With real estate growing into a potential driver for economic growth, the construction sector has turned out to be an ocean of opportunity. Entrepreneur Christian Didier Izere picked up on the trend, and has taken it upon himself to make an investment that he hopes will offer building solutions. His firm- Cadeaux Company, does construction in general, but also offers an array of services under one roof. As a one-stop shop, Izere offers civil construction services from concept to execution. His services include architectural and structural design, production and selling of construction materials, as well as construction and supervision services. Asked what made him come up with this idea, Izere says he wanted to ensure that construction is a swift, connected and less stressful process. Taking the first step As a 22-year-old, third- year-civil engineering student, Izere wanted to start building his career in addition to making a mark in the construction sector. Izere offers civil construction services, from concept to execution. Photos: Courtesy But the start was very scary; he says. “I was terrified due to the fact that I was still in school, by then I was in my second year but I wanted to start building my company regardless. I also didn’t want to work for someone else when I graduated, so I had to plan earlier.” Nonetheless, he took a random shot and made an investment. He has since worked on both residential and commercial buildings. He is currently working on a satellite estate project as a subcontractor to produce construction materials. Looking back at all the challenges- a tough beginning, with limited capital and trust from people, Izere can’t help but be proud of how far he has managed to come irrespective of the obstacles. “One of the biggest challenges I met was the people who didn’t believe in me and what I do; some would say I was still young for this or that I didn’t have the capacity of doing this business because I had not done it before.” But he withstood all that and this challenging journey has given him lessons that are mostly pushing him forward for more, as he says. “Opening this shop is a big achievement for me. I now work on large projects and I have managed to increase the number of machines and workers, business is growing. What I have learnt on this journey is that, it’s important to be patient. Also, it’s imperative to make connections everywhere you get a chance to be,” Izere added. Making construction affordable As an entrepreneur who comes with a unique touch to construction, Izere says he not only wants people to access all construction services in one place, but also hopes for the entire process to be affordable for his customers. “I want them to find construction materials, engineers, manpower all at once and I am sure this will make construction more affordable and will reduce the cost of a client’s project,” he said And to ensure that his goal is practical both for him and his customers, the young entrepreneur has hired a strong team to ensure delivery of quality services. “Excellence in construction requires team work and doing your work on time. I want my services to be affordable both for me and my clients because minimising costs is a bullet technique in construction,” he added. His company’s future plans involve targeting investors for real estate projects. He also wants to create himself a wider platform as a major contractor in the field of construction. “My first step was to get a one-stop shop for the customers, but I also want to expand and offer consulting services,” Izere said.
