Articulate and innovative Chief (Sir) Engr. Uzo Udemba, founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Udemba Group recently emerged Top Celebrities Achievers Awards 2013 Showbiz Personality of The Year. This prestigious award is in recognition of his immense contribution to the entertainment industry. 

For close to 25 years, Mr. Uzo Udemba has built a track-record of turning innovative ideas into successful and sustainable businesses. As the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Udemba Group (TUG), Mr. Udemba established a diversified group in a range of sectors including oil and gas; health and fitness; real estate; engineering and construction; research and development; media & entertainment as well as science and technology.

 Under his tenure, Mr. Udemba’s Civil Engineering Practice – Schwartz Kristoffel Engineering Services Limited – became a market leader in the use of flexible structures and Geosynthetic in Civil Engineering practice in Africa, capturing almost 80% market share of the Geosynthetics business in Nigeria, thus demonstrating his ability to envision and successfully execute innovative solutions to complex business problems and capitalize on new market opportunities.

 Mr. Udemba grew TrendCorp Africa Limited – TUG’s Media and Entertainment arm – from inception to become a market leader in media and entertainment sector in Africa, employing over 400 people.

Within 10 years of its inception, the company became a market leader in the field of broadcasting, telecommunication and broadband internet service. Responding to market demands, Trendcorp Africa is now diversifying its portfolio to include operation of cinemas, content production and distribution, printing and publishing as well as marketing communication and events management.

 Launched in 1994, Communication Trends Limited, one of TrendCorp’s subsidiaries, is the largest terrestrial MMDS Pay TV operator in the whole of Africa with operations in 12 major Nigerian cities. In 2002, it became the first African company to win the Wemmie Award from the American Wireless Cable Association. In 1999, Mr. Udemba brought to market Africa’s first MMDS broadband high-speed wireless internet service christened Supernet 300, which within two years of its operation was decorated with “the Best ISP in West Africa” award.

Capitalizing on those successful businesses, he launched TrendTV in 2003, Africa’s first wholly indigenous Direct-To-Home (DTH) multi-channel Pay TV platform. His achievements in the Media and Entertainment industries were recognized with the election into the American National Association of Broadcasters’ Customer Wall of Fame in 2000. In 2006, he received the US Commercial Services Award granted by the United States Department of Commerce for his companies’ outstanding contributions towards strengthening the commercial relationship and trade between the United States and Nigeria.

The group’s latest business – Trend Media City Limited – promises to help reverse brain drain, empower Africans to create more prosperity for the world by changing mindsets and shifting emphasis away from exploitation of mineral resources as a source of wealth in Africa to the development of intellectual capital. Envisioning the Trend Media City concept, Mr. Udemba will be a critical asset in the successful development and management of this spearheading project which started on August 2nd 2013 with the launch of the African Film and TV Academy (AFTA) , AFTA will in a short time reposition the entertainment sector to reward practitioners and generate revenue for our country and the  continent at large.

Mr. Udemba holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, with an emphasis in Civil Engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Throughout his career, he has been recognized for his outstanding leadership role in the Communication Industry, his noticeable relentless efforts and contribution to the Nigerian Economic Development and his drive to improve human condition in Nigeria. It is noticeable that he became the first African to be elected on the Board of Directors of the American Wireless Cable Association in 2007. Some of the prestigious awards and honors Mr. Udemba received include:

– Dr. Kwame Nkrumah African Outstanding Leadership Merit Award (2004),

– Honorary Golden Award for Positive Contributions to the World of Communications, by the University of Ibadan Communication Arts Department (2000),

– Merit Award for Pioneering Information Technology in Nigeria, by the Nigeria Television Authority, Port Harcourt (1999).

He is a passionate philanthropist whose commitment to the community service resulted in his establishment of Trend Soup Kitchen and provided funds for the primary, secondary and university educations of hundreds of students through the Mama Anna Udemba Scholarship and Widowhood Support Scheme which he established in 1999 in memory of his late mother. The scholarship scheme which covers secondary up to University education is available to indigent students in the States where his companies are operating.

Mr. Udemba takes social responsibility task very seriously and allocates a sizable amount of his resources each year to his cultural, social and educational support programmes in a firm belief that the society is the key for sustainable development. In 2011, his family foundation sponsored to Switzerland, five Nigerian comedy talents to represent Nigeria at the Montreux Comedy Festival.

He believes that preserving the environment is the debt which present generation owes the children and the future generations. Ten years ago, he began a campaign to create a sustainable environmental consciousness among the key players in the Nigerian construction industry which culminated in the launch in 2005, of the highly successful “Preserving the Earth International Seminar” an International workshop held once in three years, which brings together in Nigeria, the world’s leading construction materials and technology companies and international experts to interact with all stakeholders in the Nigerian construction industry to discuss current standards and trends in Engineering construction technology as well as advances in construction materials specifications with the environment in view.

These events were sponsored through  The Udo-Mba foundation, the charity arm of TUG. The Udemba Group.