September 08, (THEWILL) – Ajayi Joshua Oluwatobi is not only 36 years old, but he also sits atop a business that is currently valued at over N4 billion naira. He is the Chairman /CEO of NORD Automobiles Limited, one of the first Nigerian automobile brands and Africa’s premier automobile corporation. Widely described as a creative and astute entrepreneur, Ajayi has carved a niche for himself in the business world as one of the most influential people in the Nigerian automobile industry, winning both local and international awards and recognitions for his contributions to the automobile industry in Nigeria and Africa.
He was listed by Forbes as one of the most promising young entrepreneurs in Africa for 2018. The graduate of Soil sciences and Farm Mechanisation from Olabisi Onabanjo University started his career at Mercedes-Benz Nigeria where he did the mandatory National Youth Service. He climbed quickly up the ladder to become the head of division (vans) and later co-founded Jetvan, an authorised dealer of Mercedes-Benz.
From 2013 – 2015, he was able to grow the market share of Mercedes-Benz vans from less than 1% to 7%. In 2013, he won the Mercedes-Benz Best Sales Performance for Africa. After his trip to Mercedes-Benz factories in Europe and Asia, he realised that with hard work and focus, he could build his own Nigerian global and reliable auto brand.
In April 2015, together with some investors, Tobi left Mercedes Benz to concentrate fully on Jetvan Automobiles Limit.