Celebrating Women Who Make it Happen in Real Estate Business
As humanity celebrates all women in this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD), it is important to acknowledge those of them who ‘Make it Happen’ in the real estate industry.
The world commemorates IWD on March 8 every year to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women. This year’s theme is ‘Make it Happen’ for greater equality.
The real estate sector in Nigeria has some amazons that are Making it Happen and these include: • Mrs Akon Eyakenyi - Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development For those who know Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, her name echoes as an industrious, humble and honest woman who has never been found wanting in any position she has held. She’s among the women politicians who can rise up, conduct themselves admirably and do things in appropriate manners. A former Commissioner in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism in Akwa Ibom, her performance in the civil service propelled her to the present position of Minister. She is on a quest for affordable housing in Nigeria and is determined to drive development in the country and facilitate the delivery of 10,000 housing units in Nigeria, with the support of the mortgage facility of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company. • Udo Okonjo - CEO Fine and Country West Africa Having spotted the opportunity that an international Real Estate network provides, Udo Okonjo successfully negotiated and acquired the Fine & Country West Africa License in 2007 along with other partners, launching successfully in Nigeria in 2008. Fine & Country is known worldwide for its unique blend of intelligent and creative marketing, a solid market research and property investment advisory service, coupled with a professional approach to the Sales and Leasing of premium Residential and Commercial properties. Under her leadership, the West African office has leaped to the top in the provision of excellent Real Estate services to leading real estate developers and institutional clients.
In 2005, Udo took the South African Real Estate exams and qualified for certification by the Estate Agency Affairs Board, and in May 2008, earned a certificate in Effective Real Estate Marketing from the National University of Singapore in conjunction with the Dubai Real Estate Institute.
As best graduating female student in her year at the Nigerian Law School, in 1991, Udo Maryanne Okonjo was awarded the prestigious British Chevening Scholarship to study at the University of London, Kings College School of Law, where she graduated with a Masters degree in Law (LLM) specialising in Corporate and Commercial Law. Udo was admitted to the Nigerian Bar Association and New York Bar in 1991 and 1994 respectively and pursued a successful legal career for more than a decade, in addition to having acted as Senior Special Adviser on Legal and Constitutional Matters to the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Udo Okonjo was recently awarded the 2014 Most Influential Person in Real Estate at the 3rd African Development Magazine Awards of excellence which held in Accra, Ghana.
She is also an alumni of the Said Business School, Oxford University and has had extensive experience negotiating multi-million dollar transactions on behalf of clients, including Multinationals, Listed corporates, Privately held companies and High Net-worth Clientele. Udo is very passionate about real estate as a means of wealth creation and nation building. • Yinka Ogunsulire - MD, Orange Island Yinka Ogunsulire, who is regarded as one of the leading property development professionals in Nigeria, was the past Chief Executive Officer of Heirs Real Estate. Prior to that, she was the Managing Director of ARM Properties Plc, the real estate subsidiary of Asset and Resource Management Limited. She holds an M. Phil in Land Management from the University of Reading, England. She has been a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors since 1992 • Shade Hughes - MD, Briscoe Properties Limited Mrs. Folasade Hughes is the Managing Director of the Company. She attended the University of Lagos from where she graduated in 1988 with a B.Arch (Hons) Merit degree in Architecture. She is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Architects and is a registered member of the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria. She also has a Certificate in Interior Design from the KLC School of Design in London and is an Associate Member of the International Facility Management Association. Prior to her appointment by Briscoe Properties Limited, she worked with Design Group Nigeria, a private Architectural and Urban Planning Consultancy firm, where she was a Director • Uzo Oshogwe - MD, Afriland Properties Uzo Oshogwe is the Managing Director of Afriland Properties Plc, and joined the company when it was still known as UBA Properties. She holds a BSc in Chemistry (1989) from Ambrose Alli University, Edo State and an MSc Information Systems Design (1996) from the University of Westminster, London. She has over 20 years’ working experience, mainly in Information Technology and Banking.
Prior to joining UBA, she worked for over a decade as an IT Specialist at Accenture UK based at several clients’ sites, including Jones LaSalle Europe, a financial and professional services firm specialising in real estate services and investment management. • Erejuwa Gbadebo - CEO, Cluttons Nigeria Currently the new CEO of Cluttons Nigeria, Erejuwa Gbadebo is a graduate from the University of Jos where she obtained a BSc and an MSc in Architecture, as well as a graduate from Henley Management College UK, (now Henley Business School, University of Reading), where she obtained an MBA majoring in Project Management, Strategic Finance and Marketing.
A member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Erejuwa has 27 years post qualification experience as a Registered and Chartered Architect with experience both in Nigeria and the UK.
Whilst in the UK, Erejuwa was a member of the Validation Panel of the RIBA – a panel set up to maintain and enhance the quality of architectural education in the UK, and to encourage experiment, innovation, and contemporary relevance in course delivery and teaching methods.
In 2008, Erejuwa returned to Nigeria to join Broll NG as CEO and during her tenure, she positioned Broll NG from a little-known real estate firm, managing 2 main retail properties, into the foremost, all-inclusive property services firm in Nigeria managing 6 retail malls, 2 schools, 3 residential estates and over 20 commercial buildings in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu and Ilorin. • Funke Okunbanjo - Director, Real Estate -Actis Funke Okubadejo is Director, Real Estate at private equity firm Actis and has over ten years experience in private equity in West Africa. Funke, who is based in Lagos, joined Actis in 2007 and focuses on West African origination and execution. Prior to Actis, she spent six years with Africa Capital Alliance (ACA), a leading Nigerian private equity firm, where she helped in establishing the firm’s real estate investment fund. Funke started her career in Arthur Andersen Lagos (now KPMG Professional Services).
She is a qualified chartered accountant and holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos and a Masters in Finance from the London Business School. • Adiba Ighodaro - Partner, Actis Adiba began her career in commercial and corporate law, providing advice to international banks and multinationals, many of which had subsidiaries in the emerging markets. This experience triggered her interest in the provision of finance in to markets where there was an overwhelming number of opportunities and very little competition. Adiba made the decision to join CDC in 1991. She began as an investment manager and in 2000 was made Head of West Africa, setting up CDC’s Nigeria office in the same year. She played a key role in a series of notable Nigerian investments including Starcomms, Diamond Bank, UAC Nigeria and ‘The Palms’– the development of Lagos’s first modern shopping mall.
When Actis was created in 2004, Adiba transferred to the other side of the business and joined the Investor Development Group. As part of this team, Adiba has developed relationships and raised funds from across North America, the Gulf and Asia. Today, Adiba is responsible for leading and coordinating fundraising and investor relations primarily across North America. Adiba was a founding Board Director and Investment Committee member of Capital Alliance Private Equity Limited, Nigeria. She has also contributed extensively to thinktanks including the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, the Privatization Committee and the Nigerian-South African Business Council. Adiba holds an LLB from King’s College, London, a BL (Gray’s Inn) and a C Dip Accounting & Finance (ACCA). • Tokunboh Ishmael - Co-Founder and Managing Director, Alitheia Capital Tokunboh is a co-founder and Managing Director of Alitheia Capital, an investment management and advisory firm focused on channeling private equity investments into businesses and real estate assets to enhance access to finance, energy and housing for the excluded at the base of the economic pyramid. Her previous roles include Managing Director of Avante Capital Ltd where she advised on a number of acquisitions in the oil and gas sector including the acquisition and financing of a government owned refinery, and led the first secondary listing of a Nigerian company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Prior to Avante, she was the Nigeria Country Partner for Aureos Capital where she successfully raised funding to complete a USD50m fundraising exercise for the Aureos West Africa Fund and sourced private equity investments. Other previous roles include M&A banker at Salomon Smith Barney. Tokunboh is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a member of the CFA Institute and a panelist on the TV show Dragons Den Nigeria. • Ibiene Ogolo - Chief Responsibility Eko Developing Company Ibiene Ogolo is the Chief Responsibility Officer, Eko Developing Company. She has experience in real estate, the financial sector, investments and banking and has held management roles in several firms such as the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority, GCL Group, and City Express Bank Ltd.
Officer, • Ruth Obih - CEO, 3Invest Ruth is a Lawyer, an Entrepreneur and Chief Executive Officer at 3Invest. In 2007, She founded 3INVEST a Real Estate Company serving real estate owners, investors, developers and occupiers globally, leveraging on 3INVEST INTELLIGENCE a sustainable technology driven advocacy platform which serves as a valuable, one-stop source for real estate stakeholders to obtain comprehensive industry-focused data, statistics, market reports and other resources; as well as to connect with other professionals in educational networking events. Ruth is fast becoming the face of Real Estate in Nigeria as her Company 3Invest has been credited for leading the drive to digitize the real estate sector in West Africa.
In March 2011, She launched the first syndicate real estate radio talk show, “3invest ON AIR”, with its flagship station at Lagos Classic FM 97.3 that aims at empowering the average consumer to make sound investment decisions in Nigeria. Real Estate on Air has featured over 75 Top Real Estate CEO’ since inception.
In December 2011, Ruth launched 3INVESTONLINE.COM, the intelligent source of real estate information, which has become the most informative real estate site in Nigeria targeting professionals, investors and consumers.
With the plan to close the gap in the amorphous nature of the built industry, in 2012 she led her team to start an annual summit, “3invest UNITE”, aimed at uniting the real estate industry in order to realize its immeasurable potential. An award for the recognition of excellence, which aims to elevate the standards of the industry and promote best practices, was successful ignited.
In a bid to develop and strengthen 3INVEST’s vision in the Real Estate sector, an annual investor forum focused on building a network of core real estate investors, the property buyer’s forum (PBF), was established in 2013 to connect real estate buyers and seller.