It takes weeks to secure an appointment with Nigeria’s high-profile Director-General of the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission (SEC). And when we do, it’s on a public holiday.
Walking into Arunma Oteh’s office in the country’s capital Abuja is like walking into a trophy store: shiny medals, mementoes, plaques and trophies take up an entire wall.
One glance is enough to convey the success of Nigeria’s tough-talking chief capital market regulator. A career she couldn’t have imagined.
As a child, Oteh wanted to be an inventor. A proud workaholic, she puts her discipline down to her sound upbringing.
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“My parents were really stern but also loving, and for my two sisters and I, the constant quest for knowledge and excellence was firmly rooted in this background. They had such a great sense of character and the courage to be different and standing up for what was right regardless of the cost. I believe they instilled this in me. My childhood is really what has made me who I am today,” says Oteh.
It was tough being the daughter of a father who had exalted expectations. Once, she ran home elated, report card in hand. She had big news.
“Dad, I did it, I came first in class!”
One look at her report, and her father said: “Great, but next time, you have to be first plus plus.”
Such was Oteh’s family. They looked down on mediocrity and believed in brilliance. Hailing from the southeastern part of Nigeria, Oteh grew up in Kano, northern Nigeria.
Oteh’s mother, a nurse, wanted her to become a medical doctor, her father, an engineer, wanted her to take on his profession. But Oteh had other interests. She recalls fondly her obsession to become an inventor. Computer science was in its infancy in the 1980s; she loved the sciences and believed she could become a pioneer. So she studied computer science.
In 1984, Oteh graduated top of her class and faculty from the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, after which she taught computer science to first year university students as part of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a compulsory government program for Nigerian graduates.
After NYSC, she went to Lagos and was interviewed for jobs. The offers came thick and fast, and she decided to work for Centre Point, a stockbroking firm, because she admired Dennis Odife, the owner of the company and a highly respected businessman.
“I was impressed with what he had done with the company and what he had become. It was an amazing decision and defined what I ended up doing later in life. I was hired at the time to start the management information systems department but few months into that role, he thought it would be good for me to work in corporate finance. That’s how I got into finance and got really excited about it too,” says Oteh.
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Oteh’s fascination for her new found career grew and she explored the next step for growth. Her mentor, Odife, had been to the prestigious Columbia Business School in the United States. And she saw this as a must.
She started reading up about business schools and applying in her first year at Centre Point. The acceptance letters poured in. And she made it through the selection process at Harvard Business School.
“My father had always said, if you do well, you can always get what you want,” says Oteh.
Oteh worked in the United Kingdom for some time and flew to Harvard in September 1988. Here, she found herself surrounded by intelligent people and erudition.
“Business school was amazing. The case study methodology employed at Harvard also helped hone my skills in decision-making and problem-solving. This is an environment that prepares you to take on the world. I was very interested in finance. As the first Nigerian woman in the Harvard Business School MBA program, my class mates were quite wowed and thought I was a princess.”
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It all led to a career as Director-General of the SEC, a post she has held since January 2010.
This is merely one of the many hats she wears. She was also elected Chairperson of the Africa Middle East Regional Committee (AMERC) of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) in June 2010. She is a member of the Nigerian Economic Management team and serves on the board of a number of organizations including the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
Today, Oteh is charged with transforming the Nigerian capital markets and unlocking the country’s economic potential.
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Her appointment four years ago came at a crucial time, on the heels of the global financial crisis. Nigeria’s stock market had fallen 70% from its peak in March 2008. Investor confidence was low. There was need for change and a tough regulator.
By the time she started, Oteh already had a wealth of experience and believed she had the panacea.
Her message to the people was to save and invest wisely. To the policy makers, she preached against depending on short-term bank finance, and in favor of medium and long-term finance to fund infrastructure.
“Having that crisis helped, because people had seen what could go wrong. The environment to support a tough reform agenda was present as they could see the importance of a regulator that would do its job. When I joined, the vision was for the SEC to be the best regulator in Africa and I said, ‘best regulator in Africa?’ That’s not ambitious enough. Our aim should be to be the best regulator in the world. Nobody invests in a particular market because they love it. They are more interested in the safety and security of their funds. In that case, it is important to build a market that can stand globally acclaimed. This isn’t possible without integrity,” says Oteh.
Oteh was ready to put her money where her mouth was in an arduous revamp of the Nigerian capital markets.
It wasn’t going to be easy.
“That led us to alleging that 260 individuals and entities had carried out different forms of market abuse. The second thing was to focus on the Exchange. Nigeria had one operational exchange and being a visible symbol of our market, it was very important to ensure that we address the challenges of the Exchange because then, we develop the industry of fund and asset managers and develop the fixed income bond market to the point where it became easier for people
to borrow.”
Thanks to her efforts, today, she has the likes of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which launched a successful bond last year. She has also been able to regulate over-the-counter markets.
“We have two platforms, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), which targets unlisted securities so there is more efficient trading in those securities or the platform sponsored by the financial market dealers association which does wholesale trading in Federal Government bonds. Also, introducing new instruments like Islamic finance products, and encouraging real estate investment trusts,” she says.
With all these feats and more under her belt, Oteh believes there is still more to do, and with careful execution, it’s only a matter of time before all her boxes are ticked.
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There have also been some dark days along the way for Oteh, as in 2012, the board of the SEC had directed her to go on compulsory leave, following a probe into the near collapse of the capital markets and allegations of misappropriation of funds and disharmony in the apex capital market regulator.
Oteh fought the system tooth and nail and went to great lengths to expose inadequacies in the structure, accusing the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Nigerian capital market of corruption and unaccountability in a heated exchange at the public inquiry.
Following a two-month suspension, Oteh was cleared of all allegations and went back to her job as Director-General.
“I was angry that a system that is so well-endowed was being managed irresponsibly. I had also built a longstanding career and reputation over 22 years anchored on excellence. I knew there would be risks attached to fighting back and that I would be misunderstood but I also felt that standing up for what was right, far outweighed any costs attached for me. If I didn’t do it, who would?” she told FORBES WOMAN AFRICA.
Prior to her appointment at the SEC, Oteh was Vice President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), and was at the forefront of internal reforms that scaled up the bank’s response to Africa’s development challenges.
She had also served as the bank’s Group Treasurer for five years, managing a portfolio of assets and liabilities worth billions of dollars. In her years at AfDB, she restored its ‘AAA’ rating by Standard &amp; Poor’s.
“Some of my most fascinating experiences were that people were just so excited to hear about Africa – there was such a curiosity about the continent. At the time, AfDB was a ‘AAA’-rated institution and we would go to sell AfDB bonds in Japan. People were relatively familiar with why we were so highly rated. So, most people felt very comfortable with the credit when you sold bonds – they knew there was no risk,” she says.
Oteh had also started the Euro currency programmes while at AfDB.
This great adventure with AfDB began post-Harvard, following a year’s project with the Harvard Institute for International Development assessing the competitiveness of manufacturing in West Africa. She had interviewed at AfDB where she got hired into the West and North Africa portfolios in 1992. She covered Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana and Sudan, traveling in these countries.
After being away from her home country for 22 years, Oteh, a proud patriot, believes there is no place like Nigeria. She is highly optimistic.
“There are no countries that have taken the bold steps we have in the financial sector in the last few years,” she says.
As her current term draws to an end in January 2015 – and that’s also when she will be turning 50 – Oteh and her team, are working tirelessly still, raising the bar and repositioning the face of the Nigerian capital market globally. It is yet to achieve demutualization and this is a direction the institution would like to steer towards.
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Oteh is also passionate about mentoring young girls, and advocacy. She holds a strong view on women’s place in society, drawing attention to the low number of women in key positions and boards.
“Equal opportunities should exist in the work place. A meritocracy where the best suited and qualified individual gets the job is also as vital.”
She also believes in a great support system and that young women should have self-belief.
“Successful leaders should pave the way for younger women to climb the corporate ladder through mentorship and coaching,” she says.
On career and family, Oteh, who acknowledges devoting her life to career, says she wouldn’t do it differently.
They call her the ‘Iron Lady’ for her tough decision-making.
“If leading change, being passionate, resilient and decisive about a great course is what makes me an iron lady, then I proudly raise my hand up high to that tag,” says Oteh.
She has come a long way from Kano. Oteh is not telling us what her plans are post her current assignment, but we are sure to hear more about her in the news.

From College Princess  To Queen  Of The Markets

In the next three years, China will spend close to $1 billion buying a share of Africa’s digital satellite television market.
It is big business that is not welcomed by everyone.
As dozens of African countries migrate from analogue to digital television, China has already purchased its way into a strong position that is likely to get stronger.
Since 2000, China has invested in Africa’s broadcast networks. This firm hand has seen China shift from technical support to supplying what is on the screen.
“China has been in Africa for a lot longer than most people think. If you remember most liberation movements, Africa got assistance from China as well as Russia. Back then in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s, it was more of cooperation in the struggle for liberation,” says Wellington Radu, head of programs at Media Monitoring Africa, a non-profit media watchdog.
Chinese media group StarTimes is at the heart of Africa’s digital terrestrial migration, with roughly 2.5 million subscribers on the continent.
“We can only speculate as to why China is increasingly investing in Africa’s media space. It is about how African governments choose to handle China’s investments so that they work to their advantage,” Radu says.
So far, a mere handful of African countries have launched digital terrestrial television (DTT), and it is expected that 100 million homes in the continent will switch by 2015.
DTT migration on a national level is a relatively new venture for the continent, and in many cases a number of countries do not have the policy or the strategy to switch to a fully-digital landscape.
African countries are looking to companies like StarTimes, already present in eight of the continent’s countries, to bankroll the migration.
One of the issues is that this could put most of Africa’s pay television market in the hands of a foreign player.
“To me it represents a serious question around how [this] will this impact democratic processes and spaces. On the one hand it empowers you. At the same time it scares me if I think about the fact that if I allow the Chinese to do this, how much power does my government have over what they know I’m accessing on the net, what I’m writing, who I’m talking to?” says Sanusha Naidu from the Open Society Foundation of South Africa.
Meanwhile, StarTimes has spent $127 million in Nigeria to make sure that 16 of the country’s states will receive its digital signals.
“I think what’s interesting as well is the Chinese don’t want to go to the media partner, they want to go to the state. They understand where the power to release licenses lies, who has the power to make the decision,” says Naidu.
Earlier this year, the Pan African Network group, a part of StarTimes, won a controversial signal distribution license tender in Kenya.
The license provides the group with ownership of the platform on which broadcasters will have to grant transmission of their content, giving StarTimes a large portion of Kenya’s television market.
The company has however been accused of attempting to heavily monopolize the continent’s DTT space even before its birth, which has drawn criticism of China.
“In an infrastructure sense, it’s providing that platform, but I think it’s the next step, the content. What’s interesting is [African countries] are earning a name for themselves but not actually creating their own content,” says Yu-Shan Wu, a researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs.
Naidu nevertheless believes that China’s role in Africa’s DTT migration could provide the possibility of a number of countries turning into Big Brother states.
“It does empower African countries, which can be positive and negative at the same time. It can actually be a paradox within itself. What happens with enabling African countries to launch, or helping them with the digital [migration], is that you run the risk of actually using the way in which China interprets its own technology, its use of its own digital space and capabilities to spy on its own people,” Wu explains.
The fear is that Africa is going to lose control of what people watch, and countries will have to be cautious of what China could do once in the continent’s digital space.

Megabucks China Coming To  A TV Screen Near You

They are fresh-faced, full of ambition and look like they could be on their way to a rock concert—instead, they are on their way to a fortune.
In just 14 months, they’ve managed to beat the odds, and their peers, to amass just over $385 million in assets in a $19-billion property market in South Africa.
Sesfikile Capital, which means “we have arrived” in Xhosa, is a young company in more ways than one. Evan Jankelowitz is the eldest, aged 32, Mohamed Kalla, 29, and Kundayi Munzara, 28.  Together they’ve beaten the benchmark of the property business, the South African Property Index, in times of recession and doubt.
Sesfikile Capital, which opened its doors in December 2010, manages institutional capital on behalf of pension fund clients in domestic and international property listings.
It wasn’t easy. In the first four months of their business, they had zero assets to manage.
“We used to look at our monthly statements and we had an expense statement, not an income statement! April 2011 is when we got our first mandate, which was $1.2 million—not a great deal, but at least that gave us the ability to start,” says Munzara.
If that was a surprise—10 months later came a shock. Sesfikile Capital had set a target of $257 million for the first year; instead they got $385 million. The company has reaped the benefits of property coming into its own as an asset and pension funds also started to pay a lot more attention to listed property.
“It’s by no means a pushover sector and we have sleepless nights when the markets don’t always go our way; but the truth of the matter is we’re so involved and enjoy what we do. It’s a challenge we’re up for,” says Jankelowitz.
“It’s also difficult in this sector because it’s small and relatively illiquid. There’s a lot of competition out there, so you have to work pretty hard to beat the average,” Kalla adds.
South African property economist Professor François Viruly says Sesfikile Capital’s portfolio is a substantial one to be created in such a short time. He says there are significant bargains to be had in the property market in South Africa and the launching of new property funds offers good opportunities.
Sesfikile Capital says making sense of what is happening globally is another issue they face. The constant news flow on the euro zone and other global political issues affect equity markets and is something they’ve come to work prepared for every day.
The South African commercial property market has adjusted from its peak in 2005 and 2006. The focus at present is on maintaining tenants and keeping operating costs under control. But the number of new players entering the South African market reflects the opportunities here and further afield.
“If you think of the big oil countries like Angola, Ghana and Nigeria, for instance, there’s a big shortage of stock there. So at this point, the stock actually has to be built. And the guys who are really doing that are probably the infrastructure and private equity funds; we’re more a second-round investor, where we invest in existing stock that provides rental,” Munzara says.
Viruly says a slowdown in returns should be expected in 2012, reflective of relatively high vacancies in the commercial property market. There is also some pressure on rentals at the moment and the focus of property managers is to ensure that incomes are maintained. The rise in municipal rates and taxes and the rising cost of electricity are also having an impact on returns in the property market.
Sesfikile Capital is ready for rough waters, though.
“The volatility in equity markets has seen pension funds and investors look towards more income-driven assets and both fixed-income and property have actually benefitted from that. And there is very little evidence to suggest that investment in property has actually been hampered by the recession,” Kalla says.
“It reshuffled the whole market and allowed for cheaper entries into property. I’ve personally seen a lot more pension funds looking at this space—there has been more focus on property than there has been in the past,” Jankelowitz adds.
South African property continues to demonstrate relatively strong performance when compared to equities and bonds, according to Viruly. The densification of South African cities continues to offer opportunities, especially in the retail and residential sectors.
Sesfikile Capital has just launched a unit trust, which will focus on the retail market and invest in the listed property sector. The company is launching a global fund as well.
“Our numbers are looking good and there’s no reason to think we can’t continue in this manner,” says Jankelowitz.
The young lions appear ready to roar.

Tag: market

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

From College Princess To Queen Of The Markets

Megabucks China Coming To A TV Screen Near You

Young Lions Feast At The Top Table