Some excellent insights from Tom Iseghohi, CEO of Transcorp Nigeria. Highlights of this interview include when Mr. Iseghohi states that “… We at Transcorp believe that these huge opportunities within our marketplace can translate to investment opportunities for [US investors] … Our business is primarily focused on Telecommunications, which everyone knows is a growth industry in Africa … Take a small company, six years ago, like MTN out of South Africa. They invested $280 million in Nigeria and last year they had $2 billion worth of revenue and profits north of 50% margins. They made $1 billion from $2 billion of sales, in Nigeria alone. So it is a very exiciting industry. Telecommunications is hot. Financial Services is also very exciting. A bank in Nigeria, for example First Bank of Nigeria, returned almost 23% over the last five years … there are huge opportunities in Energy, Commodities, Telecommunications, and Infrastructure …”

With regards to the so-called political risks associated with investing in Africa, Mr. Iseghohi pointed out that “The perception is different from reality. The perception is that all of those ‘things’ exist, which is no different from the perception of India, China, and Russia a few years ago. The key to all of this is to get a strong local partner that understands how to execute within the local market and that also understands how to remove political barriers, and that when there are issues, how to get those issues resolved”.

Tom Iseghohi was appointed as Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Nigeria in May 2007. Until his appointment, Mr. Iseghohi was an Executive Vice President at the Hudson Consulting Group, a New York-based Commercial and Governmental firm that focuses on Deal Analysis, Deal Creation, Transaction Facilitation, Strategy, Executive Coaching, and Transformational Consulting. On a day-to-day basis, Tom coached several Fortune 500 Top Executives on Strategic and Operational issues. The Hudson Consulting Group’s average client has over $20 billion in annual turnover. Tom joined the Hudson Consulting Group from American Express in 2004, where he was head of Global Finance Operations Across American Express Bank, Travel Related Services, and Investment Banking. At American Express, he was the Executive Vice President (Global Finance), Chief Procurement Officer, Corporate Controller, and Chief Accounting Officer. He managed the firm’s global balance sheet with a total asset value of close to $200 billion dollars and liquid assets of about $70 billion dollars. He managed all aspects including investment strategy, risk management, and selection of fund managers around the world.

Prior to American Express, Mr. Iseghohi held the positions of Executive Director at Ford Motor Company and Chief Financial Officer at Pepsi-Cola Company.

Mr. Iseghohi obtained his undergraduate degree in Accounting and Computer Science from Bethune-Cookman College in 1985 and his MBA (Finance and International Business) from the Ohio State University in 1989. He completed the Executive Marketing Program at Duke University Graduate School in 1999 and The Kellogg (Northwestern) School of Management’s Executive Board Program in 2005. He passed the CPA (Chartered Accountancy) Exam in 1993.

Transcorp NigeriaTransnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (TransCorp) is a Nigeria-based company engaged in five sectors: Energy (Oil and Gas; Power), Technology (Information and Communication Technology), Agro-Business (Processing and Semi-Processing), Hospitality (Tourism, Entertainment, and Leisure) and Trade (International Trade, Free Trade Zone, Logistics, Shipping, and Maritime). TransCorp’s subsidiaries include NIRMSCO Properties Limited (51% owned), TransCorp Telecoms Limited (51% owned) and TransCorp Trading & Logistics Services Limited (100% owned). NIRMSCO Properties Limited owns 51% of TransCorp Hilton Hotel. The company has a market capitalization of $1 billion.

Visit Transcorp Nigeria’s website …

This clip was aired on CNBC on July 03, 2008.