Jim Ovia

James "Jim" Ovia was born in 1951 into the large family of Obi Olihe of Agbor-Obi, in what is now Agbor, Delta State. His father died when he was four, and older siblings helped support their mother and the family. One elder brother paid for his early education. Ovia later moved to Lagos to live with that brother and started work as a clerk in a bank.

After three years, he traveled to the United States for college and graduate school, earning a B.Sc. degree in Business Administration from Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1977), and an MBA from the University of Louisiana, Monroe, in 1979. He is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School.

Jim is the founder of Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria's tier-1 bank and one of the most profitable financial institutions in Nigeria. In 2010, he assumed chairmanship of the bank. In 2021, James Hope University, Lagos, which he founded, was approved by the Federal Government and given operating licence by the National Universities Commission (NUC). He was the recipient of a Nigerian national honor.

Ovia is the founder of Visafone Communications Limited and the chairman of both the Nigerian Software Development Initiative (NSDI) and the National Information Technology Advisory Council (NITAC). He is a member of the Honorary International Investor Council as well as the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI). He is the Chairman of Cyberspace Network Limited. He was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in the 50th convocation ceremony of the University of Lagos.

In September 2018, Ovia announced the publication of his book Africa, Rise and Shine published with ForbesBooks.

He is the founder and chancellor of the private Nigerian varsity, James Hope University, which was licensed in 2021.