Opportunity, they say, meets preparedness. For Gtext Homes, led by the amiable Dr. Stephen Akintayo, being prepared is a constant state.

In the last quarter of 2020, following the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the leading Nigerian real estate firm introduced virtual services whereby lands and properties can be purchased online, and clients could reach their customer service professionals at any time of the day and from anywhere in the world.

Little did one know that the organisation was preparing for global status.

Gtext Homes, in the first weeks of 2021 launched a new office in the luxurious city of Dubai to grant even more people access to its excellent services.

In addition to that milestone, the real estate firm reported that it recorded a 500 per cent increase for year ended 2020 when compared to 2019, in spite of the coronavirus pandemic disruptions.

Dr Akintayo, Group Managing Director, GText Global, attributed the development to the need to tie down investments within the country by Nigerians, particularly those in the Diaspora at a recent press briefing in Lagos.

He stated that the company leveraged technology to ensure constant digital and online visibility to serve its teeming consumers, a development, he said, factored the company’s growth.

The housing guru noted that as a result, the company has decided to give back to citizens by providing financial support in the areas of agriculture and education.

Akintayo said that the financial support for beneficiaries this year would be in form of a “Green and Smart” competition, where the winners would get a N5 million grant for horticulturists and interior decorators.

In line with the company’s vision to build 200 estates by 2035, Akintayo revealed plans to build 1000 Green and Smart housing units this year, to bridge the housing deficit in the country.

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“We all know that COVID-19 happened; however, it was a good and very productive year for us as the company grew by almost 500 per cent, as people for whatever reason decided to invest more in real estate, particularly Nigerians in the Diaspora.

“One of the strengths for us was that when we started our company years ago, we were more focused on leveraging technology and making sure that we were often online to stream all our property; so, customers are able to see from any place in the world.

“Last year, we were able to give back to society with some grant opportunities in education and agriculture, because we understood how the year went and we wanted to support people in these sectors.

“Some got N500,000, others got N300,000 for their small business and we also had grants for the real estate sector and were also able to pay tuition for over 100 kids.

“That grant will be what they need to start the contract; we are going to be giving them on our own property; that way, they have the much-needed capital to start the job on our property.’’

According to him, the total grant and charity budget is about N50 million, so, it’s not just N5 million. Some of it is in grants, some of it we would be using it to pay tuition fee.

“We are also running a grant programme this year, which is a bit different from last year in the food processing sector.

“So, one of the things we want to do is to make sure that we look at the agricultural value chain, the processing sector is a key part we are looking at,” he said.

Akintayo further indicated that the company’s plans to expand by delving into agriculture.

He noted that the company’s target was about 10,000 acres of farmland in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun and another location in Osun, to improve the nation’s food supply and boost the agricultural sector’s contributions to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) output.

“This year’s focus for the agriculture grant is on processing with processing machines for cassava, maize, beans and on building a coconut oil refinery against going outside the country to buy these processing machines,” he said.

Vanguard News Nigeria