Pap, a staple porridge made from fermented maize, sorghum, or millet, is a beloved dish across many West African countries. In Nigeria, it’s known as akamu, ogi, or koko, and is often used as a weaning food for babies. Despite its cultural significance, many Nigerians shy away from buying pap through informal retail channels due to unhygienic preparation methods and its short shelf life. One Nigerian entrepreneur, Oluyemisi Obe, faced these same issues but turned them into a business opportunity.
In 2015, with support from her husband, she established Prothrive Astute Heights in Lagos, a food-processing company aimed at producing high-quality pap with an extended shelf life. Their flagship product, Grandios Pap, is now a staple in Nigerian homes, made from white and yellow maize and brown sorghum. Obe’s journey began when she noticed a gap in the market while raising her children. She found the available cereal options for babies limited and saw an opportunity to create something more accessible to other mothers. After thorough research and a conversation with a business consultant, she realized the growing demand for ready-to-make, high-quality dry pap. Obe noted that many families wanted convenience but were hesitant to trust locally produced pap due to safety concerns.
She started small, selling Grandios Pap out of her car boot after church services, processing just 50 kg a day. Seven years later, her company now produces several tonnes daily to meet consumer demand. Though the demand for Grandios Pap was apparent, scaling the business proved more difficult than Obe had anticipated. She and her husband initially funded the business from their personal savings, and for the first 18 months, she took no salary. The early days of the company were marked by labor-intensive manual processes, leading to high staff turnover. The biggest challenge, however, was securing approval from Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), a crucial step for gaining access to major retail channels.
Undeterred, Obe aligned her factory operations with NAFDAC’s stringent standards and successfully obtained approval. This opened doors to supermarkets and distribution networks, ensuring Grandios Pap could reach a wider audience. Initially, the company sourced maize from local markets but as demand increased, Obe began working directly with farmers. She partnered with HarvestPlus, an organization that trains farmers to produce high-quality maize, ensuring the raw materials met the company’s quality standards.
By 2017, Grandios Pap secured a three-year loan from the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, followed by grants from international organizations, including a World Bank project, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC). These funds were instrumental in scaling the business, allowing Obe to purchase equipment and increase production. Since its inception, Grandios Pap has grown by over 3,000%, becoming a trusted product in Nigerian households. It’s now stocked in major supermarkets such as Shoprite, Spar, Ebeano, and Justrite, and has reached international markets in the UK, US, China, and Japan. This rapid expansion reflects the company’s successful marketing strategy, including building strong relationships with distributors and leveraging social media to reach new customers.
Obe’s leadership and innovation were recognized when the Standards Organisation of Nigeria invited her to help establish industry standards for pap packaging—a significant milestone in her journey. Despite its success, Grandios Pap is far from finished growing. Oluyemisi Obe plans to expand into other African markets, with South Africa in her sights due to its high consumption of pap in a solid form. She also has ambitions to list her company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, ensuring its longevity beyond her involvement. In the short term, Obe aims to diversify her product range by offering smaller, more convenient packaging for on-the-go consumers. Her vision for Grandios Pap is clear: to not only dominate the Nigerian market but also become a household name across Africa and beyond.
