Mike Nyinaku: has more under his sleeves
Mike Nyinaku, founder and CEO of one of Ghana’s recent additions to the investment scene, is already a success and the recipient of many awards and accolades before his third decade on the planet is complete.
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And it is clear he believes he has much more to do. “I am trying to build for myself a foundation that will last beyond the lifetime of my children,”Mike says.
That foundation is The BEIGE Group, consisting of thirteen companies with over 2,000 staff, and total assets in excess of $150m. The company has a wide variety of interests: in real estate, hospitality, financial services, marketing communications, logistics and security services.
Charming and down-to-earth Mike eschews formality. When I meet him for a late supper at Accra’s African Regent Hotel, I find him dressed in a smart casual - bright orange Ralph Lauren polo shirt, chinos and a trendy pair of suede shoes.
You might be forgiven for thinking he is laid back and unassuming. But beneath the ‘chillaxed’ image, Mike is determined, ambitious and has an iron resolve.
In just a little over five years, his savings and loans company, Beige Capital, has 58 branches in five regions of Ghana. And he has plans to be nationwide by the end of 2015.
His hotel complex - Beige Village and Golf Resort - was named by Ghana Tourist Board as a three -star hotel of the year 2014. The award citation applauded the resort for “the audacity to establish such an edifice far away from the city centre, as well as maintaining a serene and eco-friendly ambience.”
Further accolades on Trip Advisor describe Beige Village as“the Earth’s version of a little paradise”. When I finally visit, I am tempted to agree. It is the perfect blend of all things Ghana as it ought to be: unspoilt, lush and rich.
Beige Village lives up to its tagline “Life is worth living”. There is a dizzying array of activities that will keep even the most restless person fully occupied for days: birdwatching, spa, golf lessons, swimming, spa treatments, fitness centre, outdoor amphitheatre, soccer pitch, practice fish pond, lawn scrabble, lawn chess, a pub, night club and restaurants.
I am amazed at Mike’s intrepidity in sinking a colossal investment in the middle of ‘nowhere’. Well, almost in the middle of nowhere: Beige Village is located 100 miles from Kumasi on the Juaso-Nsawam Road.
How did he discover the place?
In a previous role, Mike would travel regularly to Kenyasi in the Brong Ahafo Region in connection with a community development contract with Newmont Mining. He could not find one redeeming feature about the bed and breakfast options available at the time so he decided to build a hotel to cater for the burgeoning mining market there.
However, after buying the land, he decided against Brong Ahafo Region. Instead his focus turned to New Abirem in the Eastern Region (where Newmont was building another mine). New Abirem trumped Kenyasi because it was closer to Accra and Kumasi. Mike hoped it would provide a strong market of people seeking out-of-town relaxation.
The last thirty kilometres of the road to Beige Village though is truly awful. While several other entrepreneurs might have moaned about the lack of support from the authorities in fixing the road, Mike simply got on with it.
He recently invested in a luxury shuttle bus which can pick up customers from any part of the country. And, for those with a bit more cash to spare, a private helicopter service can be arranged to fly customers to Beige in a fraction of the time.
After chatting for a while, I decided to ask more searching questions of Mike.
‘Where did the capital come from? Do you have a god-father?Does UT Bank Founder, Prince Kofi Amoabeng, have any interest in Beige?’ I asked, seeking clarity in respect of rumours that I have heard several times.
But Mike is firm and plays a straight bat.“Not at all,” he tells me.
He then turned to the past where it all began: Accra, 1998.
During post-university national service, Mike set up a financial management consultancy to provide basic book-keeping services for small enterprises. His clients included provision shops, comm centres, and driving schools.
He invested most of the revenue in stock and T-bills at a time when the Ghana Stock Exchange was booming. So he made, well, ‘a lot of money’. With that money, he bought land, built a house and then sold it.
So the business got going. Mike then invested the proceeds in another piece of land and continued to repeat the process.
In the meantime, he had been a trainee at Deloitte; but he felt stifled and “hungry” for more. He continued with his investments in real estate, shares and treasury bills; meanwhile he saved most of his salary, foregoing many lifestyle choices of his young peers.
When he started Beige Village, he could only afford the two acres on which he started. Today, Mike has more than 5,000 times that size of land.
Given the similarities I see between him and Amoabeng- and between Beige Capital and UT Bank –I feel compelled to ask if Mike is trying to be the next Kofi Amoabeng.
Again he simply says: “Not at all”.But this time he adds: “I respect PK. He is a friend - and a good one at that. But I am not walking in his shadows. His successes as well as that of his contemporaries have revealed greater opportunities to me and my generation. We will remain continuously thankful to them and hope to raise the bar for the next group that will come after us”.
I decide to change the subject and ask an easy question: what is his greatest love?
Mike’s face changes, and he answers instantly: “My children. They are my weakness. I can shed tears just by watching them . Someday I’d like live on the Akwapim hills just outside Accra, farming and living a quiet life. That will be perfect happiness.”
When I ask him what his motto is, he goes quiet for a moment. The he says, calmly: “I’m on a journey”.
I thought that was apt. Mike Nyinaku, I agree, is on a journey. The story of The BEIGE Group has just begun.