Yaw Ampofo Ankrah with TECNO President George Zhu
For all his wealth and worth, George Zhu is also known to be a very low key man and some have even suggested that he’s media shy.
The founder and President of Tecno Telecommunications may easily come across as a trusted primary school teacher who quietly motivates his students without fuss or hype.
He prefers to talk about gadgets, technology business and numbers; allowing instead, his vastly talented pool of staff, consultants and managers to follow the template which has worked to perfection so far.
I must confess without apologies, that I was struggling to find the right questions initially to ask the man. After all, we don’t sit around a table with a billionaire very often.
But once I quickly regained my composure, it was back to factory settings.
I asked Mr Zhu if he had always dreamt of building this mega brand called TECNO?
“I did not build it alone. It is always team work. That’s our philosophy”
It was evident that he did not want to talk about himself but rather the business. A common trait often found in great achievers because they are always looking to discover, unveil or create the next big thing.
According to Forbes, TECNO over the years has secured their position as the leading smartphone provider in African markets such as Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Egypt, Kenya and Cameroon.
Smart evolution and loyalty to their customer base has been key to sustaining the rise of TECNO Mobile as they embark on venturing to other emerging markets such as Latin America, Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East.
The pioneer was born and raised in the southern Chinese city of Kaiping, with a population of just over 600,000 people within the Guangdong province.
It is not an industry secret that Mr. Zhu started from scratch, literally at ground zero, working his way up with a clear vision at a frightening pace.
Zhu has earned his status and his place as a businessman in an exclusive class of technological gurus.
So naturally, expectations were high, ahead of the multi launch related programmes held in Singapore which was excellently put together by some of the smartest Tech-event organisers in the business.
Each session was very well attended giving participants good opportunities to network and engage with industry stakeholders, managers, CEOs and media representatives from five continents.
The expanding empire of George Zhu also includes Transsion Holdings based in Hong Kong; producing exquisite mobile phones and high quality electronic appliances.
In addition, Zhu is co-founder of Zhima Tech, a wireless company made specifically for the collections of data.
Addressing a gathering of business leaders in Asia, the technology guru chose rather to thank pioneers as well as Tecno Mobile partners across continents including Ghana’s Maxwell Techie Franko Trading and Kumasi based dealer MichFrim; known in private life as Michael Osei Frimpong.
On consecutive nights that the future of Tecno was projected in Singapore, there was also ample time for sober reflections as well as honoring the pace setters on the African continent for their immense contributions to the spread of the Tecno brand in Ghana and beyond.
The biggest take away for me was the few minutes of conversation with George Zhu which made me realize that apart from his brilliant visionary mind, the simplicity and humility of the man is what actually makes him so great.
Source: Yaw Ampofo Ankrah