ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
Mr Michael Diongoli, a trained and certified financial adviser, whose business chains cut across financial management, real estate and consultancy, has advised aspiring entrepreneurs and operators of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to deliberately task their minds and be creative to succeed in the world of business.
Diongoli, who is the Group Managing Director of UK-Dion Group, believed that developing oneself and consciously getting exposed to 21st century relevant economic knowledge is key to business success.
The business magnate, who is acclaimed to have consulted for the Royal Bank of Scotland; Barclay’s Bank, NatWest Bank and many other reputable organisations around the world, gave the advice when he mentored a crop of young African entrepreneurs in Lagos recently.
Diongoli, who reportedly rose from starting a business with just N3,000 from a small part of his apartment and increased his fortune to a multi billion naira venture, informed the young entrepreneurs that the collective sufferings in the land of Africa was the untamed strength the people needed to pioneer and engineer their economic revolution.
He said it was against that backdrop that he chose to operate his chain of businesses from Nigeria, despite having the options of doing business from almost anywhere in the world.
He said in order to make it in business, the entrepreneur must be resourceful, creative, skillful, discipline and resilient.
Attributing his success in business to deliberately challenging his mind, Diongoli stated: “I constantly strive to feed my mind with positivity and commission it to learn at every given opportunity. I am here today because my mind is continuously programmed to seek new truths and disrupt the old ones.
“May I use this opportunity to advise the aspiring entrepreneurs and SME operators not to joke with tasking their minds to get their desired results.
“The mind is the most powerful part of human existence, it is the brooding ground for success. All thoughts and aspirations are conceived and processed here before execution.
“Winning the mind game implies winning life’s game, and thriving in any sphere of life.”
The group is operational in key states of Nigeria, including Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and Abuja with multiple offices in some of these states.
The UK-Dion Founder said the vision of the group is to be West Africa’s leading, most distinctive servicing and solutions hub that adds value to all stakeholders.
“As an African, I have invested heavily in zero tolerance for racism and nepotism. My business orientation considers the same level of involvement for people across different races, colours and tribes,” Diongoli added.