MEET NGOZI ROWLAND-ONUEGWUNWOKE, ONE OF OUR ENTREPRENEURS WHO JUST LAUNCHED HER BUSINESS

I am a woman passionate about raising healthier families. I hail from Ibusa in Delta state. I graduated from the University of Ibadan with a degree in Agricultural Economics and obtained an MBA from the National Open University Abuja. I also have a master class certificate in Risk management and a certificate in public speaking.

I am the CEO of Safi Event Managers an event management and catering outfit. I am also the CEO of SEM Spices and Tea ltd. Some years ago I lost 4 classmates to cancer and it was a wakeup call about our lifestyle and what we eat, and being a believer in the notion 'we are what we eat’ I decided to contribute my quota to improving health by producing healthy spices. Everyone cooks with some form of spice or the other, and most of the spices contain preservatives, MSG and other additives. My passion was driven by the need to create healthier alternatives to the conventional spices we have in the market by producing spices, without additives, preservatives, MSG or soy. These spices not only   make food taste better but also help in preventing, managing and curing certain health conditions. In addition to producing healthy spices I also organize outreach programmes on the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle.

My spices gained considerable success as the demand for my spices grew. I was overwhelmed. I needed some training on running and managing a fast growing business. I heard about C4C’S Global Entrepreneurship Fellowship Programme.  My time with C4C has been nothing short of amazing. The various capacity building workshops introduced me to modern business management techniques. They also enabled me clearly define the amount of money required for expansion and as well as expected profits.

Having been inspired by the goodwill of the C4C team and their dedication to helping young people I hope to be able to train young people on the production of healthy spices and running a spice production business.

Meet KOMOLAFE DEBORAH, another C4C Fellow who Started a Pop-Corn Business Under our Global Entrepreneurship Fellowship Program

I am a biochemistry graduate from Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State. My father was an entrepreneur, he ran and owned a logistics business and a meat shop in the city of Ilorin. I started my entrepreneurial journey at the age of 15 by working closely with my father, assisting in recruiting and training new staff for his businesses.

With the experience and knowledge I gathered from my time working with my father, I started an events planning business while I was in University. With the money saved up from my events planning business I started a pastry making business after my National Youth Service. However I encountered some financial problems and was forced to shut the business down. After this, I worked for a few companies. However determined to fulfill my dream of being an entrepreneur, I began doing research into non-capital intensive profitable businesses. In the course of my research I stumbled upon the popcorn business. With donations from family and friends I started a small scale popcorn business with my younger brother. I opened up a popcorn stand in a primary school and also began supplying popcorn to a few local supermarkets. The business gained a considerable amount of success however, I saw the need to expand the business. I recognized that in order to achieve this I would need extensive training. Thus, in 2018 I applied for C4C’s Global Entrepreneurship Fellowship Programme and was selected to be a part of the first set of fellows. The various capacity building workshops and trainings opened my eyes to various methods of successfully running and managing a business. Also, with the guidance of mentors and the C4C Team I was able to determine the amount of capital required to expand as well as the estimated profits.  

With the help of the C4C team I am currently working on expanding and re- launching my popcorn business as a new business. The plan is to not only supply popcorn to supermarkets and primary schools, but also to children’s parties, weddings, and other events. Also, as a strong believer in the concept of social entrepreneurship I hope to one day be able to provide free training on running a popcorn business to youths in disadvantaged communities.

I am proud to announce that I am among the first five fellows that will officially be launching their businesses today.