Islanders Magazine

I ABANDONED BANKING JOB FOR RESTAURANT BUSINESS, FUNMI AJOSE-ADEOGUN
Funmi Ajose the beautiful daughter of Alex Duduyemi (Aro of Ife), on Saturday 20^th  October 2012 opened a restaurant tagged Delina Bistro situated on Samuel Manuwa street off Ozumba Nbadiwe road, Victoria island, Lagos.  Family members, including her father, Friends and well wishers were present to felicitate with her during the commissioning of the Restaurant which is located on a Storey Building. The main objective of the Restaurant according to the hard working amiable woman is to satisfy both the Corporate and Social Individuals within the heart of Lagos she added that home delivery service is available as well. The official commissioning was led by the former Nigerian Petroleum Price regulating agent (PPRA), Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi who declared the restaurant open friends and family later joined Funmi in cutting the cake. In her address recapped her career so far in the Fast food Business, and her personal life, the former Banker also express her Joy and gratitude towards her parents, husband, family, friends, staffs and customers who had been supportive before now and in the future.

How do you feel today?

Am extremely happy I feel blessed, honored and humbled by everything that has happened here today, you heard my testimony to be able to do this today is a testimony to God and hard work from everybody that surrounds me.

Can you tell us about your outfit?

Delina Restaurant is a new development from the brand like you heard we are over 20 years old, this is a new development now what we do here is we offer both continental and Nigerian dishes we also have a bar room and a lounge have for commercial and private residents around VI and outside so you can come here and have your edikaikong as well as you can have continental your burgers, Salad you can have a variety of meal. We open 7 in the morning for breakfast and we close about 9:00 pm we close slightly later too as you can see we have a Garden where we can have a Barbeque and Band Stands.

So tell us about the journey so far, coming from the banking  Sector to where you are now?

Like you heard from my dad this has always been a passion of mine because I was educated abroad so when I got back I wanted to start Business immediately but he said I should go back to the bank and  learn how to do business in Nigeria so I did that for six years at City Bank  I left there to join my mother who had set this up in 1994 but in 2004 she left and said you know  am too old for this and left it for me and said I should continue so that is what you have seen today

So you actually inherited the Business from your Mum?
   
My mum is still alive so I wouldn’t call it inheritance she is more of a silent partner now I run the company am the executive director

How difficult was it for you to leave Banking for a Private Business?

It wasn’t difficult because this is something I wanted but obviously at the beginning you’ll miss the money that you get in the bank but if you are doing something you like then you know the money would come  for us here if we make money it’s ours unlike in the Bank where the money made is for someone else.

You said you moved from Apapa to here?

We didn’t move from Apapa it’s the Pastry Factory that is located in Apapa we moved the Restaurant from Oko-Awo to this place.

How Strategic is your current Location?

It’s extremely strategic one of the disadvantages of where we were in Oko Awo was that it was purely a Business area we were open to Business when offices are opened and closed once the offices are closed. We were fortunate to find this place which combined both the commercial and private residents in a very nice way. We have 1004 residents we also have our old corporate residents as well because we render delivery services as well so we were able to combine both happily.

Where do you see Delina Foods in five years?

One thing we always do in Delina  is that we always strive to be one step ahead of our competitors once we’ve dropped one we must constantly think ahead of what is next like someone said that there are numerous food establishment and asked what will distinguish Delina Foods from them? And the answer is doing something different. So in five years time we hope to have few more branches, to move another step ahead doing something new, like in 1992 we started as a company making Bread from Bread to Pastries and from Pastries to Cakes from there to a sandwich cum Coffee shop from that to a Continental /local Restaurant, a Bar and a Lounge. The Location is in between Lekki and VI and this enables People to have a place to relax in order to ease Traffic pressure. Finding this place was God sent.

Any Regrets Leaving the Bank?

I have never regretted it for one day, Lots of People ask me how I managed to survive you take a leap of faith by closing your eyes and jump to face your Passion. In terms of challenges we face the same challenges faced by running a Business in Nigeria, challenges like Power outage, dearth of raw materials and staffing. I will say I’m blessed with the kind of staffs that I have, some of them have been with me over the years. If you don’t have a passion for your Business you’ll give up. 

How do you juggle your Business with your marital Obligations?

I’m lucky to have grown up Children they are schooloing abroad and like I said if you don’t have a supportive husband it will be very difficult for you to excel in your Business as a wife and a mother because of the responsibilities. So I’m grateful to God that my kids are all grown now which gives me the freedom of facing the Business and as well manage the home front.

Can you please tell us your antecedents?

I’m Funmi Ajose -Adeogun am almost fifty am an alumnus of Buckingham University I studies Economics as my first degree

Followed by MBA in Export Finance& International Business in 1989 I returned to Nigeria, to join City Bank am also an alumnus of LBS. I read a lot like four books in a week and I believe in engaging the brain so I love to solve puzzles a lot. So that’s me in a nutshell.

 

Ola Muhammed