Entrepreneur Invents ‘Ice Cream’ and More In 2006, when Eguida Djigbodi invented Fodi, a tasty frozen treat similar to ice cream, she demonstrated remarkable entrepreneurial ingenuity. “I thought to myself, ‘How can I introduce fonio to others?’—so that they can enjoy its health benefits,” says Ms. Djigbodi. In the tropical heat of Lomé, the delightfully nutritious frozen creation made from the indigenous fonio cereal, mixed with milk and honey, became an instant hit.
packaging, she decided to attempt this with the fonio. She filled the plastic bags with fonio and with a photocopied paper slips identifying her product as ‘Super Fonio’ and providing instructions for its preparation. This process allowed her to place her product almost anywhere for sale. This year, IFDC’s 1000s+ project is helping “Mesifa,” Ms. Djigbodi’s registered company improve its packaging for ‘Super Fonio’ and ‘Ma Sauce’. Her latest creation, Ma Sauce, is a seasoned soy-based mix for making quick sauces which has proven popular wherever it is introduced. 1000s+ support in advertising her products in radio spots and print ads have also increased their popularity. “My products are in all the Lomé supermarkets and I am making plans to also distribute in Benin,” she says.
A Togolese woman
Ms. Djigbodi’s entrepreneurial career was launched years earlier as a college student assigned with the task of developing “a product that would be lucrative.” Growing up in Okpako, she enjoyed the rural staple ‘fonio’ for breakfast and decided that it would be her best commercial product.
creates, processes and markets
three cereal-based products for consumers.
In compliance with commercial regulations, she had the fonio tested for its nutritional content, affirming her belief in the cereal’s natural health benefits. Nonetheless, the main challenge in processing the cereal was the removal of sand naturally intertwined with the fine grain. To address this, she hired a woman familiar with the meticulous cleaning technique. Her first major customer was her university’s cafeteria, but she became frustrated when her university delayed in making payments. “I had to wait for them to go through a lot of red tape, before I got any payment,” she recalls. However, the popularity of the food on her campus made her seek customers elsewhere. When she learned of a World Bank project encouraging the use of plastic bags for
Increased popularity has resulted in an increased need for her raw material, fonio. To satisfy Mesifa’s fonio needs 1000s+ helped link Ms. Djigbodi to a farmer’s organization near the town of Atakpame. The farmers contracted to supply her with 320 kg of high quality fonio at a mutually acceptable price. To boost sales and better appeal to consumers, 1000+ is also helping Ms. Djibodi to colorfully repackage her frozen treat, Fodio. In addition, 1000+ is assisting in the development of insulated pous-pous carts to sell the frozen Fodio packets. She now envisions her product being sold on busy streets throughout Togo.