Lagos-based real estate entrepreneur, Patrick Onome Akpoguma, has highlighted investment partnerships, technology-driven property management and strategic collaborations with credible developers as key strategies for overcoming challenges in Nigeria’s real estate sector.
Akpoguma, who hails from Benin City, Edo State, said his entrepreneurial journey began at an early age, drawing from his family’s business background and his early exposure to commercial activities.
The youngest of four children, he was born into a family where his father was a businessman and his mother a government nurse, both now retired.
According to him, his first practical business experience came while he was still in secondary school, when he worked as a sales representative in his mother’s pharmacy.
Beyond attending to customers, he handled basic bookkeeping and occasionally restocked products through registered distributors, experiences he said helped shape his interest in business development.
His passion for entrepreneurship later led him to work as a marketer for Helping Hands International, a foreign non-governmental organisation that he subsequently discovered operated as a pyramid scheme.
The experience, which occurred when he was about 17 or 18 years old, encouraged him to refocus on his education, following guidance from his family.
He subsequently gained admission into the University of Benin, where he studied Mechanical Engineering.
Akpoguma explained that his journey into real estate began during his 300-level studies after he became acquainted with a master’s student who was actively involved in property development and site management.
Through the relationship, he acquired practical knowledge of the real estate business and began marketing and selling properties for his friend, as well as other associates within the industry.
After completing his education in Edo State, he relocated to Lagos in search of a more conducive business environment, where he expanded his interests in real estate agency and financial market trading.
Tackling Nigeria’s Real Estate Challenges
Speaking on the challenges facing young entrepreneurs in Nigeria’s real estate industry, Akpoguma identified the country’s economic situation, high property acquisition costs, difficulties in building investor confidence, expensive office rentals, staff remuneration and low profit margins after taxation as major constraints.
He noted that securing the confidence of investors, particularly Nigerians in the diaspora, remains a significant challenge because of concerns about transparency, accountability and the safety of their investments.
To address these challenges, he said his business adopted a wider digital marketing strategy to increase visibility, attract clients across different parts of the country and improve access to investment opportunities.
More importantly, the company developed an investment partnership model that enables individuals to jointly acquire properties, particularly commercial real estate, and share the financial benefits.
Under the arrangement, investors pool resources to acquire income-generating properties, with each participant earning an agreed fixed monthly income from the proceeds of the property’s annual rental income.
He explained that the model was designed to make real estate investment more accessible, distribute investment risks and provide participants with passive income, particularly during difficult economic periods.
“We have adopted a holding company structure to bring investors together, encourage shared risks and promote individual financial stability through passive monthly earnings from real estate,” he explained.
Technology and Transparency as Growth Drivers
Akpoguma further disclosed that the company had developed a dedicated application to enable investors to monitor their properties and ongoing projects entrusted to its management.
He said the technology-driven platform was part of efforts to strengthen transparency, improve accountability and give investors better access to information about their investments.
On project delivery, he emphasised the importance of working closely with reputable property developers, particularly those with established records of delivering off-plan projects.
According to him, the company prioritises developers with proven delivery histories to minimise uncertainty, avoid unnecessary delays and protect investors from potential financial losses associated with poorly executed property projects.
He maintained that proper due diligence and strategic partnerships remain essential to ensuring that investors receive value for their money and enjoy timely returns on investment.
Ambition to Develop Landmark Projects
Looking ahead, Akpoguma disclosed that the company was working towards commencing its own real estate development projects.
He explained that the ambition was driven by the desire to establish the standards of quality, reliability and professionalism that the company consistently seeks from its development partners.
He also expressed optimism that its future projects would contribute to a new generation of real estate developments, create employment opportunities and provide more investment opportunities for Nigerians.
Akpoguma stressed that the future of Nigeria’s real estate industry would depend largely on innovation, credible partnerships, transparency and the ability of young entrepreneurs to develop investment models that respond to the financial realities of ordinary Nigerians.
He said his long-term vision was not merely to facilitate property transactions but to build a sustainable real estate investment platform that promotes wealth creation, financial stability and broader participation in property ownership.
