BY EBELE ORAKPO

Ms. Olumide IniOluwa Akinyemi is the Chief Executive Officer of Meeday Confectioneries, a catering outfit in Ketu area of Lagos which specialises in ready-to-eat snacks such as chinchin, cakes, samosa, etc. In this chat with Financial Vanguard, Akinyemi speaks on her motivation and challenges, noting that the core value of Meeday lies in helping clients realise their goals. She said the company was born out of her passion for baking as a teenager. Excerpts:

After her one year compulsory service to fatherland in Gombe State as a secondary school teacher in 2006/2007, the 2005 Plant Biology graduate from the University of Ilorin worked as an administrator in a real estate firm and later worked as a marketer with the Berachah Microfinance Bank in Lagos as a marketing executive. According to her, this gave her hands-on experience in administration and marketing which has been crucial in the running of her business.

In 2009, Akinyemi resigned her appointment at the microfinance bank to pursue her dream of becoming the owner of a renowned catering outfit specialising in providing a full array of catering, events management and hospitality services customized to clients’ needs.

Akinyemi who is currently undergoing a four-month course in entrepreneurship with the Fate Foundation, said she thrives in the world of possibilities and creativity because being the first in a family of five instilled in her the independent, ‘can-do’ and goal-getting attributes. She noted that her first book, Baking Made Easy, was an inspiration from God, to pass the competence she has acquired over the years, to others.

Motivation
Speaking on what motivated her to start her own business, Olumide Akinyemi who was given the chieftaincy title of Barade Mata (Vanguard of women) by the community where she served, said she had always dreamt of owning a catering outfit.

“My passion has always been to own a catering business and also empower individuals to be self-reliant. This journey began when I baked with my mom’s stove in the secondary school at the age of 16 years. When I graduated from the university, it was evident what my career should be. I have always liked cooking and baking and that was evident to those around me. In addition, due to the large number of unemployed youths around, our training arm has been greatly welcomed which is a great income earner for us.”

Challenges
On the challenges faced in the catering business, the Meeday boss who presently has about eight people in her employ said; “One of the greatest risks associated with this business is the issue of availability of raw materials used for catering and baking. This has resulted in fluctuations in prices which often affects our pricing model and expected returns greatly,” she said, adding that

there is also the challenge of securing loyal staff  because according to her, without loyal members of staff, one faces the risk of leaking ones trade secret. In order to overcome this challenge, Akinyemi said she “semi-processes the perishables and store in freezers, while I buy the dry foodstuff in bulk and store against scarcity.” On the issue of keeping loyal staff, she said she tries as much as possible to provide them with great remuneration package and non-financial incentives that can encourage them to continue working at Meeday.

She also mentioned fluctuating prices of foodstuff, energy crisis which can result to heavy dependence on fossil fuels, religious and social observations at particular seasons, as other challenges facing the business. However, she said that despite the challenges, the business is a very lucrative one.

Philosophy
“Our philosophy is to bring a bespoke approach to catering by ensuring that our services and products are tailored to the requirements of individual clients. Our core values which are Transparency; Integrity and Professionalism (TIP), have been fundamental in the running of our business. Diligently pursuing these values has ensured that we deliver beyond the expectations of our customers and this has earned us a number of referrals from satisfied customers,” said Akinyemi who earned a state award during her service year  in recognition of her community project where she empowered 20 local women to be self-reliant by teaching them to use beads to make shoes, bags, key holders, phone purse, etc.

Asked  where she wants to see Meeday Confectioneries in the next five to 10 years, Akinyemi said she hopes to see  the company becoming a house-hold name and a force to be reckoned with in the confectioneries and catering industry.