Local beverage business, good start for youths - Entrepreneur

A young and flourishing entrepreneur, Safiya Mohammed in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja has advised that dealing on local beverage could be a good start-up for youths who wish to be self-empowered. Safiya, an 18 year old said she started her current beverage sales by specializing in making Tiger nut milk popularly called ‘Kunun Aya’ in the local language, and that it has stirred her to deeply seek for means to transform her business into a standardised and agency-approved bottled drink in the near future.

The Kano state female entrepreneur who spoke with WEEKEND during the week said she made her O’ levels few years ago but had ventured into the business to empower herself financially while catering for the many needs of her family. Speaking on what inspired her for the business Safiya said “I started this business after we lost our bread winner in the family, and since I have nobody to sponsor me to the university, I took it upon myself to salvage the situation and assist my mother and the other seven children.” She stated that her decision to make Kunun Aya was informed by the high demand in her locality and thus had made it very lucrative especially with the abounding availability of juice processing materials. Safiya said she started with as low as N400 some years back when she would use the finance to prepare as little as it could take. “But it later expanded from the one tier of Tiger nut I use process, to over 10 tiers daily,” she added. She is not left without challenges as Safiya recalled how she struggled to summon the courage to source for finance after recreating the business idea. She said: “At first, I thought of how to raise money to start but I discovered that I could start with the little capital I have and not to wait until I get a huge sum of money as that would take unimaginable period for my takeoff.” “My customers are teeming especially in the heat and dry season when they need much drinks intake to refresh themselves. Sometimes when I travel, some of them would often query me saying I had disappointed them in making available the local juice drink,” Sadiya related on her customer relations. Like every young and focused starter, Sadiya is not without her aspirations in the business. “I will like to expand the business from what it is now. I need to have a properly refrigerated store, get more hands to work for me, and then I could open other business lines to diversify my business acumen,” she quipped. The young school leaver has not thrown education aside. Sadiya said she aspires to further her education after saving adequate funds to sustain her through a university period and also cater to the needs of her family. “I wish to further my education but there is no body to sponsor me, and with the little income I make, I help my younger ones who are still in school. So I will strive to achieve my dream of being a graduate someday by saving much funds from what I am doing now to see me through the university education,” Sadiya had said. She told WEEKEND that the business is gradually working out after few years of laborious inputs. Sadiya in her response on her average gains said she makes an average of four thousand naira daily and over N80,000 monthly given a stable market condition. “It depends on the season, but sometimes I make one N1,500 from one tier of Tiger nut which I use to make the local juice,” Sadiya explained.

Sadiya who sees herself faring better than what it was after leaving school had advised fellow youths to take up responsibilities and earn a decent living. She said, “They should not sit at home and wait for manna to fall from heaven for them, nothing good comes easy, they should look for something to do instead of wasting their lives and time doing nothing and indulging in crimes.” “Whatever you find yourself doing, do it to the best of your ability and hope for a better tomorrow because no condition is permanent,” she concluded. DAILY TRUST WEEKEND