34 | FORBES AFRICA APRIL 2020 FORBESAFRICA.COM
TRACYBATTA,29,NIGERIA
CO-FOUNDERANDCHIEFEXECUTIVEOFFICER, SMOOTHIE EXPRESS
INDUSTRY:FOODANDBEVERAGETracyBattawasdeterminedtoliveherlifelikea healthyfruit
basketin2014.
Shewouldblendfruitstogetherintoa smoothiedetoxandwould
packagesometocarrytowork.
However,theprocesswasoftentediousandtime-consuming, let
alonea bitmessy.
Soshedecidedtostarta smoothiedeliverycompanyfor
professionalslikeherself.
Withherbusinesspartner(OmowunmiAkande),sheraised
$10,000fromtheirsavings,builta website,boughta motorcycle for
deliveriesandsetouttostarttheSmoothieExpress.
Butit wasn’ta smoothstarttothebusiness.
Theyrentedouta spareroomfroma guesthousewhichturnedout
tobea baddeal.
“Weagreedtopay[theowner]50%ofourprofiteverymonth.This
deallaterbecamecripplingforthebusinessaswehadtopayoutalmost
a millionnairainsomemonths,”BattatellsFORBESAFRICA.
Thisforcedthemtofindothermeans.
In2016,theymovedintotheirownkitchenandthebusinessbegan
togrowasthetworesearchedandcarefully-curatedtheirownrecipes.
Thenextyear,theyopenedtheirfirstbrick-and-mortarstoreinthe
heartofVictoriaIslandandwerenowabletoservicewalk-inclients.
“Peopleusuallydonottrustthatwomenareabletohandle
businessesfora longperiodasit is believedthatwewouldgetmarried
someday,starthavingbabiesand‘abandon’thebusiness.Thishowever
neverstoppedusasweworkedhardtomakeourbusinesscash-flow
positive.”
Thecompanynowhasgrowntolaunchthreemodernstoreswith
headquartersinLagos,Nigeria.
Theycurrentlyemploya teamof 35 whiletheproducecomesfrom
over 15 farmsacrossthecountry.
Lastyear,theyreceiveda loanfroma womenempowerment
programsponsoredbyAccessBank.
Battais alsoa contributortoTheGuardianNigeria.
SheplanstogrowSmoothieExpresstobecome an international
brand with locations across Africa by 2025.OLAJUMOKEODUWOLE, 29,NIGERIA
FOUNDERANDCEOANDSENIORWEBDEVELOPER,KJK
COMMUNICATIONLIMITED
INDUSTRY:TECH / SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENTBillGates,SteveJobs,ElonMusk,LarryPage,GinniRometty,Mark
ZuckerbergandJeffBezos,arebuta fewofthenamesOlajumoke
Oduwolelooksupto.
Verysoon,sheplanstobecomea partofthiscovetedlistof
techpreneurs.
ShefoundedKJKin 2014 asa one-womanbusiness,abletowrite 16
programminglanguages.
Thebusinesswasfoundedoutoftherealizationthatnotmanysmall
businesseshadaccesstoskilledprogrammersandtechexperts.
“Thismeantsmallbusinesseshavea disadvantagefromthestart.This
observationpiquedmyinterestinservingthisunderservedpopulation,”
shesays.
Afterquittingherpreviousjob,sheventuredintothisunchartered
territoryinMay 2014 fromherbedroomwithsavingsof$300.
It wasa smallspacebuthadloftydreams.
Aftera year,thebusinessgrewandshewasabletoopenanofficeand
employtwomorepeople.
Today,theteamincludes 18 full-timeemployeesandworkswith 37
contractprogrammersona projectbasis.
Thebusinesshassincebuiltappssuchasthetru-DATAappowned
byTrippleGee& Co.Plc.a securitycompanywhichresultedina contract
worth$2million.
“Thetru-DATAproductis beingusedtocombatcounterfeitingand
proliferationoffakeproducts,impactingthecommunityandpeople’s
lives.Thisfeatstrengthenedourbeliefinourpurpose,instilleda sense of
pride,andgaveusthevisionofbeingtheIBMofAfrica,”shesays.
Lastyear,theyalsoreceivedfundingfromtheWorldBank.
Sheis thebeneficiaryoftheGoldmanSachs10,000Women,a global
initiativethatfosterseconomicgrowthforwomenentrepreneurs.
“Inthenextfiveto 10 years,I plantobuildproductsthatwillprovide
a tangiblesolutiontoproblemsfacedbygrowingbusinessesinNigeria
andAfrica,”shesays.
“Ibelieveit is ourdutyaspeoplesharinglifeinthisworldtoshape
thefuture.I amcommittedtobuildingmytechnologydreamsso
thattheoutcomewillshapethefutureofAfricanbusiness.Youcan
partnerwithmeonthisjourneytoinfluencetheeconomicnarrative
ofAfricaforgood.”Peopleusuallydonottrustthatwomen
areableto handlebusinessesfora long
periodasit is believedthatwewould
getmarriedsomeday,starthaving
babies and ‘abandon’ the business.