•Tells City People
Arc-View Investments Ltd is one of the leading real estate companies in Nigeria today. It is into Property Developments, Real Estate Investments, Real Estate Consultancy, Project Management and Hospitality Business.
It operates out of its office at 314 Ikorodu Road, Anthony Bus Stop, Anthony, Lagos. The building is so conspicuous on Ikorodu road that you can’t miss it. That is where the Arc-View Investment Team have been impacting positively on the lives of many Nigerians, who they have made house owners, through their various estates, across Lagos and Ogun States.
What is the story of Arc-View Investments Limited? How did the founder of the company set it up many years ago? This and many more were some of the questions we had in mind when we went to interview Olusegun Oshundairo, the easy-going CEO of the company. And by the time we finished the close to 2-hour interview with the CEO, we were impressed with the heights he, his partner and the entire team had taken the company to, in just 11 years.
Oshundairo’s profile also is very rich and it shows why the company has succeeded in the implementation of its goals. He is a deep thinker.
Mr. Segun David Oshundairo is a man of many trades. And he has beaten the odds to become a master of all. He was born on the 30th of March, 1980 in Mushin, Lagos to the family of Mr and Mrs Oshundairo, who hailed originally from Ogun State. A man of humble beginnings, Mr. Oshundairo started his Primary School Education at Methodist Primary School, Mushin, Lagos, where he graduated with a Primary School Leaving Certificate. His academic pursuit continued at Isolo Comprehensive High School, Isolo, Lagos where he obtained his West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) certificate. He then proceeded to the University of Ado-Ekiti, known today as Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, for his Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. Philosophy is a discipline saddled with the continuous search for knowledge, and this discipline has imprinted its footprint on Mr. Oshundairo’s life and career.
Understanding the importance of home building in all its literal sense, Mr. Oshundairo, would go on to establish Arc-View Investments Limited, a real estate firm based in Lagos and has built over a thousand housing units all over Lagos and its environs and still counting. This is one of the businesses of the enterprising Mr Oshundairo, as his business interests cut across various sectors of the economy. He is the Founder/CEO of Segosh Hotel and Suites, a hospitality facility; De-Segosh Investments Limited which is an investment company that specialises in investing in dysfunctional businesses and bringing them back to life. His impact is also known in the Oil and Gas industry with his firm Segosh Oil and Gas actively involved in the haulage of petroleum products across the country.
Oshundairo, being a product of sound education, both within and outside the corners of a classroom, understands the importance of formal education to the mind and nation-building, and is zealous towards seeing an educated society. He is the founder of Dosh Secondary School, as well as the founder and Chairman of the governing council of Eko College of Management and Technology, Ikotun, Lagos, a tertiary institution approved by the Federal Ministry of Education.
Understanding the importance of giving back to society and making a difference, he founded the Segosh foundation which is a platform that is committed to empowering women, students, the elderly and less privileged people.
A lover of Sports, Mr Oshundairo saw the importance of developing sporting talents from an early stage, and started his own football club, helping talented young people achieve their sporting aspirations.
Through it all, he has not rested on his laurels. He is currently enrolled in an MBA programme at the prestigious Business School of the Netherlands.
A resourceful man, he is a member of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria where he got a professional diploma in Building Technology. He also has professional certifications in real estate development and strategic leadership. Mr Oshundairo is happily married and is the proud father of four (4) children.
Below are excerpts of his interview with City People’s Publisher, SEYE KEHINDE and Online Reporter, DAMILOLA AKANDE, where he revealed the story of Arc-View Investments Ltd.
Can you share with us the success story of Arch-View Investments Limited?
I am Segun Osundairo, I am the CEO of Arc-View Investments Limited. We also have our MD in the person of Mr. Idowu Okegbenro. We are into a partnership business. In the last 11 years, we have been together, providing affordable homes for Nigerians both home and abroad. When we started, we had a very humble beginning. In the year 2010, we started somewhere at No 12, Anipele Street, just in a room. You know the Bible says “do not despise the days of the humble beginning”. So with that, we had the courage and passion to move on in us. So, as a real estate practitioner, we have been around for 15 years, then we were working for Grace So It Multipurpose Company owned by Honourable Remi Adeyelu. Before, then, I was working in a secondary school. We came together in 2010 and we formed Arc-View. We started in a room and got our first estate at Agbara Igbesa with 10 hectares of land and as at today, we have about 350 hectares of land at Agbara Igbesa.
We have also been able to allocate over 1,500 plots to subscribers. Back then, we started with 350 thousand naira per plot with an initial deposit of 50,000 naira and spread payment for about 2 years. Today, the same land is selling for 4 million naira. Arc- View started with a very humble background, there was no money and no one to help. God was just very much interested in what we were doing. We were able to recruit some young consultants, those who had the passion to rewrite the story of their lives. We have quite a number of them that own their companies today, some have been able to travel out of the country, some are into businesses in the real estate sector and some in government.
Just in a room, we were able to work our way to where we are today.
What was the strategy?
The strategy was firstly our passion, that passion to give back to the people. We saw the gap and the national housing deficit in Nigeria. The last time the federal and state government built a house for the low-income earner was in the late ’70s and ’80s during the Jakande era. So we saw the gap and realised that the government is not building and there are so many tenants. So, we thought of how to provide for the people.
So, we started with that passion, the passion to provide for the people. The second strategy was a quest to become better, I was working in a secondary school where I was earning 12,000 naira. Even as a graduate I was earning that, I saw that it wouldn’t take me anywhere. Looking inward, I decided to do something for myself, which has really played out well. Today, we have 15 estates with over 1,000 consultants and quite a number of staffs. We also have so many companies that we have been able to develop and have estates in Lagos, Ogun and Ibadan.
What area do you play in terms of development?
We play in all the stages of human endeavours. We have projects for the low-income earners, middle-income earners and for high-income earners. In our project at Mowe Ofada; we are currently building affordable homes. When that project started 3 years ago, 2 bedroom carcass completed was going for 4 million naira.
The same carcass today is 5.5 million naira while the complete building is 7.5 million naira. So, then, it was 2.5 million naira with the initial deposit of 50,000 naira. The low-income earners then could afford it. Even as at 5.5 million naira today with the initial deposit of 250,000 naira, low-income earners can afford it. I remember as at that time, an akara woman selling in front of Zenith Bank at Anthony bought into that plan. Today, she is a landlord there. As of today, we have built over 700 houses there, that is the 2 and 3 bedroom bungalow called the affordable homes. Then, we have for the middle-income earners with a project called Blue Stone Treasure Garden. It is at Mowe town, the 3 bedroom there is selling for 20 million naira. When we started last year, it was 15 million naira but because of the prices of building materials, it was moved up a little. We also have a project called Treasure Homes Ilasamaja (Smart City). A 3 bedroom flat there is going for 30 million naira, so for some in the high class can invest in that project. Asides from you buying land to live in which is good, you can also buy for investment purposes. We like to encourage people not to spend all the money they have but to invest in the future. The future is certain because what you’re doing today might change, but with properties, it is a lifetime investment. We have been able to discover that the real estate business is the bedrock of all human existence. Everything you do has to do with real estate.
City People as an organisation, are into print, entertainment and others. You need office space, so that is real estate. It has to do with all human activity so we encourage everyone to have something that they can always fall back to. Go to the advanced countries you see them coming up with hotels, recreation centres and others. You see people paying to just see the tallest building in the world. You can make money from real estate in diverse ways, you can build and rent out. When we got to our present building 9 years ago, we were tenants but today, we own this place. That is real estate.
These days people talk about Smart City Estates. What is the concept of the Smart City?
We are presently in a digital world and everything we do must tilt towards that direction. Digital knowledge, economy and you travel out of the country and go to places where you can open your door with your eyelid, unlock your phones and do many things. With the internet, you solve many things and connect to anywhere in the world.
So, we looked at the security problem in the country and decided to create an environment that is watertight and secure. In Smart Cities, there are features like; Daily Codes which you need to get into your flat, you can monitor your apartment anywhere in the world with the help of the internet and CCTV cameras. You can raise alarm by pressing a button that will be heard in the security room. With the internet, we can play around with it and make your house a Smart City. You can know the level on your gas cylinder, button away. We create this ease around your environment with the internet, no one can move into your estate without prior notice you must provide your daily code. With the code, you gain access to the estate. Just for security and moving where the world is moving. You can see what the western world is doing, they are trying to reduce the use of fuel replacing them with cars using the internet, electricity, solar and batteries. I travelled to Dubai and saw 5G network working at the expo centre, which was a Smart City with robots attending to you so we can introduce that to our system.
Which is your latest project?
We have some new projects like Treasure Hill Top Estate Command Alagbado. That estate is one of the best products we have ever launched. The estate is about 1,000 hectares of land and it has got everything that has to do with land transactions, Command Alagbado is such a strategic location on the mainland. There is a good road network, the former Governor of Lagos State did all the roads in that area. The estate is surrounded by good development, you have houses around. The land is a pure dry land with titled documents C of O. So Treasure Hilltop Estate is available. We also have something new for low-income earners called Treasure Island Estate Phase 1 Extension. The extension is just an offshoot of Phase 1, where we built 700 houses so on the extension we are building carcass structures whereby you just come and do your finishing. You know we have a 2 bedroom for 5.5 million where you can spread for 2 years as convenient. So, these are the new projects we have up and running.
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