How Osun’s Female CEO, Modupe Isola Olanrewaju of OrokiFoods Took Local Pap (Ògì) to Global Shelves With ₦1,000

• Narrates how she carried heavy containers of cons and sorghum, used pressing iron as a makeshift sealing machine...

When Isola Modupe Olanrewaju, fondly called Oroki started making pap with just ₦1,000 in 2021, the world was still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, her brand, OrokiFoods, has evolved from a small kitchen operation in Osogbo, Osun State, to an export-ready enterprise supplying supermarkets in Lagos, Ibadan, and Osogbo, with customers as far away as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.

Her story is one of grit, determination, and resourcefulness, a journey from boiling ambition in an apartment to sealing deals in the international market.

The Spark That Started It All

The idea for OrokiFoods was born during Modupe’s

Master’s Degree programme at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Inspired by her supervisor (now a professor) who sold groundnut oil, produced kampala fabrics among other hustles on the side, she began to rethink her own financial future.

“At that point, I had nothing bringing in money except my teaching job,” she recalls. “I thought, if someone with a good career is still finding ways to earn extra income, how much more me, who had nothing?”

It was a simple, almost impulsive decision: start something small, with whatever she had. And what she had was ₦1,000.

One Congo at a Time

With that small capital, Modupe went to the Alekuwodo market in Osogbo, where a Congo of corn and sorghum cost between ₦120 and ₦200. She bought one each, returned home, and used her pressing iron as a makeshift sealing machine for nylon packaging. She designed her own labels after learning basic graphic design through free online courses during the pandemic.

She posted her first batches on WhatsApp and Facebook. Orders started coming in. Within two months, she was buying five Congos at a time. “I was laughing on my way home that day,” she says. “I felt on top of the world. From one Congo, now five, I thought I had arrived!”

From five, she scaled to 10, 20, 30, and eventually 200 Congos.

From Kitchen to Factory

Making pap (ògì) is no easy task. It involves soaking, grinding, sieving, and packaging, all of which Modupe initially handled herself. She would carry heavy containers of cons from Dada Estate to Awosuuru Area in Osogbo to be processed, often working late into the night.

“If I hadn’t been determined, the stress could have made me quit,” she admits. “Some people wondered why someone doing a Master’s at OAU would sell pap, but I knew why I was doing it.”

Gradually, she moved from kitchen-scale production to a proper factory. OrokiFoods expanded its product line to include sorghum, millet, ginger pap, baby cereals, banana pap with a custard-like taste, strawberry pap with ice-cream appeal, and pure sorghum varieties, available in both wet and powdered forms.

Going Global

Today, OrokiFoods products are stocked in four to five major supermarkets in Lagos, multiple stores in Ibadan, and at least four outlets in Osogbo. The brand has distributors across Nigeria and a growing customer base abroad, including in the UK, US, and Canada.

Her unique blends, such as clean ginger with corn, and clove-infused varieties have positioned OrokiFoods not just as a local brand, but as an ambassador for Nigerian agro-processing potential.

The Bigger Picture

For Modupe, success is not just about sales. It’s about changing perceptions, that with small capital, strategic thinking, and persistence, a simple local staple can reach international shelves.

“I want young people to know they can start small and grow,” she says. “OrokiFoods started like a joke, but here we are.”

Watch the video via this link👇 https://youtu.be/ySScoLQ5hFs?si=0RHxoOOAJUnfCtKq

She also credits family, friends, and her staff for supporting her journey, as well as OsunReporters News management for featuring her as the second winner in the “Made In Osun CEO” monthly free advert business spotlight.

OrokiFoods is located inside Aiyegbaju Market, Ogo-Oluwa, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria.

Follow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok: OrokiFoods / OrokiPap

Call or WhatsApp: +234 703 561 6879

Mukhtar Ajelogbon, the convener of Made In Osun CEO and Publisher of OsunReporters News, writes from Osogbo.