdog Uganda. July 25, 2019.
  11. "Businessman Inaugurates The First Centre In South Africa To Provide Tech-Entrepreneurial Skills To Ex-Offenders". The Trent Publications. 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  12. "$10 million boost to give African youth new opportunities". Baltimore Post-Examiner. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  13. "UMEH Group's Ndhlovu donates R55k of food parcels in Soweto". Daily Afrika. January 7, 2020.
  14. "Nigerian in South Africa launches N100 million children's education support fund in Anambra". The Sun Nigeria. September 13, 2020.
  15. "SafeBank token breaks record with 24-hour surge above $1.6B market cap". CoinTelegraph. May 12, 2021.

External Links[edit]