Angela Ukomadu's Blog

Photo credit: Adaeze Ekwueme   From her kitchen (for now of-course), Adaeze Ekwueme plans to put Nigeria on the world's chocolate map, and she is doing this using locally sourced cocoa from a rural town in South West Nigeria.   First of all, have you ever wondered why Nigeria does not come to ones mind when talking about chocolates, even when the country is the world's fourth largest producer of cocoa? I mean almost all the cocoa we produce are exported, and then brought back again as chocolates?   Well, Adaeze is changing that, and she is doing it with cocoa seeds from Eti-Oni community.   The Eti-Oni  is historically the first village to plant cocoa in Nigeria. Now they have decided to not just plant, but also manage the whole process of planting to the final product by producing chocolates.   Although the Eti-Oni chocolates are yet to be seen in most shops, for them it is a slow but sure and steady rise to the top as they already supply to top hotels and can al

   At first sight, you will think these are cup cakes, not until you touch them. These are soaps made by Blondie Okpuzor, the founder and chief executive of BathKandy, a Lagos and Abuja based company that is into food inspired body products and home fragrances, a company she started in 2014. With many people into the business of making organic skincare products, Blondie has set herself apart by creating her products to look and smell like sweet treats...oh dear sweet tooth of mine, I love this one.    Nigeria is striving to focus on other markets apart from its dominant oil industry. There has been so much campaigns for "Made-In-Nigeria" brands and to "Buy-Naija-To-Grow-The-Naira." All of these campaigns are coming to fruition with entrepreneurs like Blondie who are producing wholly Nigerian products, selling both within and outside the country, and training others who are interested too.    The beauty and skin care industry is a fast growing business sector all

Picture credit: @greensprout  I'd never seen so many coconuts in one place until we started working on this story and had to visit the Agbalata coconut market in Badagry...and yes I have to visit that place again to see the Badagry Slave Museum and Route.      Okay, so we all know that coconuts are versatile fruits used for their water, flesh and husks in various industries like food and cosmetics. We also know that the coconut water is rich in potassium and is an effective re-hydration drink and that the oil can be used for hair and skin moisturizing, cooking, and even save your relationship!      But do you know that Nigeria has about 1.2 million hectares of arable land available for coconut farming but only about 36,000 hectares has been cultivated, leaving room for a huge expansion? I mean with all the plans to boost the agricultural sector thereby reducing reliance on oil exports, this great market potential is still left untapped. Apart form small scale farmers, cocon