As a small West African country with a population that is not more than 2million people, Gambia needs all the foreign investment it can get to develop its economy. In this interview conducted in Banjul, the Gambian capital, MUSTAPHA NJIE, the MD/CEO of Taf Africa Global, a pan-African real estate firm, explains why investors should come to his country, highlighting opportunities the country offers. He also speaks on his vast investment in Gambia and Nigeria. He speaks with CHUKA UROKO, Property Editor, who was part of a Nigerian trade delegation to The Gambia recently. Excerpts:
There has been a fundamental change in your name from Taf Africa Homes to Taf Africa Global. What happened along the line?
We have moved on and rebranded our business. So we are not building only homes anymore. This is why we removed homes and put global. We are still focusing on real estate in Africa but we are now a global brand. We can compete anywhere in the world. We are no longer focusing on homes. We now develop commercial building and mixed use development as could be seen in our GIETAF development here in Gambia.
In the past two days you have been hosting Nigerian investors. Why do you want them to invest in The Gambia given the small size of population and economy; what is the attraction?
I have a long standing relationship with Nigeria and Nigerians. Today, I have friends and family in the country. I have always identified Nigeria as the big boy of Africa and this is shown in its GDP which is the largest in Africa. In West Africa, half the population of the sub-region is in the country. So, it simply makes sense that anything you are doing, especially in terms of investment, you must target Nigeria and its citizens.
You are aware that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has been signed and Nigeria has just joined. That makes Africa the biggest economic bloc in the world, meaning that Africa is now borderless and in doing business you can move from one country to another.
Therefore, if we are small like Dubai, we need foreign investors in our place. Most of the money you see in Dubai come from foreigners. There are more foreigners living in Dubai than the locals. Dubai is a success story. We need foreign investment in The Gambia to make the country the Dubai and Singapore of West Africa. I am an entrepreneur who has invested heavily at home and in other countries, especially in Nigeria. So, I feel I own it as a duty to my country to attract foreign investment.
Do you see any risk in opening up your economy to foreign investors, considering that local Gambians would also like to invest in their country?
The issue of economic protectionism is now old school. The key thing is competiveness. For instance, I went to Nigeria and had a partnership with Rivers State government. I was given a big project that was not given to some Nigerians. I performed and there was no protest from anywhere. I was never addressed as a foreigner in Nigeria but instead as an investor. I see this as the way forward. I would like to see non-Gambians coming here to invest being addressed as investors as long as they abide by the rules that guide investment in the country.
Any prospective investor coming into a country is always concerned about the political environment of that country. What have you to tell intending investors about the politics in Gambia?
Our former president, Yahya Jammeh was forced to resign. Nobody thought he would resign at the time he did. But he reigned. As a result, things have changed politically in this country. For any investor, any country you go into, be it in Africa or elsewhere there is always political risk. Entrepreneurs go into business based on risk calculation, but intent on taking opportunities off the existing challenges. An investor doesn’t have to run away because there are challenges. He has to find a way around those challenges and take away the opportunities that exist.
What could be the value/size of foreign investment in this country at the moment?
Comparatively, I would say that the size of foreign investment here viz-a-viz those of the locals is 50—50. In the banking sector, you see considerable foreign interests here. There are five Nigerian banks here including Gtbank, Access, Zenith, Polaris and Mega banks. All of them are doing well here. This has proved that this country is open to foreign direct investment. The banks have been here for more than 10 years.
Looking at the large size of your projects and placing them side by side with the small size of your country, one sees an uncommon investor-confidence. Where does your confidence come from?
We are a pan-African operator and we are looking at the African market. The African population growth is estimated at 3 percent per annum. The affluence is there. People are earning more and they want better living. On the demand side, we can hardly meet the demand for affordable and accessible housing and that is what is driving our developments. That, perhaps, is what I see which others don’t see. That also gives us the courage to do what we are doing
Your developments are more in the high than the low end market. How do you accommodate the interest of the low income earners in this country?
What we do is mainly middle income housing. In Dalaba Estate, for instance, what we have there are mid-income houses. There we have two types of offerings. We offer finished houses and also site and services. What we do in site and services is to fence it off and bring in services into the estate and then buyers can come in and build based on the country’s building regulations. What this means is that if you cannot afford a $30,000 house, you will be able to afford $2,500 or $5,000 site and serviced plot of land and build at your pace and according to your income flow. We are catering for the low of the middle income, but not the low income earners. We have plans to go into low income housing, but we need government partnership to make that possible. It is the responsibility of the government to build for the low income earners.
You have invested heavily in your country. What is the size of your project portfolio and, in monetary terms, how much have you put into those projects?
Since we started, we have invested about $100 million dollars in this country. We used to own a 100-room 4-star hotel here. We were into plants and machinery and building materials. We used to tender for projects and build them. We built the first bonded warehouse at the ports here. We have build villas. The OAU Villas cost about $5.5 million and we were the one that built them.
We have been in business for a long time. My company will be 30 in January 2020. I think that I am even under-estimating how much we have invested and this is because I don’t focus on figures. My focus instead is on what I do that touch people’s lives. I am always concerned about how I change the landscape so that when you come here everywhere is not bush or forest. I am not always interested in telling people what is my net-worth because such things are irrelevant to me. I don’t want to be referred to as the richest man in The Gambia.
Now, tell us about your completed and on-going projects beginning with Brufut Gardens
Brufut Gardens which sits on 40 hectares of land is about 15 years old now. It is a 600-unit up-market project, all units sold out. The Dalaba Estate which sits on 80 hectares is a mid-income project that is to deliver 375 homes. About 90 percent of the houses have been sold out. We don’t think that in the next three months there will be any unit left. We are moving fast in our developments.
The next project is the GIETAF in the Special Economic Zone which is quite big. By the time it is completed, the total value is about $360 million. It is a mixed use project comprising commercial, industrial, residential and logistics and warehousing. The project is sitting on 160 hectares of land right inside the airport. It is a private public partnership (PPP) initiative between the Gambian government and my company. The government is bringing land as its own equity while we are bringing the finance, building and managing it. We have 65 percent equity and government has 35 percent.
Looking into the future, what are Taf Africa Global’s plans beyond Gambia and Rivers State in Nigeria?
We are in Nigeria forever because that is where the market is. We are ready for partnership at any level in Nigeria, including federal, state and even community level. We just want the land and with that we bring the finance and create the market. We will always be in Nigeria.
Our projection is that in the next five years, we will be able to deliver 250 housing units in Africa and that is derived from our plan to build one million housing units in the next 20 years. It may be more or less but that is our target.
We are currently tidying up an agreement with Shelter Afrique. We are bringing them on board as our strategic financial partner for all the housing development we do in Africa. Our hope is that the continental board would be able to provide the needed financing for any project we initiate in any country in Africa, especially in Nigeria where there is the market.
Advice to other investors
People should understand that whether in everyday living or in business, life is a marathon rather than a 100-metre dash. They should go at their own pace, realizing that they are not competing with anybody but themselves. They must plan ahead and be futuristic. They must always be looking at the bigger picture; doing things right, slowly but surely. The younger generation should be able to learn things right and hold their customers in high esteem. You should not toy with your customers even if you are losing money because the customer is always tight. If you treat your customer right, he becomes your marketer. Integrity in life and business is paramount for success. Whatever you do, don’t compromise your brand and that is my advice.
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