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‘City Lights is still committed to giving Ghana quality lighting service’

Feature Article City Lights is still committed to giving Ghana quality lighting service
MAY 25, 2016 LISTEN

Lighting plays a crucial role in any country’s economy. And in Ghana’s, City Lights, a pioneer in the sector, continues to be pivotal twenty-eight years after it was set up. But beyond just helping Ghanaians appreciate light and the importance of lightings in their homes and businesses, the company is also committed to building a first-class African brand, City Lights Managing Director Emmanuel Okeson tells MARTIN-LUTHER C. KING in this chat in Accra. He also fielded questions on the origins of the Ghanaian lightings giant as well as other vital issues.

Excerpts:
MARTIN-LUTHER C. KING: May we meet you?
EMMANUEL OKESON: My name is Prince Emmanuel Okeson, a Nigerian resident in Ghana and the chief executive officer of City Lights Limited. I’ve been in Ghana for the past 30 years. I had very humble beginnings. I started my first company in Ghana, Unilove Farms Limited, in 1985. It was basically into agriculture, producing cash crops like pineapples for export. Prior to that, I was involved in west coast trade, which is trade across West Africa. It had to with moving Nigerian-made products to the west coast. The west coast trade takes you to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana. That was my route.

MLCK: Your base then was still Ghana?
EO: No, I started in Ghana in 1985, after two years shuttling between these three West African countries. But in 1985 I started in Ghana. I went into farming in 1984. But by 1985, the farm wasn’t doing well, so I diverted into electrical, specifically lighting. That was how City Lights came into being. Actually, City Lights was set up in 1988; but prior to that time I had been doing other things like the farming and some other minor businesses.

MLCK: What triggered that diversion into lights?

EO: Prior to that time, of course you know Ghana went through economic challenges, but round about 1985, 1986 there was some kind of recovery made possible by massive in-flow of funds from outside, specially the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) etcetera. So there was some kind of economic recovery. With that phenomenon came demand for various products; construction started picking up; new companies started springing up while old ones were being renovated and refurbished. So all these put together created a demand for specialized lighting that was not available then in Ghana. So what I did was to conduct some sort of market research, some kind of feasibility study to find out what the market actually needed. That study revealed that lighting was one area that many people did not know about then. So I decided to specialize, to set up a company to specialize in lighting. That’s how City Lights was established. And since then, the company has seen exponential growth partly because it was the first on the scene. With very good strategy, we did very well until competition started coming in, and we had to re-strategize.

MLCK: What has the journey been like?
EO: It’s been challenging, but also very interesting. As a foreigner, as a Nigerian in a Ghanaian environment, it’s been very challenging taking into account the traditional rivalry between Ghana and Nigeria; issues with relevant government agencies; securing the necessary permits was challenging because of the kind of laws that were in place then , particularly the old GIPC (Ghana Investments Promotion Council) law which were anti-foreigner, if I may put it that way. And we had issues with over-taxation, with foreigners targeted for special taxation. We also have issues with recruitment; human resource management was also very difficult because you were seen as a foreigner coming to take advantage of, or coming to exploit the local citizens. These created very huge challenges initially. But we were able to overcome, somehow.

MLCK: You have been able to carve a business niche for yourself and build a positive image, even as a Nigerian, in Ghana. How did you do it?

EO: First and foremost it it’s by identifying what the market needs, and then positioning ones self by way of branding. Because you identify what the market needs, the needs out there; next you identify who you are targeting, the category of people and customers that you are targeting; then you position yourself by way of branding, basically you are going to stand out. And, that is what we have done consistently over the years. When we came on the scene we realized that there was the need for quality lighting in the country (Ghana) and even beyond. And we set out a process of delivering this quality to the people, and also providing them with back-up support that they required so that people can get value for their money. Besides that, we also do some corporate social responsibility projects and interventions to make sure that those that are in our catchment area, the area where we operate, also benefit from our successes. So all these put together, I believe, have helped us to get by. But most importantly, is being a good corporate citizen, pay our taxes; don’t cut corners, and always do what you think is right. I’ll say all these put together must have contributed to where we are today.

MLCK: I understand your license covers West Africa?

EO: Yes, our license covers West Africa.
MLCK: Do you plan to launch out outside Ghana soon?

EO: Yes, as we speak right now, we are seriously working to open a show-room in Lagos (Nigeria) which should be opened before the end of this year. We are also working to open another in Abuja and Port Harcourt, both of which are scheduled to open this 2016. This same 2016, we are going to Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone. And, basically, we want to also contribute our own quota to Nigeria’s national development. You know we have problems with energy in Nigeria; we want to bring experience and expertise that we have developed over the years to the benefit of Nigerian consumers. The initial studies that we conducted in Nigeria suggests that Nigeria is just a seller’s market, where the seller just brings in whatever catches his fancy and off-loads on the consumer. But we are coming to provide value for money, provide the products. Not only the products but, also, the consultancy. We want to provide consultancy to people to help them determine what they need, help them to save money, basically. So, it’s about saving money for the consumer. That’s what we are bringing to the Nigerian consumer.

MLCK: How do you assess the impact of your business, City Lights, on Ghana’s economy?

EO: City Lights is just a very minute, very small company or a small player in the entire Ghanaian economy. But I think that in our area of specialization, we think we have contributed massively. Like I said, City Lights is a pioneer in the lighting sector of Ghana’s economy. Today you can see so many lighting companies, just like City Lights. So we think that City Light has opened this line of business. Moreover, today we employ a lot Ghanaians. Also, because of us, people have come to appreciate the use of lighting in their daily lives. You know, lighting plays a very important role in the housing industry, nay, the entire economy, be it manufacturing, road and construction sector, hospitals, hotels and hospitality sector, you name it, lighting plays a very important role. And, prior to City Lights coming on the scene, people misused lighting thereby incurring huge energy costs. There were also health implications, because misuse of light can result to health issues. But City Lights has over the years helped people to appreciate light and then also the right application of lightings in their homes and businesses et cetera. Besides that, we also think we have created a lot of employment opportunities, both through those we employ directly and through our agencies. In that area, we think we have also played our part. Finally in the area of corporate tax, we also pay taxes to the government. And I think that is another area where we have done very well.

MLCK: How many people do you employ?
EO: Yeah, City Lights, as at today employs 92 people at our various locations. And this number would jump to about 300 in the months ahead. Because, apart from our expansion to other West African countries of Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone, we are also expanding internally here in Ghana. We are about opening six more outlets within Ghana. That will take our staff strength to 300 or thereabout.

MLCK: Do you employ Nigerians in Ghana?
EO: We will love to create employment opportunities for Nigerians in Ghana, but there’s a legal issue with that. The issue has to do with not only work permit but also the quota system. Local businesses are not allowed to employ foreigners unless you can prove that you cannot get that expertise locally. That’s what the Ghanaian law says on that issue. But we are trying to find a way around that. However, we have four Nigerians currently working here at City Lights, at top managerial positions. But like I said, we’ll find a way of creating avenues for more Nigerians to also come on board. Moreover, we think we can do even better by opening more outlets in Nigeria itself where we can employ a lot more Nigerians. In Ghana, we are trying to find a way of absorbing Nigerians who have gone to school here and graduated here.

MLCK: Indian and Lebanese companies here in Ghana, ironically, seem not to be restricted by this local law you talked about because I see many of them having lots of Indian and Lebanese workers. Why are you not toeing their line with respect to your compatriots?

EO: I think they have a way of doing that. We are trying to find out how they go about it; and, perhaps, copy from them.

MLCK: How do you see City Lights evolving in the coming years?

EO: The future is so bright; it’s fantastic. Sometimes I sit down and visualize what City Lights will be in the next ten years. We are looking at building an African company, an African brand. That is what we are looking at. In the next ten years, City Lights will be not only all over West Africa, but in other African countries. That is the kind of future we are looking at. It’s definitely going to be very, very bright.

MLCK: Do you have plans of going into manufacturing?

EO: In fact as far back as 2004, we ventured into manufacturing. But at the end of the day, we realized that the cost of manufacturing locally were far too higher than the cost of importing. And so we shelved that option for the time being. But as the demand grows, we will revisit the option, especially if it will help bring down costs of the finished products.

MLCK: Thank you for your time, Prince Okeson!

EO: Thank you very much!

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