Henry Nnorom. Technology and Finance Guru Unveiled!!!

Mr. Henry C. Nnorom

Henry C. Nnorom was born in Mbaise, Imo state, a gentleman and hardworking young man who has cut an edge for himself in the business world. He is the son of a former trade unionist and an Ex-President of the Nigerian Union of Air Transport Workers; Comrade Corman C. Nnorom and Grace Nnorom.

In 2001, Henry gained admission to study Pre-Med at Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina on an Academic Scholarship. After his parents fell on hard times he was forced to enroll at a junior college, and later a 4-year public university, where he graduated with a degree in finance from Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Henry gained an advanced knowledge in negotiations and sales while he worked for the Auto Nation Group, while also attending school part time.

Hathrup Capital Funding (Hathrup.com) is Henry’s latest company which is dear to his heart, being that he is a man who is passionate about building legacies and imparting lives. Hathrup Group was founded in 2004, it started as an import/export company, specializing in car sales especially helping friends and family to purchase cars abroad and ship them to Nigeria. Even as a young entrepreneur he continued his college studies while pursuing his car business.

Henry joined the United States Army National Guard with the aim to improve his leadership qualities. He enlisted as a specialist. He acquired excellent basic combat skills and was later discharged with honors, he has further acquired years of experience as an intelligent officer trained in high profile securities. Henry is a proud father of two children. He is multilingual, fluent in English, Hausa, Igbo, and currently working on Arabic as well. He is also a member of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Union.

Henry Nnorom holds a B.B.A. in Finance from Kennesaw State University. He also holds several awards and certificates, including: Auto Nation University (2003), Monster Diversity Leadership Program (2005), among many other awards.

People that have influenced his life and his role models whose doggedness and intelligence has affected him positively are CJ Tuner, Bennet Cox and the late Union Leader and former President of Nigerian Labour Congress Pascal Bafuyau, just to mention a few. These great men are just some of the many inspiring figures that have helped shape him as a business man and realize that achieving his dreams is possible.

Outstanding Technocrat and Entrepreneur Mr. Henry OC Nnorom sat down with our own Lilian Ngozi of Lilianngozi’s Blog in a chat to reveal himself and discuss other related issues and happenings around the world.

Henry Nnorom, in his social web

Kindly tell us a little about yourself, we have read your biography and all the achievements you made over the years, but tell us, who is Henry

[smiles] I am just a simple workaholic gentleman, that’s God-fearing and focused. I am a family man caring for my children and parents.  I love justice and fairness. I can’t stand corruption and favoritism, I believe in merit. I also dream a lot...lol. I have some very big dreams for my country and want to make a mark on the world, and to help change it for the better.

 What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about entrepreneurship, creating a company designed to leverage the principles of finance to eliminate suffering worldwide. In my opinion, a lot of our problems could be solved when we look from within our own homes, local economies, and even on a regional scale, once those are taken care of the world will start to become a much better place. I am passionate about good governance, if we have had better leadership we would have advanced higher than where we are today.  We are too blessed to be poor. Nigeria is so endowed to the level that an average citizen can live in comfort without worrying about where the next meal will come from. I am also passionate about learning; my heart bleeds each time I interact with some youths online. A lot of Nigerian youths have lost hope and have given up on themselves, many believe in taking shortcuts to amass wealth, only but a handful seeks to increase their knowledge even as they wait for that dream job. Honestly, no knowledge is a waste and one can never tell when such knowledge will be needed. Wisdom is the right application of knowledge, what happens when there is no knowledge? {Asking me}……

Can you tell us a little bit about Hathrup.com, I read a little about it in your biography tell me how that Idea came about, what was the driving force and how far have you gone with it.

Hathrup.com was an idea which came as a result of various attempts to secure funding for some projects that I was engineering, it was frustrating and out of that frustration Hathrup.com was born.

The “aha” moment hit me while I was meditating. Back then I was working on a $7,000,000 farm deal for a start-up farm in Calabar Nigeria, I thought to myself, “why is it so damn difficult and cumbersome to source finance in Nigeria.” As I proceeded in my thought, a different idea started coming, a solution, so rather than complain about a condition, I was seeing a solution, something small I can do to bridge the gap but I still wondered “how do I make it easy?”

As a natural entrepreneur who belongs to the league of those who make things happen, I took the next step by taking hathrup.com to a higher level with the sole aim of encouraging young entrepreneurs to realize their dreams, thereby breaking the barriers and hurdles of securing facility and finding investors.

The concept of Hathrup.com is easy. We aim to make securing capital for business as easy as walking into a grocery store. We hope to eliminate a lot of the stress involved in seeking funding by providing the first truly free platform where entrepreneurs can meet people whom are passionate about resurrecting their economy both locally and worldwide. To us entrepreneurs are truly the lamps of this world, hence they need to be able to have access to capital easily which will help enhance their creativity and innovation.

Hathrup.com will improve business worldwide by providing an equal playing field for both investors and entrepreneurs, it will help connect banks through our partnership program, whom are willing to participate in risk based deals and actually be an equity partner without demanding ridiculous collateral from entrepreneurs whom may not necessarily have it. We are NOT investors as a company, but we will do the legwork for entrepreneurs and investors alike to help them make informed decisions and facilitate deals.

The only advice I will tell anybody striving for success is, it is ok to fail, but don’t give up. I would follow that up with whether you live In America or any other part of this earth, find people whom have like minds and share your dream and vision with them. Raise your vibrations by constantly thinking of what you want to manifest or create and before you know it your dream will become reality.

 

Henry Nnorom. A goal getter

Being that you reside in America, in fact, you have lived there the better part of your adult life, you’re seemed very aware of the politics in Nigeria?

I am in fact in the system; I live in America.Yes, but am always home, I could say I go there frequently since 2006; I spend most of my time in Abuja and Owerri especially, when I desire to be closer to home.  I am involved in a lot of youth programs within and outside the country; I am also a member of some youth empowerment groups in Nigeria.

I am very much aware of all our political problems/ challenges in Nigeria. The most threatening and challenging one which the past administration struggled with is the Boko Haram insurgency ; this menace which is new to us and which seems to be gathering momentum by the day, irrespective of all the government efforts so far.

The truth is that we are yet to get it right, and until we get the right people to handle sensitive positions regarding this menace, we will keep struggling with it. I trained in security and I can confidently say that I am an authority in this field.

Part of the difficulty in winning this war is the bad vices that have eaten deep into the fabrics of Nigeria; our problems are rooted in lack of discipline, gross mismanagement of public funds, corruption, and religious sentiments.  

It’s shameful that we have no standard database; nobody can be traced to their birth home or parents. Cars used for bombing can’t even be traced back to their original owner and the history of the cars is unknown.

Another terrible ring worm that has destroyed Nigeria is corruption. It is more than a canker worm! It’s almost a way of life in Nigeria. Corruption in a way have made Nigerian citizens so bold that they now engage in it without an iota of remorse, Investments are not safe; anybody can go into official places and erase your name from the records, they can replace them with their own and then posses lands, houses and property that do not belong to them. In summary, we have huge problems, but I believe we are in capable hands now having elected President Muhammadu Buhari.

Speaking of President Muhammadu Buhari, What do you think about this new government? 

President Muhammadu Buhari is a no nonsense man, a man who if he had been allowed to continue his style of eradicating corruption in the 80's I believe that our economy would probably be one of the best in the world.

Not only in our economy, but also in discipline. Nigerians have no regard for our laws, the breakdown of law and order is alarming, unfortunately, some of our politicians come abroad and see how things are done, yet find it difficult to replicate them in Nigeria. Nigeria needs illuminated men whom understand the concept of humanity and selfless service, men that will do whatever it takes to elevate the collective consciousness of a city, town, and country. Our children are not taught to love their country in schools and religions places. A lot has gone wrong and we must retrace our steps, this is why I believe that the president will pick the right team with which he will make a difference and we will indeed see change.

I believe that before the expiration of this tenure, our values, cultural norms and pride will be restored. President Buhari is the ray of hope Nigerians see, a lot is expected of him and failure is NOT an option. His reasons for not hastily appointing ministers is germane and we must allow him do it right. We can’t keep repeating poor standards and expect outstanding results. We need change and change we must get.

If you are given the opportunity to serve your country, what will you do differently to align with the ‘change’ Nigerians hunger for?

I have always had hunger for Nigeria, to impact lives and change the course of things.

Look, Nigeria is the richest black nation in the world, in terms of human resources and natural minerals, but what have we done with it? The level of poverty is at its peak. You can’t stand some areas in Nigeria, sometimes when I see pictures of places in Lagos State and other places I cringe, knowing very well that we have all that we need to truly be the giant of Africa. My main business is technology, and ways to leverage technology to enable commerce. I want to expand these practices to Nigeria and bring both technology and finance there in order to help grow it into one of the technology hubs of the African continent. My initial plan is to serve the country through traditional forms of commerce. By building a successful company here in America I will be able to raise capital and help enable entrepreneurs around the world.

If I am called to serve, I will accept with pleasure, this is because of the burden I have in my heart regarding Nigeria, we need selfless, passionate individuals whose desire is to make an impact, not to amass wealth and embezzle public funds, rather, genuine people who desire to make a change.

“Some people watch things happen, others make things happen” I belong to those that make things happen. We need those that can make something out of northing, Abuja is what it is today because El-rufai did things differently, and he didn’t allow sentiment to deter him from the focus he had. Discipline was restored by President Buhari in 1984, because he did things differently. For one to achieve an outstanding result, one must do things differently, that is the passion I have, no sentiment, no fear or favor, round peg in a round hole, adequate supervision and monitoring, well grounded and attention to details, those will be my watch words to make all the difference.

Henry Nnorom . Self made

What dreams do you have for Nigeria and where do you see Nigeria in the next 4years?

Under the leadership of Buhari, I see a greater Nigeria, I see Nigeria where our trade and commerce is well positioned for growth, I see a world class economy, already our economy has drawn the interest of investors across the globe, I see more expansion in that regard.  I see Nigeria where the level of poverty is reduced to the barest minimum, I see a Nigeria where dreams are easily realized. I see stable power, I see infrastructural development across the country helping to build new businesses, I see an organized work/labour force where the appropriate wages are paid as when due, where discipline, law and order are upheld. I see a commercial hub of Africa where an industrialization revolution has occurred placing Nigeria as the top destination in the world. I see a greater country doing sincere business and citizens living an honest life. I see a better planned and well-structured working system. I see the beginning of the development of a Nigerian industrial complex, to see the country begin to embrace the further development of its infrastructure and economy. I see corruption eradicated and a new level of trust between citizens and businesses emerge. Once people’s basic human needs are met we will then be able to get back to growing and get back to achieving great things.

 

While it will most likely take longer than four years, we do have the potential to do all this as long as we believe it and do what is necessary. I would love to see an efficient telecommunications industry, I think it is time for it to become law that these huge telecommunication companies provide free calls after 7pm on their mobile networks and build an extremely subsidized broadband high speed internet service. This will fast track Nigeria into the information age and make our workforce competitive worldwide. In four years we can develop a tech industrial complex supported by a thriving telecommunications industry. The result of this will be jobs that will earn foreign currency, as foreign tech companies will hire Nigerian workers to work from their respective homes in Nigeria and pay them in dollars, these advanced countries would have truly fulfilled the promise they made to invest in our local economy.                                                                                                 

Any word of advice for our leaders, especially the president who is faced with a lot of challenges as to delivering on his campaign promises.

 
Leaders must imbibe selflessness. The days of wanton greed are over! Honesty and selfless service are qualities any public servant must practice not only everyday but in their daily lives. To be a leader one must first learn how to serve so our leaders must learn that they are servants of the people and to God. To the President I will advise to use his values and listen to his gut feelings when it comes to decisions about political matters. If his goals are to fight corruption he must first start with self, family and the people he leads, this way he would have set a standard that all future government will follow as a proxy. Our president also needs to set realistic goals and make sure he follows through; this will ensure that things get done fast and easy.

Henry, A gentleman