MEET DAYO AMZAT: THE 29-YEAR-OLD CEO OF ZEDCREST CAPITAL WITH OVER 50 PEOPLE IN HIS EMPLOY

Adedayo Saheed Amzat is a Second Class (Upper Division) graduate of Industrial Chemistry from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria and an MBA (Management & Accounting) holder from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He is  CFA charterholder as well as a fellow of both the Institute of Credit Administration and Institute of Investment Advisers& Portfolio Managers.

He started his professional career with Access Bank Nigeria, where he was in charge of liquidity management for the Bank and was an active member of the ALM unit, seeing the Bank through such turbulent times as the Financial Market crises of 2008/09 and through the successful integration of Access Bank with Intercontinental Bank.

He later moved to the Fixed Income Sales and Trading Unit of the Bank, where he was responsible for market-making in securities such as Sovereign, Sub-national and Corporate Bonds, Euro-Bonds and Treasury Bills. Dayo managed relationship with buy side Institutional clients; liaising with local & foreign portfolio investors in the Fixed Income markets.

Dayo joined Index Investment Advisors in November 2012 where he headed the Financial Markets Division of the Company.

Dayo holds the prestigious CFA charter from the CFA Institute. He is also a member of Financial Markets Dealers Association of Nigeria (FMDA); Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) and possesses a Treasurers’ Dealership Certificate (TDC). He has attended various Financial Markets related trainings by ICAAP South Africa, FDHL Nigeria, Citibank Nigeria etc.

In 2013, aged 27,  he resigned his job to float his own company, Zedcrest Capital Limited.  Zedcrest is a securities brokerage, advisory and capital management firm. One year later, he floated another company, Zedvance, which is a new-age consumer finance company involved in the provision of credit facilities to salaried workers.

In this interview with JarusHub, Dayo, who is in his early 30s, shares his experience running a company.

1. Could you tell us about your companies, Zedcrest Capital and Zedvance Limited?

Many thanks for the opportunity, I am aware you are a career mentorship and management platform. I believe mentorship is a two-way street and I am hoping to learn a thing or two from you too.

Zedcrest Capital is an investment firm with particular focus on Fixed Income Trading, which is our area of core competence, the company was founded in 2013. As we got stronger as a business, we identified other gaps we could fill both within and outside the financial services sector and Zedvance was established in 2014 to provide quick consumer loans to salary earners in Lagos state. It is a business we have high hopes for, as credit penetration in Nigeria is abysmally low, even though Lagos has seen some sort of improvement with the growth of the non-bank consumer lending industry.

2. You studied Industrial Chemistry from the Unilorin, but you’re today a finance professional, was this by accident?

To be honest, it was purely by accident, not like I had any clear-cut direction as to a particular career path, not even in finance.

Despite always being the best student, some of my mates felt I wasn’t ambitious because I could not never answer the popular question “where do you see yourself in 5 years”, in fact I was always tongue-tied and sometimes punished by teachers for this. Well looking back now, I think that at the time, I could not identify a specific career path that could adequately contain my ambition and drive.

As a fact, I knew science career prospects are not that encouraging in Nigeria, so I realized the need to explore other options and when the banks came calling, I chose Access Bank and today the rest is history.

3. You worked for 5 years, principally in Access Bank, before setting up your own finance institution, do you think 5 years finance experience was enough to float own company?

Well to be honest, 5 years may not be enough to be a well-rounded finance person and setting up a business requires a lot more than technical capabilities, you need strong managerial competence and relationship management skills to achieve success. In my case however, it was providence and I couldn’t say “No” to fate, I identified a window of opportunity and took it. However, I have paid dearly for my inadequacies through lots of costly financial mistakes and I have learnt my lessons. Looking back, I would say that I have no regrets, none at all.

4. Most of the people I know that set up their own firms after working briefly with investment institutions specialized in fixed-income markets. Does it mean this aspect of finance requires just few years’ experience before floating one’s own?

Well, remember that any business only needs the combination of factors of production, and anyone who can combine the factors proportionately and strategically can start a business. Fixed Income Trading is a skill based venture, so once you acquire the skills and you can take the risk, you can attempt to make money. However, a real business is bigger than a deal and bigger than just wanting to make money, it is about making impact.

5. Who is your business or entrepreneurship role model?

I like to keep my eyes on the local terrain, my former employer Aigboje Imoukhuede, asides from being one of the most technically sound bankers around, is also widely respected for his business acumen and visionary thinking. He took a sub-par Bank to an International brand within a decade, that’s a fantastic and enviable feat.

Internationally, I admire thinkers who continually expand the horizon for humanity, they are ambitious fellows who are doing the unthinkable and are at the forefront of shaping the future. I admire Mr Elon Musk of SpaceX, TeslaMotors, Paypal, Solarcity and Hyperloop

6. You are a CFA charterholder. A good number of the readers of our website wish to write CFA and become finance professionals. We’ve heard how tough the CFA exam is and how low the pass rate usually is, what advice do you want to give to our readers and mentees who wish to write CFA or become finance professionals in general?

As widely rumoured, I do not see the CFA exams as something difficult, as it is even designed to be a self-study program. However, to be successful on the exam requires mastery of the curriculum and anyone that can devote the required effort and time will pass.

Let me share this strategy with those considering an attempt at the exam: 1. Focus more on reading the summarized texts in Schweser notes as they are more concise.

2. Solve every end of chapter questions in the original curriculum books

3. Study the books 2-3 times over before the exam and solve a lot of past questions in the last week to the exam.

7. What is your experience running a company as a young man with probably limited network in Nigeria? Did you at any point in time wish you go back to salaried employment?

I have never thought about going back to salaried employment. As a business, we currently have over 50 people in our employment across our businesses and I’ve had to remain strong even when things are rough.

On the one hand, having a rich network provides you with enormous knowledge and connection to exploit, but also, you have to just put yourself out there in the face of customers and potential investors, blazing the trail and doing business responsibly.

I never got discouraged for every ‘No’ I got. Everyone likes a success story and the minute you make your first break, things get clearer and easier.

Finally, your business journey will practically be easier and shorter if you are lucky to have the right mentors around you. Some people have tried their hands on your kind of ventures, made their mistakes and still succeeded, you can learn a lot of things from them.

Thank you once again.

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