‘Setting up a film village is our main target’
Oluwatoyin Adewale Salako, a Nollywood actor and chief executive officer, Mafatak Enterprises speaks on plans to set up a film village and how investors can earn income on regular basis in this interview with OLUYINKA ALAWODE
Business
Mafatak Enterprises does an array of management consulting services. Its services include construction, marketing consultancy, entertainment, security consultancy, painting services and property management.
The business started initially as a communications business in the 1980s. I inherited it from my parent. In 2001, it went into retailing of phone recharge cards, there is also the business centre aspect of it. But in 2008, it diverted into real estate after I finished my Masters in Public Administration.
We still do part of the communications aspect and other services but we focus more on the real estate now.
Challenge
The limiting factor is finance to expand the real estate operations. We have lands that we want to develop because we have discovered that rather than buy pieces of land and develop themselves, our clients especially the younger generation between 25 and 45 years want land that has already been cleared. They even want to see structure on it before they agree to buy plots on the land.
We want the government to come up with mortgage financing that developers can access easily. We have 330 acres of land, close to Nestle on the road to Abeokuta that we want to develop and divide into plots but finance has been a limiting factor. But for those who want, we are selling an acre (6 plots) for N1.5million currently.
Prospects
Setting up a film village is our main target in the real estate business. The last time the government tried doing that was Festac which failed. But those of us that lived in the Festac area in the early days and enjoyed the peace and serenity want our own children to grow up in such a good setting. My business plans to come up with this film village somewhere in Ogun state where we still have green vegetation. But the estate will be situated between Ogun state and borderline of Lagos, so as to give Lagosians a sense of humor – a place they can come to relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of Lagos which gives people high Blood Pressure. As a result of this, people in such densely populated cities are dying early.
Investors
For investors who are willing to partner with us in real estate, there would be legal backing in all our dealings. We would develop the film village together. We would construct the buildings on behalf of the client and if the investor does not want to live in it, we would manage it and they can simply be at home or anywhere and have money coming into their pockets- bank accounts.
Justification
Oftentimes people fall into the hands of fraudsters in the process of acquiring land or trying to build. We build for clients and they can decide if they want to rent it out and they can get their money on weekly, monthly, half yearly or yearly basis. We take our clients as partners. For the proposed film village, producers will come and use the facilities for their film productions. It would also be opened to those on vacation or who simply want a place they can come to relax for some hours, days or weeks and all these would generate income which will be shared for all investors based on the level of their investments.
Target clients
The younger generations -people within the ages of 25 to 45 basically are our target. That is the prime age when one needs to work, earn money and invest part of it. During this period, most young people spend money lavishly on alcohol and other forms of pleasure. But out of that little money that the individual feels is not enough to build a house, there is the possibility of building.
So we urge people to come to us and we would sit with the person and discuss a plan on how they can build with the resources they have. It could be a two bedroom flat, three bedroom flat and any other kind of structure big or small. We work with experts that will break it down to the quantity of blocks, cement and so on that would be needed.
We open a file for the client and we charge an administrative fee. As the individual gets money, he pays into an account and the amount would be used to carry out an aspect of the project based on the plan that has been worked out. For example, if all money the client has is for the foundation, we would do the foundation and wait till he/she has the fund for another aspect of the project. Receipts will be issued for money paid and the aspect of the project it is to tackle.
Other land sources
Apart from the land that we are developing, if the client has already acquired land somewhere else, we would still help to build. The client would just take us there and would of course have to pay for logistics.
In the nearest future, most of the buildings that would be approved for construction in the heart of Lagos would be skyscrapers. The alternatives for people that want a serene atmosphere to live in would be the outskirts of Lagos, Ogun state, even Benin Republic. By the time the rail system is in place, it would be so easy to live anywhere around Lagos, even in Benin Republic and work in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Staffing
We have strategic partners we work with. If a client wants a structural design for a building, we have an architect we work with that will do the design and the client will pay the professional charges.
Advice to youths
Once they have ascertained their vision, young people should stick with it and not lose track. If you keep at it, the big break will come. Keep on pursuing your vision, you never can tell who is watching you to see if you are consistent, eventually the big break will come.