No Journey, No Story: Uzoma Dozie on Storytelling, Sparkle and Early Nigerian Tech
“YOU work for Uzoma Dozie?”
A pretty simple statement that really hit me a few years back, after I had reeled off a list of some Wimbart clients. The person who said these words did so with an air of indignant surprise, almost. Yet 6 years later, here we are. I’m hosting Uzoma on #TheWimbartWay, having collaborated with him this entire time. I guess the techbros’ surprise signalled our move from niche tech start-up agency to big boys and girls corporate PR territory.
But let’s take it back a step. Why were industry techbros surprised that Wimbart could work with a whole Uzoma? On a surface level, because we were really only known for working with start-ups, and he had an entire Nigerian bank under his purview. David and Goliath, if you will. But the thing about Uzoma is that he is a very understated Goliath… he prefers sparring partners to minions. As he says himself in the podcast, he is not a banker; he worked in a bank.
I, too, originally followed the same “banker” trope when it was originally suggested I speak with him. Having been introduced by one of his brothers, my heart sank at the idea of having to chat to an old school banker – I couldn’t see us getting along and was vocal about it with my team. About 30 seconds into the call, I was eating my words. Uzoma is not a stereotypical corporate suit, and I, to my annoyance now, had completely underestimated him.
He was deliberate, and his interests were wide-ranging. Speaking to Uzoma felt like returning to the first principles of professional relationship building; sharing stories, having a free space to share ideas and be creative, before getting into business and thrashing out a plan. The call went well. I was told I would resume within the week, even though I suggested in a couple of months’ time. More on that in the podcast itself.
I shouldn’t have been surprised at his un-banker-esque nature, really. I had seen and facilitated some interviews between some of my clients and him for his Tech Turks show – a pretty out-there, forward-thinking platform for tech startups in Nigeria to interact with an establishment Bank leader – professionally produced and distributed online. Not that many people were genuinely doing deep dives with techbros at that time – certainly not on camera.
Through Tech Turks, Uzoma wasn’t just creating content, he was asking big, bold questions about founders, about ambition, about what progress actually looks like, and about how tech was going to make doing business better, faster, and more efficient. And in doing so, he created a space where Nigerian entrepreneurs could articulate not just what they were building, what problems they were solving for, but, importantly, why it mattered. And much of this was heavily cloaked in understanding their story; their impetus. It’s easy now to point to the growth of the ecosystem, but at the time, visibility itself was the gap, and Uzoma chose to fill it with a storytelling platform, whilst also running a bank. The work ethic is strong with this one.
That’s why having him on the podcast felt necessary. No, imperative. Uzoma sits in that rare position of having built, backed, and observed the ecosystem in equal measure, but more importantly, he has consistently interrogated it. His thinking, much like his writing, often starts with a simple premise and then pushes further: what are we actually solving for, and who benefits when we get it right? Whether leading a bank into a digital future or building Sparkle as a platform for everyday digital natives and businesses, his focus has remained grounded in people, not just products. But underpinning all of this is storytelling, not as a layer, but as a lever, to bring people together. Uzoma understands that businesses don’t grow just because they exist; they grow because they are seen, questioned, and continuously redefined. And in many ways, through Tech Turks and beyond, he helped start that conversation early, before the rest of the world was listening.
This #TheWimbartWay podcast session was the culmination of many, many hours of discussions Uzoma and I have had over the years. I’ve listened and learned from someone who is both generous and unambiguous with his advice; I’m incredibly fortunate to say that yes, I have worked for Uzoma Dozie.
Watch the conversation below. It’s also available on Spotify.
