Management consulting firm Manmark Associates Limited has paid glowing tribute to its founder, the late Prof. Julius Onuora Onah, celebrating his enduring contributions to marketing education, entrepreneurship and the development of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.
The honour forms part of activities marking the company’s Founder’s Day and his posthumous birthday on July 10.
In a statement made available to Daily Champion on Thursday, the firm described Prof. Onah as a visionary scholar and business leader whose pioneering ideas helped shape indigenous entrepreneurship and established Manmark as a bridge between academic knowledge and practical business solutions.
According to the company, Prof. Onah championed the concept of market-driven entrepreneurship and positioned SMEs as indispensable components of the corporate ecosystem and critical drivers of national economic growth.
The firm said his vision laid the foundation for an institution that has grown from a national consulting outfit into a globally recognised market-driven enterprise.
Describing him as “a colossus of marketing” and an intellectual trailblazer, Manmark said Prof. Onah distinguished himself by redefining the relationship between academic theory and corporate practice through what became known as the “Gown to Town” philosophy.
It noted that he was the first Professor of Marketing in West Africa, the first alumnus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) to be appointed a professor by the institution, and the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT).
According to the statement, Prof. Onah was also a renowned management consultant, mentor and author of 15 authoritative books, whose influence extended beyond academia into corporate governance and enterprise development.
“Prof. Onah was an academia with a difference and an intellectual trailblazer. He redefined the intersection of academic theory and corporate practice,” the company stated.
It added that his philosophy required students to engage directly with businesses before graduation through structured industry linkage programmes, enabling them to solve real-life corporate and SME challenges.
The company further credited him with developing practical parameters for defining small and medium-scale industries using local economic indicators, capital structures and labour capacity, saying the framework contributed significantly to entrepreneurship policy and SME development in Nigeria.
According to Manmark, his legacy continues to be preserved within the academic community through the Prof. Julius Onah Auditorium at ESUT, which has become a venue for technology festivals, youth entrepreneurship programmes and SME development initiatives.
Reflecting on the values he instilled in the organisation, the firm said Prof. Onah established a corporate culture founded on integrity, academic excellence, mentorship and innovation.
“Your vision lives on as your legacy thrives, and Manmark continues to break new frontiers in your honour,” the statement said.
The company also highlighted the transformation it has witnessed under its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Adaonah Kene-Uyanwune, daughter of the late founder.
According to Manmark, Kene-Uyanwune has strengthened the organisation through robust corporate governance, institutional partnerships and business process re-engineering, while preserving the founding ideals of the company.
The statement noted that strategic collaborations with organisations including SMEDAN and Fidelity Bank, alongside the establishment of the Manmark Marketing Hub (M2Hub), have expanded the firm’s role in supporting SME development and entrepreneurship.
It added that Kene-Uyanwune, who previously served as Enugu State Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development and has over two decades of experience in banking and public finance, has successfully modernised Prof. Onah’s vision for contemporary business realities.
“Our firm translates its founding father’s foundational theories into modernised, institutionalised frameworks for 21st-century economic scaling,” the company said.
“Today, this foundational philosophy has been elevated to a robust corporate mandate under the leadership of our MD/CEO, Mrs. Adaonah Kene-Uyanwune, who has successfully integrated the founding father’s vision with contemporary operational excellence and rigid corporate governance, shifting mindsets from trading to market-driven entrepreneurship.”
As part of the Founder’s Day celebration, the company said its management and staff reaffirmed their commitment to preserving Prof. Onah’s ideals and advancing the vision upon which Manmark Associates was established.
The firm said the occasion provides an opportunity not only to celebrate the late scholar’s posthumous birthday but also to reflect on his lasting impact on indigenous entrepreneurship, marketing scholarship and enterprise development in Nigeria.
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