How to Start an African Foodstuff Business

I was at the Florence Centro, that is the Italian for {centre},a few days ago to get some African foodstuff , the centro is about 30 minutes drive from where i leave and to get any African foodstuffs you must come to the Centro, it’s pronounced “chentro”. That is where all the African food shops or markets are located, and as a city centre, it is densely populated.  The owners of these shops are mostly Nigerians, Ghanaians, Indians, Pakistani etc. All of these shops are selling their own traditional food.

 

 I am an African and I can't stay a day without eating an African food,  I thinks most Africans are this way especially Nigerians, if you were born and brought up there. The list of foods eaten in Nigeria is literally inexhaustible. Being the most populous country in Africa, with about 160,000,000 inhabitants (population of 160 million) and over 500 totally different ethnic groups and languages (according to Wikipedia), all reflecting different cultures, cutting across different natural geographic zones including the Sahara desert, the Green Savanna, the thick Tropical Rain Forest, with different soil tendencies and properties, it is easy to see how diverse the staple food across the vast region called Nigeria could be. These shops sells- 

• yams
•  cocoyams
•  okra
•  ekusi
• cassava
• ogbono
• garri
• plantain
• palm oil
• Okra
• pepper soup spice
• Smoked fish etc..

My favorite is jollof rice with dodo {fried ripe plantain}, My point in all of this is for us to look at this as another medium to start a small business and make some money. These shops are African foodstuff markets in Italy. You can also get made in Nigeria body creams, hair relaxer, beverages, African textile, music, home videos and drinks.

Do you stay or leave outside your country ? Why not bring your country foodstuff to where you live, there must be some spices and foods you can’t find or get where you are leaving but in your country,  open a shop and bring those native food closer to your people.

  THINGS NEEDED TO SET UP YOUR NIGERIAN FOODSTUFF BUSINESS                       

Since they are foodstuff that the country your leave in is  not familiar with, it will take a longer process to set up. Go to your local council , do some enquiries and find out all that is needed to set up these shops. Things need to start an African foodstuff business –

1. Get a license - You will need a business license to open your African foodstuff business.

2. Permits - You will need to have a permit from the local Health Department to start your African foodstuff business. This is customary and very important.

3. You need to get a shop for your goods - this is a very important step of this kind of business, you will have to set it up in a highly populated area, in  area that you can be seen and be found easily.

You will need shelfs to store the foodstuffs, refrigerators for preservation of items like fish, leafs,meat, fresh pepper some of the perishable items etc.

The start-up cost for an african foodstuff business is between  €25,000 to  €35,000. This amount will cover the initial rent payment, to stocks up the shop, shipping cost and any cost that may arise.

If you are interested in  starting  an African foodstuff business, Listed below are some trusted and reliable Nigerian exporters and wholesalers. If you are not a Nigerian but want to go into your country foodstuff business, you will have to contact your country's state of commerce or traders association, they will give you all you need to know about your country's infrastructural and expoters.

Balanced Development Limited

9b Old Refinery Road, Elelenwo

P.O.Box 8568, Port Harcourt

Email: nemetu@yahoo.com

This is a Nigerian wholesaler that specializes in packaging and exportation of African foodstuffs and  products with singular objective of making sure that African food is hygienically processed and packaged to everybody all over the world.

Always available are fresh and dried Bitter-leaf, Ogbono, Egusi, Achi, Cray-fish, Ukazi dried leaf, Oporo (smoked shrimps), Bitter Kola nuts, Dadawa cubes, etc. They are capable of exporting any quantity of product you may require and at moderate prices. They also offer personal sales.

Cassava Marketers Association of Nigeria

2 Export House 213

Kumba Street Wuse Zone 2

Abuja, Nigeria

3234-08036177493

simonoch@usa.com

This association in Nigeria is capable of supplying all African foodstuffs from Africa at competitive prices. They also carry Nigeria Home CDs, and both new and old films. They can supply African cosmetics, cassava leaves, and any other agricultural products.

Cejin Nigeria Limited

Zone D34

Farm Centre

Minna

Niger State

Corporate Office

Suite 20Melita Plaza

Area 11

Garki

Abuja

chiihej@gmail.com

We are exporters of palmnut kernels, yam, raw cashew nuts, sesame seeds, and other kinds of farm produce. We also export African yam flour, cassava and red oil. With an efficient quality management and cost control system, we can offer products with different prices according to your various quality requirements. We insist on implementing contracts efficiently, delivering goods on time, providing high quality products with the most competitive prices. We cherish every chance of cooperation, and have built stable relationship with our customers based on mutual trust and benefit. We are hoping to cooperate and establish a long lasting relationship with you. And we are confident that we can turn to be your stable, reliable, and powerful supplier of agricultural products.

Fayolam Farms

Shop 06 Ayoola Shopping Plaza

Asero Abeokua

Ogun State

Nigeria

08033502883

iyalodefadillah@yahoo.com

 The farm is located at Ijeun Akoni Village, Via Osiele in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Fayolam Farms is a registered farm with the Nigera Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja in 2009. Main activities are cultivation of crops that include cassava, maize, watermelon, and yam. They process cassava into very fine garri known as garri ijebu or garri wenkun or olowonyo. Processing is based on Standard Organisation of Nigeria standard. Farms Mission: To be a foremost exporter of garri product to European and American countries.

Grace Bee Ventures Ltd

26 Alhaji Bashiru Street, Ojodu

P.O. Box 9483, Ikeja. Lagos

NIGERIA

 Specializing in production, processing and packaging of hygienically-processed African foods, including gaari, raw plantain, raw yam tubers and many different types of flour.

Importers Co-operative, Ltd

P.O.Box 1862

Surulere 33, Ogunmefun Street, Pedro, Gbagada

Lagos, Nigeria

Tel: 134-1-8139377

Cell: 2348033215157

Email: importers_ng@yahoo.com

Worldwide wholesale suppliers for African foods. Items include soup ingredients such as achi, bitter leaf,crayfish, egusi, ogbono, ukazi, smoked shrimp, palm oil, African spices and seasonings. They also carry stock fish, garri, yams and yam flour, nuts (kola, bitter kola, coco nuts, etc), beverages such as Milo and Bournvita, African video films, African weekly and monthly news magazines, newspapers, and native clothing.

 Lashbol, Nigeria Limited

Lashbol Road, off Ayedun Junction, Ajegunle bus stop,Sango Otta

phone: 2348084914626

otabolaji@yahoo.com

 Lashbol Nig Ltd is a manufacturing company sub divided into 3 sections of commercial farming of smoked catfish, fillet, fingerlings, local fish feed and Coppens fish feed. Arable farming of palm trees, bananas, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, palm oil extract on a 30 acre land in Oluke, Ogun State, and an educational institution in Lagos State. The company is looking to export smoked catfish, fillets, palm oil, sesame seeds, water melons and processed birds to other African countries, Europe and the United States.