AFRICANS IN RUSSIA: MOSES EHIGIE IKEAKHE

• What is your full name? Your name is officialbossx. How did you come about that?(Brief introduction.)

My name is Moses Ehigie Ikeakhe. My Instagram handle -officialbossx was inspired by a family member. It came because I started doing business at a very young age, and then I used to be called “young boss”. When I got older I got motivation from people around and I decided to make it official boss- so I added x and used it for Instagram.

• How would you describe yourself right now? (What do you do?)

I’m an entrepreneur that gives platforms to a lot of young people- they are actually my target. Because it is currently hard for people to get started on a lot of things or even understand what they want to do or what they can do. I describe myself as an entrepreneur because it covers a lot of things.

• What did you study and how did your experience in school influence where you are today?

I was studying in Nigeria in Babcock University, Ogun State and I had the opportunity to continue my studies in the United States. It was an offer, a scholarship to finish my first degree in Kentucky and then in Miami. I studied International Relations and Business Administration.

• How did you come to Russia and why?

My first visit to Russia was in June 2018, during the World Cup. While I was living in Miami, I had a lot of Russian friends and that was how I got acquainted with my first Russian girlfriend that inspired me to move. Russia has always been a place I wanted to visit because I had a few family members here so it was quite an easy transition for me.

So my ex-girlfriend and I took the opportunity during the World Cup to come here and I saw a lot of possibilities since I actually came here to explore and understand the tradition and the people. I went back to Nigeria after that.

• You’re an ECOWAS ambassador. Please tell us more about this?

I have always been focused on growth and on the younger generation and so I’ve been able to give a lot of opportunities to the Nigerian youth and Africans as a whole. After a while, I was recognised by ECOWAS and was given the youth personality award and this triggered this position as ambassador.

I was more of a businessman giving opportunities to the youth, especially those who don’t believe in themselves or those without degrees. I had a group of establishments, from hotel to real estate to bottled water to media companies.

I don’t believe in certificates. I believe in growth, in personal education. Because many people don’t have the opportunity to get a certificate, but personally thrive in being able to learn a skill and perfect it and they just need a platform to showcase their talent.

To me, the whole goal is to see people I’ve helped become independent or established in themselves. I tend to do things for people without asking for payback and without expectations, (something I learnt from my mum from a young age).

Being there for the needy as much as I can, is my definition of success. Not how much I have or how much property I have, or how I’m financially stable, but how I’ve been impactful and how many lives I’ve been able to save- because a lot of people are stuck in certain positions where they don’t know what to do. But being involved in someone’s life that way is a big win for me and it defines my success.

• What businesses do you have in Moscow right now?

Currently, we are building a brand in Moscow. We just started Trap City- an international brand for Hip Hop and Afro- a restaurant and lounge.

Last year also, we were able to create a sports management programme to give opportunities to some of our local players here and at home in different sports sectors- football and basketball etc.

I’m also into real estate here. I buy apartments, I make it a little better and I resell them. 

• What’s it like doing business in Moscow?

I can only talk about my personal experience. My main challenge was really the language barrier and some of the laws here. But at the same time, Russia is quite an open space that gives opportunities to its foreigners and international investors but it is  business and there’s always politics. 

Actually, up until today, I don’t speak the Russian language but of course, I know a couple of words and phrases and I can speak to save myself but the major factor is who you’re dealing with.

Because there are some of my friends who have been able to set up something here and it went through for them. Maybe with worse experiences than what I have gone through or I am even going through. But we are gradually being accepted but we have not been able to expand like in other European countries, so there’s a bit of difficulty mainly because of the difference from where we came from.

So try to walk with people that know the laws and the regulations and this will provide a proper environment for you to be successful through this process of setting up your business. So I have a very beautiful team that helps me- a translator, interpreter, and assistant that are Russians. So I just give my ideas and concepts and they bring it to life.

For example, setting up the restaurant- Trap City- took us over 7 months because we were going back and forth with the whole process and we had people that we were trying to make the situation difficult but everything eventually came out successful.

While I was very young, I had the opportunity to go out of Nigeria and I also adapt easily to food as long as it is good and a bit spicy. The culture wasn’t a problem since I lived around Russians before coming here too. Being here isn’t a real challenge except for the language which makes me dependent and I don’t really like that.

• You’ve also had multiple businesses outside Russia. How do you deal with trusting people to manage them?

It takes time to fix a team because I’d rather invest in building a system or building someone than building a business because businesses are eventually controlled by people. So we were not looking for a large team but we had to find people that understand our vision and know the mission and that have a great passion for what we’re doing.

Because many people at home work for just the money and don’t have any passion for the work or a personal motivation to make sure the business or establishment grows to a better place. So it was a bit hard but we took our time, going through several applications, then we kept who we wanted.

We had different managers managing the place and we were able to balance. I’m not into perfection but as long as you’re willing to learn to get better in the process. Practice encourages preparation which then encourages perfection. 

We got people who understand our purpose. And even when it involved family, we were able to make the distinction between family/ friendship and work. Because it’s not just me running the business, I had to work with other people to generate progress and sustain growth without people always looking after it.

• It was Valentine’s Day recently. How did you spend the day? What’s your relationship status? (Are you single, married, searching or it’s complicated, lol)

Currently, I’m in a relationship, although a very closed and private relationship, I try to keep things private because I have huge followership online and am learning that privacy is the new thing now to keep things healthy. 

So on Valentine’s day, I didn’t do anything because I had a crazy weekend partying from Friday to Saturday and I was sleeping all day. I was able to secure a place for us to spend time together, even though we didn’t get to do much but there is an understanding between my partner and me because I learnt to invest in the relationship.

• How do you choose your friends? What is the most attractive quality in people you’re close to?

I try to have a small productive and positive circle with people with the same interests, same goals, same energy to grow together, especially if they’re business-oriented and mature regardless of age. I don’t believe in age but maturity and experience. I can be friends with both younger and older people.

I also try to invest in people doing better than myself because I also want to be better. So I always spend time with people I can learn from.

• What can you say is the biggest achievement of your life so far, and which values got you here?

Doing things I’ve always been scared of. We’re just getting started.

And I like using we, we, we… because no man is an island. I have a team of friends and partners with me because we all have our strengths and weaknesses so spending time with other people can fill that space that we’re missing.

I’m more of the action person- regardless of my experience or concrete plans. When I try and fail, it encourages me to do better. Since I just try my luck and I don’t expect perfection, I grow by experience as I get to understand the process and learn how to play my game.

And not believing in age! Age is just a number because when we are stuck up on age, it makes us push things to the future. And the future is right here, right now. 

And the world has changed so much, businesses, the pandemic so we all need to do what makes us happy. Happiness and freedom are my main achievements. All these organisations give me these. And happiness is priceless. I can go anywhere and be in any space. I don’t care who is watching or who is looking. And I’m free.

When you’re happy, you’re free, and when you’re free, you’re happy.