Chief Sir Cletus Ibeto was born on November 6, 1952. He is the head of “Ibeto Group”, the largest business enterprise from Nnewi, a city unique for its entrepreneurial spirit.
The story of his humble beginning is one that shows that one can start with nothing, yet be able to build an empire, if he or she leverage on opportunities around and maintain a positive attitude.
After the Nigeria Civil War of 1967-1970, Sir Cletus Ibeto decided to pursue his dreams of becoming a successful trader. To raise capital for his business, one of his elder brothers, Louis, gave him a leather handbag and a round neck suit, which he sold along with a packet of APC tablets he picked up at an evacuated hospital.
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With the little money he raised from the sales of these items, Ibeto was able to start and gradually grow his business.
During the government of Shehu Shagari, a policy in the country enabled the importation of goods without an import licence. This period helped Ibeto amass a great deal of fortune, which he subsequently put back into his business to grow it sporadically till the import licences were then reintroduced
With this new development, he was able to secure an import licence worth 3 million Naira, at a time when the value of a dollar was equal to 68 kobo.
With this scarce licence, he proceeded to import 65 containers of motor spare parts. His promptness to secure a licence greatly favoured him yet again because, shortly after he had secured his, the country made it almost impossible for anyone to secure an import licence, and to make matters worse for budding entrepreneurs, the government changed hands and the borders closed, temporarily shutting down all forms of importation.
By the year 1995, the Ibeto group built a manufacturing factory and became the largest indigenous manufacturer of auto spare parts in Nigeria. The following year in October 2, 1996, he setup another manufacturing company called Ibeto Petrochemical Industries Limited; which manufactures oil lubricants and other various petroleum products both for local and international trade. The company has the largest liquid storage facility for petroleum products in Nigeria, with a large capacity to store over 60,000 metric tons.
It is undisputable that today, Cletus Ibeto is one of the richest people in Nigerians with a net worth in an excess of 3 billion dollars according to Ventures Africa (2013) and a vast conglomerate heavily placed in various sectors of the economy, such as cement, automotive parts, petrochemicals, hospitality, real estate, banking & finance, and oil & gas.
Through his philanthropy, Chief Cletus Ibeto has touched many lives. He has also remained committed to nation building.
During our last anniversary, he was awarded with “Pillar of Anaedo”.
Anaedoonline wishes him hearty birthday celebration.
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