U DO MARYANNE OKONJO@50

THE QUINTESSENTIAL ENTREPRENEUR!

I see challenges as opportunities to exhibit your expertise as a professional, in any industrynot just in Real Estate. My opinion has always been that no woman should define her interest in any sector by her gender or gender quotas.

THE QUINTESSENTIAL ENTREPRENEUR!

Real Estate Tycoon, Wealth Strategist and Teacher Udo Okonjo is one of Nigeria’s finest entrepreneurs. She sits at the top of the award winning international real estate firm as founder and CEO, Fine and Country West Africa. Purposeful and relentless in all her endeavours, Udo started her career as a lawyer with over 17years experience working at top firms in American and Nigeria before delving into real estate where she has made tremendous marks and strides in an otherwise male dominated space. Udo also takes great pride in being a teacher and mentor, through her W.O.W. D.I.V.A.S Network a platform that promotes, mentors and ignites people, especially women to transform their lives through changing their minds on how they think and view life.

Turning the big 50 Udo speaks to FUNKE BABS-KUFEJI about her life as a real estate Tycoon, her passions and the opportunities that lie ahead of her new age.

You had a successful career as a Lawyer, why did you leave it to go into Real Estate?

You are right, I began my legal career at the leading commercial law firm of Udo Udoma and Belo Osagie, and subsequently became a partner at another leading commercial law firm, Templars Barristers and Solicitors. With my f

You had a successful career as a lawyer, why did you leave law to go into real estate?

You are right, I began my legal career at a leading commercial law firm of Udo Udoma and Belo Osagie, and subsequently became a partner at another leading commercial law firm, Templars Barristers and Solicitors. With my father being a federal high court judge and five other lawyers in our family, it did come as a bit of a surprise when I moved into real estate after about a decade of law, especially with my strong academic leaning and subsequent specialisation in corporate and commercial law at Master’s degree level. My father thought I’d follow his footsteps and join the judiciary some day. With graduating top of my class at the Nigerian Law School and emerging best female law student, getting the much coveted Chevening Scholarship, and passing the New York bar exams, my legal career was pretty much set. Alas real estate found me.

I always say I am an accidental entrepreneur, because I didn’t really go out of my way to pursue real estate. I had always had an interest in real estate, first as an investor then later as an advisor. I believe that law and real estate complement each other, in the sense that they both require creative thinking, understanding human psychology, investigative and negotiation prowess. My legal background made real estate a natural pivot. I really see myself as more than a lawyer and real estate entrepreneur. As long as I can combine law, real estate, business development and teaching, then I am happy. I enjoy the challenge of charting new trails, and resolving difficult problems. The real estate industry currently offers me that opportunity.

Real estate in Nigeria is a male dominated space, what were some of the challenges you faced starting out and how did your overcome them?

I see challenges as opportunities to exhibit your expertise as a professional, in any industry- not just in real estate. My opinion has always been that no woman should define her interest in any sector by her gender or gender quotas.

It never occurred to me that law or real estate was a male dominated industry and if it is, then let the best man or woman win. I personally believe that competence, creativity, passion, excellence, and resilience are some of the key factors for success in any endeavour. I have enjoyed the respect of both male and female colleagues in the industry and actually collaborate with quite a few of them. It’s the only way to grow. Interestingly though, I’ve found that men are much bolder when it comes to the real estate investment aspect, taking on commercial, luxury and more specialised real estate projects. As a result most of my interactions at that level are with men, but it makes no difference to me, because ultimately what investors want are results.

I can only imagine the work was twice as hard for you to succeed not only because real estate is a male dominated field, but operating at the luxury end of the market. As a woman who has succeeded and continues to earn the respect of your male and female clients and colleagues, what is the one crucial thing you will tell other female professionals/entrepreneurs or those who want to delve into this space to do to be as successful as you are?

Anyone going into business should always start with a clear sense of vision and clarity of purpose.

What is my pathway to profitability and prominence while enjoying a sense of purpose and passion?

Too many entrepreneurs are haphazard about their desires, thinking the goal is make as much money at whatever cost, so when they don’t see the money or results early, they get discouraged, lose focus and go off into something else under the guise of being serial entrepreneurs. For me the key question isn’t just how do I make money? It’s how do I make money and make a mark? I advise entrepreneurs and professionals that I mentor - Catalogue your strengths, the qualities and qualifications that make you best suited for this business or role to make sure you have competence. Ask- Why am I going into this business or role? Do I have what it takes to stand out? What do I want to contribute that makes a key difference? Who am I best suited to serve and who do I want to ultimately serve? I believe that clarity of vision helps build focus and confidence for tough times which are a given in life and business. I don’t just work hard to compete with colleagues. I view work as an opportunity to serve, to create something of value, in a sense, an opportunity to autograph a trail of excellence that I can look back to and nod with pride. My advice to professionals and entrepreneurs would be know your

‘Why’. If you don’t, you’ll be mediocre

at best, act desperate, or give up at every hurdle. You will have no fight in you. Ultimately competence, character, confidence in who you are and what you can achieve, and commitment to your vision are critical whether at the top or bottom end of any industry.

Can you name and describe your most fulfilling and rewarding project at Fine and Country so far?

All our mandates at Fine and Country West Africa go through a rigorous pre-qualification process which means that we usually end up with cherry picked luxury and prime properties, most of which are award winning properties. I’m particularly fulfilled with the properties that we helped achieve international standards and awards, and those we helped turn into beautiful swans in terms of financial outcomes for the investors at the height of the market downturn. I’m also really fulfilled when we can help clients value engineer their projects so that all stakeholders are winners.

How have you been able to sustain your industry leadership in the prime and luxury market regardless of economic downturns?

When you establish a niche, serving high net worth astute investors who value excellence and professionalism, it is important to stay focused and continue to build, never taking anything for granted. New entrants, and new models are a constant and if we get complacent or lose focus by trying to be all things to all people, we won’t survive. We identified very early on that there are astute clients who value high level of excellence, and delivery, and who want their properties to be positioned and their needs represented at a professional level, not as an all comer affair but consistent with their own profile as investors. We focus mainly on serving these category of clients, leveraging

Women don’t need to be at political risk or business meetings at midnight to be effective. Women don’t want handouts or token roles on management teams or boards or in the public sector, women require our unique approach to be recognised, understood and rewarded.

Fine and Country’s global marketing network and resources to support these category of clients, while continuing to keep an eye for new and better ways to expand our offerings to emerging customer segments.

Putting more developed countries in prospect, for example Dubai where property development has played a massive role in national development, how do you think the role of a property developer will positively affect our nation over the next 25 years?

One of the critical pathways of creating wealth is through real estate. Any country that doesn’t crack the code for creating middle class access to property as an asset class is not likely to create sustainable wealth. Nigeria is sadly still a long way off from sorting out some of the constraints on property ownership, such as transparent and ease of title, financial access, slow judicial processes and enforcement barriers. On the development side however, I’m particular intrigued by the opportunity that developers have to actually use real estate developments to shape society.

You are almost or practically at your peak as you have made a success of your career in real estate. What’s next for you?

I am not at my peak. While I have had many accomplishments and achievements that I am proud of, I am committed to ongoing growth and challenges. I’m about to embark on the most exciting stage of my life, a time to use my professional, business and life’s experiences to contribute at even more strategic levels. I was recently appointed as a non-executive director to one of Nigeria’s most successful indigenous listed companies- CAP PLC (a subsidiary of UAC PLC) and welcomed the challenge because I found it to be the right fit for my skills and interest. I look forward to more opportunities to be of service on a more strategic levelnaturally that comes with its unique set of challenges but one I am willing to embrace.

You are big on promoting women as leaders, because you are of the belief women make better managers. Why do you think this is important and what should be done to put more women in leadership roles especially in running our country Nigeria?

Research has it that more women in leadership results in bigger wins for organisations as well as in society. Just from a common sense point of view, a society that’s made up of men and women should benefit from the perspective of both sides. We bring equal but diverse strengths to the table, whether it’s the boardroom, state house table or family dining table. I know for a fact that any family, company or society that doesn’t value the contribution of its better