From Accountant to Retail Tycoon: The Inspiring Journey of Dr. Mark Akhabue, Founder of Jendol Superstores
Most people will only work in one sector, or two if they are fortunate to cross-carpet at some point in their career.
But only a few will manage to pool experiences in strategic positions across four industries and end up a top entrepreneur in one. Dr. Mark Akhabue has had a progressive career that spanned across healthcare, aviation, oil and gas, and it all culminated in his starting and growing a fast-growing retail brand – Jendol superstores.
Here is the journey of how he went from just a regular accountant to becoming the Founder and Managing Director of Jendol Superstores.
Education
Mark Akhabue is a native of Iruekpen Ekpoma”, a clan of the popular Ishan Tribe in Esan West Local Government of Edo State, South-South region of Nigeria.
He attended the Iruekpen Grammar School Ekpoma, where he started showing initiative and leadership skills. Before he finished his secondary education, he held the position of Senior Prefect in the school.
From Iruekpen, he proceeded to the Edo State University (which we now know as Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma), for a degree in Accounting.
By 1997, he had bagged his first degree – B.Sc Accounting. He later proceeded to the University of Calabar where he obtained a Masters in Business Administration in 2002.
He became an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ACA) in 2006, and an Associate Member Nigeria Institute of Taxation (ACIT) in 2012.
Akhabue is also a Fellow, of the Chartered Institute of Public Resources Management & Policies, Ghana, and a Fellow, of the Institute of Chartered Administrators and Researchers of Nigeria.
Dr. Mark Akhabue is happily married to Mrs. Oluwakemi Akhabue, who is also the Executive Director of the company.
A versatile career across sectors
Mark Akhabue started his working career in the year 2000 as Finance Manager at Rail Ad Limited. After four years, he moved to the Aviation sector.
He joined Virgin Nigeria Airlines Limited in 2005 as an Accounts Officer and rose quickly through the ranks. He was a station Accountant for almost two years, and a Cost and Management Accountant for about a year.
In November 2008, he became the Head of treasury and cash Management. Beyond managing working capital and reporting cash flow, Akhabue was also responsible for building and maintaining excellent banking relationships, negotiating bank charges, loans and interests, and managing risks in the company’s foreign currency transactions.
As the Head of Treasury, he initiated and implemented effective cost management strategies that helped Virgin Airlines achieve a 5% Month-on-month reduction in aircraft maintenance costs.
By September 2009, when Mark Akhabue had spent about 5 years in the Aviation sector, he moved into the Oil and gas sector.
He joined Advantium Oil & Gas Nigeria Limited as Group Head, Finance and Admin, and again brought his financial management skills to bear.
He spearheaded the development and implementation of finance, accounting, billing, and auditing policies and procedures.
Through his business development efforts, he helped develop the downstream area of “Advantium Oil and Gas”. He also helped to significantly lower taxes and administrative costs for the company by 14%. He also established and maintained internal control procedures and policies.
The year 2012 marked another cross-sector move, this time to the Healthcare sector. Akhabue joined Hygiea Nigeria Limited (Lagoon Hospital) as Chief Accountant. In four years, he rose to become the Financial Controller of Hygeia, leading treasury and investment management.
Finally, in 2016, Akhabue left full-time employment to oversee Jendol.
The Jendol story
In November 2016, Jendol Superstores was founded. Mark Akhabue first started overseeing Jendol Petroleum, a downstream Oil and gas company with filling stations in Lagos, Nigeria; before he started the Jendol Superstores. From a single outlet with 26 employees, the world-class grocery retailer is headquartered in Lagos and now has multiple outlets across Nigeria with over 2000 employees.
One may say that Akhabue’s, multisectoral experience found expression in Jendol superstores, and the result is in the rapid growth.
By targeting some of the most densely populated areas, Akhabue set out to serve the underserved market. Within 7 years, the business has grown its capital/assets base by over 5,000% from its initial startup capital in value.
More interests
Mark Akhabue has other interests in the non-profit sector. He is the Co-founder of Mark & Kemi Foundation, a Non-profit Organization which was birthed out of the passion to reach out to the needy and also to improve the lives of people and their communities.
Dr. Mark’s business interests include “Bureau De Change” (BDC).
Akhabue sits on the board of Floodgates Insurance Brokers Nigeria Limited, Kema Travels Nigeria Limited and Keose Ventures Nigeria Limited, among others. He is a member of the Lagos Country Club. He has also served as Director of Public Relations, Edo State University Accounting Class of 1997 Alumni.
He volunteers as a Trustee at Communion of Kindness Foundation; and is as a Board Member, The Redeemed Evangelical Mission TREM Global Vision Investments Limited.
In July 2020, Mark Akhabue received the prestigious award of Doctor of Science in Petroleum Sector Management & Business Development, (Honoris causa) from the European American University of the Dominican.
Jendol Superstores just concluded its Maiden edition of the “JENDOL DEBATE CHAMPIONSHIP” for Public Senior Secondary Schools (Education Districts I, II & VI), which it intends to continue for years to come.
This initiative was born out of a desire to positively impact the young generation. Several prices both in cash and materials were awarded to the participants, their teachers and the participating schools.
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