 Launching a lucrative food business in Nigeria is super easy only if you know the right type of food business to dive into. Food is an essential element that people consume every day. It is the most important substance that people sought after clothing and shelter. And if you look at the food industry in today's time, you will discover that people who invest in the food business are making a lot from it, maybe. However, with food inflation skyrocketing in Nigeria, does this present more of a challenge than an opportunity? Well, we will also share insight on successful tips for starting a food business in Nigeria. Welcome to Business and Sites, I'm Klaus Tevi Africa. I am Justin Akademi. Nigeria commemorated the start of the week by dedicating two days to the Eid holidays. However, here are the highlights of stories that rounded up business in Nigeria. Take a look. A presidential aspirant on the PDP, Peter Obi, has won that Nigeria cannot grow economically with a 35% unemployment rate. He is then urging the federal government to aggressively support micro, small and medium enterprises which are the engine of job creation. Peter Obi disclosed this in his work as the message to Nigerians. Nigeria's unemployment rate as of the end of 2020 rose to 33.3% from 27.1% recorded as of quarter to 2020, indicating that about 23,187,389 Nigerians remain unemployed. The Minister of State for Petroleum, Tmipri Silver, has said that the federal government aims to transform Nigeria into a gas-powered economy by 2030 to address challenges around power generation through gas-powered plants. The minister disclosed this in Abuja at the 2022 public lecture under the theme inclusive energy transition, key issues, investment opportunities and barriers towards achieving the decade of gas initiative in Nigeria. He said natural gas is a key resource for energy transition and that it has all the credentials to support Nigeria to meet its commitments in line with the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals. The federal government and Morocco are set to build the world's longest offshore pipeline and second longest pipeline in the world. This would help to carry gas from Nigeria to Morocco, running across 11 West African countries. This was disclosed by Tolu Ogunlesi, one of the media aides of President Mohamedu Buhari via his Twitter handle. According to him, the partnership which is between the NNPC and ONHYM of Morocco was originally signed by the two countries in June 2018. Telecommunication companies are proposing a 40% increase in the cost of calls, SMS and data to the Nigerian Communications Commission as a result of the rising cost of running a business in the nation. Based on their proposal, the price flow of calls will increase from 6.4 Naira to 8.95 Naira while the price cap of SMS will increase from 4 Naira to 5.61 Naira. According to them, the telecommunication industry has been financially impacted following the nation's economic recession in 2020 and the effect of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis. The federal government has disclosed that the second Niger Bridge will be commissioned in October and that Lagos-Ibadu Highway will also be commissioned in June 2022. Nigeria's Minister of State for Works and Housing, Mohamedu Sambo said that 11.9 km second Niger Bridge and 120 km Lagos-Ibadu Highway are part of President Buhari's administration pledges on infrastructure. It is no longer news that the prices of foodstuff and other commodities have gone up and purchasing power reduced in recent times. Nigerians are spending much on food. Does this translate to more money for food entrepreneurs or are they also struggling to stay afloat? Joining me right now to discuss the food business in this inflationary period is Nneka. She is the founder and CEO of Super Dishes. Thanks for joining us on Business Insight. Thank you for having me. I'm super excited to be here. It is indeed our pleasure. Lecturers, dive into it. A lot of people always believe that food business is very lucrative. Is it actually the case, judging by the general hike in prices in Nigeria? First off, I'm super excited that I'm in food business. I would say that it's pretty much what you believe to be possible. Someone can say that food business is lucrative and for somebody else it's not as lucrative. It's what you believe to be true, what you believe to be your reality. I would say that for my reality, being in food business for way over 10 years now, I would say that it's a thriving arm of business if you choose to make that your reality. Thank you. Speaking of your reality, it sounds very interesting. Maybe I was just jumping the gun as it were. Can you tell us how you actually started this? Is it something that you've always wanted to do? Maybe not exactly. I was in paid employment. You were in paid employment? Yes, I was in paid employment. No, I was in customer service. I was working in a telecommunications company at the time and I think it became a need. So it's pretty much how the market is. I feel like every entrepreneur should identify their need and you're able to meet it. So I was in paid employment at the time and I think food became such an issue. I guess we got tired of what we were always eating and then on few occasions I come in and then I make different types of meals to work. My colleague just said, can you make this for us? I think from there I picked up my interest and I could actually use my skills to serve people. So I just started making in small quantities here and there and before you knew it, this person here, that person here, this other person here. I think at a certain point in my life I just knew that God was leading me somewhere else. I prayed about it and here we are. One thing I picked up from what you just said is that there was a need and you identified it and you chose to feel that particular need. So invariably now, this food business, is it an all-commerce affair? What can you do differently to stay afloat? So I feel that for every business, I strongly advise that you're quite knowledgeable about it and you're able to grow with the trends that evolve with the trends. So it's beyond being, oh food business is lucrative. Yeah, let me start, let me do this. It's important that you're knowledgeable. And when I say knowledgeable, at least you have basic knowledge of how to put tomatoes and onions together. That's one. I also strongly feel that on a few occasions where I have mentees who say, oh I'm not making too much profit, I started this business because it was passion. I think it's important that you also understand that there's a difference between passion and there's a difference between making profit as a business. So you can be passionate about something and you're not making any type of profit from it. So it's safe to say that that's a charity business. You're probably cooking for your family, everybody's eating and they're excited. But the moment you want to go into food business, you should understand that there are busy things you should have knowledge of. What's your food costing? What's the percentage of profits that you're looking to make? It's not necessarily because I put 1000 nair. At the time where I started years back, it was easy to say you're putting 1000 nair into the business and you're going to get 2000 nair. But it's way different now because things are way more expensive than it used to be. So I strongly advise that it's not for everyone. Food business is not for everyone. But if you're able to understand what is required to run a business by having basic knowledge of putting your ingredients together so that it can serve the masses and then it appeals to them. And then two, your food costing. Get your costing right. Getting your costing right. It's so key. Getting your costing right. How much would it cost me to do this? You know, some of the basic things that we live out, which, you know, at the end, by the time you put them together, you realize that, oh, this is what's taking out my money. This is where I can cut costs. This is where I can reduce, you know, wastage. So those are basic things I feel that every one who's going into food business should know. You should know your basic overhead costs. But then you should know how to cook. Because I wonder sometimes, you know, people operate restaurants and then eateries and can taint and all of that. But you find out that when you eat those food or being served or being sold at those places, they're not really delicious. And I wonder how you open a restaurant when you actually cannot cook. How does that work? So I know that, you know, life has evolved and life is evolving as it is. But like I said, I think it's important that you have basic knowledge of what type of business you're doing. So, you know, I would bring it to fashion. So you have, you know, certain persons who are in fashion industry who don't necessarily know how to show. But they have basic knowledge of, okay, this is how I patterned. This is how I wanted. There are some core skills that I believe you should have. So, you know, bringing it to those who, you know, and like I say to people, I say that it's way different when you have to cook for one person and when you're cooking for 100 persons. You have to know how you're going to incorporate your ingredients, how you're going to infuse different elements of cooking into it. And I mean, putting your heart into it. So I think I would just really, I would just really encourage, you know, like put it out there that for everyone who wants to do food business, you should have basic knowledge. Have basic knowledge of knowing how to cook whatever it is that you want to cook. Because I mean, when I started, there were times where, so I started out doing small chops. Right. And there were days where I knew, I mean, I had an idea of the recipes. I knew how I wanted the small chops to look like. I knew, you know, I just felt, oh, I can hire people to get it done. And on different occasions, I had them not showing up. Like they would not show up. And I'm like, you know, and in that moment, my husband is like, baby, you need to learn this. I need to learn how to do it. And so I picked it up myself. I started doing stuff by myself. So whether you choose to show up at work, you know, so I think, you know, as individuals and business owners, it's important that you empower yourself. So, you know, you have an identity of your own regardless of whether you have a great chef or you don't. Let's talk about how far the industry has grown over the years. I know right now there are a whole lot of stakeholders in the value chain. Absolutely. You see lots of delivery men, people order foods online. And, you know, just the tip of the finger, you know, you get meals delivered to you. How would you say, how far would you say social media technology has or have indeed helped the sector? I would say that social media has done a great deal for, it has done so much for the food business sector, for every business, pretty much, because, you know, it has given us an edge. So you, I would say that we're now global competitors, right? So I don't necessarily have to know who, I don't necessarily have to, you know, know where I'm ordering from, or let me rephrase. I'll say it has made us one global competitor. Social media has given everybody, you know, an edge to be able to present yourself the way you want people to see you. So for instance, with my food business, you have cases where you, you know, families in the diaspora order directly here for you to deliver to their families here. So I would say that, you know, social media has helped a whole lot. It has given us, you know, a level playing ground, you know, so everybody's able to interact. You know, our businesses are, pictures are getting to the UK, your pictures are using different hashtags, your pictures are seeing in Mexico. You know, people want to identify, you know, with the food, with the Nigerian food business industry in itself, because social media has, you know, given us an edge to be out there and, you know, we're pretty much leveraging on that. So let's talk about regulation. Is this particular industry or sector regulated? Because if you had several people jumping on that particular bandwagon, how do you ensure quality? How do you ensure, you know, safety and standards as well? Okay, so I know that we can do better here in Nigeria, to be honest, you know, by having, you know, necessary regulatory bodies that, you know, are able to put checks and balances here and there. But I mean, you have different associations that are springing up, you know, bringing some form of unity in the food industry. You have community groups where you can, you know, where you can leverage, you know, knowledge and know what is expected. So I run a community group as well, where we're able to, you know, help growing business owners, you know, gather basic knowledge, have an understanding of the line of business that you're in. So I would say that that has helped all them communities here and there and all that. But like I said, I feel that, you know, as a nation, we can still do better by having regulatory, you know, bodies who are able to put checks and balances. However, as a food business owner, you know, I would encourage, you know, that you take up courses that can give you an edge, you know. So when I pretty much started, I didn't know that there were certain courses that, you know, that you could leverage on. But, you know, right now you have food safety courses, you know, that makes you certified, that helps to ensure that gives customers some level of comfort that, okay, this person knows what she's doing. You also have HSE, you know, HSE management courses, you know, health and safety. You have for certain petroleum industries, there are certain courses you also have to, like the DPR certificate, you know, and all of that. So I think that as you grow, it's important that you lay hold on all of these, you know, certifications. It gives you an edge, you know, in your business and, you know, makes you credible. Right, Nick, just as we round off, it's been very interesting learning about all of these trends. But I want you now to help someone who is actually starting out and who wants to get into this business and that needs someone like you, who has been there, who has actually gone through the downs and the highs and the opportunities and, of course, the threats are. Your camera is too, I just want you to look at it and just give useful tips on how to start a food business in Nigeria. Okay, I think first off, one thing that I would, you know, say to whoever is watching is, you know, know your why. Why do you want to do what you want to do, right, that's one. Two would be that you must be able to numb yourself to limitations, numb your mind to seeing limitations and saying, okay, this is not working, this is not working, you must be able to numb yourself to such things. And most importantly, one of the scriptures that keeps me going is from Isaiah 50 verses 7, which is, you should set your face like a flint and you will not be dismayed. So you must set your face on the one who has called you, on the one who has sent you and one who is making it possible for you to make your food business grow. Set your face on him, don't focus on anything else because he would always give you direction and that's the person of the Holy Spirit who would always direct you and show you which way to go and what steps to take. So do it afraid anyway, just start already because time waits for no one, so start while you can. Alright, thank you so much. Indeed you have given useful insights or some people may need to go and pay courses, you know, for to just acquire this knowledge. Indeed we have been speaking with a Neka, this one she is the founder, CEO of Super Disha. Thank you so much Neka for sharing all these insights. Thank you so much. I do appreciate it, thank you for having me. It is indeed our pleasure. Alright, during the week we were at the opening day of the 13th edition of The Laugh, that's at the Lagos Architect Forum and it was themed the city of Lagos, what is Lagos? It brought together experts to discuss issues, trends and policies. Among others, would the city of Lagos as the center of focus would leave you with the highlight of this in the next report. My name is Justin at the Business Insight. Returns again next week. Bye for now. In critical insights, to effectively midwife a liveable and sustainable Lagos state. We try to analyze the physical development within the city of Lagos and see how we can get government to key into some of the suggestions that as professionals we think they should key into. When we talk of the thriving city in the world, these are cities that never sleep. What it is all about is to synergize, to interact with the private sector, the public sector, the manufacturers, the suppliers of building materials. In recent times, incidences of building collapses have become recurred even with a city as commercial as Lagos. As one wonders how these tide can be stemmed, government is advised to ensure monitoring as enforcement does not stop when approval is given. The professionals believe that state government should domesticate a national building code as well as show political will to stop the menace. The building code actually has some compliance forms built into the document such that at various stages of the building, you have relevant professionals signing off at different stages. Are we shining away from our responsibilities? Are we ready to take up our responsibilities? And to be honest with you, please be ready for more collapses because if we are not ready to do the right thing, then be sure that these tragedies will continue to occur. Until we can have a proper governance structure on the construction process. Where we start to track who designed, who supervises, what are the stages of construction, what are the stages of certification and is available on a digital platform. This is why this is Lagos. The NIS shows that it will continue in its advocacy role as watchdogs to promote best practices in the building procurement process to avoid ugly consequences of building failures and collapses.