Benson Akpati was a Senior IT Executive of over 20 years with wide-ranging expertise which included experience in IT Strategic Planning and Execution, Banking Operations, Business Process Improvement and an excellent track record of delivering profit driven Technology solutions in the financial services industry.
He was the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Oceanic Bank Plc for four years before Oceanic Bank was acquired by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI). After the merger, he was appointed as the Head of Technology Applications, Ecobank Nigeria Limited.
Benson Akpati has an MBA from the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and he studied computer science in University of Benin, Benin-City, Nigeria. He is a certified Information Technology Business Manager and an IBM Certified Administration Specialist.
He started his career as a software developer in a computer company in Lagos, Nigeria. He joined Zenith Bank Plc in 1995 as Executive Assistant. During his successful career in Zenith Bank spanning over 12 years he rose to the position of Assistant General Manager, and the Group Head IT, Zenith Bank Subsidiaries which included Zenith Bank UK, Zenith Bank Ghana, and Zenith Pensions Custodian. He made tremendous contributions towards the development of the Information Technology Group and the growth of the bank. At Oceanic Bank, he strengthened the Technology Group by implementing several business processes which helped to improve customer satisfaction, reduce turnaround time and cost of operation.
In the course of his career, he won several awards for his outstanding contributions to the development of Information Technology in the banks. Notably, he led the Information Technology Group of Oceanic Bank to win the 2010 Customer Service Excellence Award and most recently in 2012, he won the Ecobank Group CEO award for innovation for the development of Banking Systems Integration Solution (BASYS).
He disengaged from Ecobank in January 2014 to pursue his interest in Agribusiness which has been his passion. He co-founded County Choice Farms Limited (CCFL), an agribusiness company with his friend Stanley Oduah, in 2010 with the objective of engaging in different areas of agribusiness. The company started with pineapple and plantain plantation and later expanded into poultry, piggery and agro processing after restructuring the company in 2014 by bringing in new investors through private placement. The company which has recorded remarkable growth in all financial indices and has a total turnover of N290 Million as at End of year 2017