An entrepreneurial expert, Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China, has tasked the African Union to create templates to locate genuine entrepreneurs and performing brands on the continent and encourage them.

He said such a step will usher in greater value, create employment, and boost the economy because, according to him, it will challenge the entrepreneurs to deliver value that is continental and global.

He decried that the regional bodies such as the African Union fail to create templates and procedures to dig deep to know both performing brands and personalities on the continent, which he noted has limited the impacts and competitiveness.

China, who emerged as one of Africa’s 100 brand personalities reckoned for working assiduously to transform the continent into global competitiveness, spoke at the weekend, where the likes of Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Seyi Tinubu also got recognized.

He said: “I have been doing my thing in Port Harcourt feeling like somebody in a local pond. To be discovered in the continental river that we are making a contribution, for me, it is a double feeling; the feeling of being seen and rewarded; and the feeling of being challenged because by the time you are recognised at the continental stage, you now need to deliver value that is continental and global. So, I feel both impressed and challenged at the same time.

“All we have done is to build our perception because our flagship, the Alesa Highlands Sustainable Green Smart City, is being constructed this year and we are moving from perception to brand experience. Our vision is for our brand experience to be stronger than our brand perception.”

The Mayor of Housing also called for a declaration of a state of emergency in Africa’s housing sector, saying the 42 million housing deficit on the continent, with most of it coming from Nigeria, was a huge concern.

“Housing has become such a place of crisis that I think a state of emergency should be declared in Africa.”

Revealing the cause of the housing crisis, he said the most prominent factor is when Africa departed from indigenous building systems and materials to imported and monetised building materials. “When we were building with local materials, nobody in African villages was homeless, but when these highly monetised and imported materials took over, the alarming rate of homelessness or housing deficiency is shocking.”

On the impact of his work on Africa, he stated that he has taken it upon himself to reduce or try to eliminate the housing deficit in Nigeria and Africa through solutions that he said were simple and sustainable, mainly through collaborations.