Ijele Tea || An Igbo Brand That Delivers Good Health, Trying To Take Over The Global Market

Ijele Tea || An Igbo Brand That Delivers Good Health, Trying To Take Over The Global Market

In the industrial city of Nnewi, at Okpunoegbu town in Umudim precisely is an Incubation centre for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs) known as Nnewi Technology Incubation Centre,where a lot of brands who are into manufacturing are operating from. One of those brands is an amazing brand known as IJELE TEA, produced by Obinwugo farms. Obinwugo farms Nigeria Limited was founded by Mr Chukwuemeka Obinwugo. Obinwugo farms have been in business since 2012,producing different products, but in the year 2019,they came up with the concept of IJELE TEA.

ijele Tea is a product made with organic products and the primary aim is to deliver good health to the people. There are about six variants of the Tea and they all have unique values they add to human health. Some of the Teas are good for the heart, some for the liver, kidney, brain and the list goes on. Talking about the vision of the brand, Mr Chukwuemeka said that his aim is to make Ijele Tea a global brand, so that they can also extend the delivering of good using the brand to the entire world.At the moment, their products are in over 70 stores across Nigeria, which include shoprites, Next cash and carry, Roban stores, Gabbs strores, Everyday supermarkets etc

Talking about his experiences as an entrepreneur that’s into production in Nigeria, Mr Chukwuemeka shared so many inspiring stories. He talked about how Character and Perseverance have kept him going. He urged businessmen and entrepreneurs out there to be of good character,and be a person worthy of trust, as it will take them very far. He emphasised on ‘Character’ so much, reiterating how it has gotten him so many favours which money cannot buy.

Talking about his business challenges, Mr Chukwuemeka said there are a lot, but focused on the fact that small businesses don’t have access to fund, and access to market. He complained bitterly about how it’s difficult for some businesses, especially those into production to get grants,and how getting loans from the government or financial institutions is almost impossible. This he said is a big challenge to the growth of small businesses in Nigeria, especially those into production. He also talked about how it’s difficult for markets, be it traditional open markets or hypermarkets and convinient stores to accept new products by local small businesses who are into production. He emphasised on the fact that these small businesses are not financially buoyant enough to embark on expensive publicity and that the best, the most cost effective and the most effective publicity they can get is having their goods displayed on the shelfs of these hyperstores like shoprite, Roban stores, Everyday stores, Next cash and carry etc and also in the outlets of distributors at traditional open markets.

Mr Chukwuemeka Obinwugo actually talked about so many things, but in conclusion, he urged the government to endeavour to be giving SMEs more attention, as they are the engine room of every economy. He urged them to make things easier for SMEs in the areas of getting access to funding, approvals, access to markets etc for those SMEs to grow faster and help put the economy of the country on the right track.