Startup Story
Adeola Ayeni-Obimakinde is the Founder and CEO of Koreteegold Food & Grocery Ltd in Lagos, Nigeria. She is a serial entrepreneur, a mom, a visionary leader, and a goal-getter with an award-winning business. Adeola is focused on putting a smile on the faces of busy moms and the elderly by providing solutions to their stressful food and grocery purchases and delivery in major cities in Nigeria. She also focuses on the packaging of safe agro products for Nigerians in the Diaspora. Adeola has over 5 years of business experience, as well as over 10 years as a former corporate executive with a multinational company and one of the country's leading banks.
LoA chatted to serial entrepreneur Adeola Ayeni-Obimakide to learn more about her journey to build a successful food and grocery business.
What does your company do?
Koreteegold Food n Grocery provides solutions in two ways, focusing on service and food processing. We source from smallholder farmers, mostly women, process, and package with love, safe quality agro products for easy access to Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora. Also, we use technology to provide solutions to stressful food and grocery shopping for busy moms, the elderly, and corporate organizations delivering promptly to the doorstep, quality products at low prices and hassle-free.
“What makes our business special is that we offer more than a supermarket or open market can give.”
What inspired you to start your company?
As a busy mom working in the bank, the need to stressfully stock up for food and grocery at least once a month inspired and birthed my business. In the same year, I had the opportunity to join an international program for women entrepreneurs where I learned about exporting commodities from Nigeria. This inspired the processing, branding, and packaging of our branded agro products.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
What makes our business special is that we offer more than a supermarket or open market can give. When you shop with us you get quality products of both grocery and agro/farm produce at a low price and prompt delivery to your door, you won't have to shop for grocery or farm produce from different platforms. We deliver ONLY safe and quality products at a low price and deliver within 24 hours, except for our meat and poultry products which are delivered on Fridays.
“We source from smallholder farmers, mostly women, process, and package with love, safe quality agro products for easy access to Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora.”
Tell us a little about your team
We are a team of 3 female full-time staff including myself, and we also have part-time staff on standby depending on how many orders we have. So, I oversee day-to-day activities and handle the accounting part of the business because it's my field of expertise. I also handle the sourcing aspect while we have Damilola handling all the orders that come in both online and offline. She sends invoices to customers, and she also joins me in the processing of our branded agro products. We have Tobi who handles going to the market for fresh produce, packaging of our branded processed product, while we all sort for third party delivery service to come to pick up and deliver to our clients.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I came from a mix of both entrepreneurial and paid job backgrounds, so after graduating I worked in a multinational for 2 years where I gained most of my entrepreneurial skills. I worked with the Procurement & Supply chain and Accounting department before joining the banking industry where I spent 7 years in different units as well, and resigned 5 years ago shortly after I started a fashion business which survived just one year. Then came the birth of my baby, Koreteegold Food n Grocery, 4 years ago and we have been moving from glory to glory putting smiles on the faces of Lagos busy moms, the elderly, also corporate organizations, and Nigerians in the Diaspora. This has also birthed another baby 1 year ago called Packaging & Prints Hub, due to the need for good and affordable product package branding for entrepreneurs in Nigeria to compete in the global market.
“When you shop with us you get quality products of both grocery and agro/farm produce at a low price and prompt delivery to your door. You won't have to shop for grocery or farm produce from different platforms.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
Our plans for Koreteegold Food n Grocery are to extend our grocery service to other cities in Nigeria, to partner with real estate companies to provide a seamless food purchase for their residents, and to partner with boarding schools where the parents of pupils can order for steady delivery of their children's grocery supplies to them in school. Also, on our branded agro products, we will be getting some certifications both national and international that will enable us to be at the forefront in the global market and also the production of some plant-based milk drinks which will be launching soonest.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
What gives me satisfaction and joy is the smile that beams on the faces of these busy moms and the elderly when we deliver to their doorstep quality products at a low price.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
My advice is to put trust in God first, then be consistent and focus on whatever needs you are looking to offer solutions for.
Contact or follow Koreteegold Food n Grocery
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL adeola@koreteegold.com.ng
Why LoA loves it….
If you want to build a successful business, you first have to find a need in the marketplace and then create a solution. Adeola Ayeni-Obimakinde is doing just that with her growing grocery retail business. She recognised a gap in the market to make people’s shopping lives easier and in the process of building her business, is also ensuring that her supply chain strategy uplifts smallholder farmers too. Adeola’s success is in taking control of her value chain, understanding her customer needs, and then creating a business model that works for everyone. We look forward to seeing this business continue to grow and thrive in the months and years to come, adding value to both customers and her business bottom line. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa