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a Better Future
Property management consultants Profica Nigeria have expanded their operations across the continent, and are growing to become industry leaders. While spreading its wings its core is firmly planted in Nigeria, the company seeing the sun even in the shadow of the country’s oil crisis.
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t the time of Profica Nigeria’s inception, the professional project management sector was still a burgeoning enterprise in the West African country. After managing projects across Rwanda, Angola and South Africa, Country Manager Malcolm Matanda and his colleagues realised the unique opportunity and potential challenges they faced – to get project management off the ground in Nigeria.
“Though their clientele extends well beyond national borders, Profica Nigeria is ever-aware of and attendant to their Nigerian roots Launching officially in 2005, Profica Nigeria has since expanded its offices, so that it’s on the ground in Southern, East and West Africa, providing consulting services to property and construction industries, including tenant coordination and property management. The company’s specialty market lies within malls and commercial office accommodations, but as the market and economic climate changes, Profica Nigeria adapts their business parameters accordingly. Though their clientele extends well beyond national borders, Profica Nigeria is ever-aware of and attendant to their Nigerian roots.
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Investing in Nigeria
Breaking into the project management sphere within Nigeria would not have be done without extensive effort. Many South African companies had already attempted to make their mark in the country, but failed. This was, Matanda speculates, at least in part as a result of the companies’ arrogance and aims to educate those they deemed less capable. Profica Nigeria, however, knew to proceed with much more cultural sensitivity than their predecessors had shown. ‘We came with a more conciliatory attitude,’ Matanda says, ‘which was that we were aware of the cultural aspects… and made sure that we learned the cultures here and were sensitive to the cultures here. I say cultures, because that’s plural.’
“As well as commercial office buildings, shopping malls and hotels, we’re also trying to diversify a bit more into other things, such as project managing road construction Their hunch paid off. Soon, Profica Nigeria was a success. From 12 years to up until about a year and a half ago, ‘Nigeria’ was a buzz word for international companies looking to expand, and Profica Nigeria was happy
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JOHANNESBURG OFFICE: 2nd Floor, No.3 Melrose Square, Melrose Arch, JHB, South Africa | Tel: +27 11 067 9700 | Email: info@lyt.co.za | Web: www.LYT.co.za NIGERIAN OFFICE: La cour, 3 Cooper Street, Lateef Jakande Road (off Glover Road) Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria | Tel: +23 41 460 6516 | Email: info@lyt.ng | Web: www.LYT.co.ng
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to assist. ‘We were getting a lot of enquiries from international property funds that were looking to enter Nigeria,’ Matanda says. ‘Some even seemed to think that if you’re not in Nigeria then you’re not expanding.’ But as foreign exchange challenges arose, the international interest in Nigeria dried up seemingly overnight. For Profica Nigeria, this was an opportunity to adjust their business model. ‘Luckily for us, that made a decision early on that we weren’t just going to fashion our business to cater to international clients.
“The company recently completed a large scale production on Owerri Mall, an upscale retail pavilion located within Nigeria that holds the potential to expand ‘Even while the boom was happening, we made a deliberate decision to spread our portfolio to be both international and local.’ This proved an intelligent move, so that when economic difficulties eventually did present themselves, Profica Nigeria still saw funds from local investors. In the darkest moments of the economic crisis, ‘The local business kind of sustained us and left a light on.’
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Overcoming a stuttering market
In recent years, Nigeria’s gas and oil crisis has rocked what has historically been one of the country’s most profitable sectors. With the fall in oil prices, Profica Nigeria has seen their clients downsizing or tabling projects entirely, at least until the market re-stabilises. Though not an easy obstacle, the company has managed to soften the blow by diversifying their business. ‘As well as commercial office buildings, shopping malls and hotels, we’re also trying to diversify a bit more into other things, such as project managing road construction. So that, even though we have seen difficulties elsewhere, we can perhaps get into other sectors and try to use the prices as an opportunity.’ It’s still early days in the shift, but in spite of everything, Profica Nigeria has still managed to maintain its strength. Matanda also doesn’t hesitate to admit that at least some of Profica Nigeria’s sustainability and maintenance of their network of clients has to do with being in the right place at the right time. ‘What has held us in this leaner time is that, in terms of partners, we made sure we were dealing with the top end of the sector in terms of partnerships with the right consultants, with the right clients. Part of their core function is to create development products, and if they stop doing
that, then they’re stopping business. They’re not individuals looking to do a one-off project. These are the guys who are still around in this financial stress.’
Summer on the horizon With oil prices slowly on the rise, Nigeria looks set to flourish again, and Profica Nigeria is looking towards a similarly bright future.
Construction
The company recently completed a large scale production on Owerri Mall, an upscale retail pavilion located within Nigeria that holds the potential to expand. What’s more, the construction created some 2,000 jobs for locals, bolstering the community and is contributing towards getting the country back on its feet, one
project at a time. ‘It’s something anybody in this industry would be proud of, that our work has that residual impact.’ As the market ebbs and flows, Matanda likens Profica Nigeria’s continual success and efforts to maintain a steady influx of business to the changing of the four seasons.
‘The hard work we did during the summer period held us in good stead during the winter period. But effectively, once we move forward and hopefully spring comes, then back into summer, we will be looking to grow further.’ With Profica Nigeria’s track record, this next step seems incredibly achievable.
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The Prospace Center, 18 A Olu Holloway (formerly Temple) Road, Ikoyi Lagos Nigeria T: +234 (0)14 606 516 E: info@profica.com
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www.essentialbusinessmag.com ŠEssential Business Magazine 2016