LIGHTHOUSE: Why I Decided to Venture into Physical Mini-Plaza – Chika Alphonsus

After spending over 17 years in flowering an online entrepreneurship outfit, Chika Alphonsus, the chief executive officer of TradewithChiqa, a foremost forex trading firm, has decided to set up physical stores that will offer products ranging from electrical products and beverages to clothing. The outfit is to be backed by an efficient and unbeatable premium service delivery structure. Alphonsus says plans are at advanced stages for the launch of Lighthouse Store and Lighthouse Café, a mini-plaza in Accra Ghana.

In this exclusive interview with Olisemeka Sony, the Imo state, Nigeria-born Amazon speaks on the motive behind this latest business venture from her blossoming empire and the Chika Foundation for Women’s Aid, among other issues. Excerpts:

There is speculation that you are on the verge of launching a new business. Can you throw more light on this new venture?

Indeed, I have been an entrepreneur for about 17 years now on the online platform. I have decided to launch into a physical platform because my online business has progressed to a point where we find that necessary and more convenient for our clients. We are looking forward to launching it by the end of September. It will be a mega shop where people can easily walk in, place their orders or buy their stuff and walk away with relative ease and convenience. It’s not going to be about putting products on the shelves for people to come and buy.

The most important thing we want to achieve with this is to introduce and sustain amazing customer service for anybody who visits our stores.  It’s not just going to be about Chika Clothing now known as Ochomma. We are adding Lighthouse Store and Lighhouse Café. It’s going to be a mini-plaza where we run my whole range of businesses together. So, it’s not like I am starting or venturing into a new business, it’s just that I decided to take the business further, as a hardworking Nigerian with an eye for new frontiers.

So, what products will Lighthouse be selling?

Light House is a shop that sells electrical gadgets and lights. You know, these fancy chandeliers. The Light House Café is where we will be selling cold and hot beverages. Basically, Lighthouse is a subsidiary of my business group. Chika Clothing, now known as Ochomma is going to be there as well.

Where do you see this business in the next few years?

Well, we are starting in Ghana but our medium-term plan is to extend Lighthouse business across various cities across Africa. It is, indeed, going to be giving luxury and premium services to our customers. So, in the next few years, we are expecting this business to become an important player in the mini-mart products and services delivery in Africa. Our services will be our distinguished feature in the market.

TradewithChiqa came out of the blues and offered so much hope for aspiring forex players. What’s your success story so far?

We have registered a number of success stories so far. You know, in this business, you don’t just wake up in the morning and hit the road, expecting to make a million that day. Everything is a learning process. So far so good, we have been able to teach and mentor over 100 people who are actually doing well in the industry and are grateful for the training we offered them.

“Light House is a shop that sells electrical gadgets and lights. You know, these fancy chandeliers. The Light House Café is where we will be selling cold and hot beverages. Basically, Lighthouse is a subsidiary of my business group“

The ongoing economic recession has given them the opportunity to triple their income, affording them the technical know-how and lifestyle that they never envisaged. I can say that our success story is amazing. The testimonies and feedback we are getting from people who passed through us is actually one of the things that have inspired me to keep going further. TradewithChiqa trainees are actually doing so well to the extent that I’ve continuously received ‘lunch money’ from my past student.

What are the challenges so far in the business?

Challenges are so numerous I can’t begin to list all of them but let me list some.  Lack of funds due to the ongoing strike, a lot of young people at home and wanting to learn but due to lack of funds. Data issues, lack of electricity etc. It isn’t a walk in the park but a work in progress.

Is Nigerian the economic crisis affecting your business in Ghana also?

I will say yes and no. Yes, in the sense that most of our clients are Nigerians living and schooling in Ghana. You know we are trying to target the young generation of Africans we can empower by teaching them the skills that they cannot be taught in school. Most of them actually depend on their parents or relations for funding and so, the economic situation in Nigeria is affecting us indirectly because their sponsors back home (in Nigeria) are struggling to meet their education funding needs.

Once their funding gets affected, it affects their ability to meet their training contract with us. However, we have tried our best to navigate this by slashing our fees for these students to enable them to complete their training or apply for further ones.

No, in the sense that our training is not limited to Nigerian citizens resident in Ghana. We have Ghanaians as well as citizens of other African countries as our clients. In fact, our clientele base extends beyond Africa. We have clients in America, Europe, and Asia as well because the payment system we use enables our students to pay for our services with ease. So, the Nigerian economic crisis has limited impact on our operations.

But how is your company thriving at the moment, considering that the Ghanaian economy is equally experiencing a downturn?

Well, huh! All the economies in the world are experiencing a crisis. The truth is that virtually all the countries in Africa, and across the world, are experiencing a recession. While some countries are trying to recover from the crisis, others are still deep into it. So, it is not just about the Ghanaian economy witnessing a downturn. Definitely, it’s hurting everyone, especially businesses, in one way or the other but we are doing our best to downplay and contain it, otherwise, it will become something else.

“My NGO is just a philanthropic project while my businesses are profit-making venture. I designed them (my businesses) in a way that will enable me to give back to society. If you look at my business model, you will find out that at every stage of it, someone, especially youths and women are given lifetime opportunities to become successful entrepreneurs.“

We quite understand that this is a very difficult period and that people are struggling to survive, however, we still have to keep our head above water and stay afloat till the difficult phase is over. There is always a silver lining lurking beneath the dark cloud and we are waiting patiently for it. 

What’s the experience like running a business that transcends many African countries?

It’s exciting due to the availability of many payment platforms that make it easy for customers resident in different countries across Africa to patronise someone in Ghana. We have a number of such payment gateways like PayStuff, Seller etc. that can allow someone in Lagos, Abidjan, Nairobi, Kigali, Durban, or other cities across Africa, to place an order and pay for products or services from a shop in Ghana. This has made the intra-Africa trade quite easy for young entrepreneurs like me.

You established the Chika Foundation for Women’s Aid in December 2021; what’s the objective of this NGO?

“The major challenges remain the issue of funding. We are currently looking for people or organisations to support us, especially in our next empowerment programme coming up this November. We will like to take it to the next level. The ones we did previously were done from our pocket.“

The objective of the NGO is basically to help women deal with their peculiar socio-economic and cultural challenges. The target beneficiaries are single, divorced, widowed, neglected, and oppressed women in society. This foundation is geared toward helping them overcome their challenges and empowering them to fulfil their potential and become productive members of society. We are basically there to put smiles on their faces, lend a helping hand, or offer a shoulder to lift their burden in a mutually beneficial relationship as well as train them to become leaders in their respective areas of life.

In what ways has this foundation been able to address the challenges facing women so far?

Well, we started this foundation last November [2021] and within this period, we have been able to do the much we can to help indigent women in Imo state, South East Nigeria and we are looking forward to another one this November. We are planning to set up facilities or vocational centres where these women can learn vocational skills and be gainfully employed so as to look after themselves and their children.

What are the challenges facing this pet project?

The major challenges remain the issue of funding. We are currently looking for people or organisations to support us, especially in our next empowerment programme coming up this November. We will like to take it to the next level. The ones we did previously were done from our pocket. We are looking forward to getting donations from people all over the world to enable us to put smiles on the faces of these vulnerable women and change their lives. There is so much we can do for these women out there but because we have limited funds, it is not possible for us right now. But with funding support from people or organisations, we can expand the frontiers of our programme.

In your estimation, what’s the difference between running an NGO and your business?

My NGO is just a philanthropic project while my businesses are profit-making venture. I designed them (my businesses) in a way that will enable me to give back to society. If you look at my business model, you will find out that at every stage of it, someone, especially youths and women are given lifetime opportunities to become successful entrepreneurs. However, the NGO offers us the opportunity to touch the lives of indigent and vulnerable women who may not necessarily engage in the kind of business services we offer. It’s an extension of our philanthropy.  My mission with the NGO is to help women become what they are supposed to be, the strong pillars of society. It’s from women that everything else came to be. My NGO is at the forefront of what am doing because it is part of the reason I am toiling day and night across my business lines. Business is to make money, and solve problems while the NGO is strictly for charity, giving back to society. With the Chika Foundation, we are solving problems related to women or helping them realise their dreams without expecting anything in return. But we do business with the sole aim of making profits, even though, along the line, we mentor and empower people too.

By the time this organisation is 5 years old, what is your projected impact in society?

In five years’ time, we would have set up various vocational centres in Ghana and Nigeria where indigent women could be producing things like soap, detergent, and other things that will sell in the market and make a decent living.

We want to see a situation where these women will see a dramatic turnaround in their fortunes as we also intend to be giving scholarships to their children up to university level. I’m not just interested in giving them fish but in teaching them how to fish for themselves. As an entrepreneur, I know how to empower people to stand on their feet and we believe that many women will be liberated through Chika Foundation. That is the kind of impact we want this foundation to be making in the next half a decade or so.

It’s not going to be easy because nothing good comes cheap but we are hopeful that we will get there, with the support of people.