Paul Ekon | ||
| Businessman | ||
| Diamond Industry | ||
Location: London, United Kingdom | ||
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Paul Ekon Biography
Paul Ekon, a successful venture capitalist, has owned and operated many types of organizations throughout his business career ranging from professional photographer to restaurateur to marketing popular toiletries. He also invests in the South African diamond industry. But in addition to his outstanding business experience, he contributes both time and money to important humanitarian issues.Caring for Orphans
In 1980 Paul Ekon, together with Reverend Siphu Benghu, established Faithways church in Soweto that served as a daily community center aimed at enriching the lives of the locals, including taking on the responsibility of feeding about 100 orphans on a daily basis. When Reverend Siphu Benghu died in 1992, Paul Ekon partnered with Jonathan Maphike in expanding the church’s humanitarian outreach activities. Using the original church in Soweto as a base, they added four new locations throughout the country. At each location about 100 local orphans arrived from squatters camps each day for food handouts. The meals were specially prepared in accordance with United Nations regulations to ensure that the children were getting their necessary daily nutritional requirements.
In addition, Paul Ekon joined Ray McCauley in building another church hall in Soweto, Rhema Church. Paul was responsible for the construction of the church building and Ray managed the logistics in feeding additional orphans from the new building.Personal Life
Paul Ekon hails from the city of Johannesburg in South Africa. He was born in 1959 and studied at an exclusive boarding institution, St. Stithians College. When his studies were complete, he undertook two years in the military, serving in the country’s air force.Professional Career Paul Ekon’s first job was as a professional photographer, a hobby that he had learned to love. Following this path, he initially worked with a defense industry publication, Paratus, and then headed to Los Angeles and jumped into the local photography industry. A short time later, after moving back to his native South Africa, he entered the field of entertainment, including the food and beverage market. It was during this period that he opened local Johannesburg restaurants and businesses, such as Harpers, Hot Tin Roof and Walnut Grove.
Some of the businesses he established were in the cosmetics and toiletries industry, including Accent, an outlet for cosmetics located in Hyde Park. A few of the toiletries that he marketed were popular South African brands such as Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Barbara Barnard, and Jordache. Along with cosmetics, he began to sell door knobs and handles, which was a lucrative market before the cheaper imitations flooded the country.
Selling the door knobs and door handles company was a positive move for Paul Ekon, as he used the profits to invest in Management Technologies Inc (MTI), a computer company listed on the stock market. He has been with MTI since October 1995, when he moved to the U.K.Management Technologies Inc.
Management Technologies Inc. develops software especially targeted to the field of international banking. They offer installation and support services to their banking customers, who are mainly concentrated in investment banking or brokerage houses. The company’s two base products are OpenTrade (with a special desktop for traders, TradeWizard) and Abraxsys.