When Maria Lea Pedini-Angelini became the Captain Regent of San Marino at 26 upon her election by the country’s parliament on 1 April 1981, though not technically a president, she held the highest honour and the first woman in the history of the country to have the prestigious title. The second was Vanessa D’Ambrosio who was elected 1 April 2017.
Maria must have worked very hard to acquire this great honour which requires a lot of effort and focus in any state or country in the entire world. The true challenge, however, is, actually keeping it.
Maria’s story has therefore shown that there are no set rules or age requirements for a person to change the world. The only requirement is figuring out, how to do it uniquely.
Such goes for Paula Seyi-Ogedengbe, who at 26, has crafted a distinct vision to build a business empire by forging an alliance between African and Caribbean institutions via marketing investment opportunities to African and Caribbean High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) including diversifying their investment portfolios.
The young and smart entrepreneur spent the majority of her life under the tutelage of her grandparents who shaped her lifestyles and a unique outlook on life which also push her keenness to bring both cultures to unison.
“A majority of my childhood was spent with my Guyanese grandmother and Nigerian grandfather. Our household was one that always had a fusion of the Caribbean and Nigerian cultures, from the food to the music, to different mannerisms. I found it so beautiful the way our cultures could seamlessly interact and I believe that this mixed heritage really gave me a unique outlook on life in general and as a result, I always seek out ways to bridge both cultures in all aspects of my life –including my career.
Paula’s had nasty experiences while growing up in a white community dotted with very few blacks. This but prepared her mind for the unexpected, varying from racism to gender inequality and other unpleasant situations.
“I lived in Glasgow, Scotland from the age of 13 till 21. In my school, my sister and I were the only Black children to ever attend the institution in 90 years and as expected, we experienced ample amounts of racism and microaggressions. Thankfully, our parents had mentally prepared us for what to expect in such an environment. So experiencing racism from teachers and students built our characters. Gender inequality is also an unpleasant reality and I have had my fair share of unpleasant experiences. My method of dealing with racism and gender inequality is to have a clear understanding of my identity and my life’s purpose in order to remain unshakable by other people’s deprived perspectives and opinions.
Paula as a young lady in business had also dealt with challenges in the business environment especially in a patriarchal society like Nigeria, where young ladies with ideas for businesses are trivialised with derogatory remarks that women are inadequate business leaders. The value and the solutions that Paula has provided in such a situation have actually spoken for her
Paula, while in school for her post-graduate degree days in San Francisco, had intelligible exposure, interaction, and integration into the developed world. Her thought that the African continent is deficient in certain areas led her to the idea which she has now woven and named, “Ninu Intercontinental Investments” that is now the launchpad for her vision.
“While attaining my Masters at Hult International Business School in San Francisco, I gained a better appreciation of the globalised world. It became so apparent that the African continent was deficient in economic self-awareness and furthermore, we were deeply unaware of our cousin nations across the ocean. I developed a strong conviction that unexplored economic opportunities exist between Africa and the Caribbean countries, which led me to found Ninu Intercontinental Investments.
It is only a deep thinker that can decipher the coinage of the word, ‘NINU‘ that today, depicts Paula’s vision and business sense.
“Ninu“, is a Yoruba word that means “inside/within”. Actually, the word, NINU in Paula’s world connotes two things. It is from JesutuntumiNINU, her middle name meaning”Jesus Has Comforted Me Again”. NINU again means a combination of the genes of two distinct races and continents. Her name depicts that her heritage came from two continents and so, her vision to build and strengthen the business alliance starting with Nigerians from Africa, and the Caribbeans.
Ninu Intercontinental Investments is founded on the belief that both the Caribbeans and Africans can benefit from better trade and investment relationships with the mission to be the foremost organisation actively promoting and driving awareness of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) opportunities between the Caribbean countries and the African continent. In the long term, Ninu Intercontinental Investments aims at building economic bridges between the Caribbean and Africa as well as across African countries.
Although, the Nigerian economy at the moment is frail, unstable, and worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic that has disrupted the global economy. Though seen as a showstopper by many, Paula, who expects a rebound very soon, rather saw the dreaded Virus attack in another light. The possibility of wealth protection, estate planning, and the ability to own property in another country has provided the attractions for this investment option that the huge demand for, has now pressured Ninu Intercontinental Investments
“The pandemic has not particularly been a showstopper for us. We have been active in promoting our services as representatives of the Citizenship by Investment Program offered by the government of Antigua & Barbuda, a Caribbean country with strong diplomatic ties and a passport with visa-free access to up to 160 countries (including the UK and Schengen countries). The country is also a financial center with incredible incentives for citizens who own international businesses”, she said
“We have experienced high inbound demand for this investment option because it presents itself to be a good addition to the safety plan of the High Networth Individual (HNWI) as it provides better security and a Plan B in the instance of social unrest and economic hardships. It also provides HNWIs the ability to travel the world and gain access to global business opportunities without the limitations of visa restrictions on certain passports”.
“We are realistic with our business projections -we prepare for the worst and pray for the best. We have agile structures in place that enable us to fully function and run business operations from any location”, says Paula
The sky seems the space for Paula who could only experience a slowdown owing to the lack of structure of the riches of the affluent Nigerians. But she has devised a way in addressing that with the stringent due diligence sieve that Ninu applies to sift out only individuals with “Clean Money”. This explains why the leads in most cases are businessmen and women, industrialists, athletes, bank executives, etc. with a target market open to high net worth individuals across the African continent.
“The opaque structure of the sources of some of Nigeria’s High Net Worth Individuals is something that was definitely considered before entering the market. With the stringent rules attached to this program, we will only be working with individuals that can prove the sources of their wealth, as we do not compromise on our values- transparency, integrity, and diligence. Furthermore, our target market is not limited to Nigerian HNWIs; we work with individuals across the continent”.
Currently, Ninu is working with a good number of clients, whom, getting them to listen requires partnership with gatekeepers, the right balance of meaningful conversations based on the facts presented and of course, evidence of the authorised representative licence provides an extra layer of trust. for Paula and her colleagues.
The frailty of the Nigerian economy is not a hindrance to Paula because numerous investments still abound that can provide stable returns. For instance, Paula and Ninu see great opportunities in real estate as a viable investment option to many African and Caribbean investors hence it is one main focus in the Nigerian market. “Our view and projections show that it is currently booming due to the population increase and increased demand for commercial and residential real estate at the moment. We have found that once it’s structured in a certain manner, we can promote it as a viable investment option for other African investors”.
Paula’s experiences in business development and marketing open her understanding that business only grows when one possesses the emotional intelligence required to build relationships with important stakeholders as well as understanding the client’s needs and pain points with direct solutions to them, diversification of ideas, perspectives, and skills which eases the creation and execution of solid business strategy.
She admitted the importance of technology in business growth in terms of improved efficiency in customer acquisition, customer relationship management, and improving client engagement across the globe. This has been made possible due to the improving infrastructure of better internet penetration in metropolitan cities like Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt.etc.
Nigeria’s huge population is advantageous to its economic growth and has endeared her to foreign investors. Paula also admitted the unparalleled population as an attraction for Ninu and makes Nigeria unique to her business. She is also not ignoring other countries like Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, and Rwanda that are evolving and growing so fast with increasing middle-class populations, and diversified industries that are shifting away from raw material dependency.
Paula’s message for youths is “Don’t focus on blowing, but on delivering value, walk in your purpose and be assured of God’s guidance and grace that blossoms talent whilst seeking to hear from God”.
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