… with jollof rice as top rated menu
- By our reporter
When Oluwatobi Akinwumi popularly called Tobi, Oyo State- born graduate of Sociology at the Covenant University left the shores of Nigeria for Canada in 2018, little did she know that her quest for further knowledge would quickly open a space that would raise her to earn a place as an employer of Labour, and a lovely wife .
Tobi 27, had travelled to the North American Country to pursue a Masters Degree programme in Business Administration.( MBA) at Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops when her new found love in catering began.
Speaking to current matters in an interview in British Columbia on Wednesday, Tobi said at the time she arrived the city to study, there were no restaurants serving African meals . This motivated her passion to take advantage of the gap and provide services for the Nigerian population, Africa and the rest of the world ..
Her restaurant,Tobilicious established in December 2020 is the face of Africa in the city on a hill . It is involved in indoor and outdoor catering services.
“There was no African grocery store when we came.Me and my brother would go to Vancouver and buy Nigerian groceries.then I will make it. When I started having friends,I will cook and they will come and eat. Then they started saying, Why don’t you look into cooking for people ,so not until the year 2020 when the African store was about to open,so they built a restaurant upstairs because they are Ghanaians and they don’t know how to cook Nigerian food.
“For West Africa, Nigeria has the most population here,so there’s market for Nigerians. They needed a Nigerian to run the restaurant so I told them I was interested, other people also showed interest. I told them my business plan, what I was going to do, and then they chose me to run the restaurant. So we’ve been there since 2020..
Her humble beginning in the trade coupled with her faith in God has made her business prosper and brought popularity to her doorstep .
“We’re moving out to another location by the end of September by God’s grace.. We’re also looking towards expanding our business in Kelowna and Vancouver. The population of Africans is growing in Kelowna so we are looking into opening our business there.
Tobi said her christian foundation nurtured her to become the woman she is.
“I was raised in the church. My parents infused christianity in me. I was very focused because I didn’t want anything to jeopardize the future set for me.
Asked how she met her husband, she said ” Actually,we met in the church, but then we did MBA together. He also has a business background. He usually supports me in business. This is not a business only one person can do. It needs the support system. He encourages me and supports with logistics.
Despite her success story, the young entrepreneur has a heart full of empathy for Nigerian youths who she said are highly talented but are wasting in Nigeria due to government neglect and lack of political will to address the problem of insecurity.
She therefore called on the Federal Government to invest in youths and provide the enabling environment to enable them explore their potentials
“Nigerian youths have a lot of potentials, unfortunately, the leadership is not helping them realise that.
” As Iam here now I see a lot of Nigerians doing big things here and I just wish that the country too can be very safe for the youths to explore their talents and be the future leaders..
On why she left Nigeria to study in Canada and doing business in catering instead of white collar jobs ,Tobi said she was taught entrepreneurship during her under graduate days at the Covenant University.
She said initially ,she thought of going to a Nigerian Business school but that a lot of issues informed her choice to further her studies abroad, some of which include the Nigerian economy, Security and unemployment.
” I was also looking at the economy of Nigeria and security too.and I was looking at my future too, because when I have kids I want to feel very safe. I was looking at the possibility of going to Nigerian Business School in Lagos and I was also looking at traveling to Canada. But then,I had to weigh my options,If I stay in Nigeria what’s the possibility that if I’m done I would get a good job?. And also,if I travel, what are the benefits of me traveling? And then when I looked at the two, I realized that travelling has a lot of benefits for me than if I stay back in Nigeria because here, as you are working, , you can see your money because you are paid per hour.So you can say as I’m working here, this is how much they pay me for my efforts unlike in Nigeria, sometimes when you get job they don’t pay and when they pay,it doesn’t match the efforts..Most of the firms don’t pay well unless you know someone in big firms but here in Canada, It’s not like that,you apply for a job, you prepare yourself for interview,they give you job based on merit . You don’t really need to know somebody there. They give you job based on experience and qualification..
Tobi lamented the incessant strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU, Doctors and Medical Workers Strikes, absence of vital infrastructures, neglect of existing ones and wondered when Nigeria would get to the point of Canada..
She called on the Federal Government to listen to voice of reason and allow the Education system to function effectively while also enabling the functionality of other sectors.
One of the highly rated menus of Tobilicious is Jollof rice and Turkey. This is what most people from Africa and other continents go for. Other Nigerian cuisines such as Okra, Ogbono and Egusi taken with swallows as pounded yam,garri etc also compete for top rate.. Pastries and Customized drinks like Hibiscus ( Zobo) are creation of Tobilicious.
Tobi never attended any formal culinary school but obviously doing Nigeria proud by being a rallying point for the African cultural narrative through food vendorship. Her customers are diverse and include Africans,Indians, Chinese and Canadians.
The young Nigerian graduate turned caterer has a working relationship with her employees.
According to her, she prays whenever she is about to employ anyone and the result has been amazing.
” I develop relationship with them. Sometimes when they are working,they don’t act like they are working for the money, they do it out of love or they see the vision and they are willing to be part of it to see the business grow Sometimes they also come and give us business ideas that they think. we should add this menu I tell them that I don’t know everything I have never done anything business before.,lm not opposed to ideas so if you think we should do things certain way,why not? Bring it up.And then we look into it,if it’s something that is very good,we do it. .
To her, motivation is boosting the morale of hardworking and dedicated staff to sustain maximum productivity
” We appreciate our diligent staff with gifts to let them know that their efforts are valued and not wasted
Tobi is a good manager of home and business. She combines both duties effectively and sometimes, her staff takes the burden off her by holding forth in her office while she attends to needs at home
” I have been able to balance it because I have a husband that is supportive. Before we got married,we spoke about it that we should have time for ourselves and for our business so that there would no area that would be lacking..So, sometimes he comes to the store to help out.
“Because I have a staff that I can rely on, there are times I feel like l don’t want to close store with them because I want to be in my house,tidy up my house and just spend time with my husband.. I let them know. I always plan before the next week how I want my next week to be.if anyone can work in the store.
While Tobi’s business is advancing without inhibitions due to her well orchestrated business plan and support received, starting a business in the city unlike Nigeria, she said, has a lot of requirements to meet.
“Setting up a business here requires a lot. Different bodies you have to talk to get approval from, Interior Health are in charge of the food, how it is preserved, just like NAFDAC in Nigeria. They look at the store, the neatness,so if you don’t get approval from them you can’t do anything.
This city has three departments, Every part of the city has its own development plan.It has planning, department. It also has a building department and a fire department. So before you think about opening a restaurant, you need to consult with the planning department.to see if they already have a plan for the business for that space ,so if it’s not part of the plan you cannot open a restaurant.
“The situation is not the same in Nigeria. Opening a shop is a lot easier there. she said.
Tobi is a true Nigerian. She was born in Lagos,raised in Kaduna and lived in Warri. She saw conflicts and terrifying moments, when she was still in the country, heard the cries of mothers, felt the tears of divisions triggered by ethnicity and Religion.Now the same scenarios are being created. I hope our leaders try to do the right thing so that things don’t get out of hand”. She said
