Nigerian business leader and Zenith Bank founder, Mr Jim Ovia, is expanding his footprint in real estate with the construction of a 26-floor Metropolitan Towers residential development in Lagos, where units start at $1.85 million (N2.5 billion), as well as the completion of a 44-unit Quantum Luxury Towers high-rise, where apartments start from $2.8 million (N3.8 billion).
Mr Ovia, who until recently retired as the chairman of Zenith Bank, Nigeria’s biggest lender by market value, through his Quantum Luxury Properties Limited business, is seeking to deepen his property investments.
Among his most notable property investments is the transformation of previously underutilised waterfront land on Ozumba Mbadiwe in Lagos into premium commercial and hospitality assets. These developments include the Civic Centre, Civic Towers and hospitality properties that have become prominent landmarks within Lagos’ commercial landscape.
At a recent gathering, the businessman described real estate as a more profitable venture than banking, pointing to the significant value created through strategic property investments over the years.
Mr Ovia noted that some of his most rewarding investments have come from real estate developments rather than traditional banking operations.
His latest play comes as rapid urban population growth and increasing demand for commercial space have strengthened the real estate sector’s long-term fundamentals, while the country faces rising housing deficits.
After his retirement from Zenith Bank, following the completion of the regulatory maximum tenure of 12 years as a non-executive director and chairman under corporate governance guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Mustafa Bello was announced as the new chairman, effective April 27, 2026.
Beyond banking and real estate, the tycoon has also developed a significant interest in telecommunications and technology, particularly Visafone in 2007, which he built to become Nigeria’s largest Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) telco serving over 2 million subscribers and owned 800MHz spectrum licenses, setting the foundation for future 4G services.
In January 2016, South African telco group MTN bought Visafone for over N47 billion to improve its broadband services in its biggest market.