Anthony Ajulo, an entrepreneur and industrialist is the co-founder of Colton Group of companies, a fast growing conglomerate with interest in construction, manufacturing, industrial chemicals and ICT. The flagship of the group is Advanced Concrete Technologies which produces chemicals that enhance sustainability of structures. In this interview Ajulo, Chartered Accountant, ACCA qualified and MBA holder who founded the company 11 years ago with his partner, Collins Balogun says he is passionate about Nigeria. Ajulo, 40, says his generation has a responsibility to deliver the black race through innovations and entrepreneurship. He however regretted that the problem with Nigeria is not lack of ideas but inconsistency of application of policies. Excerpts
Could you tell me more about the Colton Group?
Colton Group is a diversified group of companies. Our first business started in 2008 with our subsidiary, Advanced Concrete Technologies Limited. Within this period, we have grown phenomenally to have a manufacturing division where we make different products. It has been a tough journey but rewarding and the experience has been enriching.
What is therefore the focus of Advanced Concrete Technologies firm?
It started as a company that imports construction and building materials from Germany, USA and other European countries. We sold these chemicals and we also trained people on how to use the chemicals. In the last 10 years we have trained over 100 end users. The chemicals enhance and increase sustainability of buildings. They are chemicals for constructions that improve the concrete for longevity of buildings. For instance the constituent of what human being eats determines longevity of the person. Therefore the constituent of what the concrete is made up of increases the longevity of the concrete. Today, with newest building chemicals, it is easy to build structures that are safer and solid against collapse.
What actually inspired you to go into this business?
There were other companies in this business when we started and most of them were foreigners. At this period, there were no Nigerian companies doing this at their level. But, we mustered the challenge to start the business and we started with importation of the materials. We started manufacturing locally under one of our subsidiaries. Today we produce over 80% of what we used to import. We have one of the biggest factories in W/Africa. We have also completed our latest factory which would be opened later this month and our capacity has grown by over 100%. From the new factory we will be serving the whole of West African market.
Could you compare the time of importation and now you are manufacturing materials locally?
When we were importing, our staff strength was less than 30. We also faced the challenge of forex sourcing. But with local manufacturing, our work force has increased to over 100 staff. The speciality input is imported, however the commodity input which forms 85 % of the body of the product is sourced locally. Initially it was difficult to source the input locally, but now there are Nigerian companies who process these materials for us.
You are into the business of sustainable structures. When you hear of building collapse, what comes to your mind?
It bothers me that people cut corners. Whether you adopt new technologies or not, if you don’t cut corners and do not compromise on the quality and mixture of material, and use the right professionals and consultants, the chances of building collapse will reduce. To solve the problem of building collapse, there will be better regulation, stiff penalty for those who compromise on quality and standards and penalty for those who are constructing without engaging the right professionals.
It has been difficult environment for manufacturers in Nigeria, how do they cope, what is your view?
Let’s break this into phases. Firstly is running the operation of manufacturing in Nigeria. It is a bitter-sweet experience because you are basically your own government – providing your own electricity, water, security etc. Today, I have two generators of 300 KVA in my factory in Sagamu. I am also purchasing another 1000KVA generator for the new factory. Remember that I also provide diesel for the generators. The second issue is the ease of doing business in Nigeria. It has been extremely difficult. We have a government who intends to improve the ease of doing business. I hear that we have moved 15 places up to 131 from over 145 position. To achieve further improvement, government needs to do a few things. First, government needs to automate Customs clearing process. Importer can go online and get his container cleared. This is the practice in some West African markets. The manual process fostered by some cabals impedes ease of doing business and in the process government losses a lot of money. Government needs to reform the Nigerian Customs Service and other agencies. Corruption thrives when face-face interaction is ensured. Until this is cut off, corruption will continue and the ease of doing business will not be realised effectively. Thirdly, government should also checkmate multiple taxations by its agencies. Again, the government agencies need to have human face. In Nigeria, most government agencies don’t have a human face as it is done abroad where issues can be resolved quickly.
Back to your business, how has it been in terms of patronage?
Being in business for 11 years has been a roller-coaster but it has been rewarding. For instance, when we wanted to build our first factory in 2012, we approached all the banks for a loan of N500 million but they were not ready to give us loan. They were basically asking for collateral. Remember we are young entrepreneurs trying to come up. However, since then it has been rewarding experience as we have been able to grow organically to where we are today with different business units. Today, some of the banks have seen the success story and they want to give us loans perhaps due to the CBN new rules.
Are there other challenges you face in business?
Apart from those challenges mentioned earlier, another challenge is the issue of African perception about locally made products. In Africa, we have a challenge of not valuing our things. There is a perception that what is made locally is not of the same quality with imported. This is not the same situation when you travel to some countries such as India. This is however challenging us to be more innovative and do better products and packaging than imported. The black race has to deliver itself from this mentality.
Unemployment rate in Nigeria is rising from about 20% to 23% as at Q3, 2019. How can more youth be inspired to entrepreneurship as white collar jobs are diminishing?
I am passionate about Nigeria and venturing into entrepreneurship was not because of circumstance. I became an entrepreneur by choice. When I left university I got job offers from banks but I turned them down. But I joined an Indian company for no salary but to learn the job. The Indian who liked the offer because he wanted to save cost rather placed me on commission. I stayed there for two years. I started being entrepreneur early enough. When people say that they are not in business for lack of fund, I laugh. The truth of the matter is that you do not need money to be an entrepreneur. In fact, if you have too much money at initial stage, there is likelihood of failure. For me, one of the lessons is that almost everybody we asked for money turned us down, so we have to become resilient. When we started, the first weeks were tough, but today we have grown organically.
Where do you see your group of companies in the next five years?
I believe that my generation has a responsibility to deliver the black race. There is a misconception that Nigeria is doing well. We are not going to do well as a nation until we do what we need to do. This is not about Nigeria but the whole black race. In 1960, the GDP of Ghana was higher than S/Korea. Today the GDP of S/Korea is 100 times higher than the GDP of Ghana. The difference is that Ghana has a lot of natural resources, but S/Korea has human capital and it invested heavily in education. This is what we don’t do in Africa. In Nigeria we invest minimally in education against the international standard. The future is not in natural resources, it is in what we can do with the natural resources. The guy that makes chocolate makes over $100 billions of dollars per annum from cocoa produced in Ghana while Ghana makes just about $3 b to $4 billion per annum. This is same with Cote D’Ivoire and Nigeria. This tells us that the power to add value is much more important than the pure natural resources. Part of what I want to do in my generation in the next 10 -20 years is to make young people realise that we can create more Dangotes. I use Dangote because he has invested heavily into the real sector of the economy. There are other Dangotes who are not Nigerians and who move their capital to somewhere because it is business and not morality. If we replicate Dangote spirit and create more Dangotes, then we will grow fast as a nation. This is why I say we have a responsibility to save Africa.
What will be the role of government in inspiring this generation?
The problem in Nigeria is not lack of ideas but inconsistency of application of policies and ideas. No policy is perfect but whatever policy is created, let it have a human face and be consistent with it. Secondly Nigerian government needs to understand that it needs to be ambitious. Government needs to find ways to raise revenue to fund infrastructure and invest in education. Nigeria also needs working rule of law for development to occur in the country. If offenders are not punished without godfathers’ intervention, more offences will happen and a country cannot develop under such environment.
