There are loads of rags to riches stories which motivate the hell out of you when you hear them and gives you hope about life and one of those is the story of Nigeria’s youngest billionaire.
Sijibomi Ogundele has managed to transform himself into a billionaire at age 39 after starting life as a head porter in the markets of Agege, Lagos, helping his mother.
From those humble beginnings, he’s built himself into a real estate mogul who now runs the Sijimoto Group, a luxury real estate enterprise which has made him into Africa’s youngest billionaire, in the words of Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper.
Ogundele’s Sijimoto Group specializes in constructing world-class luxury spaces in Nigeria’s most premium neighbourhoods such as Ikoyi and Banana Island.
The transformation from a poor boy working in a market to a world-renowned constructor has not been easy nor straightforward, but the dream and ambition to become successful has always been with Sijibomi.
At age 8, he started an Okada business from his savings despite some disapproval from his parents. An 8-year-old starting a business is so preposterous to think about but that only illustrates the seriousness of Sijibomi and his attachment to business which has led him to the door of success.
Within an unspecified space of time, he managed to grow his Okada business from one bike to 6 bikes.
This passion for business and eye to spot opportunities has allowed Sijibomi to build his multimillion naira company Sujimoto into the behemoth it is today. Starting from a modest 30-storey, 75 unit LorenzobySujimoto project into now having multiple luxury projects all over Nigeria and even some outside Nigeria, in Dubai and other locations.
One of his projects is the Giuliano project which is 100% covered in travertine stone, fully automated and is the 1st project with each unit having its private elevator and an award-winning Zaha Hadid Bathroom for Porscelanosa.
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But even more ambitious than that, Sujimoto is currently building what should be the tallest residential building in Nigeria’s plush Banana Island neighbourhood – the LucreziaBySujimoto.
It is expected to contain Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC) façade, Full Home Automation, private IMAX Cinema for the residents, standard crèche, Indoor Virtual Golf with over 2,500 courses worldwide to play on, swimming pool in the sky and other exciting features – all revolutionary in the African real estate space.
The project is expected to be completed by 2021.
Speaking on that project, Sijibomi said: “We are building the best condominium not only in Nigeria but also in Africa. The Lucrezia Penthouse comes with a private elevator, private cinema, private golf, private gym, and a private pool! The Lucrezia is very special to us because Sujimoto is divesting from Residential Projects with 80% of our real estate interest into Commercial Projects.”
He added: “Many people have approached us about building smaller and more affordable units with the Sujimoto standard and we have responded with a revolutionary project called the LeonardoBySujimoto. With LeonardoBySujimoto, you can own a Sujimoto Apartment without breaking the Bank. We have studied the best apartments and what we are creating, beats the best.”
For Leonardo by Sujimoto, the units come in 2, 3, and 4 Bedroom Units currently selling for N250million. They will sell for N450million once the project is launched later in the year, with the current offer running until the end of July.
Sujimoto also has a projects in the works building a world-class Plaza, the first of its kind, in Ikoyi and Abuja, set for completion within the next few years.
“By 2030, we hope to have completed 61 different malls and plazas in Nigeria and across major African cities, a portfolio worth about $3billion.” he said.
With all these impressive achievements, one might be tempted to think his real estate career has always been smooth sailing but he revealed that’s not the case.
In 2016 and 2017, an economic recession in Nigeria nearly led to the end of his massive ambitions when his LorenzobySujimoto project was massively affected but he managed to get out of trouble due to sheer determination.
“After all the investment in time, money, and passion, the recession hit badly, and investors pulled out. The economy was so bad that I had to refund hundreds of millions to our off-takers. Amid the chaos, like the phoenix that rises from the ashes, the Giuliano project was born! A project of terrace houses in Africa’s richest neighborhood – Banana Island. And 20 months after, the record-breaking Giuliano has metamorphosed from a proof-of-concept to a proof-of-product! Fully sold-out 6-Months before completion.” he revealed.
In business, one needs balls of steel to survive and Mr Ogundele appears to possess them in abundance. Ambition and determination are not lacking either.
His story is inspiring in all forms – no matter where one starts from you can make it to the highest echelon – such as starting from 1 motorbike at age 8 to a multibillion naira real estate company at age 39.
Source: GhanaCelebrities.Com