Guest Feature: Exclusive Interview with Ayo Akinmade

 The team at Lamudi Nigeria recently sat down with the Executive Chairman of WorkPlace Plus Limited, Mr Ayo Akinmade, to discuss the challenges of running a formidable and profitable business in Nigeria during these trying economic times. WorkPlace Plus Limited are the operators of the Regus franchise in West Africa, who provide office space and a host of other office solutions to global and local businesses.

Lamudi Nigeria: Tell us a little bit about WorkPlace Plus and your role at WorkPlace Plus

Ayo Akinmade: Workplace Plus was formed about a decade ago. The objective at the time was to approach Regus, a world leader in virtual offices about a franchise for West Africa. We needed an entity for this venture so we set up WorkPlace Plus. WorkPlace Plus secured the Regus franchise for West Africa and has since been in the business of developing virtual offices in Nigeria and Ghana. I am the founder, executive chairman, the buck stops with me.

Lamudi Nigeria: What kind of businesses or individuals does WorkPlace Plus target?

Ayo Akinmade: Our clients’ range from startups to fortune 500 multinationals. WorkPlace plus is ideal for someone who is at home with a great business idea and needs a professional place to operate from. This person also does not have the funding to rent a proper office but needs a professional presence. We also cater to our clients in different ways. For example, we have what we call virtual products, which is a telephone answering service where we would give you a phone line, answer the phone professionally, take your messages and relay your messages to you. You can also decide to combine that option with mail handling. This would involve us handling your physical mail, which will be kept for you and redirected for you when necessary. Or you could choose to rent office space, combined with these two services and only use it when you need it. For example, one of our South African clients who lives in South Africa but does business in Nigeria wanted a convenient and professional office space for their business meetings when they’re in town. All we required from them was to give us notice in advance. In their situation, they only required office space five times a month. So in essence they were only billed for those five days. We also provide traditional office space for more permanently based clients. Some of our clients with these contracts range from architectural firms, perfumeries and even tech giants like Google.

Lamudi Nigeria: What sort of advantages do your customers enjoy from renting office space from Workplace Plus?

Ayo Akinmade: Well first and foremost, the professional environment. The look and feel of the space. Apart from that you have a certainty of your price. This is something that we try to emphasize with our customers. When you sign a Workplace Plus contract for six months or a year or two years, the price is fixed for that period of time, irrespective of what is happening in the economy. You are always guaranteed a certain price, and for that price you are also guaranteed a certain level of quality. Also, most people don’t want to have to worry about office matters. They want to just get on with their work. That’s where WorkPlace Plus comes in- because once you sign a contract with us, we think of everything. From the most basic things like tea and coffee for you and your guests, to providing furniture, internet service and so on. We provide clients with the much needed flexibility to rent an office space for a day, a month or even a year at a fraction of the cost for a traditional office and the office can be set up in as little as 15 minutes. I would say an invaluable advantage our clients have is the access to other multinationals and great businesses that are already in the building or just down the corridor. In this building alone, we have about 38 different businesses. That is potentially 38 different business opportunities for our clients to take advantage of. We also have corporate rates with hotels which our customers can take advantage of which are lower than their usual rates since we bring a significant volume. Same thing for car hire and we also provide airport meet and greet for clients coming into the country.

Lamudi Nigeria:What current challenges do you face and how have you tried to solve them?

Ayo Akinmade: I would say the economy is our biggest challenge, which is generic to everyone currently doing business in Nigeria. However challenges that are specific to us, is the fact that we don’t control the facility management of the buildings we are in. This in turn affects the quality of service we are able to provide. For example, we are on 4 floors of this building and the largest tenants of the building, so therefore, we have a voice and some influence in this building. The facility managers and the owner of the building regularly consult with us when they want to do anything. In some of our other locations where we only occupy perhaps one floor, we are less able to control that environment.

Lamudi Nigeria: Is there any rationale for the locations for your office spaces across the city?

Ayo Akinmade: Our selection process involves us picking the best buildings at the time. Key word here is at the time. Over time, it may deteriorate. CEO of Regus Africa recently said “There is no science to picking locations. The science is in the fact that anywhere there is a business hub already established, it is a natural location for a Regus business”. Take Yaba for example, the “silicone valley of Nigeria”. Everyone knows it is a burgeoning business hub, so it’s a natural place for us to consider expanding into. In picking the exact location, prime real estate is ideally on the main road or a side road which is easily accessible, and of course a building that has certain standards. Health and safety is critical for us, so the building must be able to comply with certain health and safety standards.

Lamudi Nigeria: How would you say the concept of Virtual Office Solutions has been received by the Nigerian market?

Ayo Akinmade: Until recently, there hasn’t been much publicity about virtual offices, so people don’t really know about it. But when people find out about the business and what we offer, they instinctively say it’s great. Once they come in and we start discussing pricing, there is a bit of resistance. And this is because they are blown away by the quality of our services, but don’t consider all the different elements that go into determining the cost. So when we break it down for them and they consider that if they were to rent this space on their own, buy furniture, internet service, source for generator and diesel and all the things that are required to set up an office, then it begins to make sense.