Akomolafe Henrich Bankole is one of the most successful under-30 entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
He is the managing director of Akotex Group, a conglomerate of four businesses across several industries, including real estate/construction, technology, escalator, elevator fitness and wellness.
He was listed as one of the Forbes Africa 120 game changers in 2019. At 26, Bankole has made a considerable impact on the Nigerian business space as he constantly seeks to disrupt industries with technology through Akotex Group.
Given his meteoric rise over the past years, there is a chance that the business could become a top brand in the country and Africa at large within the shortest possible time.
“As an entrepreneur with a drive for continuous improvement and innovation, I am keen on developing myself and remaining focused in order to leave an indelible footprint on the global business world,” he says.
His determination to succeed in life and be innovative inspired the establishment of Akotex Nigeria Limited – his first arm of business— in 2016.
The engineer-turned-entrepreneur had very little to start with, but the fusion of skills and ideas was able to generate the needed capital for him to kick-start the business.
With the support from family members, Bankole was able to raise his initial start-up capital.
“Really there was no large sum initial start-up capital,” he says.
“The business idea was present, and the skills were also in hand. So, generating the start-up capital was a fusion of skills with idea – this is what entrepreneurship is about –using value as a skill in order to generate value as a commodity,” he explains.
Since starting, the young entrepreneur has grown very fast as his business has expanded despite slow economic growth. Key to this is innovation.
“In the last couple of years, this growth has been remarkable when juxtaposed with previous years,” he admits
“There has been expansion amid periods of market decline,” he further says.
“Our main strategy has been constant innovation in our business model,” he notes.
“Also, our competitive advantage has been greatly advanced by putting into maximum consideration other factors such as keeping a good customer relationship, adding values to our firm and partners, as well as leveraging and extending our valuable capabilities and resources,” he further explains.
His firm has earned the trust of customers and also delivers critical services.
The entrepreneur says he plans to establish an elevator factory in the country in the long run and expands the real estate arm through provision of affordable housing for younger Nigerians.
Similarly, he has designed his fitness and wellness business to disrupt the industry using technology.
“The fitness and wellness industry is growing and to disrupt that space using information technology, we have created fit and curves which should be launched soon into the Nigerian market as we are still in the test phase to find a scalable business model that will suit the Nigerian market,” he adds.
It has not all been rosy for Bankole as he surmounts numerous challenges to scale his business.
He tells Start-Up-Digest that finding the right skills from the available pool of manpower in the country remains the major hurdle confronting his business.
He identifies inadequate infrastructure, high cost of interest rate and insecurity in the country as other major factors limiting his plans.
He urges the Federal Government to enact economic policies that will drive growth and development, while calling for the provision of vital infrastructure to enable young entrepreneurs to succeed.
In evaluating the Nigerian real estate industry, he says the sector is taking its strides and that a huge transformation has taken place in the last couple of years.
He adds that the country’s real estate industry is growing at a fast rate and the opportunities in the industry still abound.
On his advice to other entrepreneurs, Bankole says, “My advice is to make good use of the opportunity to influence your community, beginning from your work space. And of course, be focused.”
Josephine Okojie
