Chief Executive Officer of Jirade Global Diadem Limited, Mojirade Bepo, shares her experience of starting a snacks manufacturing brand with BIODUN BUSARI, disclosing the inspiration and lessons attached to her decision
What was your academic background like?
I grew up in Abeokuta, Ogun State. I attended about four primary schools while growing up. Also, I went to two secondary schools. I started at Salawu Abiola Comprehensive High School, Abeokuta, and ended at Federal Girls College, Sagamu. After that, I proceeded to Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro. I stayed home for six years because I wanted to study accounting.
I needed a credit in mathematics, but I had a pass. I was obsessed with accounting, but I had to settle for hotel and catering after six years of waiting for my choicest course. Meanwhile, I had an external degree programme for one year, studying accounting. I was doing well, but I discovered I was not enjoying it.
I asked myself what I really wanted. A family friend asked me at that time what I loved. I recollect that I loved to cook, but not anymore; I was also a church girl. After a thorough reflection, I went to study hotel and catering.
It was a bit challenging to convince my dad about my choice of course. Eventually, he didn’t raise any issue about it. After my National Diploma at Ilaro, I went to Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, for my Higher National Diploma.
Did you have job experience before setting up your business?
I had my industrial training at Eko Hotel, and I wanted to continue working there because of the money then. I didn’t join them on time. I was working at a guest house in Abeokuta. When my IT was two months to end, I got Eko Hotel. When I saw some of my colleagues coming back to work, I was considering having my HND as a part-time study while I continued working.
But my coordinator, who was the manager in charge of IT students, reminded me that that was not my plan. So, he encouraged me to go back for my HND, which I did eventually. So, after my HND, we were delayed before being mobilised for the National Youth Service Corps programme.
I went back because I’d developed relationships with some people. There, I would stay back after closing hours to learn about recipes. All of these became an integral part of my work experience. I did that for about four months before I went for my NYSC. After the service year, I returned to the same hotel where I had wanted to be employed.
But I only got the opportunity to work in the kitchen. I was no longer interested in kitchen work. I preferred the front office. However, I was told there was no vacancy in the front office at that time. I declined it to concentrate on my business. While I was in school, I sold various types of chin-chin. I would make them with ginger, coconut, groundnut, and pepper.
I was selling to my lecturers even during holidays. These were the things I went back to do. I was also selling plantain chips for a particular brand. At one point, it was becoming difficult to get supplies, and I ventured into my own business.
All I wanted to do was to get a means to make a living and stay safe in a survival mode. Also, I need to say that at that time, my pastor preached a message about using what we had in our hands, and I knew I should attend to my business.
How long have you been in business?
I started in 2011. However, it was officially registered in 2013 as Jirade Diadem. It was incorporated into Jirade Diadem Global Limited in 2022. So, officially, 2022 was when we became a limited company.
What are you proud of in the business?
We’re very big on impact in the sense that I’ve always believed that my business is God-centric. I’m in the business to make a profit, but I’m also in it to encourage and inspire my employees and customers, as well as other people I meet in the line of my business.
We are also involved in training. Anyone who works in our company must be transformed, irrespective of the period spent with us. Our core values, which include excellence, integrity, and punctuality, are passed across to them.
What has the business world taught you?
I’ve learnt that business requires focus. One has to be focused. I’ve learnt to be intentional about what I’m doing. I’ve learnt that you can’t run a business with sentiment. Business makes me firmer. I was very soft-hearted and nice. I’m still kind, but I’ve been able to differentiate niceness from kindness.
Along the line, when people see that I’m a church girl, they tend to misbehave. When they see that you’re a CEO who fears God, they will think they can trample on you. However, I have had to apply the business side of me in dealing with people. I am a very detailed person. I love excellence and high standards.
When I had workers who didn’t want to do things as properly expected because they were uneducated, I corrected them immediately. We deal with edibles, so I tell them that we have to be clean and detailed. I let them know that our customers may not see what we do, but God, who created us, is watching us.
Also, I don’t attach sentiment to business. I deal with people in the line of business strictly as business. I have learnt not to mix personal relationships with business ventures. The same goes for money; I learnt to separate my personal money from business money.
I have learnt to delegate. When you always think of perfection, it becomes difficult to delegate because sometimes we believe people may not handle tasks as we want them to. Yet, I learnt how to train people all along and let them handle some of the jobs I pay them for.
What are the challenges confronting the business?
Getting the right people to work with is a bit of a challenge. When I first started, the quality of my products attracted more customers, and I got overwhelmed. Referrals came from within and outside the country. There was no proper structure when I first started the business.
Another major challenge is insufficient funding. We have the capacity to expand, but we need funding. So, we are open to sponsorship because this is one of the ways to expand the business. We need investors. At the moment, we are limited in space.
From the outset of the business, the demand is more than the supply. We’ve had the opportunity for distributors outside the country. We were producing manually for over 10 years, but if we can scale and produce with industrial machinery, it will go a long way in expanding our brand.
How did you overcome the challenges?
I started learning about structure and, at the same time, implementing it. My appetite for education and knowledge is very high, so I keep learning. Secondly, I have become tough in decision-making. I make prompt decisions. I always make sure people bring value to what we do.
What is the inspiration that keeps you going in the business?
It is the fact that I just want to make Jesus proud. My work is a ministry. I’m representing God in the market space. I know destinies are tied to me. Sometimes, when I realise the kind of stress I go through in this business, I ask myself if I want to remain in it. But in the end, I still choose it because destinies are tied to me.
When I see people who have been transformed through me, it makes me happy. There was a time I had a worker who couldn’t communicate in English when she came to our company. She stayed more than five years. But because of what we did and who she was, I was correcting and educating her.
Now that she speaks English, I’m inspired and encouraged to always believe people can be better. I’ve met different kinds of people — employers, customers, consultants, artisans, and vendors. I believe I’m a blessing to them. So, that inspires me and keeps me going.
