Konnected Minds Podcast

Segment - When Preparation Meets Opportunity: A Developer's Journey - Moses B Arthur

• Derrick Abaitey

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Dreams take flight when preparation meets opportunity. That's the essence of my journey with AfriMat Atlantic—a real estate development company born from vision, nurtured through learning, and brought to life through meaningful connections.

The name AfriMat Atlantic carries our story: "Afri" representing myself and my co-founder Oscar, "mat" from his surname, and the "A" symbolizing God as our third partner. Atlantic signifies our ambition to "storm the world" with innovative developments. But having a compelling vision wasn't enough—we needed guidance to transform it into reality.

For years, we studied successful developers like Dr. Stephen Debrah, watching interviews repeatedly and absorbing knowledge. While we hadn't broken ground on our first development, our capacity-building never stopped. This preparation positioned us for a breakthrough when Dr. Stephen unexpectedly reached out after silently observing our consistent work for two years.

The path forward required what many aspiring entrepreneurs overlook: significant sacrifice. We liquidated personal assets, including our cars, to fund our first project. As I often tell young people who admire success without understanding its price: "You want the anointing of the older generation but refuse their sacrifice." Nobody believes in your dream more than you do, and your willingness to invest in it speaks volumes.

When financial resources were limited, we leveraged relationships. These connections eventually led us to land opportunities and critical partnerships. Throughout this journey, mentorship proved invaluable—Dr. Stephen became the lens through which we could see what we previously couldn't, helping us avoid costly mistakes and accelerate our growth.

What's your vision waiting for? Perhaps it's the consistency that attracts the right mentors, the relationships that open doors, or the sacrifice that demonstrates your commitment. Your breakthrough may be closer than you think.

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Speaker 1:

never think of what they can contribute. So I realized that, okay, this has been the journey, this and this and this and that, um, how do you now start? You're still moving to your becoming, you are still trying to figure it out. It doesn't look all rosy like when I want to reference real estate. If you look at my real estate journey, um, or my entrepreneurial journey at some point I did a little bit of farming um, they are all on my socials. I, I document my journey a lot. So, um, they are all there.

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And then we had started this real estate in myself and my co-founder, oscar. We started afri mat atlantic, and afri mat is a, for alpha. Frame is oscar, is frame pawn, so frame at is art. So we got free mat. We use this second, um, his surname frame, I'm at a art. So we got free mat and we're like okay, great men, partner with god to do business. We're three partners in this business myself, him and god. So we needed an a. Then we brought alpha in greek you say alpha and omega. In hebrew you say I left half. So we brought a to represent god. So the three partners who got a free mat. Then we added atlantic atlantic means we'll. In Greek you say Alpha and Omega, in Hebrew you say Aleph-Tav. So we brought you to represent God. So the three partners. We got Afrimat.

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Then we added Atlantic. Atlantic means we'll storm the world. We'll be the underdogs that will storm the world with real estate. So we got our company's name. Now we registered it with RGD. Now we're pushing.

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And hear me, we went to Kumasi. We started off by building for people. We're doing projects in Kumasi. You'd come in here, you come to Akasha, look for properties to sell. At the time Sukasa had put up a property. We tried to, you know, help them sell and all of that. But you want to start a development. That is what is at your heart's beat. So if you look at the AfriMata Atlantic logo, it looks like a high-rise building, because that's always been our vision. We've always wanted to be that realistic company that comes in to do high-rise apartments. So we're like how do we? How do we transition?

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Then I remember we have watched a video of dr stephen deborah and um wademaya interviewed him. Tayo aina interviewed him, steven Debra and um what the Maya interviewed him, interviewed him for us. That's a Ghanaian who didn't have to travel anywhere and he's here and he's doing high rise. In my mind, bro, it would take me maybe 20 years to meet this man, or 10 years. He looked too far-fetched, so it was a season of confusion for us.

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How do we pick this thing? We're learning again. You notice that my principles are at play. I can tell you back to back stories of what dr deborah said on both interviews, because I've watched this several times. So I watch videos of nigerian developers, myself and my co-founder. That's what we're doing, the same principles that are teaching here. We're just learning. So, even before we touched a real estate development project, the kind of things we know about real estate just by watching and learning. And that's the beauty. When now, everything you are learning meets together with your seasons, which is why I tell people don't give up, your time is coming. The fact that your time has not come in does not mean you shouldn't prepare. That's not me. You shouldn't build capacity. That's not me. You shouldn't be competent. So we started learning.

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Then, on um one beautiful day, I woke up and inside my Instagram DM, dr Stephen has sent me a message. I saw it. I said ah. He said I like what you're doing. I've been observing you for the past two years. I said it will two years, which is for me. I speak to young people a lot and I tell them listen, kings are watching, kings are watching. Whatever you are doing, kings are watching. They have not come to the brightness of your rising and your light because for kings, they have seen a lot of people come and go. Consistency to kings is proof of mastery, so make sure that you are being consistent. The man sends me a day. I thought it was a scam, so I showed it to my co-founder. I said, hey, there'd be a scam. He said debut, hey, you're not. We checked it was. I said ah, so I sent him a message. I said sir, can I please have your number? Then I didn't hear from him. It was third april.

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I said, ah, I said it, he has come then, fifth april this man shares his number which was my birthday, was my best birthday present. I was subbed him and he responded moses, which for me is something that a lot of people find intriguing when they reach out to me and I respond to them because they don't understand. In my journey, when I started, I had people I looked up to who would ask you to come around. You go, you spend the whole day. They will not meet you. You message them, they will not reply, and then I'll enter bars again and go back to Kumasi. You know. So I just told myself as God lifts me up it doesn't matter who you are. You message me on any of my platforms, I'll respond to you. As far as I'm available, I will. And that was the kindness Dr Stephen showed me the moment I sent him a message. He replied A month after he wasn't in the country, so a month after we met for the first time in his office. So, fitby, and when we met we spent about two hours. The man opened up his heart and so he showed us go and do this, go and do that, go and do this. So we started.

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For one year we were going about in circles, acting on what he said we would go, we would go here, we would go here, we'll go here, we'll go here, we'll go here. Then now it comes in on the scene. I'm like, okay, there's that, that, that, that. So my very good friend brought a friend to my place. We're speaking and then the person said, oh, I have this land here, let's go and have a look at it. We went and then my mentor had given me a law. He said every land you touch, make sure the documents are there. So that person didn't have documentations for their land, so we didn't proceed and we're still in circles.

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So one Sunday after the call with my co-founder, we're like 2024 is our year, that's right, it has to be this year. After all, the two to three years of it has to be this year. So one Sunday on a call, we said okay, this land just filled. What must we do? Quickly? We called another friend who was into real estate, which is the reason why I say that when your time has not come and you don't have financial resources, build social resource, build relationship resource, build people who can take you to your next realm of living. And what will then happen? Instantly we called the guy. He said, oh, I'll speak to somebody, it's okay.

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The next day he called me, said the person says he knows so, so and so of this place. Are you people ready for us to go? I said, ah, we're born ready. Which will speak? Which will make me speak about another things physical, universal currency, dress. Well, I may not have the money in my pocket, but I'll never go wrong in my looks so quickly.

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When the person said we are going to see this person, this person is this. I said don't worry. He said look good. I said don't worry, I wore my kaftan. I have this particular kaftan. You think that's half hundred billion dollars in my account. So I wore it. My co-founder dress. Smell good. I put on a very good perfume, not too expensive, that's the thing. The perfume must not be expensive to smell good.

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So showed up at the place and the person said what do you people want to do on the land? Then I said this is our 3d drawing. Listen, faith is faith, but the bible says faith is a substance of things hoped for. So we had faith, but we had a substance. The man said ah, you people, you don't have land, you already have your 3ds. I say yes, sir, when we get the land size, we'll fit the building to the land. He said you are the only person who has come here who has showed a design of what you want to do. And then, quickly, we went.

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Now, the long story is that, if you are listening to all of this, how did we start? We started off with the relationships pushing on the vision. Then it comes to a place where we have to start. That is where sacrifice comes in. So we live in a generation where a lot of young people want their anointings on the older generation, but they are refusing their sacrifice. So you are seeing mba, you like what mba is doing, but have you ever sat down to question the depth of sacrifice I put in to make the things that you see work? So now we have the land, now we have everything, we've gone to our documentation, everything is solid. Now we want to start a project. Now where's the money? That's where the sacrifice comes in. So what assets can you liquidate? If you have a car, sell it if you, because, see, it is your dream. Nobody believes in your dream more than you. Nobody believed in this connected mind things. So you came down, set it up and had people to come in and push your resources in to make it work. That's the thing. So we put in the work, we started sacrificing, selling the cars here and again.

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Relationships are important Me. I tell the generation that social media is a tool. Use it, don't let it use you. If you come on my social media, I teach. If you come on my social media, it has to be value. That's right From my YouTube to everywhere. You'll barely see me post my social life on social media. If I post it, then I want you to see it. But everything is well curated and engineered and those were the things that Dr Stephen had seen and he reached out. But, moving forward, I had now built a community of people who were following my body of work. Right before real estate, bro, I tried a lounge. It failed. It didn't work. I'd gone in on the whole real estate in trial with, and that is because I didn't have a mentor to teach. So, as you who are mentors, mentors are the lens in which we're able to see the things that we're not supposed to see, and they will guide you you think mentorship is important in extremely important, extremely important.

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See, whenever god wants to help a man and whenever god wants to make a man wealthy on time, he introduces another man into his life. David hadkins so exactly. David had King Saul, abraham had Abimelech, ruth had the king. I'm sorry, esther had the king, ruth had Boaz Me. I have Dr Stephen. My life has been transitions of men and I have Ernest. Exactly so, if you look at it very, very, very well, mentorship is extremely important. You think about it this way Moses is blessed. He has had encounters with God, he has seen God, but he doesn't understand leadership and administration. So his father-in-law, jethro, is the one that teaches him how to set up a good administrative system for the people he was leading, else he would have failed today you have yourself an awesome project that I'm pretty sure within the next six months to a year it should be complete we pray.

Speaker 2:

We'll put it in the work I've seen some of the videos you posted. I myself have heard it and I was like, wow, what does the future hold for this man? But a true question is you fill up the entire UPSA, but then the young people are still waiting for item 30 you know this features was speaking about this as well some other time where he says he's gone around 16 University mm-hmm.

Speaker 2:

And the only thing the young people were concerned about is what they are going to eat yeah, I was on that tour with him it makes it difficult to carry on with this. Yeah, whole thing about changing the minds of people because, as I see, sit here, I haven't eaten, I haven't either. But we are giving out free information.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely, absolutely. That's easy. That's a very interesting one. And I laugh because at the UPS auditorium when we finished the event, I had my team come to me. Like there's some people from Legon, they are angry. They said item 13, so um, can't get sea pizza, man. We provided food for those who traveled outside of Akka, but those who were in Akka we didn't provide food. Now, that event was free. So I'm hearing some of the comments. And do you know that? Somebody sent me a WhatsApp audio. I have the audio here, I could play it. He's a student at University of Ghana, so he sent a message and he said he regrets coming for the event. Wow, yeah, he added regret. He didn't know he was chatting with me, so he said my name is Susu Enso I came from University of Ghana. The program was really blessed, but I was hungry.