Mr. Armstrong Tope Akintunde is managing director/chief executive officer, Aerofield
Homes Limited, a company reputed for high expertise in the luxury real estate space in
Nigeria. The company’s housing developments range from single family units to multi- unit developments located in environments united with nature.
Its commercial developments are designed to meet the varying needs for office, retail
businesses and leisure. Here the company goes the entire length to distill the
understanding of the functional and complementary needs of the user into scheme concepts, design and finishing.
In both residential and commercial housing development undertakings, whether they are for sale or lease, Akintunde is keen to ensure his company delivers products with all the features of functionality, quality, value and sustainability.
“Our main concern at Aerofield Homes Limited is pushing down the figure of Nigerians without decent shelter and this we have been pursuing with tremendous drive, energy and integrity”, the Aerofield Homes’ CEO stated.
He is an advocate of a united action by public and private sectors to increasingly make Nigerians home owners, stem housing deficit in the country and increase gainful employment in the real estate industry.
At Aerofield Homes, Akintunde is on a mission to help bridge housing deficit in Nigeria with a passion for excellence, luxury and comfort. He has attained great milestones on the mission with delivery of several multi-million-naira housing projects across the country.
An agronomist by training and estate developer by function, Akintunde ranks among the big names in Nigeria’s real estate industry. He studied agronomy at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Through further professional development programmes in real estate and project management in Nigeria and overseas, he has attained professional heights as fellow of the Institute of Professional Managers and Administrator of Nigeria, an associate of Nigerian Institute of Management, a certified Customer Relationship Manager and a certified representative of CIMC Global (Chartered Institute of Management Consultant, Canada).
Akintunde entered the real estate industry in 2009 when he joined Suru Group Limited – a company that operates a diversified portfolio of real estate properties and hotels across several clienteles. He is currently holding forth in the company as its executive director in charge of special projects. From there, he doubles as CEO of Aerofield Homes Limited.
Occupying those positions in the two companies that aren’t in a single group will ordinarily raise concerns of conflict of interest but Akintunde said that is completely out of the way. “Having trained and grown up with the ability to manage multiple responsibilities at once by focusing on tasks while keeping track of others, these multi-tasking skills in me wouldn’t allow for any clash of interests”, he assured.
Aerofield Homes’ services include housing development and construction under which it holds itself out with a firm promise – to make clients’ dreams a reality. It simplifies the process by assigning dedicated project managers to serve as a single point of contact throughout the life of the project from conception to completion.
The company also offers facility management services using seasoned experts, who understand the business. It sets its goals high in managing client’s assets to maximise potentials and returns on investment.
The company also engages in investment/land banking under which it aggregates parcels of prime land for future sale or development. This is a value enhancing endeavour that yields high returns within a relatively short period of time.
Aerofield Homes also offers real estate agency services with a promise to lead people in search of dream properties for rent or for buy to dream come true. The company leverages on its track record of integrity and transparency as well as its network in the property market to source desired properties with ease and on time.
Akintunde’s innovative strides in bridging housing deficit in Nigeria is headed to the next level of building the human capacity. “As a matter of priority, we intend to establish a world-class academy for the training and development of young entrepreneurs in the nearest future”, he said.
He has in view what would become a centre of excellence that others would soon begin to emulate. The purpose is to spread the capacity to address Nigeria’s housing shortage across the nation to get a lot more hands on deck. His expertise as a resource person in entrepreneurship development will expectedly give the project a good millage.
The nation-wide capacity building is his own strategy to speed up house delivery to Nigerians in a situation of rapidly increasing cost of building materials – a move he would like various governments to join by turning their promises of delivering low-cost housing into action. Such action, he said, should involve ensuring stability in the prices of building materials.
He prescribes collaboration of government with professionals and artisans in house building business as well as manufacturers and stockists of building materials for the low-cost housing dream to be realised in Nigeria. “No matter how genuine the intention or strong the drive may be, if the prices of building materials are not controlled or managed, the idea will never come to fruition”, Akintunde declared.
He makes a special case for a public-private partnership arrangement that covers provision of land and title documents, enabling regulatory policies for the industry that would encourage the usage of standard building materials and professionals in the building and construction of houses and other infrastructures in the effort to curb incessant building collapse.
