After losing his mother to ovarian cancer, Stephen Akintayo, the founder of Gtext Holdings, vowed never to experience poverty again. This personal tragedy ignited a relentless drive in him, one that fuels his ambitious pursuits even after his circumstances improved, writes Vanessa Obioha
At just 39, Stephen Akintayo has built a reputation for himself, an enviable one for that matter. He owns one of the few real estate companies that have managed to keep a clean slate, Gtext Homes, which is a subsidiary of the conglomerate Gtext Holdings. Despite occasional attempts to tarnish his name, he has remained unscathed. Of course, such smear campaigns come with the terrain; that's why he works with more than one legal firm with the renowned human rights lawyer Femi Falana SAN as his lead counsel.
In his office on a recent Wednesday morning, Akintayo, who hails from Ogun State but grew up in the northern part of Nigeria, explained how his company has maintained relevance in an industry where trust is such a hard currency.
"One of our biggest secrets is the transparency that we have used to run business," he said. "Not every company keeps the media abreast of what they are doing. At Gtext, we always have something to do almost every two months. So when people see that level of transparency, they know that you are not hiding anything. I always say something: there is nothing about our business that I can't say in public, so if you think you can blackmail us, we are way ahead."
The tactic of blackmailing real estate developers or companies is rampant in Nigeria, mainly because the police are sometimes used to harass developers. Akintayo pointed out that issues surrounding real estate, particularly transactional issues, should be settled by the court, not the police because it is a civil case.
"It's like that in Dubai; the police cannot do anything when it comes to real estate disputes; they will tell you to go to court."
He also warned against sensationalising civil cases because "you are doing more damage to the system," and corrected the wrong notion that there is so much money in the real estate sector. "A lot of those who are doing it right have been struggling financially. We have liquidity issues in the sector. If you see anybody living flamboyantly, they're using investors' money."
Building a vision for 2035
It was in 2008 that Akindtayo founded Gtext Holdings, initially known as Gilead Balm. In more than a decade, the company has evolved into a conglomerate, serving different sectors from real estate to media to education to health to agriculture and other key areas, with the vision to improve sustainable and healthy lifestyles for billions of people around the globe. As its real estate subsidiary celebrates its 10th anniversary in October, Akintayo has set an ambitious 2035 vision, which includes building 25,000 green and smart homes, as well as 200 estate locations. There are also plans to expand its real estate business in the US with four more locations. Recently, the company announced digital platforms for its Gtext Homes and Gtext Lands for easy transactions and other improved services.
Humble Beginnings
Akintayo's go-getter outlook can be traced to his humble beginnings. He recounted his younger days, which were full of hardship, particularly the death of his mother.
"There's a bit of an accident that drives what I do. The accident there is the death of my mother. It puts me in a different mental frame. She died of ovarian cancer because we didn't detect it on time. We didn't have the money to go for a checkup. She had five children and was the breadwinner. The day we were to bury her, I went to retrieve her corpse, and they gave me a death certificate and the receipt... because after a while, her stomach was like that of a nine-month pregnant woman.
"And so her colleagues at work, which is why we try to create a very healthy work environment. Gtext runs like a family because I saw the impact of my mother's colleagues. When they saw her emaciating, they all cried and decided to use their money to save her. They took her to a private hospital where the diagnosis showed that she had ovarian cancer. They did surgery but the cancer had spread. They told us we should expect her to die. Of course, I was angry. I saw the doctor as a devil and that there was nothing God could not do, but she eventually died.
"But to see that the entire cost of her medical care was N800,000 got me mad. Assuming I had that amount, at least we could have bought time for her to stay longer. She would have time to say goodbye. She died at a very sensitive time because, after her death, we went to my older brother's wedding. She didn't see any of that. It was at that point that I decided that anything legal that would give me money, I would do. I don't care what anybody says. So that sent me on an adrenaline that I've not recovered from, even when things got better."
Real Estate is Everything
Through real estate, Akintayo is changing mindsets. For instance, he has decided to honour influential leaders in the country by naming streets after them, starting with the founder of Coscharis Group, Cosmas Maduka. One of the streets in his Jasper Estate in Ibeju, Lekki, will be named after him, with an unveiling scheduled for March. Also, recently, he veered into filmmaking, which, according to him, would lead to his company developing themed parks and other infrastructure that would benefit the film industry.
"Real estate is everything," he said, "Where we are now may be a commercial office, but it's real estate, so also are hospitals, cinemas, malls, schools, and churches. So everything we do is real estate. So for us as Gtext, we kept it under wraps for a while, but we need to start opening up that we're a 360-degree company. Every of these value chains we are touching -- we're going to have a school, more retail, cinemas, theme parks, golf courses, hotels, everything."
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"We're just at the beginning," he continued. "When I tell people we are beginning to grow, they think I'm trying to be modest, but it's just the honest truth based on what we have in the pipeline. We are going to touch every single sector, including media, but we are moving gradually because we are building a transnational business, not a one-man business."
Empowering Younger People
Most of Akintayo's employees are younger people. His MDs are mostly younger people while the GMs are older. His formula is to pair both young and old generations to have a more diverse team. Moreover, Akintayo revealed that he is keen on rewarding loyalty. So those who joined the company as a younger person, and have endured harsh times are not relegated because there is a younger person that could fit the role. He, however, emphasised mutual respect for one another, irrespective of one's age or role.
The businessman equally believes in empowering young people to help them run businesses, following the path of other influential leaders like Tony Elumelu.
"We are hoping that in the next 10 years, we will birth solid entities who have their own identity. Nobody would even care about me. They will just know me as the founder. But they can remember that this guy or lady has been in the system, we've known him or her constantly with this company for 15 years. We are aiming to build an institution."
