10 On The Weekend is a weekly (-ish) feature in IMI, the concept of which is simple: Each time, we ask the same ten questions of a different IMI Pro, letting readers get to know the interviewee on a more personal and informal level than they might during the ordinary course of business.
Our guest this week is Yomi Yusuf, Director of West Africa at Beyond Global Partners
How do you spend your weekends?
I like to unwind by reading a book, catching a movie, or spending time doing various activities with my teenage son.
I like to see the world through his innocent eyes, as they are the future generation, and, believe it or not, there’s always still so much to learn from them.
What are your top three business goals this year (2026)?
- Increase revenue, as let’s face it, the way the world is evolving, investment migration will always be in demand.
- Develop more programs or offer more varieties via various avenues.
- Enhance operational efficiency, thereby improving customer satisfaction, which contributes to building trust.
What is your biggest business concern right now?
It’s a two-in-one concern; I would say how to strategically expand our reach to cover and continue to cater to the ever increasing demand of investment migration products, whilst balancing this against the frequent changes in policies that we keep seeing within some of the existing options.
Which book is on your nightstand right now?
Present Shock by Douglas Rushkoff.
An old friend gifted it to me mid-last year. It essentially talks about the constant state of anxiety that we all live in as we try to keep up with the ever-increasing speed and urgency of time.
How and when did you first get into the investment migration industry?
Well, my foray into this industry started about 18 years ago, as I come from a background in law.
In 2007, I commenced practising UK inbound immigration law in a boutique law firm situated in South London. I initially started with the mid-level type visas, such as the spouses, students, work permits, etc.
I would go on to work in about four other law firms in central London. However, from about 2012, owing to increasing demand, I started to see that investment visas would be the future. Hence, I started shifting focus to the investment visa options that were available at the time, such as the UK Investor, Entrepreneur, and Sole Rep visas.
I focused on these for about eight years until 2020, and as UK investment options started to dwindle, the demand for worldwide investment options started to increase.
Over the years, I have consistently listened to the market, and I then adjust and adapt accordingly.
What was your proudest moment as a service provider?
We’ve had many proud moments, but there’s one that’s struck out most in recent times, and it was when we signed up five top-level international clients literally within five days straight.
This is despite (in their own words) that they had been engaged in talks with other service providers; they elected, however, to sign up with us instead, as they were impressed with our service delivery.
It’s a very competitive market, and in my opinion, this is a testament to the hard work and passion we put into what we do; as such, we should celebrate the small wins.
Which investment migration market development has surprised you the most in the last year?
I would say Antigua, with its protracted delays in processing applications, has had an unfavorable ripple effect on our ability to market them to prospects.
This was the main surprise, but so was the plan to extend physical residency to a 30-day period.
If you could go ten years back in time, what business decision would you change?
Perhaps I should have been a bit more aggressive with marketing and execution.
What investment migration industry personality do you most admire?
My boss, Hakan Cortelek.
He has been like a role model to me for a long time. He is a good man with a good heart, and because of thi,s his employees just want to do their best and hate to let him down.
If only all the bosses in the world could be like him.
If all goes according to plan, what will you be doing five years from now?
Five years from now, if it all goes to plan, I think we will have dominated a substantial part of the market.
For me personally, I might be permanently settled in Dubai as the concept of living tax-free is something that sounds too good to pass up in one lifetime.
