The Foodie | Capitalising on your passion: The Ni Fries Story.

Feranmi Ajetomobi

When I first decided to write about inspirational people around me, one of the first people I was hoping to interview was Feranmi Ajetomobi, young entrepreneur and the brains behind Nigeria’s latest food joint, Ni Fries. Any Nigerian will tell you that food is an integral part of our culture and we fry almost everything that ends up on our plate. Ni Fries’ aim is to rebrand and promote Nigerian fried foods on a global scale. And it all started from a night time stroll with a friend. Four months after discussing the possibility of presenting fried Nigerian delicacies in an attractive manner, the Ni Fries dream became a reality. After putting a lot of thought into the appropriate branding for his start-up he came up with the innovative name which is simply a shortened form of “Nigerian Fries”.

The Ni Fries stand and our young entrepreneur

Although the name and the idea itself might seem simple minded, Feranmi is living the 21st century Nigerian dream. “As an individual I strongly believe culture is the voice of a people and a people without strong cultural foundations and values have no voice. This belief drives me towards developing a Nigerian voice by promoting the Nigerian culture through food. I am taking my culture to the world through food”. Food is a deep-seated part of Nigerian cultures and traditions and learning how to cook or the significance of specific foods or meals to your tribe is still considered a rite of passage by many. 

Bread, Bean Cakes and Prawn Sauce. A Speciality

But being a young entrepreneur doesn’t come without its challenges: “the hardest part I would say is learning to lead older workers especially in a Nigerian system”. Because respecting your elders is also one of the cornerstones of Nigerian society, employing and regulating older workers as a young adult whilst maintaining your respectfulness can be a tricky route to navigate. However 20 year old Feranmi handles the dilemma with finesse, “at first it was difficult, but with patience and gentility combined with firmness it started getting easier”‎. Being aware of how his maturity has aided him in his new found occupation as a businessman, I couldn’t resist asking him for some advice for myself and other budding entrepreneurs out there. He replied with a quote from American business strategist, Daniel Burrus “Look at what the best of the best are doing…and then go beyond them. Think bigger. Don’t compete. Create. Innovate”. He explains why these words are so influential for him by saying “although there is nothing new under the sun there is always a different to do the same way. BE CREATIVELY DIFFERENT”.  

So what do we have to look forward to from Ni Fries and our young entrepreneur? Well for his business Feranmi hopes to expand in terms of products, services and outlets. As mentioned previously the aim is to get Nigerian fried meals to global tongues, so his expansion goals include growing into a foreign country in the near future. Presently Ni Fries’ focus is to build a delivery system for their current base, Lagos State, Nigeria. Personally Feranmi has a great interest in societal development as is clear through his choice of entrepreneurship. “My book of plans has a Street Business School as the next agenda. The aims would be to build up individuals from young ages in their areas of interest and encourage the growth of a profit generation that is able to benefit from works based on their areas of interest while they earn their education”. It seems this young man has his plate full.

Guilty Pleasure: Sample of Fries with Turkey and a Corned Beef Sauce.