Commonwealth Secretariat
  1. CYP Africa Home
  2. About Us
    1. Meet the Team
    2. Our Programmes
  3. What's New
  4. Events
  5. Documents
  6. Youth Caucus
    1. Botswana
    2. Cameroon
    3. Ghana
    4. Malawi
    5. Nigeria
    6. Mauritius
    7. Seychelles
    8. South Africa
    9. Tanzania
    10. United Kingdom
    11. Zambia
    12. Alumni Contacts
  7. Staff Email
  8. Feedback
  9. Regional Centres
    1. Africa
    2. Asia
    3. Caribbean
    4. Pacific
  10. CYP Home
Kelechi (left) and Timi (2nd right) at one of their exhibitions with a lady who won a plot of land.

Kelechi (left) and Timi (2nd right) at one of their exhibitions with a lady who won a plot of land.

“Do you think, you are too YOUNG to do it ?”

12 September 2006

It is a well known fact that young Commonwealth Citizens who want to set up their own businesses often face a range of challenges.

 In particular, many do not know how to find the support, skills and funding they need to materialise their dreams. However a new breed of ambitious young entrepreneurs are increasingly defying the odds and are setting up their own businesses, proving that despite the challenges, if you have the drive and the determination, becoming your own boss is not impossible.

In 2004 three Nigerian friends studying in the UK decided to set up a company that would focus on land investment and provide its clients with the opportunity to buy land in the UK as an alternative to buying property. A year later, the company has changed directions to become what is now known as Real Estate Investment Corporation Ltd and now focuses on development and selling new property.    

In an interview with the three young and intelligent owners of Real Estate Investment Corporation, we discover that you are never too young to start your own business and make your dream a reality.

Here is a recent interview with Chuks, Timi and Kelechi:

What are your full names and background?
I am Chuks Mgbatogu, 26, and I hold a BSc in Estate Management & Property Development.  I am Timi Koleoso, 25, and I hold a B.Eng in Civil Engineering, MSc. in Construction Project Management and am currently studying for my PhD in Risk Management and Finance of Oil Field Development. I am Kelechi Ekugo, 24, am currently studying BSc degree in Electronics at University of Westminster and am also doing a placement experience at Morgan Stanley.

What type of business do you own? How long has it been running, and what prompted you to go into this market?
We run a property investment outfit, which in business circles is deemed to be in its infancy, still within its first year of trading. It was created to proffer property investments, more specifically as an alternative or additional option to investments at large. The company though young, is already regarded in property circles as "dynamic" with its extensive investment portfolio within the UK, especially in the South-East, and its recent advent into property development via its Joint Venture Partnerships (JVP) with key industry players.

We decided to go into business to create a high level of financial empowerment amongst ourselves, we relished the challenges involved and we also found the UK as a stable and conducive environment to set up a business. We also realized that between the three of us we had the necessary skills required in new start-up initiative.

Who are your target market?
Our business is targeted at the public at large, but we also pay extra attention to prospective young first time home buyers with little capital to invest with, and the ethnic minority community in the UK.

What were the pull factors that attracted you to start a business in the UK?
Having studied here and being exposed to a more structured society/ business climate, we figured it would be criminal not to start our own business. The UK business environment is professional, stable and ethical.

Once your business is firmly rooted in the UK, do you plan to return to Nigeria to establish businesses in the private sector?
In our case, once the experience of running a business has proven as successful as envisaged and anticipated, we intend exploring the opportunities that present themselves to us as a business in the private sector of the Nigerian economy.

What advise would you give a young person reading this interview who wants to start their own business but neither has the finance nor the support to materialise their dreams?
We will say stick to those dreams irrespective, but more so; have a detailed, well-put together plan of what you hope to achieve/do so that when asked by any one, it would impress investors and it shows clarity and focus which are fundamentally key to success. And finally, the honest truth is that you are never too young to give your dream a chance!

Where does Real Estate Investment Corporation see itself in 5 to 10 years time?
We hope to see this business become a household name when it comes to offering qualitative housing stock within the UK and being on top of our game in the near future. We also see ourselves being in a position of leadership and mentorship to other young people.

If you would like to find out more about the company and the young men who run it, please write to:

Real Estate Investment Corporation
29 Harley Street
W1G 9QR London
http://www.reicorp.co.uk/

 

Share this page
About this