Dropout Otto becomes a successful businessman

By ROSELYN ELLISON
JIMMY Otto from Kaiyan in the Bogia district, Madang, is a successful businessman despite dropping out of school in the sixth grade about 30 years ago.
The 44-year-old said before he became a businessman he was just an ordinary villager.
“After dropping out from Kaiyan primary school in grade six, I did not sit down and wait at that young age I started doing little work to sustain myself, which was going fishing and selling the fish and also selling betel nut,” Otto said.
“At a very young age I started selling betel nut. I even risked my life to travel to Lae to sell my bags of betel nut, where I built my equity and from there I went and opened an account with the National Development Bank (NDB) at its Madang branch and during that time NDB introduced the Women in Business accounts so with the help of my wife applied for a loan under the Women in Business in 2014 and I bought my first PMV (public motor vehicle) truck.”
Otto said the bank gave him two years to repay the loan but he repaid it in just nine months and the bank happily gave him another loan to purchase a second truck.
He repaid the loan for his second truck in less than 12 months. He has been running PMVs for eight years now.
Otto is married to Michaelyn and has four children. He has only six years of formal education (1985-1990) but his drive, initiative and attitude has been his most important qualities that have seen him make a success of his life.
Currently in East New Britain (ENB), Otto said he had learned a lot of things especially in business activities.
As a businessman Otto said he would use his experience in ENB to develop new ideas to further develop and expand his business activities in Madang.
Otto said he was planning to buy land in Madang town and Lae with the aim of venturing into the real estate business.
Besides running a PMV business, Otto also buys copra from local farmers.
He also owns two coconut plantations in Kaiyan.
He said he removed all his cocoa trees because of the cocoa pod borer (CPB) and he was not interested in cocoa production yet but would return to growing the commodity when the conditions were right.
Otto said his advice to young people was not to think that success could only be attained one way.
“I want to encourage young people that you don’t need a degree paper or any qualification to become a successful businessman but it is through hard work, commitment and sacrifice,” he said.

“ I want to encourage young people that you don’t need a degree paper or any qualification to become a successful businessman but it is through hard work, commitment and sacrifice.”