With the money and interest of owning a land in Lagos, would you rather buy one in the bustling city of Victoria Island or in the growing residential corridor of Lekki? Or would you prefer to sink an entire $14 million into an empty, underdeveloped property in the middle of nowhere? Here is what Steven Ndukwu reveals about the development strategy of serial entrepreneur and angel investor, Paul Owanibe—his entrepreneurial mindset as the founder of Landmark Africa and the national treasure, Landmark Beach Resort.
The business, leisure and lifestyle platform across several countries once existed as an idea in the mind of a UK-born-and-bred Nigerian. Like every visionnaire, his initial moves—like purchasing a 1.2 kilometers long, deserted coastal land—were incomprehensible to the common man. But when it is for a family-centered entertainment beach, then you get the context.
Tourism in Nigeria is a hidden gem concealed under layers of corruption and bad leadership. It took the eyes of this businessman to detect the tourism potential of the city of Lagos. As a sector that can contribute tremendously to the Nigerian economy, it is unfortunate that the promising division is under-explored and under-utilized. The desire to let foreigners perceive and experience the good in Lagos then drove him to do what he has done to attract tourists into the country. Today, Landmark receives travelers from all over the world both for business and for recreational activities.
How Landmark Africa Started
In 2008, after being advised by a friend, Mr. Owanibe took a helicopter ride in Lagos, looking for suitable land to buy and establish his dream in his home country. The chopper hovered over Lagos from where he could see the bubbling VI roads and the serene residential estates in Lekki. But what caught his eyes was an empty piece of land that bordered the Lagos Lagoon. Mr. Owanibe asked for the helicopter to be landed and right there, he made a decision to purchase that landed property. After negotiation with the royal family then, he became the owner of the piece of land that overlooked the sea.
Today, that piece of land has gone on to gross 50,000,000 naira in revenue weekly as the beach resort receives about 20,000 visitors weekly into their facility. But not just the beach resort brings revenue, the mixed-use land also houses a total of 84 businesses within Landmark with everything from leisure and entertainment to commercial offices to retail and food and beverage, keeping 2500 employed directly and 16,000 indirect employees. It was MrPaul Owanibe’s dream was to create a community, some sort of a bubble, away from the noise characterized by Lagos and build a serene environment where people can feel safe while working and playing.
During his interview with Steven Ndukwu, he says “In the theme of mixed-use, we try to make sure that everything is sort of tight and close together, trying to make sure the infrastructure is clean here, trying to make sure it is a friendly environment, trying to make sure it is a controlled environment.” With that motive in view the landed property not only has a university, health facilities, restaurants, hotels and nightclubs available on it, but in the middle of the property is the pride of Landmark, a 300 units, 30 floors, skyscraper, befittingly called the Landmark Tower or Water View.
“This waterview is the catalyst or stickiness of Landmark because overnight we’ll have maybe 900 to 1000 staying overnight here and participating in all the activities we have.” People come from all over the world to enjoy one of the cleanest beaches in Lagos and participate in some of the water sports and games available, Mr. Owanibe desired to create a homestay for up to 300 families buying into, not just a unit, but biting into a lifestyle.
Activities Available on Landmark Beach Resort
Like he told Steven Ndukwu during his interview, most of the infrastructure that went into the building of Landmark are unseen. It is the electricity, the drainage, the water system, etc. But many of the site attractions that invite leisure lovers to the resort are the:
● Paintball shooting
● Visiting the arcade
● Exploring the art gallery
● Relaxing in the mini golf course
● Jet ski
● Horse ride
● Boat cruise
● Beach soccer, volleyball or tennis
With a lounge to relax in and event centers that people throw parties in, Mr. Paul Owaniba has reordered that initial stop of land into a property grossing up to $250 million. And he won’t stop here to build an ecosystem that is both secure and offers credible services, with top-notch infrastructure. To watch the rest of the interview, can click here.