Asking Africa’s Richest People How They Got RICH! transcript

I just flew halfway across the world to one of the richest countries in Africa, [music] Nigeria. And in this video, I'm going to be interviewing the billionaires of Africa to figure out how they got rich. But here's the crazy part. Most Americans will never visit this country. Most won't even consider it. But what most people don't realize is Nigeria is home to some of the richest entrepreneurs in the entire world. This is a country that has produced multi-billion dollar companies and massive business empire.

So today I'm going straight [music] to the source to meet Nigeria's millionaires and its billionaires and figure out exactly how they built their fortune and [music] why Nigeria has produced some of the richest entrepreneurs on the planet. And so with that being said, let's go meet Nigerian's billionaires. [music] All right, you guys. Look, we made it to Africa and it is crazy out here, you guys. I mean, I don't even think that there's ever been an American business media channel that has came out here to investigate and find the millionaires and billionaires of Africa to figure out how they got rich.

But here's why this is crazy. There's over 220 million people that live here in Nigeria. Over 1.4 billion people that live on the continent as a whole. So, there is so much untapped opportunity, potential, and wealth to be made out here, you guys. And we're going to be investigating the richest people in the country. [music] Let's go see who we can find. Guys, we just got to our destination. We are outside of the house of the owner of one of the largest law firms out here in all of Nigeria, you guys.

So, I'm going to ask him how he built one of the largest law firms in Africa and what it takes to become a millionaire out here in Africa, you guys. Come on. Awesome. It is. >> All right, you guys. I just want to point out this backyard, man. I mean, this is a real mogul's backyard, you guys. He's got a crazy pool. Hold up. I think he's coming out right here. How you doing, sir? >> Hi. How are you? >> Nice to meet you, James.

Great to meet you. >> Well, I didn't know what I was accepting till I watched the video. [laughter] I was like, damn. >> I'll tell you what, you got a beautiful house. When I was walking in here, I didn't know if I was in Beverly Hills or Nigeria. [laughter] Genuinely, >> thank you very much. >> Yeah. Congratulations. You've built one of the most renowned law firms in all of Nigeria. >> Thank you. We're trying. We're trying. >> Growing up, did you have any idea that that's what you were going to do?

Like, was it always going into law or like? >> Well, growing up, I wanted to be a lawyer. Also, I just said to myself, ultimately, I was going to take a bet on myself to build a tier one law firm. >> Were your parents lawyers or? Yes, they were. Okay, nice. So, it was kind of instilled in you, >> of course. >> Yeah. How much did this house cost? >> I would need to check my records on that. >> And what is your favorite part about your house?

Well, that's my favorite part about my house. I mean, basically there I I sit there in the evenings smoking a cigarette. >> Yeah. >> So, that's what I like. >> What is the name of your company? >> My law firm is called Templars. We have 22 partners and over 150 lawyers. >> What was the biggest case you ever closed? >> Oo. >> Biggest settlement. >> Settlement. We presented a one of the largest multinationals in the world and we got an award for $2.8 billion. >> And how old are you today? >> I'm 58 years old.

If you could leave one last message, one last guiding principle with the younger generation right here, what would that be? >> Well, the best advice I would give to the younger generation is continue to build relationships, significant relationships. Narrow down on your value ad and scrub on that continuously and also believe that you can be the best you possibly want of yourself. >> You got amazing advice, my friend. >> Well, we try.

We try. >> Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate you letting us come in here, man. I really appreciate that. >> Anytime. Thank you. >> All right, guys. We just wrapped up with the owner of one of the largest law firms in the entire country of Nigeria, you guys. He just gave us an awesome interview. And man, that was one of the craziest houses that I've ever been to, let alone out here in Africa, you guys.

But we got to keep this scene rolling and go find our next interview and one of the wealthiest countries on the continent of Africa, you guys. Come on. All right, guys. We are right now on the way to our next interview out here in Nigeria. And we're about to meet up with an interview, one of the biggest tech entrepreneurs who founded and owns one of the biggest payment companies in all of Africa, you guys. Okay, so this is about to be an amazing interview with somebody who's built a company that is now worth probably hundreds of millions to even billions of dollars.

But we're going to find out from the man himself how he built this company out here in Nigeria, one of the biggest countries in the world. Let's go see what he has to say. >> How you doing, sir? Nice to meet you. >> Good to meet you. >> Great to meet you as well, my friend to Nigeria. >> Hey, my first time out here. I'm very happy to meet you and create some content out here. How's it going so far? >> It's been great.

You built an incredible company. >> Yeah. >> This is your business right here. >> Yeah, it's called Paga. >> And how big is the company today? How many employees do you Haga today has over 200 employees and we're processing over $1.5 billion dollar every month. >> That's a crazy amount of money right there. Well, I'm happy to be out here with you and I I I have one rule for all my interviews, so there's no holding back.

We're going to give the younger generation the blueprint to build a million dollar hundred million company in today's world. Can we make that happen? >> For sure. >> Let's do it. >> Who am I here with today? >> Taio Viosu. I'm the founder and CEO of Paga. >> And what is your business? What do you do? >> Paga is a financial services infrastructure business. And what we're doing is delivering [music] the infrastructure layer that gives Africans access to payments and financial services both domestically and into the global rails as well. >> And what is your company worth today? >> My company is uh you know it's hard for me to say exact numbers but it's worth hundreds of millions of dollars. >> So what was the boast amount of money you made in a single year? >> Wow.

But I'll tell you this. So for the company for revenue from like around $60 million in today's dollars. >> 60 million. How did you scale a multiple 8 figureure businessman? You're almost at $100 million. >> Yeah. I tell you this, find exceptional people. share the mission with them and then get out of their way and let them build, let them innovate. >> You got to fire yourself is what you're saying. >> You got to fire yourself. >> What it does is that if you empower other people, you go up and go do other things.

And I remember this from my very first boss at Deoid Consulting in San Francisco. And he said to me, he said, "Tao, your job is to make me look good. And the more you do, I'm going to give you more and more and that's going to help you grow. I want to work myself out of a job." That's what he said to me. And I was like, that is exactly it. >> Where are you from? >> I'm from Lagos, Nigeria. >> And where are we at right now?

We are in Lagos, Nigeria. And that is very exciting to have Nigeria. I've seen you on YouTube, man. >> Yeah, man. I appreciate that, man. Let me ask this. Why Africa? Why should the rest of the world not be overlooking Africa at the current moment? >> Yeah. In our lifetime, 25 years, Africa will be 2.5 billion people. One in four people on this planet will be African. So when you think the youngest population, while the rest of the world is aging, Africa is young. 60% of Africans are under the age of 25.

When I think about the opportunity for financial services globally, Africa is the only market that is building financial services from ground up at this scale. It is the single largest green field opportunity for financial services and that's why Africa. >> Did you come from a lot of money growing up? >> No, I didn't. I didn't. I grew up in a single parent family. My mom, I was the last of five boys and she struggled to make make ends meet. >> What was your turning point of financial freedom?

What was that moment? Take me back. I want to go deep in your life where you were like, I'm going to go out there and build a $100 million company. You know, in my 20s, I was I was quite lost. I had a lot of down moments. And at some point, and I decided that I was going to be part of rebuilding Africa. When I grew up, Nigeria was a giant of Africa. And I think that was the key turning moment for me because that was the moment I said, I'm going to go down this particular path.

You know, I believe in God. And so, I think it was a God-given mission to go down this path and really like go to business school. I was fortunate to go to business school, Stanford business school, and really like set me up to do well. >> Did you master the follow-up in business? Were you good at following up with your people? >> Absolutely. And I think that's really important. They have their thing going on. Everybody has their own thing going on.

It's on you to chase it up. And the other thing advice I give people is that let your ego go. Somebody says no to you. It's not no forever. It's no today. >> No doesn't mean no. It means not yet. Have you heard about high level? >> No, I haven't. >> So high level, it's a business software that pretty much automates your entire follow-up process as the entrepreneur. So if you have prospective clients, customers, or people that you want to get a message to, it automatically follows up with all of them.

So that way you never lose any money on the table. It's called high level. The most successful entrepreneurs use this company in today's world. >> Wow. I'll go check it out. >> And how old are you today? >> I am 49. >> You look good for 49, my man. >> Thank you. I appreciate that. >> And if me and you died tomorrow and you had one more message to leave with the younger generation, what would that be? >> Really focus on something that you'd love.

Decide your mission and your passion and go after it. >> You got amazing advice, my friend. >> Thank you. >> Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate that. And I like to connect with all the millionaires and billionaires that I interview. Could I get your contact? >> Happy to. >> Guys, we just interviewed one of the richest entrepreneurs in all of Africa. We're headed right now to go get our next interview.

But before we do that, I'm about to do something insane for my audience. So, listen up. I partnered up with High Level to give you access to try the platform for free because this is genuinely one of the most powerful systems I've seen entrepreneurs use to automate and scale their businesses. And it doesn't matter whether you're just starting or you're doing hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. And you may be wondering, what exactly does High Level do?

Well, let's say you have a service business. You have a lead that fills out a form. high level can then put that person into your CRM, automatically send them a text, follow up by email, remind them to book a call, put the appointment on your calendar, and continue to nurture them without you having to manually chase them. That's the power of [music] it. So instead of paying for five or six different softwares, you can have your CRM, your calendar, your funnels, text marketing, email marketing, and automated follow-up all in one place.

And let me be clear, one thing I keep seeing from the most successful people from my network is this. They do not rely solely on memory. They rely on the systems they have in their business. High Level gives you the infrastructure to make sure that leads you have do not slip through the crack and opportunities don't disappear because you got busy. So, if you want to automate your business and build systems that actually scale, go down, click the link in the description of this video and try High Level today for free.

And with that being said, let's go get our next interview. This next guy we're about to interview got rich in a way that most of you probably don't even realize is possible. He owns the largest noodle company in all of Nigeria, you guys. Noodles any type of business that you can get rich off. But that's not all cuz they own a whole bunch of other businesses out here in Nigeria. You guys, we're about to interview him right now on how he built a billion dollar company selling noodles.

You guys, come on. >> How you doing, sir? Nice to meet you. Great to meet you. Yes, sir. All good. >> You doing up here or downstairs? >> Downstairs. >> Have you seen our setting here? >> I'll take a look in here. Yeah, let's take a look. >> Might be good to do it here. >> Definitely. >> So, you have a view of the live view of the port. It's a live view of the port. Wow. >> You can see the cranes moving. >> Yeah. >> Which means they're offloading. >> This is incredible. >> And this is all our products that we make in Nigeria. >> Oh my goodness.

Wow. What was the first product you brought to Nigeria? >> Indomi. >> Yeah. >> Those are the noodles. >> Noodles. >> Correct me if I'm wrong. You have the biggest noodle company in Nigeria right now. >> In Africa. >> In Africa. Yeah. >> What was the inspiration there? >> Well, I grew up with [snorts] it. So, we figured out that if we can bring affordable product into Africa. >> Where are you from? >> Indonesia originally. >> Indonesia.

I heard Bali is really pretty. >> Bali is super. >> Yeah. So why Nigeria? What brought you to Nigeria? Initially >> I came here for a long weekend and I never left. >> What did you love about it? >> People, wonderful people. >> And are you very optimistic about the future of the country? >> I lived here for 30 years permanently. But there's no better place in Africa than Nigeria. >> And if we take a look on this wall right here, we see Kelloggs.

You know, you've partnered up with some of the biggest companies in the world before you had such massive brand partners. What was it that led to you to be able to land some of the partnerships with the biggest companies in the world? So when we partnered with Indomi first that established us as a player that can compete with any global player. So the biggest competition we had here was Nestle at that time and Nestle launched Maggie.

Eventually over time we surpassed Maggie's business and we eventually bought the machine from Maggie. So we knew in our head that we can compete with any multinational in the world that set the benchmark for us to create a platform here to bring in global multinationals to come and partner us. >> We see the products, we see the beverages. You mentioned up here that this is a live view of the shipping right here. You see the trucks moving. >> Yeah.

So, do you own the different verticals of the chain? Like, do you do the shipping and the manufacturing as well or? >> We don't. We don't. We own the port. We are partners in the port. You need to go here. >> Yeah. You got to check it out. >> You need to go here. It's unbelievable that this infrastructure exists in this part of the world. >> Yeah. Well, we'll check it out. And And for those that don't know, like how big is your company today? >> Total revenue, we will exceed $2 billion and we employ $25,000 people.

Love >> it, man. Let's head [clears throat] out front and do the interview. >> Let's do it. >> Did you have people that doubted you when you went into business for yourself? >> Oh, yeah. Initially, yes. A lot of people doubted that Netherlands will ever eat noodles, but it's the 10th largest noodle consuming country in the world. >> Did you have any idea growing up that you were going to go into the noodle business? >> No, I did not. >> You didn't?

What was your turning point >> when I came to Nigeria? >> Were you a big noodle consumer before? >> I was. I grew up in noodles. >> So, the whole family came and said, "Can we market noodles here?" And we said, "Yeah, let's give it a shot." Took us 10 years to build the basics. 20 years to build the brand now number one brand in the Nigeria. >> How did you make that happen? Like, how did you scale to that size? >> Hard work. >> Beyond that though, was it partnerships? was the distribution.

What was it? >> Oh yeah, we built everything. We built everything from scratch. From building the noodle plant to the packaging plant to the carton plant to the seasoning plant and now to the palm plantation. So from farm to table. That's what we have done. >> What's a lesson about money that you learned that you would give to a young entrepreneur? Cuz cash is often the downfall of a lot of companies in today's world.

So what's a piece of financial advice that you could give to the younger? >> Invest. If you have any savings, invest. So save. Invest. You make more money investing than saving. >> Did your company make a lot of money right away? >> No. It took us a long time. A good 20 years >> really >> about. >> So you thought very long term when you were building the business. >> Very long term. >> Why is that? >> That's what it takes.

It's not a short-term business. You know, it's not a tech business or AI business where you make quick bucks. This is a consumer business. Consumer business you have to build over time. >> How does somebody create a winning product in today's world? Do you have a formula for creating a winning product? >> Yeah. Right, right taste, right price. >> So do you try to find the lowest price with like the best quality? Is that one of your >> best quality is the first thing and then you find the right price, not the lowest price.

Why not? >> All our products are premium price. I like that though because often times when you have the lowest prices and the perceived value goes way down is what you're saying. >> Yeah, exactly. >> How old are you now? >> 65. >> And if me and you died tomorrow and you had one more message to leave with the younger generation, what would that be? >> Keep walking. >> Any situation in life, you keep walking. >> Well, thank you so much for your time. >> Nice meeting you. >> You got amazing advice, man.

Guys, we just wrapped up the interview with the billiondollar noodleman. And I think the most impressive part about that entire interview was how he talked about the vertical integration that he has, man. He has the manufacturing facilities, the factory, the power plant, absolutely everything. you guys. He owns the entire vertical and he said that was one of the biggest things for their success. It's crazy to see the different markets that he's in as well.

From hair extensions to toothpaste to noodles to alcohol, everything. Great interview, but we got to go get this next one out here in Nigeria. You guys, come on. Excuse me, sir. Sir, how did you get rich? >> Um, I'm an orthopedic surgeon and an investor. >> What? >> I'm an orthopedic surgeon and an investor. >> Are you actually? How long have you been doing that for? >> I've been doing it for about 14 years. >> In what country? >> Both in the US and Nigeria. >> Are you serious? >> Absolutely.

And how long have you been an entrepreneur? >> I would say at least 7 years. >> So, do you own your own business? >> Yes, I do. A couple of businesses. Oh, well. Um, I own a real estate business with some partners. We buy multif family real estate. >> And what was the most amount of money you made in a single year? >> We've bought over $276 million worth of real estate over the last 6 years. >> Are you serious? >> Can I leave you for a minute?

I'm going all over Nigeria interviewing the richest people to help the younger generation. Is that okay? >> Yeah, absolutely. Why not? Let's do it. >> Awesome. Let's do it. Where we at right now? >> We in Lagos, Nigeria. >> You live here? >> Yeah, absolutely. Did you ever leave Africa at any point in time? >> Yeah, I was born and raised here, lived the first 17 years of my life here, went to the US, spent the next 25 years there.

And when I achieved financial freedom, I decided that you know what, if I was going to continue to practice, what do I really want to practice? And I felt like the need was greatest here. And here I am fulfilling my vision of improving access to highquality muscular skeletal care in this part of the world. >> How did you go from surgeon to investor? [laughter] That's so great. So, I quickly realized about a few years into practice that if I continue to trade my time for money that I was going to have to work forever.

So, I needed to find some sources of passive income so that I can truly have financial freedom, geographic freedom, time freedom, all the freedoms and um that's exactly what I did. >> So, what investment made you the most amount of money? >> Real estate. >> What type of real estate? >> Multif family real estate. >> Apartment complexes. >> How did you learn about investing in real estate? >> Everybody needs a place to stay, right?

It's a fundamental human need and the supply demand dynamics particularly of the US certainly favors real estate investing. So if you're just willing to understand exactly how to raise capital, how to manage this properties properly to identify the proper locations and how to use datadriven strategies and it's a relatively low lower than average risk investment and certainly yields above average returns. Location will save a bad deal. >> What do you mean by that?

No, I mean because if you buy a relatively poor deal in a great location, that location most likely will save it. Even if you're a bad operator, but if you buy even the best deal in the worst location, then you are you're in for a lot of trouble. >> It's all location in real estate is what you're saying. >> Location, location, location. That's the name of the game in real estate. >> How old are you now? >> I'm 44. >> 44.

You look young, man. Thank you. That's a young 44. That's a good 44. >> Appreciate it, man. >> Is that the doctor in you? Uh, I think it's the working out frequently, drinking water, staying out of other people's business. [laughter] >> I love that, man. So, you don't worry about other people. >> No, no, not at all. 50 years from now, most people are not going to remember. The vast majority of us. So, the most important thing is to do the best you can right here, right now, while you're here, and make the most difference in the lives that you see and touch every day. >> What keeps people broke in today's world? >> I think being focused on like negative news.

I focus on the positive things cuz if you listen to just all the negativity, you're never going to make a move. You're never you're going to be paralyzed. >> If me and you did die tomorrow and you had one more message with the younger generation, what would that be? >> The journey of 1,000 miles starts with the first step. Just take that first step today. >> Thank you for your time. You got amazing advice and I like to connect with all the millionaires and billionaires that I interview.

Could [music] I get your contact? >> Absolutely. Let's do it. >> Is that cool? >> Absolutely. >> Guys, these interviews have been crazy, but I have one more special [music] surprise for you all right now. A couple months ago, I interviewed Africa's richest man, Aliko [music] Dangote, and at the time, he was worth $30 billion. He just took his company public and [music] is now worth over $50 billion. He's the richest man that I have ever interviewed.

[music] And I posted the full video with Aliko right here, but I had to include part of the interview in this video since we're interviewing [music] Africa's richest entrepreneurs. So, let's go see what he has to say. Who am I here with today? >> Uh, Aliko Dangote. >> And for the people that don't know, what industry did you decide to pursue a career in? >> Well, we have quite a lot of industries. You know we have the oil and gas which is the largest single train refinery in the world 700,000 barrels a day which we just finished about 20 billion with petrochemicals and then we're into fertilizer we're into you know so we have a vision which is 2030 to be more than hundred billion of revenue all coming out of Africa >> currently at your company what was the most amount of money you made in a single year for the business?

Well, first quarter we did about $10 billion. >> $10 billion, sir. Did you have any idea growing up that you were going to build a company that >> No, no, no, no, never. No, no, not even 1%. >> How old are you now? >> I'm uh 69 years. >> 69. >> According to Forbes, what is your net worth? >> What are they saying? I don't really look at those things. They are very destructive. They will distract me. >> How much would you say that you're worth today? >> I don't know really.

I mean, our refinary I know is worth over $40 billion. Just the refund. I don't know. It will come out soon. Don't worry. >> Forbes says that you're worth over $30 billion. I say I worth 38 billion. But you know, most of our businesses are not listed yet. The >> reason why I say that is everyone I've met that has interacted with you. They say that you're incredibly humble despite being this successful. How have you stayed so humble despite becoming the richest person in Africa? >> I've been humble all my life and I came from a family that they've been very very humble.

They always teach me discipline and also to be very very down to earth. But once you are focused, you know what you are doing, you'll get there. >> Was the sacrifice worth it for you? >> Yeah, it is. >> It was. Yes. >> Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate that and I I connect with all the billionaires that I interview. Could I get your contact? >> Yes. >> Is that cool? >> Yeah. >> That's a wrap on today's video.

[music] I need y'all to stop right now. Like and subscribe from Raising Content coming every week to the school of hard knocks. We just interviewed some of the wealthiest entrepreneurs [music] in all of Nigeria. But I want to connect you directly with my billionaire network and give you access to the millionaires and billionaires I interview on this channel. All you have to do is go down, click the [music] link in the description of this video, and you can join the School of Mentors, which is the number one entrepreneur community in the entire world [music] that I built, where you can hop on live calls every week and ask your questions over Zoom to the 8, [music] 9, and 10igure entrepreneurs I interview.

So, I can't wait to see you on the inside of the School of Mentors. And who knows what country we'll go to next. [music] With that being said, we'll see you in the next