Noah Ibrahim is the MD/CEO of Novarick Homes, a millennial property development company. The young successful entrepreneur, who is just 27 shared his business and career experience, challenges and the major decisions that led to his success in establishing Novarick Homes one of the rapidly growing real estate development companies in Nigeria uniquely known for creating greener communities.
He didn’t come from a very rich home yet he was able to rise to the top withstanding all hurdles and right now he is breaking new grounds in the Nigerian real estate industry.
Tell us more about yourself and your early career life
My name is Noah Ibrahim, I am 27 years old, I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife and graduated with a 2nd Class Upper Division. At an early stage of my life, I went into several businesses. While in secondary school, I met a guy from the Northern part of Nigeria whom I used to buy phones from and then resell to my mates. I made good profit from this business because people always wanted to change their phones, even though I stopped halfway while in the university because it wasn’t easy managing the business and studying at the same time.
Later on, I started up a fashion business where I would buy clothes, jeans, and belts from Eko Idumota market (a distant market where things were sold at affordable prices in Nigeria) and also sometimes Dubai to buy these items as well. After I was done with the university I made sure I wasn’t idle while waiting for the call up letter for my NYSC service program. Instead, I and a friend Nola who is now the MD of Veritasi Homes started a joint business (Noah & Nola). We would buy and resell used clothing and shoes, this later grew to a Footwear Academy.
We gave out certificates to students that passed through the academy, after a while running the business became a bit difficult as people didn’t trust the kind of leather used in making the footwears at the end of the day, the business came to an end. Then, we got an opportunity at ToLet.com.ng now Propertypro to partner with them as affiliate consultant/agents to sell lands. We met various people in the course of searching for potential buyers.
One day, I and Nola came across someone who introduced us to a real estate firm that deals in property sales and we were hired on contract to sell skyscrapers at Eko Atlantic. It was indeed a challenging one because the buildings were yet to be completed and It required convincing prospects to invest about 25 million as part payment for the property. I garnered a lot of experience throughout the process and was able to start up Novarick Homes and Properties Limited.
Did you get support from your family members on your choice of career? And which one of your family members did you draw inspiration and support from?
I think I’d say my father, although a strict man, he is a man of integrity, whatever he sets his mind to achieve he gets it. He was very supportive while I was in school and even after my academic years. One thing he instilled in me was to be courageous no matter how difficult a situation might be, but I would say that the majority of the experiences I had was as a result of my association with people from diverse backgrounds, values, and culture.
Why did you choose real estate?
I think the interest grew from my shoemaking days, I found out that there was so much satisfaction in adding value to people’s lives and I believe that once you give value, money would follow. I enjoy being around people and I appreciate platforms that enable people to showcase their talent and creativity. This was why I chose real estate because there is a great opportunity in this sector to add value to people’s lives by helping them invest in their future.
For instance the Lekki axis, several years back it was very affordable to own a property there but right now it has become a commercial center for many real estate companies. That is why I decided to focus on the real estate sector.
Who are your mentors?
Tony Elumelu and Femi Otedola.
What is Novarick’s structure in terms of personal culture, competitive advantage and marketing strategy?
As regards structure, although we are a young organization, as a matter of fact, we just celebrated our anniversary on the 3rd of August. We have staff at the various departments from accounting, sales & marketing to customer care, etc. We also have other stakeholders and partners as well.
Technology has taken over the world, how has your company leveraged technology?
The sales of our first main estate were majorly online. We were able to attract most of the clients from online sources and we have a good social media space. We came up with Green as a principal theme for Novarick Homes by building greener communities. Our estates, Earl’s and Wazobia Court, is a solar-functioned estate. We’ve also promoted the development of greener communities through our renewable energy.
Where do you see your company in the next 5 years?
In less than 5 years, we want to be that brand well known for creating green-plain affordable housing. We want to be the brand people associate with when in need of clean green affordable housing. We also want to establish green communities that do not run on a generator. We have big dreams and we desire to be able to have built more than a thousand units of houses for people that are within the country and outside the country.
What is the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?
Risk taking is not new to me, I’ve been taking risks all my life and that is what got me to where I am today. You’ll agree with me that taking risks is synonymous with entrepreneurship as it involves meticulous planning and hard work. As I said earlier I believe that once you set your mind on something without distractions the universe would make it happen.
How would you define success?
Success to me is basically the ability to solve most of your problems with the resources at hand. We all know as humans, we face problems at the different stages of our lives, so the capacity to solve our problems consistently is what guarantees our success.
How do you cool off?
I’m a travel person, I love tourism, I also often hang out with friends and I’m fan of Ps4 video games.
What are some of your biggest achievements so far? Any awards?
I received a sales Award from Dpkay in 2018 when I closed over 150 million deal for the company. One of my biggest achievement so far is being able to run Novarick homes successfully without having to back out. So many startups fail before they get to a year as a result of various challenges but here we’re still thriving, as I said earlier we just recently celebrated our one year anniversary on the 3rd of August. More wins loading.
How did you manage financing?
We got our first fund from an investment for returns through debt financing not equity and we have sealed up a major part of the funds back to the investors. The company currently runs on private debt financing.
Do you have any regrets?
Well, I wouldn’t call it regret but lessons, In terms of pushing out our projects, I’ve learned to place more worth on our properties rather than the focus we place on getting the stakeholders’ returns which was the main reason why there was a delay in the sales of our first property. This experience taught me to make decisions differently.
What are your plans to give back to society? Any CSR projects?
I partnered with a friend’s company( Sannikayz Kitchen) who is a chef by profession and together we started a campaign which is Feedthekids.ng. We feed over 100 kids every Friday. I have also organized community service, shared books and bags to kids who cannot afford basic educational needs. As my own little quota to achieving a cleaner Lagos, I partnered with Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency on its mission to making Lagos greener by planting trees.
What is your vision for Nigeria as a young entrepreneur?
My Vision for Nigeria is to have a Nigeria where all the basic amenities of life (food, clothing, shelter, electricity, and education) is accessible to everyone, and also a Nigeria with an inclusive government built on integrity and accountability.
If you asked me how I’m going to make an impact, I’ll say by building companies that will address the current struggles of the country, for example, Novarick homes is working hard to create a greener Nigeria, one community at a time. We will be making renewable energy accessible to everyone.
Looking forward, Do you intend growing a stronger brand name in real estate or diversifying into other industries?
Of course, every businessman and entrepreneur would love that.. However, I’m building an ecosystem, which I call the Novarick Group… It will have a series of companies in major industries like Agriculture, Homes & Properties, Technology, Construction, Energy, Hospitality, and Education.
Tell us the one most relevant quote that guided you through your entrepreneurial journey?
Money flows in the direction of value.
What inscription would you want to be written on your tombstone?
I would die a fulfilled man if I am able to impact lives positively; for instance, giving free education from Primary to Tertiary institution.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs in your field?
My advise to them would be to place value over money because value precedes money and to take their clients’ feedback and satisfaction seriously. One thing we place priority on at Novarick Homes is “Customer Satisfaction”. We value our clients — we don’t end relationships, rather we build relationships. Also, every aspiring entrepreneur should follow his intuition because your guts are your god.