Temitope Ibronke-Omolokun is a Nigerian American who has lived more of her life in the United States of America than Nigeria but chose in the last couple of years to come back to Nigeria to set up her hospitality business.
Ibronke-Omolokun is the MD/CEO of The Motherland Kitchen Nigeria Ltd, a Nigerian-based company that provides an array of services in the hospitality sector. She runs an A lacart online restaurant called The Motherland Kitchen where they work in partnership with companies like Chowdeck and Orda Africa.
In this interview, the US-based Nigerian aspires to run like the door dash and Ubereats they have in the United States where consumers sit in their homes, see the meals they desire to order, place their orders, make easy payments, after which the meals are prepared and brought to their doorsteps in 30mins. Excerpts:
How many years have you been in this food business?
We have been in the food business for two years.
What inspired you to take this part, especially in Nigeria?
Truly, what inspired me was a dream I had about this, though I’ve always been around food businesses since I was a young girl even in Nigeria before I left for the USA almost 25 years ago. I have an auntie, who was a caterer with Coca-Cola back in the days, who used to cater to government offices, banks, AGMs and corporate offices and events for the lunches. I used to help package them in individual bowls (just like we do in my company now) and serve with drinks to the workers and participants of such meetings/gatherings.
Why Nigeria?
Anyone who knows me or knows anything about me knows I’ve always had a heart for Nigeria even after leaving the shores of this country for many years. I’ve always been a pro-Naija kind of person and always a rallying round point for Nigerians in the Diaspora when I lived in Kentucky for 10 years and even now in Dallas for the last 14 years. I remember back then in Kentucky, for the decade I lived there, there was this saying that if you haven’t met Temi in Lexington, then you’re not ready to settle down as a Nigerian here in Lexington Kentucky, cos she’s your sure plug to helping new Nigerians in town settle in and well, so I guess I have always been an ambassador for Nigeria of some sort lol.
What has been your greatest challenge over the years, especially in this era of continuous rise in food prices and low purchasing power?
My greatest challenge has been power supply and human resources, that is, finding good willing people to work. Power was so bad when we started that I was spending a fortune on alternate power supplies like diesel and gas, but now I am glad it is somewhat better. As regards the human capital, what I have found out is a lot of people want to work and are looking for jobs, but not many are employe-able or ready to do the work.
We have also come up with several innovative ways to introduce combo meals to our customers (like it’s done in the USA) where you get a meal with a free drink or water. This way, you have a sense of getting value for your money.
How would you describe speed in your delivery process?
Right now we work with the food delivery company called Chowdeck which is run by young Nigerian entrepreneurs. Once an order is sent in, we make the order ready within 20-25mins, we mark it as ready, their riders come to pick it up immediately and food is delivered to the customer in 10-15 minutes so in all it takes about 30-35mins order received, pickup to delivery. It is pretty fast and I’m truly impressed. I am most definitely trying to begin my delivery model too and would surely want to stay within this time too or even strive to beat it lower once our customers order directly through our IG page, WhatsApp number or call us directly.
There are other online food kitchens, especially in this era where people are keying into e-commerce. What makes your brand different from others?
What makes my brand different is that we have a variety of local and intercontinental cuisines available at your fingertips. They are ready to be made fresh daily and delivered to your doorstep. We also make sure we make your meals a combo meal every single time you order, so you don’t have to go looking for what to drink with your meals while you chow down. We always pride in the affordable prices our meals come and at affordable prices compared to the prices such high-quality meals will fetch elsewhere.
What are the differences in the business clime in Nigeria and United States of America?
It is totally like night and day I tell ya. Of course, in the USA, we don’t have issues with power supply like it obtains here in Nigeria, so we have that barrier/hurdle crossed already. Also, there is easier access to funds/ business capital than there is here in Nigeria. Then you find more folks who are employeable and previous employments easily verified than we have available in Nigeria.
America is a huge supporter of small businesses as small businesses are the backbone of our economy so small businesses are very much backed and supported in the United States.
What do you think government at all levels need to do for businesses to thrive in Nigeria and encourage investments from Nigerians in the Diaspora?
I believe government needs to do a lot more in supporting small businesses with government-backed policies to help small businesses grow, availability to small business loans, and easier access to stable power supply. Supporting and encouraging small businesses will help boost the economy and also help tackle the unemployment issue in the land, especially since government alone can’t provide jobs for everyone, especially the population of young adults we have in the county. Small businesses are truly the backbones of any county’s economy.
Do you think economic policies favour investors and Small Medium Scale Enterprises?
I have not seen how any governments has supported small businesses and I think they truly need to do more to kickstart the economy.
Culled: Opinion Nigeria
