THE DIFFERENCE ONE LIFE CAN MAKE-COSMAS MADUKA

FROM HAWKING AKARA (BEAN CAKES) TO BECOMING AN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MAGNATE

“Success means living a righteous life, a life that glorifies God, a life that renders service to humanity, and which leaves behind a lasting legacy”     -COSMAS MADUKA.

Your background is not grounds for limited thinking and mediocre living. Your background should be the backbone of determination to break the limiting barrier, to step into the foreground and occupy the frontline of destiny.

Let Cosmas Maduka show you how…

Cosmas Maduka was born in 1956, his father died when he was four years old leaving his mother to be the breadwinner of four children. His mother struggled to make ends meet and she would fry akara (bean cakes) and share them into trays for each of her sons to sell before school.  Cosmas ended his formal education at the age of nine because of lack of finances. He went ahead to work with his uncle as an apprentice and he also became his boss.

At age thirteen Cosmas boss sent him to open a branch in Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria. He effectively managed the branch in so much that his uncle sent him to Sokoto to replicate the same, and afterwards to Nnewi.

A TRANSFORMED LIFE

Cosmas had begun learning how to smoke cigarettes and taking alcohol, he even accumulated some pornographic materials which he hid underneath his box.

At Nnewi, he met Pius Egbuawa and due to subsequent events, he gave his life to Jesus Christ and that marked a turnaround in his life. After receiving Jesus into his heart, he quit smoking and drinking alcohol and discarded the pornographic materials and everything that was not pleasing to God.

Cosmas had issues with his boss that bordered on his spiritual convictions which stirred up great opposition from his family. Consequently, he was dismissed and given a paltry sum of 200 Naira .

TURNING 200 NAIRA ONE-MAN BUSINESS INTO A LARGE CONGLOMERATE

With the meager sum of 200 naira backed up with massive determination and the will to succeed,  Cosmas began as a sole employee as a spare part dealer and in six months later, he had grown and managed his capital to be able to acquire a shop of his own.

THE INCUBATION OF THE VISION

Cosmas began travelling to Lagos to buy auto parts for resale during the course he came in contact with Leventis Motors which was the giant in the automobile business at the time in Nigeria. Cosmas admired the operations in the conglomerate and a vision evolved within him to create a similar enterprise.

Cosmas went into business partnership with his brother and they named it, “Maduka Brothers’ but due to differences in idea, they parted ways. Cosmas also came into partnership with his friend, David and they named the business COSDAVE but it ended due to ideological differences.

THE EMERGENCE OF THE COSCHARIS GROUP

In 1982, Cosmas incorporated a new business organization called COSCHARIS. The name is derived from the combination of his name, “Cosmas” and that of his wife, “Charity”.

Coscharis Group is a holding Company with diverse interest in manufacturing, ICT, petrochemical, autocare and agro allied business sectors. Cosmas Maduka is famous for Coscharis Motors.

THE BIG BREAKTHROUGH

Cosmas Maduka experienced a major breakthrough in his business when the Nigerian Government decided to grant import licenses to 10 Nigerian companies and Coscharis was among the chosen ones. His business experienced an unprecedented boom and he began to taste of the fortune of wealth. However, even though his financial status had changed, he lived a modest lifestyle; he still drove the car he had and lived in the same house.

In 1998, Cosmas secured the exclusive rights to market BMW brands in Nigeria. Coscharis Group has continued to expand into new frontiers and higher horizons.

Cosmas Maduka’s net-worth is estimated to be around $800 million.

LEGACY OF ACCOMPLISHMENT

Cosmas Maduka is a multi-millionaire, philanthropist and he is the President and Chairman of Coscharis Group, franchise holders of over eight automobile brands and one of the largest distributors of spare parts in Nigeria.

In 2015, Cosmas Maduka has been featured in Forbes Africa TV Series “Worst Day with Peace Hyde”; he also appeared on CNN Marketplace Africa interviewed by Zaner Asher.

LIFE’S LESSONS TO LIVE BY

• Your upbringing does not determine your up rise but your upshot.
• Where you start and how you start is not the critical factor but what you are becoming and where you are headed for are the critical keys to success.
• Formal education is not a guaranteed shot at success but self-education creates fortunes of success.
• A life turned over to Jesus is a life turned around for good success.
• Play the game of life by the rules of your convictions and values rather than being ruled by the opinions of others.
• Never mortgage the gains of spirituality for material gains.
• The effective management of your resources is vital for your up-growth.
• Let your passion paint your future.
• Know your business; mind your business and you will grow your business.
• Recognize your talents and gifts; develop and improve them, and you won’t live an impoverished life.
• To get to life’s altitude, you need a right attitude.
• Take informed and calculated risks and it will culminate in success.        
• Seize opportunities by seizing opportune preparation and growth; recognize and anticipate openings.
• Never let go of sound character if you want to attain the goal of good and sustainable success.
• Seek out mentors and learn from them to get headed in the right path.
• To build your business, build your people.
• Never live to impress but rather live to express; never live above your means but rather live below your means and you will have the means to invest, making you rise above your means.
• You must create a vision big and clear enough to inspire you, and you will clear the vital route to success.
• Create a positive working environment and a win/win working condition and you will boost the morale of your employees and build a winning team.
• People need to feel a sense of belonging that goes beyond the pay cheque.
• The ability to handle money well is the ability to grow your business.
• Recognize your limitations and employ the services of experts as part of your team.
• Success without a successor vanishes success-Cosmas Maduka has put together a succession plan for his Company, having established concrete structures or systems, he intends to successfully transition the affairs of the Company so that it can run effectively and successfully without him being in the picture.
• To grow your business/product/service/idea, strategic and aggressive marketing must be in place. Visibility must be created and promotion is important. Quality cannot be compromised for quantity but rather quality must always correspond with quantity in order to meet the needs of people and deliver excellence.
• Cosmas Maduka attributes the secret of his success to his Christian faith, he considers the Bible as the key that has shaped his life because the way you think influences the things you do and he does things differently from the crowd.