By Enyeribe Ejiogu
Encoded into the DNA of Ngozi Ekeoma, a lawyer and Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of Nepal Energies Limited, is the gene for entrepreneurial talent that has seen her drive the little Oil & Gas company she brought into operation in 2006, to a great height and to become a giant reckoned with in the Industry. The story of the enterprising ability of the Amazon presiding over the substantial expansion of Nepal into the upstream section of the Oil & Gas Industry while deepening and broadening its operations in the downstream retail sector as well as the wide spectrum of renewable energy, began in the commercial city of Aba, Abia State before marriage relocated her to Lagos, Nigeria’s centre of entrepreneurial excellence, which is to enterprise what Hollywood means for the US Movie Industry. Through diligence, dedication, hard work, focus, consistency, commitment to delivering value, empathy, and prioritising creative staff engagement and welfare, Ekeoma has been able to turn Nepal into a corporate star, whose brilliance promises to shine across Africa as it continues to actualise its vision and mission. In this interview, she talks about these and more…
It can be rightly said that Nepal is the little acorn planted several years ago, which has grown into a big oak and still sinking deeper roots into the ground. Looking back and considering how far the company has come, what are you most happy about? What are those things you remember, you just smile and feel good?
Nepal started in a very small way. It was registered in 2004 but started operation in 2006 at the penthouse of 16 Burma Road, Apapa, Lagos. Since then we have been growing steadily. Looking back, I did not think that today we will have some of the things we have and the lives that we are impacting. This is just a testament of God’s grace, consistency, hard work and focus. I really thank God for it.
What I am most happy about is the fact that Nepal employs more than 200 staff. We are still growing, and that means we are still going to employ staff. Contributing to solving unemployment problems in Nigeria is something that gives me joy. We have a lot of people who are gifted in entrepreneurship – people that can think of an idea, work on it to make it materialise and then turn it into a successful enterprise. We also have people who are intelligent and have first class brains, but they are not entrepreneurs. So, they need to work. I know that we are all gifted in different ways. I am just happy that even though I am not the most intelligent academically or the wisest person around, but God has given me a little bit of entrepreneurial talent or skill, to be able to think of something, work on it, manage it and through that effort contribute to the society. For me, seeing all these families that have been impacted in a positive manner through the business activities of Nepal, which is a successful and outstanding enterprise gives me joy. Another is the fact that we have been consistent all through these years. Our staying power has been very impressive. We have remained focused and relevant all through these years.
Please recall the challenges of the early years of Nepal, operating as a startup in a market dominated by the major marketers and their branded retail outlets all over Nigeria. How was the new company able to get a foothold in the market and thrive as a startup retailer?
Nepal didn’t build or own any filling station at the time it began operations in 2006, because it started as a peddling enterprise. What we were doing was to buy products from the depot and then transport the consignment to other states that had no seaports through which products could be imported. The price of petroleum products was cheaper at the depots in states that had ports. There were always customers with stations and factories that were ready to buy products. We started supplying just diesel to companies, offices and factories to run their industrial generators. We would deliver to their locations to sight the product. They would pay into our account. Once we confirm the payment, the driver would then be instructed to discharge the product. So, we bought and hauled petroleum products from Apapa, Lagos to different parts of Nigeria, especially the south eastern parts. We were just doing “baranda” business ( buying from depot owners and reselling within the depot or finding buyers for bulk sellers while making brokerage margins from such sales). We continued to buy and sell at the depots. Apart from delivering products to customers at their locations, we also had people who came to the depot to buy. These were customers who did not need huge volumes (that is they didn’t want truckloads of diesel). These were mainly small-scale businesses that needed diesel for their generators (around Lagos and in some other places).
At the time you started, how were you able to compete with the major marketers, make a headway and succeed?
Earlier I talked about entrepreneurial skill. So, what we were doing was that we would take the products from the depot and send across the the states to our customers at a better price than the major marketers. That was our own competitive strategy and it worked very well for us because customers would rather buy from us than the majors – our prices were always cheaper. That was what we did to be able to get a foothold in the market. Once our two feet were firmly planted in the ground, we started to put down roots, dig in and gradually the business started to grow.
From there we started buying bulk and later got contracts for Idoho offshore deliveries. We moved from there to acquiring our own trucks, our own vessels and building our own tank farm. We couldn’t have known how successful or unsuccessful we would become, but we had some goals at the inception, we kept setting goals and smashing them as we progressed and here we are today.
Last year, the company re-branded as Nepal Energies and set a vision, “To accelerate Africa’s transition to reliable and sustainable energy,” and a mission statement, “To increase Africa’s access to cleaner, affordable and reliable energy that drives economic growth.” In what specific ways is Nepal Energies giving expression to the vision and mission statement?
Nepal has begun to look beyond the primordial era of fossil fuels into the present and future opportunities in alternative energy sources, such as gas (LPG, LNG, CNG etc.) as alternative ways of generating renewable energy. Nepal is not just looking at gas but also biofuels, windmills, solar, and hydroelectric power generation etc. Nepal has started off with its commercial gas drives and expansion and will take on other alternative energy sources, one at a time.
In line with UN initiatives to slow down climate change and also achieve the cleaner energy goal, is Nepal likely to offer solar-based medium-to-large scale energy services to targeted communities such as universities and suitable housing estates? Or even supply bulk gas for electricity generation to industrial customers?
As I explained previously, Nepal is willing to traverse all the value chain of cleaner energy. We are entrepreneurs in the first place and we are open to as many business opportunities as possible so long as they are profitable and agreeable to global health safety and environment (HSE) standards and do not run foul of our climate change policies.
As you look towards next year, and against the background of recent government policy pronouncements, what business process re-alignments are being implemented by NEPAL to enable it to continue to deliver good, affordable service, remain profitable and growing?
One of the major challenges of this new administration is the removal of fuel subsidy. This has made both positive and negative impacts on the economy. The positive impact is the deregulation of the fuel market which hopes to close up the loophole for systemic rots in the scheme and allow marketers to run their businesses among other positive impacts, while on the negative it has led to an unprecedented decline in the purchasing power of the citizens. So, there is a serious decline in demand. The removal has also witnessed a huge inflationary spike as evident in all sectors of the economy, especially transportation, commodity markets, and food security. The chain reaction of the inflation has also deepened the weakness of the Naira against the dollar. To remain profitable, we have mapped out our strategies to focus more on, and strengthen our retail businesses, while rapidly diversifying to other products in the petroleum market.
What does the picture look like in terms of retail network expansion?
Retail is going to be the future of the downstream petroleum industry. We have set targets to have our retail stations in all parts of the country by the middle of next year. We have acquired a good number of stations so far and we have a desire to at least quadruple that number by the middle of next year.
Talking about retail business, the location of a spacious and suitable site contributes to the patronage and success of a petroleum products retail outlet. A certain university in Anambra State has such a location. If it were to desire to host a mixed-use dealership (filling station, restaurant, supermarket), what other criteria need to be met for you to consider granting the dealership?
As business people or entrepreneurs, we are guided by numbers and the numbers are derived from feasibility studies and profitability analysis. Once the feasibility studies are positive, we proceed to consider issues of health, safety, security and environment (HSSE). In a country like Nigeria today, safety and security have assumed different dimensions that they were not the case a couple of years ago. So, we pay detailed attention to safety and security of our employees and our assets beyond our quest for profitability.
Does Nepal as part of its CSR programme provide opportunities for senior engineering students from universities to gain practical experience from participating in the operational activities of the company? Please cite some instances.
At the moment, we offer a number of internship programmes to students from different fields of study every year, especially in our tank farm facility in Delta State. As we are gradually going upstream, there will be more opportunities, specifically for engineers in the future as we go into exploration and production.
What has been the history of the firm in contributing to growth of local content in the execution of its major projects, to deepen the local knowledge base?
We are fully indigenous, our workforce is made up of 100 percent Nigerians. Our legal, accounting, audit, engineering, insurance and other consultants are mostly Nigerians. In that regard, we pay highest attention to promoting local content policies.
Again, with next year in mind, how will NEPAL imprint itself in the minds of consumers in the retail side of the business?
We will continue to demonstrate our commitment and dedication to serving our large and growing retail customer base. We are determined to retain our customers, always seek their best interest and deliver service that exceeds their expectations.
What is your definition of leadership? What are the attributes of good leadership in your view?
In my view, leadership has a number of key components and attributes. The first is vision, which is the ability to see the big picture of where the organization is headed, knowing what it is capable of, and what it will take to get there. The second is inspiration, an attribute that is equally as important as having a vision. Inspiration is the ability to convey that vision to others, and get them excited about it. This means maintaining a positive, yet realistic presence within the organization, helping team members stay motivated and engaged, and remember what it is that they are working for.
Then we come to another component: strategic and critical thinking. A good leader will be able to think critically about the organization or team they work within, and develop a clear understanding of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A good leader must know how to work as an individual to support the team to overcome threats, profitably utilise opportunities, substantial reduce the impact of weaknesses and build up the strength of the team and organisation.
Again, interpersonal communication is vital because good leaders must be able to interact with other people in a way that feels genuine. Then you talk about authenticity and self-awareness, because one of the key ways to become a great leader is to be self-aware enough to understand your strengths and your flaws, and to build an authentic leadership style that’s true to who you are and how you do your best work. Open-mindedness and creativity are like a second skin to a leader. The reason is that being a good leader means being open to new ideas, possibilities, and perspectives, and understanding that there’s no single “right” way to do things.
Leadership entails being adaptable and nimble when the situation calls for it. Hence, flexibility plays a role in leading successfully.
Responsibility and dependability can be taken to be the mother-lode of leadership as a leader is the key carrier of responsibility the for success of the organisation. The twin attributes of patience and tenacity are inseparable as a good leader knows how to take the long view, whether it is of a strategy, a situation, or a goal. Being able to take on any bumps in the road and persist in pursuing a goal without getting frustrated or defeated is key.
A person cannot be a good leader without empathy. A leader must be considerate and compassionate and show understanding of the plight or challenges which his or her subordinates face in their work environment. Finally, a willingness to pursuit continuous improvement is vital. True leaders know that perfection is a myth – there is always room for improvement on all levels.
As a mother, are there similarities between nurturing children and a business to maturity and enduring success? What has been your own experience? What sacrifices did you make to achieve both?
Actually, there is. Business ideas are conceived as pregnancies, they are carried (incubated) to full term and are birthed in due course. There are chances for stillbirths or miscarriages (where the ideas fail to come through). When birthed, they require nurturing, you keep making investments and injections without any profit or returns but you keep hope alive that one day the business will pay off. There are incidents of mortality, stuntedness or stagnation where the business is malnourished. To yield the desired results, businesses must be properly conceived, birthed, nurtured and continuously well managed by it owners or operators.
What can young mothers going into the corporate world or those already in it learn from your experience?
Be clear about your quest for success, be bold, courageous and consistent. Ensure to have integrity as an essential card. It opens multiple doors when tested and trusted.
In the course of your corporate journey, what role has your husband been playing in it all?
My husband has been very supportive all through. I learnt my initial business ethics of financial prudence and accountability from my husband. He has been a strong pillar of support as the chairman of Nepal Group.
