Funke grew up in what you'd call a
lower-middle-class household. Her father was a teacher at the
government school and her mother was a petty trader.
Together,
they earned just enough to take care of their basic needs and keep
a roof over their head.
Despite these unfavourable
circumstances, Funke was able to get a university education and
get a job right after school.
The job paid okay and
required Funke to move far away from home. She quickly rose
through the ranks at work and was earning fairly well.
She
was taking care of her siblings’ education but still had enough to
spend, save and go on the occasional vacation.
After a
while, Funke realised that she needed to start planning for her
future and for when she would not be able to work again.
She
had fallen victim to Ponzi and MLM schemes in the past and she was
determined not to make that mistake again.
She reached
out to a couple of firms and asked about their investment
services. They told her about their investment plans and she
picked the one that would pay the highest returns after a
year.
After the first year, Funke checked her
portfolio and saw that it was less than the capital she put in.
She was shocked. How could she lose money?
She spoke
to her account manager and it was on that day Funke learned the
difference between projected returns and actual returns.
The
firm projected that they would make a lot of money without
informing Funke that she could also lose money.
Funke
took her reduced capital out in anger and decided to hold it
herself. It was during this time that she came across the Money
Africa community.
Her friend, Ngozi, had shared a link
to join an online community. It was called “The Money Africa
Community.”
Ngozi explained to Funke that she joined
that community only last year and it had impacted her financial
life in ways she couldn’t imagine.
She explained to
Funke how the one on one session and
personalized plan helped her understand how money
works and make better financial decisions.
Funke
reluctantly joined the community since she was sceptical about
investments in general. After a while, she started paying
attention to what was being shared. She also connected with some
people there and they set shared goals.
She started
participating in the classes and even got a personal financial
advisor. This person helped her take stock of her finances and put
her investment and portfolio in order.
Little by
little, Funke started investing more money in different places.
She was diversifying with good research and advice from the Money
Africa team.
In over a year, Funke had amassed hundreds
of thousands in dividends from her investments. She couldn't
believe it. She struggled to hold back tears as she called Ngozii
and informed her immediately.
She thanked her for
introducing her to the community that changed her life. The money
felt unreal because she didn't have to physically or mentally
work for it, she now knew how to make money work for her.
What
was even more interesting is that Funke learnt about the long term
goal of investing. When she initially started investing, she used
to think of 3 to 6 months. But with MoneyAfrica, that mindset has
changed.
She now thinks of investing in 5 years to 10
years and more. Did you know what she learnt? For instance, if you
had invested N100,000 in Netflix 10 years ago, it is worth over
N13 million now. Investing is long term, let’s teach you so you
can build wealth in the long run.