Ebunoluwa Akinola
Kennedy Okonkwo lost his father, a retired soldier at the age of 16.The death of his father brought hardship. The family was evicted from their home in Lagos State and resorted to sleeping under Lagos popular Ikeja Bridge.
However, the obstacles he encountered did not cause Okonkwo to be discouraged in life rather saw it as an opportunity to aim for success. According to him, the struggles he went through strengthened him to go for gold.
He said, “I believed I was going to be a great man because the obstacles I faced made me better. As they say, the heaviest of the fire made the finest of steel. “
He managed to finance his education to the university, where he graduated from the University of Ibadan. After graduation, he worked as a marketer for a telecommunication company and also work as a real estate consultant as a side gig.
After closing multiple deals in real estate, he found it lucrative, and it coincidently happened during the massive property boom in Oniru in Lagos. He built four units of room and parlor self-contain apartments as a start to his entry into the real estate business.
The success he recorded in the real estate project boosted his confidence to venture into other real estate ventures. He subsequently founded Nedcomoaks Property and acquired several chains of properties across Lagos.
The company specializes in providing luxury housing schemes in Lagos. He is credited with the completion of Victoria Bay 3, a real estate project comprising 587 units of houses.
His company had annual revenue of over $35 million as of 2018 and has over a thousand employees on its payroll. Asides Nedcomoaks Property, the real estate mogul also founded Victoria Crest Homes which he has since passed over to his wife after stepping down as CEO.
His success in real estate has won him many laurels. He was named African Business Personality of the Year in 2017 and he was also featured on Forbes Africa. He told Forbes Africa that public-private partnerships can alleviate Nigeria’s housing crisis.
“Financing infrastructure deficit across Africa will involve collective innovation both across the public and the private sectors,” said the innovative real estate entrepreneur.
