On one hand, she could be as
humble as a loving wife and mother would be, with the charming confidence that soothes and encourages. On the other hand, she is the fierce queen-mother of a vast and fast-growing business and humanitarian empire. Whichever way you choose to look at Dr. Mrs. Jayne Obioma Onwumere, you will be looking at a visionary who has set in motion a life-changing movement that is turning many from abject poverty to overflowing wealth. For every member of the PBOs (PWAN Business Owners), the calendar year often begins with fanfare from the month of March because it birthed two of the most significant actors in the group’s unending success stories - the visionist and the vision.
The 6th of March is the founder’s birthday, and it was marked with the launching of the Jayne Obioma Onwumere Foundation, a vehicle that will largely focus on her passion to empower more rural women at the bottom of the economic ladder. However, a plethora of high-profile events lined up to celebrate the group’s 12th year anniversary, culminating in a grand convention on the 12th of March, held at Eko Hotel and Suites, before wrapping up with a soulful thanksgiving service held on the 17th of March, 2024
A natural-born leader and teacher who was among the Eko 100 Women honoured in 2023 by the Lagos state governor Babajide SanwoOlu, over the years Jane Onwumere has groomed her networking skills to become a people magnet, inspiring and elevating everyone around her.During the preparation for this year’s celebrations, Lekki People Magazine paid a courtesy visit to the Amazon’s home in the heart of VGC, where we engaged her in a brief interview. At the end of the day, we not only learned of the many juicy investment opportunities within the network, but we also took home some important management lessons from this proven marketing guru.
LEKKI PEOPLE MAGAZINE
"PWAN is just 12 years in existence, but within these 12 years we have revolutionized the real estate industry. And we did it by empowering people. Our greatest investment is in people"
Her inspiring success story has been told countless times, over and over again, by various mass media, but it has never lost its inspiring scent, given that before your very eyes the legend is still unraveling, and it appears larger than all that has been said of it. Testaments, high-profile recognitions, and revered awards abound to show that she is on the right course, yet nothing gladdens the heart of this founder more than knowing that many lives are changing for the better through her God-given vision.
Earlier this year, while receiving the Sun INVESTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD for 2023, Dr. Mrs. Jayne Onwumere, lead founder of PWAN GROUP, summed up the 12-year-old journey of Africa’s largest real estate network marketing company in the following words: “PWAN is just 12 years in existence, but within these 12 years we have revolutionized the real estate industry. And we did it by empowering people. Our greatest investment is in people."
To her, PWAN GROUP is more than just a business empire. Even though it has 45 affiliate companies supervised by experienced managing directors who enjoy a large degree of management autonomy while chasing billions of Naira in annual revenue, it is a vision where the different components work together to empower people and liberate many out of poverty.
As the group marks its 12th anniversary, the founders’ humble beginnings are part of the inspiring menus of the season, and it’s a tale everyone will always love to hear again and again because it resonates loudly with many people who are down but aspire for a better life.
Their journey firmly aligns with the vision of the company, as they also started off homeless and squatted in 13 different places for two years! But when the opportunity came for them to secure a loan to rent an apartment, they opted to invest into a real estate opportunity, and the rest, they say, is history. Looking at the huge size of the organization today, the untrained mind may think everything seen was first woven into precisely written proposals and pushed with heavy funding, but that may not really be the case here.
“Of course not!” She responded. “Sometime before 2012, our business failed and we lost our home, and for two and a half years we squatted in different places! We were looking for N300,000 to rent a place when we found an opportunity that could help us and help others.”
Fuelled by their own harrowing experience with poverty and homelessness, PWAN GROUP started off with the vision to make home ownership a reality for as
“ You see, I call PWAN the greatest human
empowerment movement out of Africa. Mind you, I say ‘movement’. You know when a movement is on, people join as it goes. You may start out here with five people, but by the time you get to the next gate, five more people have joined, and so it goes on and on…"
many people as possible. And the mission was concise and very simple: “To discover affordable lands in fast developing areas and make it known to people, and also show them how they can make money to buy a land and build their own place.
However, chasing a people oriented vision and a mission powered by people will require people, yet getting people to believe in your vision and to buy into it could be a behemoth task. But for JayneO Onwumere, her burning passion, which she readily transmits, backed by hard work and faith in divine assistance, probably came through for her.
Over the past 12 years, she has spearheaded the growth process of a huge platform which has become synonymous with wealth creation, built on trust and integrity, powered by a purpose-driven vision and published by passionate PBOs.
She said, “You see, I call PWAN
the greatest human empowerment movement out of Africa. Mind you, I say ‘movement’. You know when a movement is on, people join as it goes. You may start out here with five people, but by the time you get to the next gate, five more people
have joined, and so it goes on and on…”
Evidently, by the sheer size of Nigerian graduates it has given a lifeline out of poverty, PWAN GROUP has grown to become one of Nigeria’s largest employers of labour, and a rising force within the global real estate market.
With a fast-growing number of registered PWAN Business Owners who are continuously being tutored in a conducive work-learn environment across Nigeria, when Jayne Onwumere said, “Our greatest investment is in people”, she understands the meaning and importance of that assertion.
"Presently, we have over 300,000 registered Pwan Business Owners (PBOs), and we have plans to grow the network to a million members this year, God willing, she said unapologetically, yet without an iota of pride. But would you say it otherwise if you sit at the top of an empowerment organization with over 300,000 registered members and churning out over 1,000 millionaires annually? She continued. “In Lagos, maybe there are real estate companies that are bigger than us, but none have made the type and size of impact we have made in people’s lives within the past 12 years.”
“You know, the system we have designed operates in such a way that wealth creation is decentralized within the network. Our wealth is not in the hands of a few but evenly distributed. For instance, there are over 1,000 millionaires annually within the PBO network. How many organizations can boast of that?”
Apart from providing a trusted platform that mentors members all the way up in the real estate trade, another cliche which has made the PBO very popular among the unemployed and those who seek financial freedom, is that as an active member, you can earn millions even without selling a single plot of land or property. All you have to do is recruit and refer good sales people to join the network, and you can earn juicy indirect commissions running into millions annually.
"I Say it with a microphone everywhere. Nobody needs a godfather, not anyone! What everybody needs is ‘God the Father’."
With thousands of employees scattered around the globe, the job of a people-oriented CEO could be anything but easy. Surely there’s a secret playbook written in only two words and eight letters: “TEAM WORK”. How does it work with PWAN group?
She said, “A chain is as strong as the weakest link. The team leader is expected to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the team members and place each where they will perform the best. If a link is bad, you replace it or you endanger other members of the team. The major work of a leader is to be able to manage the team for maximum effectiveness.”
"Apart from providing a trusted platform that mentors members all the way up in the real estate trade, another cliche which has made the PBO very popular among the unemployed and those who seek financial freedom, is that as an active member, you can earn millions even without selling a single plot of land or property"
As the PBOs continues to strengthens, more wealth
is attracted to the empire, but Jayne Onwumere wouldn't hesitate to make it clear that the vision is stronger than ever as she emphasized,
"At this point, what actually drives me is the vision of PWAN group, and no longer the mission because the PBO network is already powering the mission. But the vision must be protected, if not it moves from a vision to ambition.
When you are vision driven it gives you a clearer focus."
In view of her astounding achievements and meteoric rise, one could get tempted to imagine the presence of a godfather somewhere behind the scene, pulling the right strings and making it all click. Surprisingly, she was quick and willing to admit the influence and help from God the Father, when we prodded the question, “Who is PWAN’s godfather?” She explained, “When people ask me who is
PWAN’s godfather, I always laugh and tell them that we have only one, and that is God the Father. I say it with a microphone everywhere. Nobody needs a godfather, not anyone! What everybody needs is ‘God the Father’. If you put your trust in Him, He will never disappoint you. God will never ask you to come and sleep with Him before He blesses you. He is not going to ask you to go and bring money or swear to an oath before He will help you. All God is asking for is your confidence and faith in Him.”
LEKKIPEOPLE|PEOPLE|BUSINESS|
ENVIROMENT| TOURISM
"Presently, we have over 300,000 registered Pwan Business Owners (PBOs), and we have plans to grow the network to a million members this year, God willing, she said unapologetically, yet without an iota of pride. But would you say it otherwise if you sit at the top of an empowerment organization with over 300,000 registered members and churning out over 1,000 millionaires annually?
.jpeg)
