10 Things You Didn’t Know About Charles Ejogo Jr.

The British-Nigerian entrepreneur and inventor of the Umbrolly umbrella vending machine, Charles Ejogo Jr. was born on 1976 in Chelsea, London to a Scottish mother, Elizabeth Douglas and to a Nigerian entrepreneur father, Charles Ejogo. He is a passionate supporter of youth and children’s enterprise, speaking at the Bristol University, London School of Economics and numerous schools across the UK. There is no doubt that 40-years-old entrepreneur has definitely taken after his father’s entrepreneurial skills and philanthropic nature.

Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about the British-Nigerian entrepreneur, Charles Ejogo Jr.:

1. Charles Ejogo Jr. was born on 1976 in Chelsea, London to a Scottish mother, Elizabeth Douglas and to a Nigerian entrepreneur father, Charles Ejogo.

2. His sister is the British-Nigerian actress and singer, Carmen Ejogo. He completed his secondary education at the London Oratory School in Fulham.

3. He was enrolled at the Staffordshire University to study Law and later went to the Goldsmiths University of London to study History and Politics.

4. Before he went on to set up Umbrolly, He worked in private banking for Merrill Lynch in London and New York and later for the Deutsche Bank.

5. He won the first ever episode of the British version of the business reality television programme, Dragon’s Den in 2005.

6. His pitch for investment in an umbrella vending machine business resulted in Duncan Bannatyne and Peter Jones making a joint offer of £150,000.

7. In October 2007, he secured significant equity investment from Burlington Investment Partners to re-launch the business. The business grew significantly in Germany, France, Republic of Ireland, USA and the Netherlands.

8. He has won multiple awards including the BT Vending Innovation of the Year award in 2006 and also the Innovator of the Year award by the Department of Trade and Industry in the same year. In 2007, his Umbrolly vending machines won runner-up in the Product of the Year category for Vending Magazine.

9. He has spoken in a number of public events including; the British Library “Winners – The Rise and Rise of Black British Entrepreneurs” and at the Coffee, Croissants and £2,000,000 Investment in association with Grant Thornton.

10. He also shared the speaking platform with Peter Jones at The Guardian Graduate Fair in 2008.