In a world dominated by men, not just
men, but men who are not willing to help you grow, she has distinguished
herself. She stands tall as a woman who, through the odds grew her companies
into enviable levels not only in Nigeria but also abroad. While many thrived as
a result of the proverbial silvers poon, she picked herself up from the
circumstances of her childhood to set a goal, get a home for her mother, and
become a source of succor to homeless people who aspire to have roofs over
their heads.
That is the stuff amazons are made up.
When light brains look at challenges, amazons see opportunities.
Building empires are never easy,
sacrifices are made, sleepless nights are put in and there are days when if you
are not of tough will, you will feel like giving up. That’s why in this
clime, there is always a moving story behind the successful, especially when
you don’t have powerbrokers backing you up.
The stories of startups in Nigeria has
never been palatable, hence when you have successful ones, they deserve
celebration and commendation. Engineer [DR] Becky Olubukola Esther has been
able to carve a niche for herself in a world where many have failed and grown
her companies in leaps and bounds.
Despite all these, she has managed to
play the trump card of allowing her achievements to speak for her. The National
House Fair, which held its fourth edition a few days ago served as another
platform to showcase what the BSTAN Group of companies have to offer. And those
who came around were not disappointed. It was an event that drew the creme de
la crème of those who matter in the country’s housing sector as well as other
opinion moulders.
A BRIEF BACKGROUND ON BSTAN
BSTAN Group is a conglomerate of
companies – BSTAN Homes Ltd., BSTAN Garden City Ltd., BSTAN Construction Ltd.,
BSTAN Cleaning Services Ltd., BSTAN Security Services Ltd., BSTAN Farms and
Agro Ltd., Pricaso Care Foundation.
The organisation offers Real Estate,
Property Design and Construction, Mass Housing Development and Mortgage Solutions
with a strong focus on the African market.
With a pool of 250 intelligent, well
trained and highly motivated sales team and over 500 skilled workers spread
across the nation, Bstan Group has delivered several outstanding projects.
As one of the continent’s largest
corporate entities, the Group of companies that started out from a humble
beginning to become a major business conglomerate with an extensive overseas
reach, and there is no doubt that it has arrived.
In the space of a short period of its
existence, the organisation, under the able and dynamic leadership of Engineer
[Dr] Becky Olubukola has covered sectors such as Road Construction projects,
the banking sector, Hotels and Hospitality, Commercial and Residential Housing
projects. BSTAN Group’s spectacular level of growth and success under a short
time has been attributed in part to the organisation’s incredibly high ethical
standards. Throughout her expansion and movement into new industry sectors,
BSTAN Group has developed an enviable reputation for integrity, transparency
and financial probity in all her operations.
Engineer (Dr.) Becky Olubukola Esther
is the President and Group Managing Director of BSTAN GROUP. In this role,
Engineer (Dr.) Becky Olubukola Esther oversees eight different companies within
the Group. She leads a reputable construction and real estate organization
which has completed more than 25,000 housing units in Lagos, Abuja, Port
Harcourt over the last twelve years in business.
Engineer (Dr.) Becky Olubukola Esther
graduated as a civil engineer in the University of Benin, an MBA in Estate
management and constructions at Curtis University Australia and recently bagged
a PhD in Housing and Estate Management at the European-American University
(EAU) Dominica. She has been a major advocate for the Millennium Development
Goal of tackling housing deficit in Africa. Engineer (Dr.) Becky Olubukola
Esther is a certified member of both Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE and
COREN, and also a Chartered Fellow of Project management Institute (PMI).
THE NATIONAL HOUSE FAIR
Major issues that continue to affect
housing in Nigeria include legislation, high cost of land registration and
irregularity of land title, policy implementation, licensing issues, inadequate
funding, risk sharing mechanism, lack of adequate credit database, knowledge
gaps, lack of favourable contract enforcement mechanism, inadequate
infrastructural amenities, bank policy, high interest rates, non-vibrancy of
some Primary Mortgage Institutions among other things.
House Fair was established in 2017 as a
real estate event designed to meet the most influential players from all
sectors of the international real estate industry. It brings the entire value
chain together and gives unrivaled access to the greatest number of development
projects and sources of capital worldwide. House Fair is a unique exhibition
and networking platform to forge deals, distress sales, discount sales and
winnings. Our participants represent… The entire value chain Investors &
Financial Institutions, Developers, Cities & local authorities Occupiers,
Architects, Hotels groups and others.
SPEECH AT THE 4TH ANNUAL HOUSE FAIR IN ABUJA
It gives
me great pleasure to welcome you to this occasion. It’s an honour to have you
seated here to witness national House Fair 4.0 and I shall be engaging you on
this year’s Theme “Gateway to Better Life: Affordable House Solution”.
The
housing and construction sector, if properly administrated, can produce a
tremendous multiplier effect on the broader economy of any nation through
forwarding linkages to the Inancial markets and backward linkages to land,
building materials, furniture, and labour markets. Nigeria is estimated as of
2015 to have a housing deficit at approximately 22 million and it is projected
that about N59.5 trillion Naira will be requiring to remedy the gap in this
sector. This very high housing deficit implies that tenants in rented apartment
will pay as high as 60 percent of their average disposable income far higher
than the 20-30 percent recommended by the United Nations. With this wide margin
between the demand and supply of housing, either owing to limited New/additional
construction activities or lack of housing finance that stands as a major
drawback requiring immediate intervention, the chances of encouraging the
creation of slums, illegal structures, and non-transparent housing lending are
high. The finance issue can be traceable to underdevelopment in our mortgage
industry as it reportedly generated less than, 200,00 transactions between 1960
and 2014. According to the World Bank Report (2015), the contribution of
Mortgage Financing to Nigeria’s GPP is close to negligible, with real estate
contributing less than 5% and Mortgage loans and advances at 0.5% of GDP.
Over the
years, the demand for new housing units especially in urban areas has been
estimated at 250,000 units against an estimated supply of 50,000 housing units
of the supply. Of the 50,000 units, 49,000 units are for the upper middle and
high-end market while only an estimated 1,000 units are available to the
lower-income segment of the housing market. The housing issue is therefore,
two-pronged. Affordable housing not available while the available housing a not
affordable.
“WHAT IS BETTER LIFE”?
Better
Life is a set of social indicators, of “housing, income, jobs, community,
education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety and
work-life balance” Gateway to better life is the road to better opportunities
through good governance, more jobs and improved lifestyles paved by housing.
WHAT IS AFFORDABLE HOUSING?
Affordable
housing refers to housing units that are affordable by that section of society
whose income is below the medium household income. Affordable housing becomes a
key issue especially in developing nations where a majority of the population
is not able to buy houses at the market price. Disposable income of the people
remains the primary factors in determining affordability. As a result, it
becomes the increase responsibility of the public-private partners to cater to
the rising demand for affordable housing.
Your
Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen: how do we make housing more affordable?
First,
the government could directly give money or discounted housing to low income
families. Apparently, a family that receive a free house can now afford to
house. By the same token, families that receive more money can afford a wider
range of houses.
Second,
policymakers could increase the numbers of dwellings in a given metropolitan
area. This could be done either by buildings that can be built or by relaxing
restrictions that mandate minimum sizes of individuals dwelling units. Cities
tend to have several zoning rules that artificially restrict the supply of
housing. While noting the challenges facing the housing sector, we at Bstan
Group prioritize the development of 500,000 affordable and social housing as
one of the key pillars and the bedrock to Nation building.
The
definition of affordability here means that Nigerians should be able to own a
house by paying mortgage amount that are equal to the amount that they are
currently paying for rental houses. National House Fair is an opportunity for
all of us to provide decent and affordable housing, stimulate economic growth,
and spur industrial growth thus creating employment while lifting the standards
of living. Indeed, housing is one of the economic sectors that can revitalize economic
growth due to its forward and backward linkages. Therefore, investment in the
Affordable Housing component will contribute positively to the Nigeria Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) by creating employment, alleviating poverty, and
improving health and well-being of the citizen.
HOUSING AND ECONOMIC GROWTH.
Suffice
to say that there is a huge economic benefit and opportunities in the housing
sector for the current government for fast economic recovery and exponential
growth. With the UN estimation that by 2050, 75 percent of the population will
be living in the cities. This translates into an annual housing requirement
over the coming decades of at least 700,000 units just to keep up with growing
population and urban migration. Thus will in turn, lead to high economic
growth, an increase in government IGR in form of taxes, and stimulate economic
activities with a direct impact on the country’s national GDP.
Your
Excellences, as you may all be aware, the housing sectors is dominated by
countries number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMES) some of whom
are paying taxes, yet benefitting from government grants. As well as several
large businesses that are registered, paying taxes, and are both providing
80-90 percent of jobs.
Taking
advantage of these immense potentials will provide the country with a major
source of economic growth for both the states and the federation a large. The
industry can generate massive employment and offers job opportunities to
millions of unskilled and semi-skilled Nigerian workers who are most in need of
economic uplift. Similarly, it is common knowledge that lower workers in the
housing industry. Who primarily generated their money during construction tend
to spent close to the site. Such that for every Naira in wages they earn,
another is earned as that money circulates locally. Also for every job created
directly in the industry, at least one or more likely recreated, through
backward connection in the Real Estate Value Chain.
I would
like to expatiate on the huge benefits of financing the Housing Sector and the
direct impart it has on the economy with the following graphical presentation.
Mortgage
financing to Nigeria’s GDP is close to negligible, with real estate
contributing less than 5% and mortgage loans and advances at 0.5% of GDP.
Over the
years the demand for new housing units especially in urban areas has been
estimated at 250,000 units against an estimated supply of 50,000 housing units.
Of the supply of the 50,000 units, 49,000 units are for the upper middle and
high end market while only estimated 1,000 units are available to the lower
income segment of the housing market. The housing issues is therefore, two
pronged. Affordable housing is not affordable.
PROBLEM OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING
SOLUTION IN NIGERIA
Urbanization
is an integral part of economic development, and right now, Nigeria is seeing
one of the highest rates of growth in both aspects. Unfortunately, the increase
in the urban population has outpaced economic development in most regions of
Nigeria, resulting in spiked demand for safe, clean, and adequate housing that
is also affordable by this population. While so many initiatives have been
taken up by the government, the situation largely remains uncertain. When we
talk of affordable housing a lot of factors come into place concerning the
development and the kind of hurdles developers face. In addition to that,
housing development as we know is quite dynamic and witness rapid changes that
influence the entire value chain of the sector.
Some of
the challenges faced by developers and how it impedes the process of creating
affordable homes include:
i. Shortage of inance
The
perceived risk, high cost of doing business and longer-term for returns create
a situation where the affordable housing sectors lands directly in competition
with the other types of real estate investment like commercial spaces. Luxury
segments. And high-end housing which are perceived to reap greater and faster
benefits on investment.
ii. Land Governance
Multiple
contradiction land tenures and agreements, out-of-date land registries, lack of
computerized land titling systems, inadequate incentives coupled with varied
disagreements between the local and central policies make land policies for
affordable housing, counterproductive.
iii. Infrastructure
many
state have seen a reverse trend in affordable housing development wherein the
construction happens first followed by the provision of infrastructure
facilities like reliable electricity, clean water supply, sanitation services,
and efficient transport system. This puts
a huge pressure on developers to pump in more money, incur higher lead
times, and face the risk of the long wait to dispose of the units.
iv. Building Technology
the
equipment, innovation techniques, and alternate building materials all provide
for expedited and highly cost-efficient, large-scale housing projects which
then go onto justify the investments into the project. Unfortunately, most
developers in the sector face resource and capacity limitations along with
insufficient incentives, to capitalize on these aspects resulting in weak
composition in term of affordability of the housing units.
v. Inadequate Housing Polices
Due to
inconsistencies in decentralization processes and the urban planning
strategies. The local government has limited control over the implementation of
these strategies resulting in unnecessary cost escalations usually accompanied
by delays in project development. Also coupled with the fact that multiple
ministries are often involved in developing the housing policeis and urban
plans at large tend to function with different objectives and incentives,
further make the development and implementation of comprehensive housing
difficult.
System
Solution to Affordable Housing Development
In
realities, Nigeria’s real estate market is a tale of two segments:
·
And
over-supplied premium end for high income earner
and
·
And
under-suppled mass market for affordable housing.
The
high-end market, inclusive of commercial properties, has struggled in
recent
years while the lower end of the market still has a large deficit.
There
are two types of affordable housing and they are product in two very different
ways.
The
first type consists of dedicated units that are set aside for low or moderate
income households. These are created by developers using assistance from public
sources or through affordability requirements or incentives.
The
second type, sometimes called market affordable housing. Is housing that is
created without any direct government subsidy. These units may rent or sell at
affordable levels – but they do not have legally binding affordability
requirements.
MY RECOMMENDATION
Mass (Social) Housing Schemes
There is
an urgent need to ensure that the housing sector is inclusive by including the
various private developers such as the Bstan Group to develop mass (social)
housing schemes across various parts of the country. This will enable more
citizen to have access to decent, safe, and affordable housing which are also
supplied with basic infrastructure services. There is also the need to
developing a guarantee mechanism to support access to mortgage for qualified
applicants from lower-income households.
The Bstan Proposal (Urban Renewal Through Mass
Housing)
The
Bstan Group is providing unique opportunities to state government for housing
infrastructure development in all 36 state across the 6 Geo-political zones in
Nigeria. Through Bstan Homes, each State Government can achieve up to 500 units
of housing within a 4 years’ tenure.
BENEFITS OF THIS PROGRAMME TO RESIDENTS
§ Ability to obtain standardized homes at very
subsidized costs from the state government
§ Healthcare Infrastructure: Buildings will also
be constructed for Primary Healthcare centres to serve residents in their new
homes.
§ Improved Standard of Living: Resident can move
away from slums to enjoy the ambiance of living in well-structured environment
§ Resident can spread payments for over a period
of 5 to 7 years
§ Enjoy housing subsidies at the state level.
BENEFITS TO STATE GOVERNMENTS
Political
§ State government would enjoy loyalty from
citizen and their votes of confidence in the regime.
§ Leadership continuity: incumbent state
governors will increase their chances of remaining in office social Economics
§ Urbanization of rural area in the state through
proper town planning and development.
§ Long lasting legacy through social investment
for residents in the state.
§ A medium for internal revenue generation apart
from taxes.
§ Reduced crime rate and insecurity.
§ Reduced migration of indigenes to other states.
§ Job creation for the teeming youth in the state
(construction of buildings would be in phases and unskilled manpower would be
sourced locally).
BECKY OLUBUKOLA ESTHER SPEAKS ON
HERSELF, BSTAN GROUP AND HER DREAM
In this interview conducted by Ovation
Publisher, Chief Dele Momodu, Dr Becky Olubukola Esther speaks on her drive to
provide shelter for Nigerians and how she came to be a major player in the
housing sector globally without losing sight of the ordinary man on the street.
Can we know a little bit of your
background?
My name is Becky, I’m from Osun State
but I grew up in Akure, Ondo State. I’m from a humble background, I grew up in
a home where we had several issues with the Landlord so I grew up to know that
shelter is a major problem to the human. I had my Primary and Secondary School
in Ibadan, I had my first degree from University of Benin then I did my Masters
Degree in Australia before obtaining my Ph.D recently.
How affordable are your mortgages?
For us at BSTAN homes, very affordable,
we started BSTAN mortgages because mortgage isn’t really accessible to
Nigerians but to us at mortgage we give that at low rate.
So, you have your properties in which
states?
We have our properties cross across
everywhere, we have in Abuja, right now we are doing about 15,000 housing unit
across Nigeria. We have a lot of them in Abuja penthouse, Casablanca estate in
life camp, Pinnacle estate in Karsana district, Hilltop estate in Apo district,
Primrose estate in Idu industry. We have in Ibeju-lekki in lagos as well, we
have at G.R.A in Ikeja, we also have in Surulere. We have in Akure, we have in
Ekiti, we have in Ibadan, we have in Abeokuta, we have in Port-Harcourt and we
also have in Dubai.
Waoh, someone just asked that do you have
plans of building council houses like we have abroad that people who don’t need
more than two-bedroom apartment can get it?
Yes, we have a lot of projects going on
for that.
Some of our audience are saying they
didn’t hear you say you have properties in Osun State. Why?
We are coming to Osun State. we are
having a project in Osun State soon especially for our Civil servant. We are
already in talk with the Osun State Government.
Fantastic! Someone is asking that do you
work with private agent?
Yes, we work with private agents. We
have what we call BPS that is BSTAN Private System. BPS is open to everyone
across the world, it allows you to get money when you work with BSTAN without
necessarily being a staff of BSTAN. All you need to do is to register as a
member of BPS which is on our page. You get a commission of 5% without leaving
your room.
Yes, I was going straight and we’ve been
talking about what you do now but I am also interested in how it all began. How
did it start? What were the challenges, what motivated you?
Fantastic! BSTAN Group of companies
started with a little girl that had a dream to provide house for her mother so
I worked so hard when I was in school, after graduation, I worked for different
organizations. In all this period all that mattered to me was to provide
something like a 2-bedroom apartment for my mother and younger ones and that
was how we started. Eventually I was able to build that house and I’ve always
been someone who has passion for business. When I build that house so when w
When I moved to Abuja, I joined the real estate company where I worked as
project manager ways back and that was how I went into real estate because I
had my first degree on Highways so I am more of a Road Engineering person and
that was how it began. We started very low, my office was inside my car so
every documents and files were always in my car booth so I drove the office
around. I believe if you have a dream and you nurture it, you can achieve
anything.
Can the poorest of the poor afford any of
your properties?
Engineer (Dr.) Becky Olubukola Esther:
The poorest of the poorest of the poorest of the poorest can afford a property
with us. Like I said that money is not everything and I’m a very passionate
woman, I consider people in whatever I do, it’s about giving back to life. We
have as low as Five Hundred Thousand Naira property and that’s a plot of land.
You can buy a land with aa low as Three thousand naira every month, our one
bedroom we are building in Abuja here is as low as five million naira and you
have up to 5 years to pay at the rate of 7% per annum and for this the minimum
amount you need to pay is two hundred thousand naira. This are projects we call
affordable homes.
People are asking for us to talk about
your project in Lagos. Can we know about your plans for Lagos?
Our plans for Lagos are very big this
year, our projects in lagos are in Ibeju-lekki, you can buy a plot of land
there and the constructions are ongoing already so you can buy a house there as
well. we have plots of land at Aguda as well
Someone is asking that Is it possible for
me to buy a plot of land in Ibeju-Lekki with the intention of building it in
future?
Yes, you can do that at our phase two
Are you doing any project in Ekiti State?
Yes, we intend to start a project in
Ekiti soon.
Waoh, do you ever sleep at all?
I’m following your footstep sir.
How do you relate with your family
because you are always busy out there?
I have a book coming up soon that has
answers to this question. It is called The African woman. I have the story of
my life in there and I also use it to encourage women. What I do is to counter
balance by giving 100% to each one when you are there so when I’m at home I
forget everything about work and I’m 100% mummy then I watch movies, help with
assignment and do other necessary things I should do at home.
Someone said you are a good nomination
for Minister Housing so do you have plans of going into politics?
Let me work from this private sector
and the situation we have found ourselves in this country presently has taught
us that people in the private sector are contributing more than people in
governance, people from the private sectors are donating a lot to the people to
help in fighting this coronavirus. At BSTAN Group we have been donating a lot
of relief materials to our people to help fight against the current pandemic.