Ladi Delano made his first million dollars selling alcoholic beverages during his residence in China. At the age of 22 in the year 2004, he started a business called Solidarnosc Asia which specialized in manufacturing a premium brand of Vodka called Solid XS. Delano did not stop there, however. He branched out his company to launch The Collection; a dining and entertainment venue which is obviously a smart move for someone who owns an alcohol business.
Delano subsequently sold the company to a rival liquor company for over $15 million and ploughed his funds into his next venture-The Delano Reid Group, areal estate investment holding company focused on mainland China. Today, Delano is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bakrie Delano Africa (BDA) – a $1 billion joint venture with the $15 billion (market cap) Bakrie Group of Indonesia. Bakrie Delano Africa serves as the investment partner of the Bakrie Group in Nigeria. The Indonesian conglomerate has provided over $900 million worth of funds to invest in Nigeria and Bakrie Delano Africa is responsible for identifying investment opportunities in mining, agriculture and oil & gas and executing them.
‘The path may have been well lit, but hardship lurked around the corner. In his student days, Delano found he suffered from mild dyslexia and deafness in one ear. Learning became more and more difficult and the idea of school waned. Despite this, with the help of extra lessons, Delano made it to a top university on a day he describes as glorious. The novelty soon wore off and academia became Delano’s nemesis. In his second year of a political science degree, he made up his mind. “It became quite clear that I didn’t have a passion for my course. I think that lead to me being easily distracted and that, ultimately, culminated in me thinking that rather than flogging a dead horse, it would make more sense to do something I was more comfortable with. There are two types of education and each form of education is equally as valuable. The academic approach to education is vital; no business can operate and be successful without those who have spent the time to understand the academic side of anything. However, that approach to education is not necessarily for everybody. And in my case it wasn’t. So, I decided to withdraw from university,” he says. Delano’s decision didn’t go down well at home, but there was no stopping him. At least university had planted the idea of becoming an entrepreneur.’ He says.
In April 2012, Delano moved back to Nigeria; a country with 60% of the population under the age of 35 and a youth unemployment rate sitting at 43%. Delano moved back to Nigeria with one of Indonesia’s biggest conglomerates, Bakrie Group to form Bakrie Delano Africa (BDA) with the intention of investing $1 billion in Nigeria over the next five years. Also to provide jobs and help Nigerian youth develop themselves.
1. What was your first job?
My first job was as a suit salesman. It was commission-based and I loved the competition!2. Who has had the biggest impact on your career and why?
It is difficult to identify one particular person; instead I’ve been influenced by a variety of different experiences, some positive, some negative. The combination of these experiences has shaped who I am career-wise today.
3. What parts of your job keep you awake at night?
Any entrepreneur will probably tell you that all parts of the job keeps you awake, and I am no different. Bakrie Delano Africa is in a really key stage of its development currently so I’d be worried if I was sleeping too soundly!
4. What are the top reasons why you have been successful in business?
Hard work and learning from my mistakes. Despite what some people say, you never get anywhere without hard work and whilst we all make mistakes, the even bigger error is not learning from them.
5. What are the best things about Nigeria?
I am very proud of my country’s diversity, its potential and its energy. We are a hard working population and the economic growth Nigeria is experiencing currently is tangible when you visit the country. Not only am I very excited about the growth we’ve achieved to date, but also where we’ll be in 10 to 20 years’ time.
6. And the worst?
My worst feeling will be in the future, if we fail to fulfill our country’s potential. That would be the most disappointing thing of all. However, I am confident that this will not be the case.
7. Your future career plans?
At the moment, I am 100% focused on Bakrie Delano Africa, the sectors we are focused on (mining, oil & gas and agriculture) and finding investments which will not only generate an excellent return on investment but also create jobs for Nigerians.
8. How do you relax?
There isn’t much time to relax at the moment, but when I do get the chance I like to cook and I like to run. The latter compensates for the former!
9. What is your message to Africa’s young aspiring business people and entrepreneurs?
I’ve already spoken about the need for hard work, but I’d just add to that … keep going, keep believing and never give up. It’s an old saying but the phrase “Show me a man who has never failed and I’ll show you a man who has never succeeded” really resonates with me.
All entrepreneurs suffer periodic ups and downs and running a successful, profitable business isn’t easy. If it was, everybody would be doing it. But this is Africa’s time and the demand levels within our own continent’s domestic economy needs satisfying. This is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurial, hard working individuals
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10. How can Africa realise its full potential?
On an emotional level, Africa needs to maximize its self-confidence and believe in itself, and I see that happening every day. On an economic and political level, we need to create the economic conditions in which entrepreneurs can thrive.
This means a stable macro-economic environment, business-friendly policies and economic incentives. It also means the encouraging and responsible use of foreign direct investment (FDI), which is key. Nigeria’s establishment last year of a new Trade & Investment Ministry to manage FDI is strong evidence of this.
Ladi Delano is an entrepreneur and CEO of Bakrie Delano Africa (BDA), a joint-venture with Indonesia’s Bakrie Group to invest US$1 billion in Nigeria over the next five years.
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