COVID lockdown made my agro-processing business achieve

By Enyeribe Ejiogu

With adequate funding I can expand operations and production capacity, and be able to take more people out of the labour market. SMEs are the drivers of the economy. When the government empowers SMEs, they empower the economy because we take many people out of the labour market.

At the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State, Dr Olawunmi Fakoya, followed her passion for culinary activities and studied Food Science and Technology, excelled and graduated.

While still doing the mandatory one year industrial attachment at Mopson Pharmaceuticals Limited, Providence opened a door for her to undergo a series of interviews at Promasidor (then known as Wonder Foods) just as the deadline for applications was about to close. Once again, she excelled and impressed members of the oral interview panel with perfect grasp of her field and was hired into the firm as Quality Control Inspector, rising to Quality Control Auditor. She worked there for six years and then struck out to pursue her passion in private enterprise.

With an honourary doctorate degree in Agro-Processing and Packaging awared to her by Kennedy University in November 2025, and entrepreneurial zeal, she has nurtured the acorn that was planted in 2014 into an agro-processing oak that now churns out various branded food products. Below is her blossoming success story.

Give us a snapshot of yourself: where you come from and where you schooled and what you studied.

I am from Ogun State but I was born and raised in Surulere, Lagos. I started schooling at Anglican Primary School, Mosalashi, and then moved to Ojodu Primary School, Lagos. Later, in 1991 I enrolled at the Holy Saviours College, Isolo, for senior secondary school education, and completed in 1994.

Food has always been my passion. Right from primary I began selling snacks. I would buy the pork pie sold at the bus stop at 50 kobo, divide each into two and sell each half at 50 kobo. That was a 100 percent gain. When I passed the school certificate examination, one of my brother’s friends who noticed my great interest in culinary activities encouraged me to pursue it as a career. It was him that even bought the form for me and filled Food Science and Technology as the course of choice at the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State.

When I finished there, I was supposed to go for one year industrial training. I did my first IT, which was for three months, with a biscuit company. For the one year IT, I could not get a suitable organization until about six months to the end of the one year. Fortunately, I got the placement with Mopson Pharmaceuticals. Then another of my brother’s friends saw an advertisement by Wonder Foods (now Promasidor), which wanted to hire graduates of Food Science and Technology. It was close to the deadline for submission of applications. He could not reach me – there was no GSM at the time. He used address to apply for me. When the letter for the interview came, he rushed to our house. That was how I went for a series of interviews held by the company. For the last one I faced a four-man panel, and I impressed them with my answers, particularly when one of them asked a question on how to test for the moisture content of Cowbell milk powder. I smiled and explained the steps to them. It was after I gave the answer that they looked at my CV. I was hired as a full time staff as a quality control inspector and later as quality control auditor. I worked there for six years and then resigned in 2005 to start my business in 2005.

What prompted you to leave a well-paying job to go into private enterprise?

I got married and then pregnancy came. After the post=pregnancy period which lasted about five months, I could not begin to look for another job. Moreover, it had been my passion to own a food business. I didn’t go into business immediately. I had to wait to finish child-bearing. I had four kids.

I planned for three. The year I registered my business name I discovered that I was pregnant with the fourth child. After I gave birth, I began the business in 2014.

How did it start?

I have a friend in my area who owns a school. She usually patronized me for eggs which resold. At the time I owned a poultry; so she one day. That day I prepared akara (bean cake) and pap for my husband. I invited her to eat with us. She said she was in a hurry because her husband was waiting for her. So, I gave her some of the akara I fried using my bean flour, to take home and eat since she couldn’t wait to eat with us. She ate with her husband who was waiting for her in the car. She loved it and encouraged me to go turn it into a business. I welcomed the suggestion and started with one can of beans. So, I started packing in 200 grammes. She was buying and using it to make akara to sell to her students as breakfast on top of bread.

Gradually I increased the quantity to two and then onwards to much higher quantities. With the wide acceptance of the bean flour I decided to produce maize flour for making pap.

As demand grew and we were producing larger quantities, one of our friends suggested that we approach the major supermarkets, to see if we could sell through them. I approached Jendol and God made a way for us. From the first store we were able to gain access to the other stores. We also got into making other food products like barbecue and spices. All these happened between 2014 and 2020 before COVID-19 came.

How did the business survive during the COVID lockdown?

Before COVID came, we were already making KuliKuli and Akara snacks. When COVID lockdown came, I refused to be locked down. Supply of food was not shut down. And of course when people are at home they tend to get hungry. Already, I had five girls, so I gave them branded Tee-shirts, to go around the area. They went out into the streets to sell to people every day and they were coming back with cool cash. COVID didn’t stop us. In fact, we made massive sales through the stores during the lockdown.

Now that you have come this far, what is the structure of your distribution system?

We are currently working with stores that have several branches. One of them has 16 branches, another has 15 branches. When we get the orders, we use Uber drivers to supply, by consolidating orders according to areas.

Give me an idea of your production capacity.

Okay, you know we have many products now. The kulikuli is among the snacks we make. The production capacity for the Kuli Kuli, is over one tonne per month. It is packaged in different sizes. The size of the cartons depends on the size of the jars. Then we have the sachet and pouch packs, which also come in different sizes. There is the handy pack which is very good for interstate travellers.

Have you considered selling your products on E-commerce platforms or even exporting them to Nigerians in the Diaspora?

Yes, in fact, our products are on sale outside the country. People buy them within Nigeria and export to those stores where they have been found on the shelves in different parts of the United Kingdom and other places like US, Egypt, Dubai and Canada. I have not been doing direct exporting. In due time, we will begin to export directly when we have worked out the necessary details.

You have many products. Are you likely to do contract manufacturing?

We are already doing that, manufacturing for other people and the products carry their own brands. We produce yam flour, akara chips, Zobo teabags through our subsidiary, JDP Global Farms and Technology. We can also produce branded products for special events like weddings and other ceremonies as souvenirs.

You have two entities operating together: JDP Global Concepts and, JDP Global Technology Farms Limited. Please clarify this.

We started in 2014, when JDP Global Concepts was registered as a business name. So as the business was progressing, there was a need for us to step up to a limited liability company. So we went back to the Corporate Affairs Commission to re-register as a limited liability company. We were told that that name, JDP Global Concepts, was no longer available. Of course it was no longer available because we were using it already. We did not want to change entirely, so we tweaked the name to become JDP Global Technology Farms Limited, which was incorporated in 2021. Under that name, we operate farms and engage in agro-processing. We buy farm produce from farmers and process just as we cultivate on our own farms.

What is your assessment of the Bola Tinubu administration with regard to SMEs?

There is so much noise about this administration trying to help SMEs. The government says money is available for SMEs, but there is nothing to collect. We need money because we have to do everything ourselves. The government just makes a lot of noise.

The government knows that the SMEs that are working. We belong to platforms very well known to the government. We have been here for 12 years and there is abundant evidence that we are working. The government should do the needful. I directly employ over 30 people. With adequate funding I can expand operations and production capacity, and be able to take more people off the labour market. The SMEs are the drivers of the economy. When the government empowers SMEs, it is also empowering the economy because we take many people out of the labour market.

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