By Aderemi Fayoyiwa
Growing up as a little girl in a middle class family in Nigeria, I always imagined that I would be wealthy someday. However, I was not committed to any professional path. Hence, I couldn’t pinpoint the source of this imaginary wealth; although the image of a wealthy future was vivid in my mind and I could foresee it in the distant future.
Entrepreneurship is a common socio-economic activity in my home country – Nigeria and is the case in most African countries. There is a range of micro scale businesses requiring no physical operational structures to full blown enterprises with international branches. I am confident to say that entrepreneurship comes naturally to most Africans, especially for Nigerians with the exceptions of some lines of business activity that require apprenticeship and/or internship for successful operation.
At the age of ten I did not imagine myself involved in purchase and sale as a wealth generating path or occupation, because I had poor skills in advertising. In other words I could neither sell heat or ice to an Eskimo. On the other hand, I was somewhat ignorant of the fact that it was possible to outsource promotion of a business and thus, did not necessarily need to have advertising skills.
As I grew older and matured, I certainly excluded the option of operating a business of my own from my list of “how to make money”. Instead, I developed much interest in investment and researched it every chance I got. I was quick to notice specific investment opportunities with the most growth potential and longevity as well as understand their associated risks.
Investment became my passion and I realized the impossibility to amass wealth solely from salary. I was curious and wanted to know more about how wealthy people like Bill Gates and Aliko Dangote amassed their wealth. The result of my research showed that investment culture stood out as the primary source of wealth and success of these men. It is also worth mentioning here that I am not obsessed with wealth, but I have been raised to appreciate the simplest things in life. I am however, not a fan of poverty, although, I believe that poverty is a mindset and the result of a relative condition. No matter the ‘sugar-coating’, I have been very determined to put thousands of miles between poverty and myself.
While still an undergraduate student in Nigeria, I maintained a healthy financial life and managed my allowance so well that I would conveniently lend a substantial amount of money to friends and family. I wasn’t frugal, but knew how to save. At the age of 24 years, I had saved a significant amount of money that enabled my first major investment in real estate prior to my first job.
After my studies, fresh out of university, I had sufficient capital in my account to embark on an investment path. I sought counsel as I had come to realize that the value of my savings remained relatively the same years later as opposed to putting it to work by rightly investing it. I was presented with feasible investment options and I went with the option that interested me the most; real estate. A year later I came to Finland for my master’s degree studies and best believe I came with my investment passion in tow, the only difference is the fire was hotter this time. Things euros can do (lol).
Investing while living abroad came with challenges starting with the basic questions of what to invest in? Where? And how? First I wanted to understand how other fellow Africans living in Finland invest. I was interested in the investment culture of Africans that were around me (especially those who have been here much longer than I have) and I asked tons of questions from them. Based on their responses, I concluded that most of them keep their money idle in their bank accounts with very little pursuit in investment. Among those who invest, majority invest in their home countries. One common reply I often hear from Africans when asked about investing is ‘my money stays where I stay’. This view is not bad at all, but what I often ask in return is “what exactly is the money doing?”. But I know not everyone shares the same enthusiasm for investing as I do.
From these conversations, I have come to find that the investment culture of Africans in Finland is non-existent even though, I believe that we in the Diaspora have favorable investment options than the natives or the Africans on the continent.
Looking at the options that we have, there is the option of investing in your home country which in kind words can be daunting and exhausting. Running a business abroad (where you are not currently living) requires a lot of guts and most importantly honest and dedicated team to work with. If, well run, I dare say it creates a substantial amount of passive income which is a viable seed (if well planted in the right ‘soil’ under favorable conditions) can germinate and produce a “mighty oak of wealth”. Thanks to the high purchasing power of the euro (which is one of the top 10 currencies in the world of capital investment), in African countries, capital becomes less of a problem when euros are converted to local currencies.
As a resident in Finland, there is also the option of investing in Finland which requires proper professional help/guidance. One of the safest investment options in both cases is purchasing of treasury bills which in layman terms is lending money to the government of a country for a period of time so as to receive a certain percentage of returns on investment accordingly with a high-level of security. Another similar option is mutual funds which typically have higher returns than treasury bills and is relatively safe but not as safe as treasury bills.
When I recently came across the Think Africa week 2019 event that was held on Day 2, I was very happy to realize that I am not alone in my thinking about the investment opportunities available for the African diaspora in Finland. The Slush side event was centered around the investment options, investors and partners available to African innovators in Nordic countries. A day was dedicated to this forum where innovators pitched their investment opportunities, ideas were shared and questions asked and answered. Big kudos to the organizers of the event as it provided an open chance to help and inform all those interested in investing. Bringing innovators, prospective partners and investors together under the same roof is one opportunity no investor will pass up on.
At the Slush side event
As pointed out at the event by Zacharia George and Jukka-Pekka Kärkkäinen (both successful at investors of businesses based in Africa) during the fireside chat, there are plenty of opportunities to invest in what could be the next big thing on the Continent.
In addition to investing in countries of origin, there are a lot of Diaspora innovators in Finland and Nordics that need investment and the Diaspora could be a good source of that investment. With a feasible plan, one needs to ask the right questions from the right people at the appropriate moment. Companies have the tasks and responsibilities to prove that their businesses are investment ready and put in place mechanisms to support interested individual investors.
Money invested with a high ROI ratio can do much more good than sit in a bank account. I would advise Africans in the Diaspora to make use of available resources on the internet to engage in and embark on investment. The three most important lessons I have learned thus far about investment are the following: Never invest in what you do not understand (the best means of avoiding Ponzi schemes); never invest all your liquid resources, and that it takes time to build wealth.
It is important to state clearly that I have no business degree. I am in fact in the field of pure sciences. Hence this is merely my personal opinion on investment as a scientist.
I wish your endeavor to invest produces the very best outcome.
