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About me |
Paul Ekon has a lifetime of successful businesses behind him, but nothing warms his heart more than the churches he built in Soweto to feed the local orphans who arrive every day for their portions of tasty and nutritious food. When Paul Ekon teamed up with local Reverend Siphu Benghu in Soweto in 1980, they built a combination church/community center that served meals to 100 hungry children every day of the week. When Reverend Siphu Benghu passed away in 1992, Paul Ekon looked for another partner to continue the work and he found Jonathan Maphike. Together they built four additional locations from which to prepare and serve meals to orphaned children. He also built another hall in Soweto that was used as a church building, but also fed local children, the Rhema Church.
Current Business –
Paul Ekon, a venture capitalist and international investor, lives in the UK, where he oversees his numerous companies. Rather than working with one company in particular, he prefers to set each deal up as its own entity. His current investments include companies in the diamond industry, such as the New Africa Mining Company.
Earlier Business –
Before arriving in the UK, Paul Ekon lived and worked in South Africa, the country of his birth. His first foray into business was in the food and beverage and entertainment industries. After establishing several restaurants in the Johannesburg area, he stayed involved in their management. Some of these popular restaurants are the Walnut Grove, Hot Tin Roof, and Harpers.
While still very much involved with his eating establishments, Paul Ekon began to market cosmetics and toiletries. This included a Hyde Park cosmetics outlet, Accent, which carried the line of perfumes by Anneline Kriel. He also represented products made by Hang Ten, Jordache, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Chicco, which were all very popular in South Africa.
As Paul Ekon’s next business venture was into manufacturing, he set up factories producing door handles and door knobs in South Africa. This business flourished, but he sold it when cheaper imports became readily available. The profits from the sale of that business provided him with the funds to invest in Management Technology Inc. Management Technology produces and offers support services for their “trading room” software solutions. TradeWizard, specifically for use by traders, is included in the OpenTrade line of products and Abraxsys is the other core product developed by the company. Along with becoming an investor in the company, Paul Ekon moved to the UK and fulfilled the position of Chief Executive Officer from 1995 until 1997.
Childhood-
Paul Ekon was born in Johannesburg in 1959 and studied at one of the South African Elite schools, St. Stithians. When he graduated, he went straight into the South African military, training and serving in its basic air force. Two years later he went to work for a defense publication, Paratus, as a photographer. In pursuit of becoming more involved in professional photography he went to Los Angeles for a brief period. When he returned to South Africa, he went into the restaurant and entertainment business.
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