Akinboye Anuoluwapo is the founder of Mercysweet Foods. Mercysweet Foods is a food processing venture located in Ilorin, Kwara State. They are into beekeeping, honey production and packaging, and tomato processing into non-chemically preserved tomato paste.
Anuoluwapo began his journey during his third year as an undergraduate at the university. According to him, he had a course on agro-forestry systems, which focused on beekeeping and honey production.
“I had no prior knowledge of apiculture at the time. After the course, I went back home and started reading about apiculture. I read a lot of materials and developed myself so much that that same year, I participated in an international beekeeping conference in Abuja and also established my first apiary,” he said.
With his entrepreneurial potentials in 2020, he was selected by NYSC to participate in a training on value addition to agricultural commodities using NSPRI technologies, organised by the Nigerian Stored Product Research Institute. He was trained in tomato processing, and after that, the institute supported him in starting a tomato processing business, saying, “today we have built a brand in that sector with the help of God.“
On how he found himself in honey production, he said: “When I first started packaging my honey, I went out to almost all the major stores in my city, and they loved the packaging but rejected me because I have no NAFDAC number. The following day, I went to NAFDAC’s office, and God used a staff there to get us a factory space that we still use to this date. My perseverance and resilience, coupled with the help of God, have sustained Mercysweet Foods.”
Lucrativity
The honey and tomato industries, he said, are lucrative, noting that, Nigeria has the potential to generate over $10 billion from sales of honey and other beehive products, “but we are not fully tapping into this goldmine, as we currently import honey worth $2 billion annually.
“As for the tomato, with over 200,000 Nigerian farmers growing over 1.5 million MT of tomatoes annually, Nigeria still loses over 50 percent to post-harvest losses, promoting food insecurity in the country. And we supplement this demand with an import of over $360 million worth of tomato paste annually. All these show a huge gap and opportunity in the sectors to which we belong.*
Challenges
To him, “we face serious challenges, some of which we have yet to overcome. A good example is the beefarm vandalism by poachers and herdsmen. Seasonal availability of tomatoes, which we hope to have on our farm, and grow our desired variety of tomatoes.A good example of the obstacle I faced and was able to surmount is the lack of a licence for our product but God used someone to help us.
Advice
Persistence and resilience, he stressed, are the hallmarks of successful entrepreneurs and that ‘you can barely achieve success on your own unless God helps you. Believe that you can do anything you set out to do through God, who strengthens you to do it.’
Biography
Akinboye Anuoluwapo, a forestry and wildlife alumnus of the University of llorin in Kwara state, embarked on his entrepreneurial journey while still an undergraduate.
He has since facilitated and spearheaded beekeeping trainings organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Ogun State Government, and Federal Ministry of Environment.
This year alone, he led a comprehensive apiculture training programme for farmers in Edo State aimed at promoting wealth creation, food security and forest biodiversity. In addition to this notable feat, he has also had the privilege of providing valuable consultation services on apiary setup to individuals within Kwara state as well as beyond its borders.
As general secretary for Youths for Apiculture Initiative – an organization dedicated to promoting apiculture amongst young people – his company’s products have been duly approved by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).