 The billionaire that is building houses for billionaires in Nigeria. Don't even go there. I'm not a billionaire. You're not a billionaire. I'm anything but a billionaire. But where we are, right? Yeah, you know, maybe we'll save the billionaires. But I'm not a billionaire. I'm not one of them. It's a pleasure meeting you. My name is Watermark. Do I have to introduce myself though? Watermark, I mean you don't have to. I mean you're a non-person. You're a non-person. You're everywhere. You just have to tell me who you are because a lot of people watching us don't know your name and where you're from. He's a popular guy so I'm going to have to introduce myself. Tell me your name and where you're from. My name is Akintola Poladejo. I run a small company called Prestigious Homes Ltd. I'm from Nigeria. Born and bred in Nigeria. Full blooded Nigerian. Not mixed in any way. I think you have a lot to tell me. Yeah, sure, sure. You're a billionaire. You just act first so it's a billionaire. My name is Akintola Poladejo. I mean none of this name is an English name as you can see. You know there are local names. Born and bred in Nigeria. Which part of Nigeria? Oya State precisely. Western Nigeria, South West. Schooled in Nigeria. All my schooling. Nigeria of course. I've had all my schoolings. I've had all my schoolings. All my schoolings. I've had all my schoolings. Nigeria of course. I've had opportunity to have several professional training overseas. In the United States, France, in the United Kingdom and all of that. But you know fully trained. You know in terms of the formal education. Secondary primary at University in Nigeria. So I'm married. I have two daughters. And I'm into property development. Before property development. Let us know like before property development. Okay so first property development has been my passion. But of course I've had opportunity to work in different sector. I started out in banking. So I was in the financial sector. I left the bank in 2007. I went into the oil industry. So I work with Schlumberger. Schlumberger is an oil service company. I work with him as an expatriate engineer. Overseas as an international mobile staff. After Schlumberger, I joined ExxonMobil. So I worked as an ExxonMobil as a sub-seat engineering team lead. Supporting deep water assets. So actually I would say that by God's grace. I've practiced engineering at the highest level. Don't suffer training in engineering. But while all this was going on. Building has always been my passion really. So you left all that to follow your passion. Absolutely. How to live all that to follow my passion. But not blindly. It evolved. So while I was in all of this. I was building. I was already implementing. I was already experimenting with my passion. I didn't just go out. Which means that the money that you are making at your profession. Is the same money to experiment your passion. Absolutely. Which year was this? I've been doing building in 2005. Actively. Even when I was in employment. Even when I was living overseas. Come, build. Which countries are you in? I was living in Angola. And of course from there. Maybe for training and development of the house in the United States. In the United Kingdom and France. But basically based in Angola I was working for Schlumberger. So I was building. Back in Nigeria I was building. It's always been my passion. It's what my family. My dad was very strong in building. All my siblings are strong in building. So I guess we'll get back to that later. Because initially I hated building. Why? I hated building. Growing up I hated building because it was. My dad wanted me to be a builder. He wanted me to take after him. Because it was first I hated it. You didn't want it? I didn't want it. I would be forced to go to site with him. And all of that. Just be an architect. So I didn't want to do it. But over time. Progressively I saw that he loved for this. The passion for it came on its own. And I just saw that I couldn't do anything. But building. I just loved it. In the spirit of what I was doing. In banking I found myself going back to building. Development. Oil and gas. I found myself going back to development. You know. So. And I said that it's what I can do every day. For the whole year. Without getting tired. So it's really my passion. I love it. I love it so much. Who was the first ever building that you built here in Nigeria? So the first ever building I did was in Abuja. As a business. Of course I've been involved with it for a long time. But as a business the first was in Abuja. I could remember that it was actually the. Four bedroom bungalow. You know. I sold it to a lady in the UK. You know. And that was the ever first real estate sale I was doing. It was so too. You know. It was so too. It was all that lives in London. You know. It was built up in Abuja. And there on. You know. I just. You know. Did some other ones in Abuja. Then moved to Lagos. And in Lagos we've done well over a hundred houses. You know. Well over a hundred houses. You know. Different category. Hundred houses in Lagos already. You know. Lagos is a household city. You came here to hustle. I would say you know. Lagos is a city to be in. You know. If you're living anywhere else in the world. You're missing out. This is where to be. You know. This is where to be. It's a land of opportunity. It's a land of possibility. You know. And we're blessed with good government in Lagos. You know. And I'll tell you. The guys are doing their bit to ensure. That this place continues to be habitable. And livable for people. Here there's traffic. You know. Why do you think you succeeded in living in Lagos? You know, the truth is, the world right now is a global village. You really cannot stop. Migration is a global phenomenon. So people then have opportunities these days to live where they want to live. As you know, that being said, there are still more people, there are challenges in Nigeria, but there are still more Nigerians living in Nigeria than are living abroad. You know, several millions of Nigerians are living in Nigeria. You know, you cannot stop people from going to look for greener pastures. You know, people always, people migrate. There are Americans living here. There are French people living here. But do you think it's possible to make it in Lagos? Of course it is. A lot of people, you know, then go to Lipsia, the richest man in Africa. You know, so you know, you just destroy them. You're also Lipsia, you're also Lipsia. Don't even count me. So, you know, I'll tell you, you know, whatever rock your boat, whatever rock your boat, you know, different opportunities for different people. Some will find their success in different locations. Some will find it in Lagos. I don't like to prescribe to people. I like to say just, you know, just be whatever God is leading you, you know, and just, you know, and just excel at whatever you do. Put in your best in whatever you do, you know, and you know, so for us here we do real estate. We found that there was a lot of mediocrity in the market in the sector, you know. People build, buyers who haven't buying stuff, they shouldn't buy because they didn't have alternative. You know, you go to a piece of house, plumbing issues, electrical issues, you know, a few friends that knew I was into building would call me almost on daily basis for one kind of problem or the other to solve, to help resolve in their homes. You know, so I've got to think, you know, so can't we have someone or a company that's going to build and once the key is given to you, okay, there's not going to be issues, you know, can't we have companies that will do it. So we just set out to, you know, to really do things the right way, to do things with excellence, you know, because, you know, we're going to live beyond the mediocrity, you know, in the market, we're going to give value. So our value proposition was to, you know, develop homes that will not only be functional, but will really be habitable, will give people peace of mind, you know. But what kind of houses are you building in Lagos? So we've dealt in, you know, initially we've doubled into different categories of building in the past. So we've done the, we did the medium end, we've never been in the lower end of the market, you know, because our style cannot, you know, fit, you know, at this time and that. So we'll start with the medium end, okay. Then right now our focus really is in the, I'll say the high end, you know, prime luxury development, you know, prime luxury development, you know. So doing banana, we've done quite a bit in banana, you know, other parts of the country, we've done in Victoria Island, you know, we've done in Lakey as well, you know. So we've served the upper middle class, we've served, you know, the idea is just to do it well. And, you know, because you're doing it well, doing it well is going to take capital. Exactly. You know, and where you want to do it well, you want to buy the right appliances, you want to buy, you know, the right sanitary ware, you just, all of these things are going to come back to reflect on the, you know, on the product. And of course, the sale price of the product, okay. And when you do, you know, that kind of, so those kind of development are going to fit in a particular location where you can get value for them, you know. So, you know, but whatever it is, different people with different strength, their guy is doing very well in the lower end of the market, building mass housing, you know. So just knowing your strength, you know, we try to take the finishing to the highest level. Okay, we try to finish to the highest level. Is it expensive to live in one of your houses? I would say it's not, so it's relative. I would say we provide value beyond whatever money. You know, what our clients know is that whatever they are paying, they've got the value much more than that amount. You know, so I would look at it in absolute terms in terms of figures. So there are things that, you know, kind of, you know, make up those stuff. You built 100 houses already? I used to build over 100 houses. I used to build them. We're still building. I mean, we're not in it for, we're not transactional. You know, we're in this business for a long time. You know, we're building a business. We're building an African business that we're in jail. We're going to be here for well over 100 years. You know, so we're not building. We're not looking to. I mean, it's not, the business is not about me. It's going to be beyond me. Yeah, I happen to be privileged to be the founder, but our vision is not short term. Okay, so we're, it's a marathon and that's why we're not, you know, people say, oh, you do all of this, you're not everywhere. We're not in a 100 meter dash. It's a marathon. We're building the roots of the business. Okay, so that when it grows, it becomes like an erocotree. It's very difficult to approach. You know, I can plant a maize and in one week it grows. But you know, when you plant an erocotree, it goes down. It takes the roots downwards. Then we begin to bear fruit upwards. So we're building a business. We don't want to run this. It's a normal Nigeria on African business that you face with time. So our focus is not about money and all of that. Our focus is value, be something that is going to endure, that is going to be a transgenerational. Okay, even when I'm gone, it's going to be here. So that's what we're doing. Who are the people that are purchasing this houses? So regular people, you know, regular people, upper middle class, people that have worked hard, people that have excelled in their different endeavors, you know, we are people by There was a gentleman, a medical doctor that came from England, he bought one of our apartment and he came a few months later, he said that we were building, he was really delightfully surprised that oh, you could actually give money and somebody would really build. He came and bought a second one, so most people know that yes, you are so disciplined, you are delivering on promise. So for us it has been a very good story. There is nobody that will tell you, globally that we are owing them any house that we haven't delivered. I am saying it publicly, nobody, we have delivered on every house. There is no single house that we have not delivered on promise. So these are the kind of houses that I was talking about, these are luxury homes, you can see them. These are our luxury houses, these are on four floors, because the land is so expensive, we have to take the building up. So you have all of these very functional homes, all of the luxury is in here. So these people are experiencing the taste of luxury and they are so happy, they are so happy, they are so happy. These are five bedroom houses, come to the elevator, these are lovely homes. So you just want to see an example of what we do, you know. You got roof top, yeah? Yeah, good roof top, roof top sit out. Most of us have got roof top sit out, you can see the lagoon. Also lagoon, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. You can see the boat, you know. There is a piece of luxury. Can you tell me the kind of challenges that you face when you started your real estate business in Nigeria? Okay, so I'll say most of the biggest challenge really initially was that of funding, you know. So we are putting an environment where the interest rate is very high, double digits, upward of 20%, you know. So the business itself is capital intensive, hugely capital intensive. Okay, you do not have the banking support as it will when you are starting out. Of course things are better right now because then you built track record, financial institutions are willing to deal with us and all of that. But initially that was really a major challenge. Then of course the challenge of trust initially, you know, when people haven't bought from you, they haven't tested you, you know. But all of that gradually faded away as we began to prove ourselves within the real estate space, you know. But I'll say that by and large still up to date in the sector, as a sector in the real estate sector in terms of development, funding is still a major challenge. So most of our projects are done on off-plan basis, you know, where we then have, we invite investors at the beginning of the project to co-invest. Okay, so we're saying come and buy, we're going to give you some discounts, some value for your time value of money. Okay, you then pay spread payments across the life cycle of the project. So it's going to take 24 months to build. We invite investors right from early on at the foundation level, agree on a payment plan with them. Okay, and then that has really helped to bridge the gap, the funding gap, you know. Who and the people who are building this beautiful estate? Yes, we use almost 100% Africans, you know. We have majority Nigerians, we have Ghanians, we have people from Benin Republic, we have people from Ivory Coast, you know. We have a lot of Ghanians on our side, you know, engineers, we have a lot of Nigerian engineers, very hardworking, very smart people. All of these buildings I'm going to show you are, I'll say 99.9% Nigerians, you know. And I mean 99.9% Africans, I would say. Like Nigerians, Benin Republic, Ivory Coast and Ghanians, you know, form the crux of our workforce. And I'll tell you the truth, you know, given the opportunity, these guys have been performing tremendously well. You know, so we have what it takes in Africa, we don't need to look out as well. We have a few experts from Europe, you know, the chief engineer is an European, you know. But I'll tell you, 99% of the work is done by African brothers, you know. I just want to know, currently, how many people are working for you? Okay, so, you know, for a single house, we could have over 200 to 300 people. You know, actually, you know, employed from the foundation to the end of that building. You know, so all of these buildings I would do, employ thousands of people, you know, as a matter of fact, both skilled and unskilled, you know, direct labor and all of that, you know. So, we have, construction is a high employer of labor. It's an employer. Yes, you know. I just want to know, yeah, we got a lot of young Africans who want to be an entrepreneur, who want to start building. Absolutely. As someone who has already succeeded, I mean, he's a billionaire, he does all this. I'm not. I do want to know what is the message for young Africans that are trying to establish something on their own? Honestly, I'll tell you that, you know, believe in yourself, put in the work. You need to put in the work, you know, put in the hard work. Believe in yourself, strike the right relationship. Okay. Try to identify opportunities. Okay. Try to identify opportunities, strike the right relationship, hard work. Okay. And whatever you believe, whatever you do, just believe in yourself. Believe you can do it. Don't be too scared. Don't be scared to make other people. In your 20s, make the mistakes. Okay. Make mistakes. In your early 30s, make the mistakes. You have the time, you have the unfair advantage of that time, you know, to be able to recover. Okay. Because you're young, people are going to excuse your mistakes. Okay. The pressure on you is not going to be that much at that time. So, make your mistakes early. Okay. Go for it. Just go for it. Go for what you believe. You know, God's grace is the first thing. And God's grace is there. But the truth is, God will not, God expects you to put in the work. Exactly. Man doesn't fall from heaven anymore. You know, put in the work, put in the work. I'll tell you, put in the work and, you know, put in the work and... So, these are the things that some of the house will do. You guys see, we try to pay attention to every detail. We try to... We try to just make excellence our watchword. Try to make excellence our watchword. Yeah. So, this is a townhouse. I'll just show you how it is. It's a townhouse on ground floor. Ground floor plus plus three. Okay. So, these are townhouses. One person owns this one. Ground floor, first floor, second floor, and the third floor. Okay. So, you can see, the parking is demarcated for each person. Two car park for each of the houses. Okay. There's a common swimming pool. Okay. You know. So, I just want to know, yeah, we're living in Africa right now. Absolutely. Do you believe that Africa is the future? Africa is the future. Africa is indeed the future. And not just the future. Africa is already here. You know, we are people making giant strides. We are people doing great things in Africa. Africa is under-reported, you know. Only the best ways seems to be coming out of Africa. But we do have people, excellent people. Nigerians, Ghanians, Senegalese, South Africans, doing great exploit. You know, doing great exploit. If you had a chance to change one thing in Africa, what would you change? If I had a chance to change one thing in Africa, it would be the mindset of the people. Everything starts from the mind. Everything starts from the mind. Why would you do that? You see, what you don't believe, what you do not believe, what you do not see, you cannot become. Okay. So, there's a part of vision. A lot of Africans need to understand, they need to stop blaming their parents for their wars. Okay. They need to stop blaming themselves. They need to stop blaming their environment. They need to work within what they have and excel. You did it. And they can do it as well. I just want to say thank you so much. But I don't know if this house is sold out or is still set up. This house is actually sold out. This one is sold out. We started selling from the foundation level. You know, we had to give people the opportunity to pay as the building was being developed. But we do have other development, ongoing, lovely development, you know, the ongoing. I'll come and buy one of those. Thank you so much for talking to me. I appreciate your time. Yeah, the guy. And I like what you're doing. You're doing great. Thank you. She's in Africa to the world. She's in the real Africa to the world. Thank you. Thank you. Keep it up. Thank you so much. And thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk to you. I appreciate it. I hope I also become a billionaire in the future. You are one already.