Benshore Maritime Services – No. 1 Nigerian Dredging Company

Interview with Otunba Benson Akingboye, Executive Chairman of Benshore Maritime Services

Give us your description of the sector you are in. How is the country’s current economy affecting your business?

I am in the maritime and dredging business but our core business is dredging. Dredging involves reclamation and creating canals as well as the sweeping of canals, channels, rivers and sea. In regards to the economy and how it affects us, it’s terrible; we are all suffering because of it. Things are not moving the way they are supposed to move but we believe that if we kick hard things would improve.

When and where was Benshore Maritime Services established? Tell us about some of your major projects and what you are currently working on.

We were established 20 years ago and we have done quite a number of projects. We have worked for Shell. We have worked for most of the multi nationals because we dredge for them. We have a lot of private business in Lagos in reclamation for the Gran Imperio Group and we have worked for Hitech for their construction. Most of the companies that are in construction will use Benshore Maritime.

When it comes to other companies in your sector, what is your position?

I will talk about the local content today because that is what matter. We proud ourselves with being number one in our sector and the only award in Nigeria to be given to a dredging company was won by Benshore two years ago and that was an award given by the government of Nigeria.

What are you working on right now?

We are working in Port Harcourt right now. We are working for Lekoil who are one of the assets managers for the oil well. We are also working on the Akwa Ibom reclamation project. We are dredging the Ibaka River and we are also busy with a very big job in Lekki Express where we are creating another 250 acres of land to be reclaimed for an estate. So we have some major projects happening.

We proud ourselves with being number one in our sector and the only award in Nigeria to be given to a dredging company was won by Benshore two years ago and that was an award given by the government of Nigeria.

What is your major advantage over the other companies?

Our major advantage is that we are dedicated to our job and we have a passion for it and we have the expertise to do the job. That is our advantage and I think we are doing great.

What is your strategy for the next year or two until the end of 2017? Where would you like to see the company?

I think that in the year 2017 we should be the number one dredger in West Africa. I believe we should be in the space where everyone knows us and what we do.

How are you going to achieve being number one in West Africa? Are you only located in Nigeria or do you want to expand?

We want to expand. If we can corner the market in Nigeria, we can try any part of Africa. That is what I know for sure. If you do well in this country you can go to any part of the continent.

Is this what you foresee for the next year and a half?

Yes. That is what we are planning to do.

What is the main advantage of doing business in Nigeria?

The main advantage is the population in Nigeria; apart from the Boko Haram that is partially affecting the country’s affairs—especially politically—, this is a very safe country to invest in and to do business in. Labour is cheap here and people want to work. That is the advantages of working in Nigeria.

Tell us about the company’s history. What are the main challenges?

There are a lot of challenges and finances are one of the biggest challenges in a company here. In Nigeria if you want to get a loan, the banks need so much from you; bring this and bring that. You try to give them everything they want but that can frustrate your business because you could be awarded a contract that has to start in two months but when you take the documents that the bank needs to them they will turn around and say, wait four or five months. Eventually you will lose your contract. The interest rate is alarming as well. It kills business. If the government could do something about this I think it will go a long way towards any entrepreneur or business that wants to start in Nigeria.

Are you looking for opportunities to enter the international markets and which market would that be in?

We are looking at Angola because a lot of what we do here also happens in Angola as well as most of the oil rich states in Africa. We want to expand there and we are talking to friends in Angola that can put us in that market because we don’t know much about that market yet so we are contacting friends in order to do business with them and especially in the oil sector.

Tell us about investment opportunities. What is the main source of investment for you that comes into your company locally or internationally?

We use the money that we get for each job. If you have a government job you get paid by the government. If you have a private company job you get paid by the private company. So the only investment we look at is the money clients give in order for us to complete a specific job.

What is your strategy for the next year or two, until the end of 2017? Where would you like to see the company?

We want to become number one because we have a passion for our work, we have the experience and we have the expertise. We are taking advantage of local content because local content goes a long way in Nigeria. Most of the oil companies that have to do projects in Nigeria look at local companies and as of today I consider my company as number one in local content in dredging because we work for most of the oil companies by dredging their oil wells.

Tell us about your other career. Why did you decide to take this new path?

If you know Nigeria you will find that my state, Ondo state which is 150km from Lagos, is a state that is well positioned in Nigeria. This state has the second largest deposit of bitumen across the world with only Canada surpassing us but still the bitumen remains untouched here in Nigeria. If you look at the terrain we have the deepest port in Ondo state that a company like British gas and companies from Belgium who have a lot of interest in building a seaport that is called the Olokola project. If we can really look at this project it will put Nigeria in the limelight even more than the oil sector would. This is a project that is meant to be done in my state but the present government is not pushing it and that is why I intend to run for governor of my state and if I win there are thing I will look at immediately, for example, look at the refinery at Dangote brought to Lagos, we found out that it was supposed to be situated in my state. But due to certain policies and the government disagreeing with the investors they took it back to Lagos state but that didn’t stop us going on with the Olokola project because we can also bring another refinery to the state to start with. This is why I have to go into government to try to improve the living condition of my people and to create more business for my state and for my country.

So you feel that you have to give back?

Yes. I have to.

When is this meant to happen?

The election will take place in November. And I will be running under my party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

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