Jerry OCHE

Jerry Chis OCHE (born June 18, 1984) is a Nigerian entrepreneur, economist, and agricultural technologist known for contributing to the digital marketing and agriculture industry. He is the founder and CEO of Zowasel, an agriculture technology company aimed at improving farmers' productivity and sustainability by leveraging data science and technology. Oche also founded Street Toolz, a marketing agency, where he served as CEO until 2017.
Jerry Chris Oche mentors young African entrepreneurs and is actively involved in organizations such as the Founder Institute, AFD Campus Marseille, and AIESEC. He has garnered recognition, including the Nigerian Top Executives in Advertising, Marketing, and PR Award in 2016 and the Best Chief Marketing Officer of the Year Award in 2015.
==Early life and education==
Jerry Chris Oche was born on June 18, 1984, in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. He was raised in a culturally diverse family and is proficient in several local Nigerian languages. 
He moved to live and school with his brother, a successful entrepreneur and industrialist who nurtured him and built his entrepreneurial skills at a very young age, working plastic factory in Kaduna, Nigeria. 
Jerry Chris Oche holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Jos, Nigeria, and a postgraduate degree in digital media from Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria. 
Despite initially enrolling in a Masters of Global Marketing program in the United Kingdom in 2011, Jerry Chris Oche dropped out in 2012, a few classes away from completing his degree, to start his first venture - Street Toolz. He later enrolled to study Master of Technology Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland, A. James Clark School of Engineering, and again dropped out in 2019 to focus on founding his second venture Zowasel.
==Career==
Jerry Chris Oche started his career after his university years, working at a media and marketing firm in Jos Oche later transitioned into corporate roles, accumulating five years of experience in advertising, marketing, and consulting before venturing back into entrepreneurship.
In 2012, Jerry Chris Oche founded Street Toolz and assumed the role of CEO. Under his guidance, Street Toolz collaborated on advertising campaigns for notable clients such as Leadway Assurance, Union Bank of Nigeria, Amnesty International, and the British Council. Additionally, Jerry Chris Oche provided consulting services for the World Bank Group-led International Finance Corporation's Lighting Global initiative, focusing on expanding access to off-grid solar energy and market development in developing economies.
During Jerry Chris Oche's tenure, Street Toolz achieved significant milestones, including recognition as Africa's Most Innovative Digital Marketing Agency on two occasions. In 2017, Oche transitioned from Street Toolz to focus on Zowasel, an Agricultural technology company he founded in 2015.
At Zowasel, Jerry Chris Oche drives the company’s mission of developing sustainable value chains across communities, people and the planet to help smallholder farmers improve their productivity, sustainability, and profitability through transition to regenerative agriculture.
Jerry Chris Oche also mentors young African entrepreneurs through programs such as the Founder Institution and the AFD Campus Marseille, France, where he supports young African entrepreneurs through the Social Inclusive Bootcamp.
He held several leadership positions in AIESEC Nigeria, Georgia and Azerbaijan. He is a member of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), the Advertising Agencies Association of Nigeria (AAAN), and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).
==Awards and recognitions==
* In 2016, Jerry Chris Oche was honored with the Nigerian Top Executives in Advertising, Marketing, and PR.
* In 2015, Jerry Chris Oche received the Best Chief Marketing Officer of the Year Award.
* He has been recognized as one of the top three seed companies by the Founder Institute.
* Jerry Chris Oche's company, Zowasel, was selected for the Founder Institute's Select Portfolio, an elite designation reserved for the top 3% of graduates from the world's premier pre-seed startup accelerator.
==Personal life==
Jerry Chris Oche resides in Lagos, Nigeria. In 2017, he married his wife, Tenrat Jerry OCHE, and has two children.
==In the media==
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==References==
==External links==
* Zowasel
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Category:1979 births
Category:Nigerian businesspeople
Category:Nigerian economists
Category:Agricultural technology
Category:Pan-Atlantic University alumni