Ikechukwu Osita Ifeabunike is the Founder/CEO of Elite Castle Limited, a luxury real estate firm. He is a frontiers man in the efficient execution of real estate projects for the high end and middle class markets. In this interview with CHUKA UROKO, he speaks about his passion for real estate; the Nigerian business environment, ease of doing business, local content among other salient issues. Excerpts:
Briefly tell us about your person, background and the passion that brought your career to Life.
My name is Ikechukwu Osita Ifeabunike. I am an estate developer with keen interest in providing digital state of the art solutions in architectural advancements from blue print to completion. As a company, we positively impact a purpose-built, revenue generating real estate market, making affordable luxury a possibility. I have a vast knowledge of mortgage investments as a function of real estate excellence.
I was born in Awka in the Eastern region of Nigeria, but brought up in Lagos where I had my primary and secondary school education. I studied Anatomy at the University of Benin for my first degree.
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In alignment with my natural aptitude and desire for wealth creation, I proceeded to study another degree abroad where I did Business Management in the University of Sunderland. Subsequently, I obtained a Masters Degree in International Business. I returned home with an excellent blue print for the Nigerian real estate market. Now, I am a pivotal player in the luxury real estate sector.
What was the magic behind the repositioning of your company on the path of growth and strength?
The inspiration to reposition came from the technological enlightenment I got from my foray abroad. I identified a gap and a need for better standards of real estate and luxury development. So, I designed a solution and literally worked from ground up. Now, we boast of optimum efficiency and satisfaction in our delivery.
How can you describe your experience in this sector, in respect to day-to-day running of the company in particular and the industry in general, especially in view of the two disruptive events—Covid 19 and recent civil unrest in the country?
We had a transcending experience. I say that because, in spite of all the challenges, we grew exponentially in 2020. We recorded outstanding increase in revenue. We unraveled digital media as a tool for marketing and this ushered us into a phase of broader and more interactive connectivity, and business conversations that quickly translated to profit. We developed architectural marvels and made sales via virtual negotiations. We doubled staff strength and performance in corporate social responsibility.
Can you share with us what you consider as the most trying moment in your journey to success?
Good things are not cheap and often times, cheap things aren’t good. But a lot of developers do not share the same sentiments and I found it difficult to justify why my luxury homes had a price tag of authenticity and non-authentic developers seemed to be winning.
But we stuck to our values and, without compromise, we have made a name for ourselves and consequently we have the attention of the perfect target demographic for us; now we are winning.
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In your own opinion, what other qualities do you think are required or needed for a young entrepreneur to make it to the top given the Nigerian business environment?
Consistency is key; a clear vision is also important to make it to the top. The quality of your work must never be compromised. In real estate, cutting corners will never secure competitive advantage for you. To gain competitive advantage, give it your all, and all good things will come to you.
What can the government do to encourage the success of local content policy, protect indigenous companies and promote ease of doing business?
My opinion is tha tgovernment should learn to support small to large scale enterprises. Government should offer loans and grants to citizens who need financing. We need reasonable credit facilities with reasonable interest rates. 24 percent interest rates on bank loans is a bit too steep given the going profit margin in the country. However, we all have a part to play and overall patriotism is key.
