If everyone is saying you can’t build wealth by just saving, then how do we become successful?🤷🏾♀️
That’s why we created the #MoneyWaves series to explore how successful people from different walks of life make their money work for them through investment and sound financial decisions.
Our conversation today will be a blend of motivation, education and entertainment😎
Today, our guest is the branding and communications guru, Blessing Abeng.
Blessing Abeng is a breath of fresh air on anything branding, communications and growth. She currently leads communications for Ingressive for Good where she drives financial growth for the youth in Africa by promoting their tech education training and resources.
Last week, we had an exciting time chatting with her on Musk’s Twitter. It was all shades of enlightening, inspiring and fun. I’d spill the gist as you read on.
It’s lovely to have you, Blessing.
It’s my pleasure🥰
Tell us a bit about what you do at Ingressive for Good.
Ingressive for Good is an ed-tech nonprofit to increase the earning power of African youth by empowering them with tech skills. And within 2 years, we’ve built a community of over 250k people and have trained over 150k people in Design, Data Science, Software Development, Product Marketing and Marketing. We are currently present in over 100 countries.
Those are huge milestones you and your team have had. I’m a big fan.
Awnnn. Thank you.
Let’s get right into the conversation
Did you have any knowledge of investment as a child?
Oh. yes!
Coooool. Tell us about it.
As a child, my Dad took me to the then Nicon Nuga restaurant and amongst the things we ordered was a bottle of coke. When the bill came, I remember how furious I was to find that a bottle of coke was ₦1,000. I told my dad that we could have gotten 10 bottles of coke with that amount in some other places. So, why ‘waste’ it here? My dad said, “there’s a difference between price and value and while the price might be the money you pay, you’re going to remember this experience for many years to come. You are going to realize that it was a much more valuable experience.” That very moment was pivotal to my financial growth.
My dad also made me read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I can remember that we also had tons of conversations about it. My dad was a great influence on my foundation of investment.
Fantastic. Your story is quite interesting and rare, I must say. What was your first set of investments from a young age?
While I was still in the University, I gave myself a target to make 1 million naira. So, I wrote and published a book. I sold about a thousand copies. Some people found it impressive that an undergraduate was able to write and publish a book, and paid more than the amount per copy.
Oh, that must have been a proud moment for you. Did you explore stock investments too?
Of course, I did.
First bank stocks were my first purchase. I got to know about it from an Uncle who was retiring and looking for where to invest. The next investment I made was setting up a publishing business in which I had the highest percentage stake, making me a Startup Equity Owner. People found publishing tough to do, so I leveraged it and made quite a lot of money. Then I moved to do Branding and Communications for SMEs where I made more money.
Na money dey rush you. Looool
I know right. Lol. As I started to make more money, I was conscious of things like budgeting and planning. I later ran into Tomi, the founder of Trove at the Nigeria Stock Exchange and I was in awe of what he was trying to accomplish with Trove. I remember trying to buy Google stock then and the process was pretty dramatic and tough.
True. Very true.
The things I needed to buy stocks were not easy to get. But exploring the Trove app made investing easier. It also broadened my knowledge of investment and HOW I invested. It has been an interesting ride so far.
That’s such an interesting story. Why did you decide to invest in stocks?
We’d have to throw back to Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad. In one of the chapters, he talked about how your salary would not save you and would rarely be enough”. And this is true, The more you make, the more status you probably attain and people’s demand from you would also increase.
Stocks were one way I could make money even while I was asleep. I’m also grateful for the investment education I gained through my parents as a child.
If you were to advise someone who wants to start investing in the stock market, what would you tell them?
The question is your “why”. Why do you want to do it? Is it because everyone is doing it? Because it is cool? Also, do your research. Don’t invest in what you don’t understand. Invest in your knowledge before you invest your money. Don’t invest your rent in stock, guys. It’s not a money-doubling scheme.
Any Final words, Blessing?
Expose yourself to so much more than your immediate environment. The life that you want is possible. I know we’ve heard that so much, but it is the truth. Try your best to live below your means. It’s the cheapest way to enjoy life. You don’t need to keep up with the Kardashians. Buy things that you really need. Don’t buy things to show off. And don’t stop investing in yourself. You are your best investment and you’re gonna yield the highest returns.
