Culled from stelladimokokorkus.com
Entire savings in the Netherlands withdrawn from the bank; land sold in Nigeria; he called family members in Nigeria to borrow money; friends, country-men and associates in the Netherlands gathered to put funds together ... All to raise capital for a night-shop (mini supermarket) in Vlaardingen (Rotterdam). Then two nights before the grand opening of the shop, everything went down in flames, leaving Jeffrey Ekhator with over €80,000 worth of damages and irretrievably in debt.
How did Jeffrey Ekhator survive this financial tragedy to become one of Africa's growing business success in the Netherlands?
Read his story below
In 1999, Jeffrey Ekhator entered the Netherlands - the end of a long road escaping Nigeria’s Sani Abacha’s regime. After seven months in a refugee camp in the North of the country; a residence permit ; and a home in Rotterdam, Jeffrey got a job at McDonalds . His plan was to save for his own business - the only logical step for a young man who had started in trade at the age of nine (helping his mother) and owned his first kiosk at the age of fourteen. Two years into saving, in 2001, Jeffrey made the first attempt to set up a business. That attempt failed because someone frightened him away from the plan. But the fear that that individual put in Jeffrey’s heart was not strong enough to kill his burning desire to start a business. So it was that Jeffrey took the opportunity in 2004 when the opening came in the form of an old Dutch man who was looking to sell his shop (mini- supermarket) in Vlaardingen (Rotterdam).
On the grounds that the mini-market could and would be turned into a night-shop, Jeffrey signed a contract with the man, taking over ownership of the shop. Takeover cost was €30,000 - to be paid in instalments, while upfront payment was Jeffrey’s entire savings of €7,500. Jeffrey quit his job at McDonalds to concentrate on the shop. But the shop could not begin without an official permit to turn the mini-market into a night-shop. Since the old man had assured Jeffrey that getting the permit was going to be only a matter of course, Jeffrey expected an almost immediate response from the city council (gemeente). On that understanding, he prepared the shop for takeoff.
The gemeente sent Jeffrey a reply. No night-shop at that spot. Phase one of Jeffrey’s problems had begun. Phase two progressed in quick succession. The old man would not return the advance of €7,500 since the condition upon which the contract had been signed was no longer applicable – as in no night-shop. But he did agree to drop the €30,000 take-over bid, leaving Jeffrey to negotiate a compromise with the gemeente. A compromise was reached: a semi-night-shop. But by this point – already months into the takeover - the utility and rent bills of the shop and other costs had mounted to such a degree that Jeffrey’s financial pressure was beginning to become stifling. He turned to his family in Africa and his countrymen in the Netherlands for help. His mother sold two plots of land, other relatives borrowed, and country men in the Netherlands pooled money. Finally, in April 2005, after eight months of steep lows and tampered highs, the shop was ready to open. One day before the opening ceremony , the shop disappeared.
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