This Nigerian Woman Bought 500 Acres and Built 100 Homes with NOTHING!

What is your definition for richness? Being able to have a life of fulfilment and impact others. You can never impact others when you are poor. No way. Because poverty doesn't impact. So wealth is, you are comfortable enough to impact others. Real impact costs money. Talk to the diasporas then. Stop complaining about Africa. We need you to rise up and become the leaders that we can be proud of. What we need in Africa are men and women of vision. Knowing that God has blessed us with everything that we need. You come back. Whatever things you have learnt outside of Africa, bring it to Africa. I know that there is a challenge. It has to do with the mind. Invest in the mindset of the youth in Africa. Don't give them money. Invest in their mindset. I tell you, every youth in Africa can become a billionaire in a short time. My name is Grace Ofure Iwakomo. I am a global wealth strategist. And I empower nations, individuals and corporations to invest and create wealth. I just want to know your definition for real estate. Real estate is still your wealth builder. If you want to keep wealth, sustain wealth, transfer wealth, you still have to do 80% of your wealth in real estate. Because it's tangible, it's touchable, it's huggable. And it keeps even generational wealth. The renter will always come. Are you a real estate developer or a land banker? I'm both. So I started from land banking and now I'm developing. So I have the mix of developing, then land banking for no longer for individuals, for maybe someone that wants to have an estate. So in all my land banks, they can actually have a cluster of lands together and build their estate. Have you ever left Nigeria? Like leave to go and stay? Never. So everything that you built in here was built in Nigeria? Never. The only time I left, we left the entire family and I got there. And everybody there said we should stay. I looked at my husband, stay here, doing what? You only make money when there are a lot of problems. There's a lot of problems to be solved in Africa. And that's where the wealth is. So why will I leave a place that is so rich and wealthy, being able to solve people's problems? Then I will come to a place, I said I'm going back. What you've done is really mind-blowing. I mean, we are walking on 300 acres of land and that belongs to you. Are you saying that whatever you've achieved all started on the continent of Africa? Everything started from Africa for Africa. I guess you were born in money then? No, not at all. To even let you know, I was not only born in poverty. I went to school in poverty, graduated in poverty without a job. And what we call it in Africa, find a job for yourself. And the best job I got was to hawk thrift, use clothes. So when you finish wearing your clothes, I take it and I go and sell it for other people. At that time? As a graduate. As a graduate? No, wait a minute. Were you born in Lagos? No, no, I was born in those states. So I had to trade in the market to pay the fees. So I trade in the morning, go to school in the evening. So it's not been like a silver spoon. There has not been a spoon. But I was really ready to change it in Africa. How did you find yourself in Lagos? I was very excited to be sent to Lagos for NYC. That's youth service. And I got my shocker. I was sent to Nigerian Port Authority, was rejected, no space. There has not been space in two decades. So no space, what did you end up doing there? I had to find a place to do my primary assignment. It was tough. When I was done, my primary assignment, no job. And what did I do? I had to start selling used clothes like thrift on the streets of Lagos. Popular markets where you just pick the clothes and sell. So as a graduate, I started my life in Lagos selling used clothes. Were you not shy knowing that you are a graduate and you are selling? I was full of shame. But because of hunger, I had to do what I had to do. How do you feel now, anytime you pass by the place that you used to sell clothes? I'm happy that I did that. Because I think that so many lessons were learned there for the younger generation. Because I was ready to go in and do it and teach others the same. So I'm happy that I have a story. The young lady that used to sell used clothes now have built over 100 houses in Lagos. You own over 500 acres of land in Lagos. Yes, I'm excited because the journey was out of resilience, doggedness, integrity, and just seeing a future and walking towards the future. I won't say it was rosy, but I was determined because I had an end in view. I didn't start this whole thing with capital. So are you telling me that with all the wealth that you've acquired, you did all of that out of nothing? I didn't invest in real estate, any substantial money. The first thing I did was to learn the trade. My first investment was less than $100, maybe $200. And I brought people together and we bought our first piece of land. When I saw what that land became, from like a $500 to like a $5,000, I had to go and learn this trade. And learning the trade, I had to serve a lot of people. That's what it cost to shine. And that's why I'm so excited because I want young people to know that service can make you become a king. And that's what the Bible says. I don't understand that one. You have to explain to me. To be a king, you have to serve. That's deep. Yeah. So you serve people. I serve people and I learned. So that's what I call, not really mentoring, but serving. Helping them carry your bag, helping them look at, oh, you want a customer? Okay, who should I call? Just helping them make their job easier in the business. Then I learned one thing. That was the secret that blew me up. So sometimes you really need to think. Ideas come to you when you are hungry enough for success. I was very hungry. I was tired. What has been your biggest regret? My biggest regret is doing a business model I didn't really understand. Thinking that everybody has my mindset. The way I brought people together to start this first investment. When I started my business, I tried to build a business model around it. Then, boom. Those that don't have the mindset for long delay gratification came on me. That we must sell tomorrow morning. And when it comes to land banking, it takes time. Wealth is not a quick, quick, quick thing. How long have you owned this land? For over seven years. You bought this one all by yourself? I started from faces. I bought the first hundred. Instead of eating my profit, I was plowing it back into the purchase. Which means you bought ten acres. I come again. When I sell, I quickly buy again. Because I don't have anybody to give me capital. Let's say when you bought it, the first time you bought ten acres. How much was a plot? A plot was four million, which is like two thousand pounds. Yes. But today, it's over. A plot is over. So if it was four million then, it's now four times four. Between four to five, that's times five. That's like twenty thousand pounds. So will you encourage more people to venture into land banking? Under the condition that they are willing to wait. You have to wait. You have to wait. You have to see future. When we came, it was all bush. It was all bush. In short, so bush. I can show you the video. I am even amazed at what is happening here today. So developments are coming. Prices are shooting up. More developments are coming. Prices are shooting up. So you never buy now. You buy and wait. It's a long-term thing. And wealth is for long-term. Is this another land that you bought? Yes, but now it has moved from land to Eden courts. So it's called Eden courts. Which year did you buy this land? I bought this land like four years ago. But what we did was we left it facing the very popular Lake Espresso Way. When you bought this land, there was no Espresso Way? The Espresso Way was not looking this beautiful. Okay. It took us hours to get here. Does it mean that the value of this land has gone higher? Like over 700 percent. But we decided that because of the demand for housing, this land, to the end, you saw it to the end, the other side belongs to us. We are just going to be doing construction terraces because the demand is high. Because like two hours from here you get to the Dangote Refinery. The other estate you are coming from, you saw a lot of expatriates. A lot of expatriates are looking for decent places to stay. And so we have started constructing. We continue to construct cluster by cluster. How many acres of land do you have in here? Ten acres. That's over 150,000 square meters. So this is another estate that I'm building. And this is Spring Apartment Phase 4, which means this is the fourth estate that has this kind of pattern. You mean you've got Phase 1? Phase 2, Phase 3, and this is Phase 4. How many townhomes are you building? So we have six townhomes. Then we have 36 apartments. As someone who started from selling second-hand clothes to land banking and now into developing, what made you transition from land banking into development? Because when I came into the space, I came in as a beginner. So in life there's always a growth process. And I began to have customers that saw what I've done with the land banking space saying, we trust you enough, can't you just give us houses? So it took me to start constructing houses for people. And it's been wonderful. How many houses have you built so far? 126. 126 houses? Yeah. That deserves a round of applause, man. How much will it cost me to buy this? This is just $150,000. That is less than $80,000. Fully complete. You mean this costs $80,000? $80,000. Just $80,000. This is the first time I'm seeing a four-bedroom stand-alone with a boy's quarters in Lekki with just $80,000. It was actually bought for $45,000. So you mean value addition? Yes, value addition. Because when you buy off-plan, like I showed you in the other place, the value just begins to rise. $45,000. $45,000. So now the investor is selling for $80,000. Times two. That's almost times two. For me, it's more than the profit. It's being able to let people afford, because I do a lot of things. So you can't begin to imagine to put all your profits in just one house. $80,000 in this. All programmed. And it's finished. It's not like it's carcass. Fully finished. You can see we have the kitchen. It's finished. There's a kitchen. There's a boy's quarter. The rooms are in suits. So each of the rooms have their toilet and bathroom. And even the visitor's toilet is there. So you just see that everything is. We have visitor's toilet. We have a visitor's room. Still in suits. Then we have visitor's toilet and bath. All $80,000. What has been your major challenge since you started doing what you do? Oh, human resource. Oh my goodness. Two, not funding like funding for the work. Funding even from the customers. Then our devaluation of Naira. The challenge I've had in this place. You don't want to know. So when we started this project, dollar was $400. Today, dollar is $1,500. And the customer fees, you should deliver at that. So which means that in Lagos, you guys negotiate in Naira. We negotiate in Naira, no dollars. But we buy everything in dollars. So it's a big challenge. And that was why when I took you to the Eden cause, I said, I have to do the construction myself and use my capital so I can beat the devaluation before the customers will start paying. Lessons learned from it. Makes sense. It's a big lesson. Makes sense. There are days I wept. Wow. Yeah, wept badly. I want to ask you one question that is so dear to my heart. I got so many youths that watch my videos and they aspire to be great. They aspire to be like you. That's why I bring people like you on this channel. I mean, what are you doing to transform or change the lives of young people? The young people in Africa, hear me, you have all that it takes. You need a mentor. You need somebody that has gone through the road, that has the experience, not just the talk, but has gone through those paths. Because in the paths, there were processes, there were learning. One thing is, number one, see the picture we are going to. Number two, know that value produces wealth, not currency. I'm talking about true value. Number three, integrity. Integrity is more than any currency of the world. Then number four, you have to be rugged, dogged, and resilient. Because you're going to be faced with a lot of opposition. But if you can see where you're going to, keep at it. Then the one that is most important for me, education. Not necessarily classroom. Get it educated from people that have done it, that have produced the result, and they are willing and ready to teach you. It's so important. Because you are born great. Yes. We already have it. Africans, we have it. We have the capacity, ability to hold on and stick to what we believe. When you hear the name Africa, what comes into your mind? Wealth, prosperity, abundance, beyond measurable. Limitless possibilities. Infinity. That's what comes to my mind. That's why I'm very passionate about the youth. Because all the youth need is no handouts. They need a re-engineering of the mind. And that is why I opened the Wealth Creation Academy. Because it's not being taught anywhere. I showed you the piece of land. We're going to have the first Africa Wealth Creation physical campus. Wealth is not taught in schools. Are you aware? Of course not. So we want to teach wealth. Not from the books. From guys like you that have done very well. So instead of going to read how to grow a YouTube channel, you become the instructor. The idea is to get everybody that has done very well in their field to teach the younger generation how to take it there. You've got a very interesting story. Thank you. And I just want to tell you that please don't stop. I believe that you have a message to Africans across the globe. What would that message be? The message would be that there is always a starting point. And there is always a sacrificial point. Then comes the time to really enjoy. And what I would say enjoyment is, is when you begin to see how your work is impacting people. So I try to make sure I teach and teach and teach on my YouTube channel. Teaching the experience and all the strategy I put to work to be who I am today. What you should aspire for, want to be, is the value. So I tell people, if today I'm going to start all over again, as long as you can't take grace away from grace, I will still produce whatever you have seen. If you had a chance to change one thing in Africa, what would it be? The mindset of Africans. We believe the lies that were told us. Because it was in our books. It was in our classes. We were taught. Our parents shouted about it. Then the propaganda that we saw. And so we thought we are less than ourselves. So if I have one thing I want to do, is to change the mindset that in every Africa, it's a nation of nations. Every one person. A nation of nations. And not just a nation, a world in nations. And that is where one of the things I'm doing, is going from Africa to Africa, talking to the leaders of Africa, that it's only Africans that can help Africans. So you believe that it's possible to make it in Nigeria? Too much. The word too much. Just identify a problem. Make sure it's a problem that needs massive solutions. That means people that need... Like, if you see real estate, whether you like it or not, it's still a problem. We won't live in the marks. We all live here. Everything about real estate, entire ecosystem, entire 360, like the housing, the building, everybody is important in that system. And what is that? That's money. Before I let you go, how can people find you? Okay, so I have a YouTube channel. Oh wow. You're a YouTuber? Yeah. I didn't know. Not like you. I didn't know. Okay. Not like you. I'm on Instagram. Then I have a wealth academy where I teach people how to invest, how to increase their income. Then I just did a film. I'm also now a producer. Oh wow. So the film is called Reflection. The film is just reflection of what can happen to you if you don't begin to think of wealth. So I was talking to all the Africans. So you should watch the film or join the academy or just join my inner cycle. One thing is certain, with me, you will not go wrong.