Justin Nyoni was born in Chinhoyi Zimbabwe to Alec Nyoni, a plant operator in the mining industry and Modester Dube, a primary school teacher. Born in 1985, as the second of four children, I grew up in small mining towns across the country. As I kid I showed signs of being bright and learned to read and write before I went to primary school. My family was a typical middle class family in the 90s in Zimbabwe.
 
 Education and early influences
 At 13 I went to Falcon College, one of the best high schools in the country, a boys high which had a military style culture that encouraged strong values of teamwork, courage, leadership and excellence. During those impressionable years these values were driven deep into my psyche. In 2000 I left to another school high school but with a very different culture. Midlands Christian School, a Christian school in all aspects. Looking back
it’s almost as if an invisible hand guided me. Where one of set of values was grasped, others that were missing in my character were soon prepared for my learning.

At Midlands Christian College I discovered my purpose. I developed a vision to influence the world for Christ. At 18 years old during my senior year I had a profound encounter with God that set me ablaze and brought a burning desire to be significant in the world. Though at the time I didn't realize that my 'pulpit' would be a boardroom and my church would be the world of finance. But the seeds were sown.

In 2004 I enrolled into Solusi University to study Accounting. The same year I also met a woman that would change my life, we will call her Lucinda (not her real name). One of my companies bears her initial, she is the L in JLC Westhouse, an investment management firm I founded. She provided the necessary impetus and motivation that I need to step out as I later did. At lot of times when people write about their journey to business success we often omit whether by design or oversight, individuals that had a profound effect on your life. I believe
companies are not just lifeless institutions but are a collection of lost relationships, sacrifices, tears, individual efforts and contributions from people are just names in
your phone book now but gave something for the dream to stay alive.
 
 Career
 
 My career really began in 2005 when I encountered the world of private equity and investment finance while reading Businessweek in our university library. It seems like I discovered myself when I discovered that world. For the next two or three month I delved into it and read everything I could get my hands on. During this time I discovered two articles that gave birth to my first company, Elyon Private Equity. The first article
came from Africa Business magazine that spoke about the coming consolidation in Africa mobile telecoms market. The second Idea came from the South African business magazine, Financial Mail it was about a set of real estate investment companies called Property Unit Trust, the American version, being REIT (real estate investment trust).

The firms like the MTN were acquiring companies in many markets across Africa.  In our country there was the three operators, Econet, the government owned NetOne and the
Orascom owned Telecel. The government in our country had just enacted stringent empowerment laws that required that locals to own the majority 51% in mobile
telecomms companies. Orascom owned about 60% at the time. Telecel was a small company in its very large portfolio of bigger firms. They were motivated to sell. I saw the opportunity, wrote my research and recruited a partner. He was a couple years older than me in his senior year at the university. The partnership was simple but effective, I provided the ideas and he did the selling.

The partnership seems to bear fruit immediately. We found a company run by two young successful businessman that took an interest in our ideas, but not us though we didn't know at the time. We introduced them to the private equity concept which they were in the
dark about and handed to them all our research and ideas reasoning that we would work together on it. They organized a private equity consortium that launched an unsuccessful bid for Telecel a couple of months later, without the originators of the deal, our firm, it was a
baptism of fire for me and my partner and an introduction into the sometimes harsh world of business.

In 2006, we launched an unsuccessful bid for a bankrupt textile manufacturer David Whitehead Textiles which was in receivership at the time.

In 2007 we took up the Elyon Property Unit Trust Company, and the strategy the introduction of this new concept was to partner with an existing financial institution with an established client base. We approached TN Asset Management and Renaissance Financial Holding. None of these institutions seemed to catch on.

In 2008 I teamed up with a former executive of CFX bank whose industry connections opened doors quickly. We soon found a home for our company in MBCA Capital. Though the partnership was set the product failed to take off. Property was sold in US dollars informally yet the assets of this firm were denominated in Zimbabwe dollars.

Later that year we made our first attempts at an international stock exchange listing. MMA Mining Co was an investment vehicle we created to consolidate several mining companies that were struggling to operate under stringent exchange control rules.  We failed to raise the capital required for a listing on the London Stock Exchange junior board, the AIM.

In 2009 was a significant year for me. I met my mentor at the time. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Zimbabwean government, a lawyer by profession and a smart businessman. From 2009 -2010 I formed several investment partnerships that invested in many company in
the manufacturing, retail, and construction industry.

In 2011 I successfully launched my company investment management firm J.L.C Westhouse, a venture capital firm, Cronus Ventures and a distressed company’s investment firm, Startrek Investments.  

In 2012 we have expanded our business interests into media and petroleum products wholesale distribution. I continue to strive to build companies, and also inspire as many as I can to do the same. Writing about yourself affords you the luxury to look back at what you have accomplished, the opportunities won and missed and the cost of it all. What the price has been and if my motives has been what I idealised when I was much younger, Have I turned out to be the man I have always wanted to be? Personally I think I have attained a little measure of it though they are times you meet certain men that redefine for you what is possible.

About me, well I’m an passionate Christian, a member of United Family International Church or UFIC in Zimbabwe. My spiritual father Prophet Makandiwa and my pastor, Pastor Duncan have been a major source of inspiration and mentorship. They are the men that have redefined what possible and continue to inspire me to impact my generation.