Mustapha Rabiu Abiola, 31, is the Chief Executive Officer of Almojeed Delight, the producer of Almod Halal Chicken in Lagos.
He is among the few Nigerian entrepreneurs bracing all odds to break the jinx of unemployment. The graduate of Mathematical Education from the University of Lagos, said he preferred doing business than looking for a teaching job.
He saw a niche in the Halal chicken industry and he wasted no time in grabbing the opportunity to make ends meet by setting up the Almod Chickens, two years ago.
Mustapha said though it has been rough and tough since he started, he has been driven by the burning desire to succeed. He faced challenges of smugglers and the domineering tendencies of those he called the “big players” in the industry.
The young CEO was one of the beneficiaries of the Zakat disbursement by the Lekki Muslim Ummah (LEMU), the umbrella organization of Muslims in Lekki Peninsula in Lagos where he got N500,000 to strengthen his business. The money was disbursed after they were trained at the Leonine Institute.
Mustapha is investing the fund into butchering equipment and a blasting freezer.
He said there is high demand now for Halal chickens which makes the business very profitable, disclosing that he now has three people in his employ and several indirect employees who serve as labourers.
“We saw that there is a gap in the Halal chicken industry. Many people are skeptical about eating chicken outside. So at the moment we have a lot of restaurants that we supply in Lagos. We supply fingerking foods, swig food, wine and gold, among others.”
He said potential entrepreneurs can set up the business with little money but N3 million would be the ideal to acquire the slaughtering and butchery facilities as well as other equipment needed.
Rabiu also attended Watson Business School, Akoka Lagos because of his passion for entrepreneurship.
He advised potential entrepreneurs to, first of all, learn how to sell and relate with people as well as understand “simple mathematical accounting”.