An Ibadan-based entrepreneur and founder of Skye Foodies, Sefumi Dada has called for financial assistance to Small and Medium Enterprises ( SMEs) to expand their operations for overall economic growth.
She also advocated for the patronage of Nigerian businesses to bring about the full potential of SMEs’ contributions to the nation’s gross domestic products (GDPs).
Dada, who has been in the food business for a decade, urged airline operators, especially indigenous ones, to include Nigerian snacks in their menu, considering their unique tastes and international acceptance.
The entrepreneur with a background in Biochemistry shared these thoughts during an interview with The Guardian at the Bi-monthly PR Tea Party organised by Hustle Africa, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to her, airline operators should consider ordering snacks from reputable Nigeria firms like Skye Foodies, with vast experience in delivering the Nigerian puff-puff, buns, waffle and pancake mix.
Dada, stressed that Skye Foodies is currently redefining the food sector in Nigeria and eager to expand even outside Nigeria.
To make that happen, she said there is a need for government’s support by providing funding with low interest rates to enable them to compete favourably.
Dada said the company is poised to bring back the youthful memory of snacks for many Nigerians who are millions of miles away from the shores of the country.
She stressed that Skye Foodies is currently working with a brand, which specialises in curating food packages for Nigerians travelling abroad,
According to her, the company’s snack mix is one of those things that most customers want in their packs, as Nigerians are always carrying their pallets everywhere.
Dada said she has also been taking courses on export since last year, just to prepare herself for this feat.
She said : “In Skye Foodies, we are giving customers the ease of enjoying Nigerian snacks any time, any day without going through the stress of measuring recipes, knowing that the right ingredients are there.
” We have the pancakes that they need. Also, we help them to satisfy their cravings through our premium small chops and grills. ”
” So, you can come to us to cater for your events. You can expect quality taste and our products are National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) certified.
“You can expect excellent delivery. That’s what we give to Nigerians.We pay attention to the taste, right from the taste, to the presentation, to the people serving your guests.
“That is one of the things that our customers really love about us and they commend us on that. You can be rest assured that we don’t have to start micromanaging.’
On her inspiration, Dada said she has always loved to cook.
“My father used to tell me that my food is very tasty. So as I began to grow, I began to see the need.
“After I started the business, I discovered that most of my clients who bought our small chops want to be able to eat it anytime.
“So, I just started asking myself, what can be done? There should be something I can do to bridge the gap. Then I sat down with my background in biochemistry and formulated a recipe, so as to be able to discover how long they can stay, what will the shelf life look like, the storage condition, and others.
“Then after doing that, I tested the market, gave it to a couple of people that can give honest feedback. They used it and they gave feedback that this is what they have been expecting.
“We decided to take the next step of getting the necessary regulation for it.
“So, we went through the entire process at NAFDAC’ and the results came back excellent.
“And that gave us, you know, the assurance that we needed that. We put the products on the market and so far so good.
“We even have a reseller network for it everywhere in Nigerians, we are giving them the opportunity to have something to eat. You know, either you’re a stay-at-home mother, a student, or you’re working night or Friday, we partner with you, you join our reseller network and you sell our products to people around you,” she added.
On the challenges of.food business in Nigeria, Dada said there’s a capacity building part, but it is also funding.
According to her, funding is because most supermarkets want you to supply them, and they pay you back after a while.
“They want to be sure that you can keep meeting up with demand, or they don’t start with you.
“Capacity building is one of those things that as an entrepreneur, you pay for business strategy courses, pay to speak with consultants, just to make the business better. But funding is still a very big challenge, especially being a lady.
” It just makes it more challenging than the male gender. And what’s challenging is that there’s an amount of money that you need to start up a business, but when you get to the level where you want to scale up , you can’t accommodate it, especially if you are not a trustworthy person,” she said.
