Chief Executive Officer of JL Properties and President of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), Dr. James Condua Orleans-Lindsay, has opened up about the struggles he faced while pursuing higher education abroad, revealing that it took him a decade to fully pay off his tuition fees.

Speaking to Irene Adubea Aning on The Career Trail program on Joy Learning TV and Joy News, Dr. Orleans-Lindsay recalled that after earning his master’s degree in Construction Management from the University of Salford in Manchester, he continued to pursue a PhD in Construction Managementat the University of Hertfordshire, also in the United Kingdom.

According to him, life as a student in the UK was far from easy. He recounted how financial challenges nearly derailed his academic ambitions.

“After my study at Hertfordshire, it took me ten years to finish paying my school fees and pick up my certificate. You can imagine. It was difficult going through. By the time I was done, I had piled up debts, and they wouldn’t issue my certificate until I cleared everything,” he said.

Despite the hardship, Dr. Orleans-Lindsay described the experience as a defining period in his life, teaching him resilience and perseverance, qualities that later shaped his success in business.

Today, the entrepreneur leads one of Ghana’s top real estate companies, JL Properties, and continues to inspire young people through his story of determination and hard work.