Adaora Akojuru was working as a journalist when she visited a farming community in Gaya LGA, Kano State.
It was supposed to be a routine field assignment.
She was not searching for a business idea. She was not planning to enter agriculture. She certainly was not thinking about tomato paste, supply chains, or post-harvest losses.
Then, she saw something that changed her perspective.
Farmers were producing large quantities of tomatoes. However, much of the produce faced serious challenges after harvest.
When markets became crowded, farmers struggled to sell everything. Prices could fall quickly. Without adequate storage and processing facilities, valuable produce could spoil.
Adaora began asking a simple question.
What if these tomatoes could be processed instead of wasted?
That question became the beginning of an entrepreneurial journey.
Turning a Problem Into a Business
Adaora moved from observing the problem to exploring a solution.
She began looking at tomato processing and the possibility of creating products with longer shelf lives.
The journey required more than an idea.
She had to understand production, packaging, quality standards, customer needs, marketing, distribution, and business management.
This is where the wider role of institutions such as the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) becomes important.
Nigeria needs more entrepreneurs who can identify everyday challenges and turn them into sustainable businesses.
Why Value Addition Matters
Agricultural production does not end when farmers harvest their crops.
Without effective processing, storage, and distribution, farmers can lose significant value.
Value addition changes that equation.
Tomatoes can become paste and other processed products.
Cassava can become flour and starch.
Fruits can become juices and concentrates.
Grains can become packaged food products.
Processing creates additional economic value.
Women Can Drive Agricultural Transformation
Adaora’s journey also highlights the growing role of women in entrepreneurship.
Women across Nigeria are building businesses in agriculture, technology, manufacturing, fashion, food processing, retail, and other sectors.
With the right support, these businesses can move from small ventures into sustainable enterprises.
Skills build confidence.
Access to equipment improves productivity.
Finance supports expansion.
Markets create sustainability.
The Role of MSME Support
Small and medium-sized businesses remain important to Nigeria’s economic development.
However, many entrepreneurs struggle with access to finance, business knowledge, equipment, formal markets, and technical support.
This makes enterprise-development institutions such as SMEDAN important partners in Nigeria’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The goal should not only be to help people start businesses.
It should also be to help them build businesses that survive, employ people, grow, and contribute to the economy.
A Lesson for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Adaora’s story carries a powerful lesson.
You do not always need to search for a business idea.
Sometimes, the best opportunity is hidden inside a problem you encounter every day.
Look closely.
Ask questions.
Understand the problem.
Develop a solution.
Then build a business around the value you can create.
What started as a journalist’s routine visit to a farming community became an opportunity to rethink how agricultural produce could be preserved and commercialised.
Nigeria has countless untapped opportunities waiting to be discovered.
Sometimes, all it takes is one person willing to look at an ordinary problem differently.
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