Emefienim obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology and two master's degrees in banking and finance and business administration respectively at University of Benin.[3]
Emefienim started his career in banking at Oceanic Bank Plc (now Ecobank Nigeria) where he worked from 1992 to1997. At Oceanic Bank, he became the Head, Credit & Marketing. From 1997 to 2000, he was Manager, Commercial Banking at United Bank for Africa. For a 6-year period, he worked at Savannah Bank Plc and FSB International (now Fidelity Bank Plc) before joining Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB) in 2006.[4] He became a Zonal Business Director at ETB till it consolidated into Sterling Bank in 2011. Sterling Bank appointed him to the position of Regional Business Executive covering South-South 2 Region, and later on, the South-South 1 region. He then became General Manager in 2016 and got appointed to the Board of Sterling Bank as executive director, Institutional Banking Directorate in 2018.[5][6] He resigned from Sterling Bank to start Premium Trust Bank in April 2022.[7]