Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is dominated by multinationals but when an indigenous company makes an impact in the sector, it is worthy of media attention. Twenty years ago, two medical scientists saw opportunity in the gas business. Inspired by entrepreneurship and fuelled by excellence and creativity, they started a firm which has grown into a multimillion dollar business. Daniel Obi looks at the company’s recent rebranding and repositioning.
Transforming entrepreneurial dreams to reality in Nigeria and in some other climes requires a large heart and tenacity of purpose. This is due to various bottlenecks and environmental challenges every business owner has to deal with. When you weather the operational storm, guided by your vision and strong determination, then your achievement is worthy of celebration.
This epitomises the journey of Falcon Corporation Limited, a wholly indigenous company and member of the Falcon conglomerate which today holds a diverse portfolio of prime investments in oil & gas, energy & infrastructure, real estate and construction.
The company started off 20 years ago when the founders, a couple, identified an opportunity in the Nigerian gas market. They set out to tap into this prospect. From the onset, because the founders believed that the company’s name will motivate and encourage them, they chose Falcon. Falcon is a bird which embodies characteristics of focus, resilience and strength.
At that time and up till now, there was much gas flaring which the CEO of Falcon Corporation Limited, Joseph Ezigbo and his wife and partner, Audrey, as academicians saw as inexplicable. “We kept thinking something positive can be done to innovatively convert these wastages to wealth. So we started to think about what we could do to curb gas flaring as well as convert that energy resource to other uses in Nigeria.”
Though the opportunity existed and the market was yawning for gas for industrial use, “It was very difficult at the beginning,” Ezigbo said, adding: “We submitted all manner of proposals and did all sorts of presentations. We registered with a few of the IOCs and we were ready to take the market but it was difficult getting a head-start. There were days we couldn’t put food on the table but we survived it because we looked into the future and it was promising because all we saw was opportunity.”
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Today, through attributes of hard work and largeness of heart, the founders have been able to grow the operations and currently provide alternate energy to several manufacturing companies in Lagos and are also bringing about a positive impact on the community, families and the environment as a whole.
Delivery of ‘First Gas’ on 11th November 2006 introduced Falcon Petroleum to the Nigerian midstream power distribution industry, its first foray being 1999 as a support contractor to Gaslink, delivering gas to Cadbury Nigeria Limited which was a first in the Lagos area. The company has since matured into a full-fledged Local Distribution Company in itself delivering Natural Gas to a stable of establishments comprising steel mills, power plants, textile, confectionery, industrial and food manufacturers.
After 20 years of operation and seeing that progress has been made, the company recently re-examined itself and rebranded to bring new face and reposition the Company. It left its former name Falcon Petroleum behind, and adopted Falcon Corporation Limited as its new corporate name. It also introduced a dynamic new logo, and an updated company website (www.falcon-corporation.com).
The unveiling of the company’s new corporate name and brand identity comes in the wake of her 20th anniversary of operations, and reflects on one hand, Falcon’s remarkable growth and achievements over the past two decades; and on the other hand, Falcon’s transformation, future strategic direction, mission, and goals for the future.
Visibly delighted on the changes, Ezigbo said “Our new corporate name and brand identity illustrate how far Falcon has matured as a business in its 20-year history, and the strides our group is making. From extremely humble beginnings, we have since come into our own as a serious contender in the sectors where we operate.
“We have done excellent work over the years, growing in a steady and organic manner, and steadily and consistently increasing profitability and shareholder value over time. We are focused on a more robust and dynamic expansion of our operations and size over the next twenty years and the re-positioning of our brand is a clear message to the market that we will deliver.”
Falcon Corporation’s new logo is suave and contemporary, composed of an orange top graphic representation of a falcon bird, with a bold green distinctive lettering of the name ‘Falcon’ underneath.
The colour palette of the logo is a gallant reflection of the new brand identity, business evolution, and uniqueness of the Falcon brand. The newly unveiled Falcon logo is a culmination of the company’s first major brand transformation undertaken in its 20-year history, and is a vibrant new take on Falcon’s prior logo.
Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, co-founder and Executive Director, further explained that they have “built a formidable and highly successful company which has achieved tremendous growth over the past 20 years, and a brand that this Country can well be proud of.
“Falcon is a company that is determinedly driving operational excellence, quality, health and safety, manpower development, and an unshakable commitment to maintaining integrity and good governance as pillars of our past and future successes.
“Our change of name, logo, website and other brand collaterals – which was done in collaboration with BrandzoneConsulting LLC – a leading world class and global brand consultancy outfit; simply brings our company’s external image into alignment with the reality of Falcon’s business agility and achievements in the economy; setting the tone and a strong framework for what we will certainly achieve in the future.”
In these 20 years the company has recorded several milestones, with the most significant however being the Ikorodu Gas franchise, for two reasons. First, Falcon was a young indigenous company going head to head with multinationals to bid for a project it was highly capable of handling and strongly positioned to deliver on.
Two, being able to win the franchise and consistently continue to deliver on the projects reveals its global quality. Its unwavering commitment to excellence saw the company through and today remains a key driver of its business.
“Another thing that was very notable was a venture capital partnership that we had with the African Capital Alliance Group. For us it was an attestation of how we had been able to position ourselves internally in terms of structure, sound policies and governance to make ourselves attractive enough for that kind of investment to come in and that helped to up the ante for Falcon” Ezigbo said.
In line with its value of quality, Falcon became ISO 9001:2008 certified three years ago. “We have maintained that certification all these years which is an endorsement of our passion for quality” Ezigbo added.
Falcon’s brand trajectory is obviously informed by integrity and innovation, with a vision to make tangible impact. It is also a message to the rest of the world about private entrepreneurial development in Nigeria.
