Breaking Barriers: Adaralegbe Akintayo’s journey to becoming a real estate icon

The stories of men are a reminder that experience remains the greatest teacher. It lays all things bare and indirectly asks us to choose the path we want to follow. The narrative of Adaralegbe Akintayo, founder of real estate company, T-Pumpy Concepts, is a constant admonition that success and failure are in the hands of every one, but we must make a choice to let one go.

Adaralegbe Akintayo made a choice early in life not to let where he was coming from deny him of how successful he could be and what life has to offer, if he worked hard, persevered, determined and focused.

Adaralegbe Akintayo was born and raised in a family which struggled to make ends meet. His father was a photographer, as it was almost a common thing back them to have one in the corner of every street before the mobile phone era. His mother was a jack of all trade, who did several businesses to support her husband to keep the home front running.

As a young child, the T-Pumpy Concepts boss must have been determined to be resourceful as his mother sadly died before his 30th birthday. His family was poor, but his father managed to send him to a higher institution. With the full grasp of the financial situation at home, he had to exercise on campus the business acumen he watched his mother display.

Born in Ilorin, Kwara State, but from Iloro in Ekiti, Adaralegbe Akintayo
shares a history with many successful business people, who tried their hands in several legitimate enterprises before fortune came. He began as a thrift collector in the higher institution beore switching to photography, which was a booming business back then.

One special trait exhibited by Adaralegbe Akintayo was his ability to move with business trends and taking opportunities. He sold recharge card vouchers in Lugbe, a suburb of Abuja, when GSM began to be popular, and after he was posted to Ebonyi State for his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), his knack for business gave him a nudge to continue.  He added phone booth services to it and he stood out among other competitors by introducing incentives such as lowering his prices, which saw him enjoy massive patronage.

He continued with the business after his NYSC and It was at this point he encountered what was going to be the game changer for him. His place of business constantly pulled crowd and it became a point real estate marketers go to market land and properties to his customers. He was approached to sell lands and properties, but Adaralegbe Akintayo
initially turned down the offer, citing inexperience and lack of interest.

After much hesitation, he decided to make a move. He received a N30,000 commission from his first deal as an agent, and N300,000 after another transaction. Adaralegbe Akintayo
founded his company in 2010 and spent five years afterwards acquiring lands. In 2015, he officially opened his first office with just three employers in Abuja.

His decision to go into the business is an understanding of the situation in Nigeria. T-Pumpy Concepts sells affordable housing to all categories of Nigerians. The huge population explosion in the country and the anticipated demand for housing has fueled growth in the sector. Akintayo consolidated the gains of T-Pumpy Concepts and subsequently expanded to Ekiti and Oyo States, with plans to hit Lagos and other major cities in the country.

Adaralegbe Akintayo who will turn 41 on May 29th, 2023, won the “Real Estate Personality of the Year” at the Global Excellence Recognition Awards in 2021.