Why I chose catering despite my foreign degree – Damaturu chef

A 24-year-old BSc holder, Aishatu Aje Gwaigwai, narrated how she has resorted to catering business despite her academic qualification.

Aishatu, who is also a fashion designer in Damaturu, bagged a BSc in Fashion and Appeal Design from Bangalore University, India.

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On what motivated her to start catering business, she told Kanem Trust that cooking had been her hobby since childhood.

She said, “I can still remember when I started my first business with N500 in 2009, where I sold small chops and milk candies; the little I could do at that time.

“I was in JSS 2 then and my mother was against it, being from average family that could only finance my basic needs, but I got all the motivation and support from my dad, who asked mummy to allow me continue with what I was doing since it never stopped me from reading my books.”

According to her, the love she has for eating varieties of food and difficulty in getting what satisfies her taste within Damaturu are reasons that motivated her to bring back her catering  business to life after graduating from school.

Aishatu said, “I am a kind of person who believes that academic qualification is not a barrier to my business. Rather, it is an additional knowledge to expand business.”

She explained that in February, 2020, she decided to use N10,000 to venture into catering business in order to learn new dishes and teach others. She said, “I sell simple recipes that you can get in ordinary shops; things like baobab drink, spicy soya bean cake (awara), squash mango, zobo drink, chicken and fish of different varieties, among others.”

Aishatu said she earned between N5,000 and N8,000 daily.

When asked how she coped with the COVID-19 pandemic, Aishatu disclosed that since she began the business, she only sold from home, without even meeting her customers physically.

“I operate on a e-type; I connect with my customers through social media platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook. My phone numbers and address are on fliers for easy access and directions when a customer needs to be guided for pick-up location.

“Customers usually contact me when they arrive our residence for pick-up and I often send my younger brother to deliver the order and collect the money.

She added that, “So COVID-19 has not stopped my business, I can even say I witness more sales because people like eating while at home.”

However, she narrated that her type of business could be challenging to married women, especially in the North, because men did not really want their wives mingling with other women outside, or especially men, since phone numbers and details were exposed.

She further said, “But it is very possible with an understanding partner, women need supporting husbands to excel in their business. I will love to get a supporting husband that will let me continue with my business, someone that will let me explore the future and be able to learn more and teach others.”

She, therefore, urged women, particularly young girls, to venture into businesses and learn entrepreneurship skills that would make them self-reliant.