Timi Oke
Interview with Timi Oke
CO-FOUNDER and CEO, AGROEKNOR
Lives in: Nigeria
Timi Oke is the co-founder and CEO of AgroEknor, an organization exporting dried hibiscus flowers grown in Nigeria to world markets, together with the US, Mexico, Latvia, Germany, and Belgium. He secured his first agricultural buying and selling deal by way of LinkedIn whereas nonetheless working at a financial institution within the UK.
How we made it in Africa editor-in-chief Jaco Maritz spoke to Oke about constructing the corporate and the alternatives inside Nigeria’s agricultural trade.
Subjects mentioned in the course of the interview embody:
- How he landed his first commodities buying and selling deal by way of LinkedIn
- The booming marketplace for hibiscus flowers
- Key classes from working with smallholder farmers to supply hibiscus
- Breaking into the profitable American market
- Different crops with enterprise potential in Nigeria
- Why natural waste administration and storage current main agribusiness alternatives
- Sensible recommendation for aspiring agricultural commodity merchants
- What he would do in a different way if he had the prospect to start out the corporate once more
Watch the complete interview beneath:
Interview abstract
Nigerian-born Timi Oke has lengthy been drawn to agriculture. Whereas working at a financial institution within the UK, he actively used LinkedIn to discover alternatives within the trade. In 2012, his efforts led him to attach with an importer in Mexico enthusiastic about sourcing hibiscus from Nigeria.
Hibiscus, usually touted as a superfood, is a flowering plant recognized for its vibrant, trumpet-shaped blooms. Its dried petals are used to make hibiscus tea, a ruby-red drink prized for its refreshing style and potential well being advantages, together with its capacity to decrease blood strain. Past drinks, hibiscus has functions as a pure meals colouring and an ingredient in jams, syrups, and desserts. Additionally it is valued within the pharmaceutical sector for its antioxidant and anti inflammatory properties and within the private care trade for merchandise like facial scrubs, masks, and hair care therapies.
Nigeria performs an increasingly significant role within the world hibiscus provide chain on account of a desire for the nation’s more healthy, non-GMO varieties.
As Oke was nonetheless employed on the financial institution, his brother – a co-founder of the enterprise – travelled to Kano, northern Nigeria, to buy the hibiscus from aggregators who sourced it from small-scale farmers within the area. A 3rd companion, whom Oke knew from the UK and who’s initially from northern Nigeria, additionally helped with introductions.
As soon as the primary order was accomplished and cost was obtained, Oke left his banking job and moved again to Nigeria to give attention to the enterprise full-time. He returned to LinkedIn to search out new shoppers and likewise started attending meals trade conferences. The enterprise expanded quickly, with volumes rising from 60 tonnes within the first yr to 120 tonnes within the second, and 540 tonnes within the third.
The corporate raised some early capital from Oke’s mom and his companion’s father. “We have been fortunate that they guess on three younger boys of their center twenties who wished to construct a enterprise out of hibiscus,” he explains.
The funds have been used to arrange a warehouse and rent skilled provide chain employees. “We went and we employed about two individuals who have been very skilled within the provide chain … It’s one factor to have the ability to supply the hibiscus. It’s a completely totally different ball recreation … to maneuver it from the north to Lagos, the place the ports are in Apapa, after which get it on a vessel and get all the proper documentation that enables your consumer to clear the products stress free.”
Constructing direct farmer relationships
When AgroEknor began buying and selling, it sourced hibiscus by way of aggregators who gathered the crops from smallholder farmers. Nevertheless, counting on aggregators left the corporate with little management over the costs it paid for the hibiscus.
Oke realised that AgroEknor wanted to work immediately with smallholder farmers to handle this subject. Over time, the corporate experimented with alternative ways of collaborating with farmers. At present, AgroEknor works with over 7,000 smallholders. The corporate has arrange assortment centres close to the farmers and helps them in varied methods to assist enhance their yields.
AgroEknor has additionally invested in its processing capability, together with the addition of a fumigation chamber.

AgroEknor workers processing hibiscus flowers.
Getting into the profitable US market
Oke advises commodity merchants to start by concentrating on markets with much less stringent import laws to achieve expertise and be taught the commerce. Whereas newcomers usually intention for the EU or US, he warns that points like errors in cargo documentation or fumigation can lead to the destruction of a complete cargo at sure ports, notably within the US – losses a startup can not afford.
AgroEknor finally entered the US, which Oke describes as notably profitable, with revenues usually double these in different international locations. The corporate focuses on retail-packaged hibiscus flowers and cordials for the American market, with Texas a key area for gross sales.
Exploring alternatives past hibiscus
Whereas hibiscus stays AgroEknor’s primary focus, Oke additionally sees alternatives in different crops grown in Nigeria and throughout the continent. “We have a tendency to take a look at commodities the place there isn’t any main participant already … So our precedence is area of interest markets the place the market management is for the taking.”
One crop Oke is smitten by is fonio, a drought-resistant, gluten-free grain with quite a few dietary advantages. Cultivated in West Africa for hundreds of years, fonio stays under-commercialised.
The corporate grew to become enthusiastic about fonio after contemplating different crops that hibiscus farmers may develop. “You don’t want fertilisers for fonio, you may actually simply throw the seeds of fonio on the bottom and it’ll develop … It may possibly develop on any sort of soil.”
Oke mentions a recent article by Bill Gates highlighting fonio’s advantages and notes that brewer Carlsberg has launched a beer made solely from fonio grains, with out barley or bittering hops. He additionally factors rising demand for fonio in sure European international locations.
Nevertheless, AgroEknor is primarily fonio for the Nigerian market. “We’re extra enthusiastic about utilizing fonio as an alternative choice to rice domestically as a result of Nigeria imports rice and it’s simply not sensible.” But, Oke acknowledges one of many key challenges with fonio: its processing. The grain requires dehusking, which is a labour-intensive course of.
He additionally sees potential within the sisal plant, a cactus-like species whose fibres are utilized in merchandise resembling rope, string, yarn, and luggage. Sisal is more and more present in composite supplies for vehicles, furnishings, and building, in addition to in plastics and paper merchandise. AgroEknor has made small investments in sisal-related R&D actions. Nevertheless, the corporate discovered that attaining worthwhile margins by way of worth addition in sisal would require venturing into industrial manufacturing. Consequently, AgroEknor has set the thought apart to give attention to different alternatives.
The corporate has additionally been concerned in ginger buying and selling up to now. “We had a number of shoppers within the world markets who wished us to assist provide ginger. And we checked out that worth chain, however in all honesty, it was a price chain that already had very dominant gamers … And sure, opportunistically we might commerce in it. However within the medium time period, we’re not trying to construct out a future worth chain out of ginger as a result of there are already huge gamers who already management 80% of the market.”
AgroEknor can also be exploring alternatives for crops past Nigeria. Certainly one of these is cloves, a high-value spice. “It’s not grown in Nigeria however it’s grown in different African international locations,” Oke notes.
AgroEknor CEO Timi Oke’s contact info:
Contact particulars are solely seen to our Month-to-month/Annual subscribers. Subscribe here.