Roundtable with Top Ghanaian Food entrepreneurs: Navigating Ghana's FoodTech Revolution

[00:00:00] She called the chef and told the chef that this food was tasteless. It's very important that everything is done with a certain quality. This is why I came to Ghana last year because of this picture you made. Like TikTok was down in the US or it's been down. People are crying. It's like family members died. I think content creation is definitely, definitely, definitely key here. Hey everyone, Adrian here from The Sound of Accra Podcast. Thank you so much for tuning in.

[00:00:28] If this is your first time watching, this is the show we speak with Top Ghanaian founders, and entrepreneurs and creators worldwide. Today we have a special conversation. I'm hosting a FoodTech Roundtable discussion with these two amazing individuals. So we've got Alex Starko from Menufine Africa, who I've had on Season 5 in the bus. Thanks for coming back on. And I've got Margaret Debra. Margaret Debra, she's a new face to this podcast. I haven't interviewed her yet, 101.

[00:00:58] She is the founder of Eto Network. Great to have you on, Margaret. Yeah, great to be on. This is my first time here and first podcast of the year. So very excited to be here. It's the first time here and this is our third time trying to record. So hopefully you guys will enjoy this. Hopefully it's worthwhile. So we're going to get more into their businesses, you know, the industry, you know, what's happening in the market, collaboration, expansion, vision, future leadership, all that good stuff. But we're going to open this conversation with an icebreaker.

[00:01:27] I'm just in housekeeping, guys. If you're watching YouTube, just let us know what you think of today's discussion. If there's any points of these discussions that stand out to you, let us know in the comments. So this could maybe spark off future conversations in the future. And if you're on Apple, Spotify, leave us a review. Tell us what you think of today's episode or drop us an email info at thesandacrow.com and we can have a discussion. All right. So I'm going to do a little icebreaker before we get into, you know, the main conversation. Alex, what's your favorite food?

[00:01:54] Red, red, all day, all night. Well, not too late in the night, but yeah. It's going to be the right place, the right time. Nice. The soft plantain. Yeah. Yeah. It's going to be caught perfectly. Yeah. It bangs. Margaret. I'm a foodie, but right now, groundnut soup and rice balls. Ooh, I love that. I love that. I can see a quine and a mortar. Love it.

[00:02:18] I just love it how you two, you're both in the food industry and you love authentic Ghanaian food. I love that. It's great. You're wrapping. You're wrapping. Because I wasn't sure what was going to come out of my mouth. All the food you're exposed to, especially you, Alex. Yeah. You get to try all this food, right? I don't know what was going to come out of your mouth. So yeah. So we're going to have a nice discussion today about the industry and some other great things. But before we get into that, Margot, just tell us a bit about Eto Network for those that don't know. Don't know.

[00:02:48] Okay. So Eto Network is an African food network that reconnects African food entrepreneurs to global consumers. And we do that in three ways. So media, community, and then later on this year, we'll be launching our e-commerce feature where we connect with partners that can deliver. Love it. Perfect. Alex, I know our listeners from season five know about Menu Finder, but just a reintroduction for those that don't know. No, sure.

[00:03:15] So Menu Finder is a food delivery platform that basically specializes in high quality food from handpicked restaurants. You see the majority of our restaurants are very curated. We're going for high quality, going for high quality options, but then back that with a premium last mile delivery experience. All the riders are trained in a certain way. They dress in a certain way.

[00:03:42] They deliver in a way that makes you enjoy the experience. Brilliant. So yeah. So we're having this discussion in January 2025. And I must say, Alex, Margaret, I think you're both in the right industries at the right time. Food delivery is getting more and more, you know, the market is growing. There's more demand for it. And then there's more technology.

[00:04:08] There's more that's available, you know, like the EEV bikes and things like that, which is enabling more of businesses such as yours to thrive and also bring costs down. Margaret, the creator, you know, the whole content creation world and demand for creator networks, communities, etc. is in demand more and more. So I think you're in the right thing, right space at the right time. Yeah. Alex, I don't think you've really have had to pivot. I mean, you pivoted actually originally. I did originally.

[00:04:38] Tell us a bit about that. And then Margaret, I want to come over to you. Okay. So originally we started off doing food content, really, almost like as a directory, really. So we actually planned to just really list the restaurants. The whole thing was that, you know, you couldn't find menus and things like that easily. So we thought, let's do that ourselves. And in doing that, we had to display the food. So we started doing food content, food reviews and all of that.

[00:05:05] And then the idea was to have an app that would list the places like the menu, the pricing, location, all that, and then link to a delivery service to do it. So the idea was never actually to do delivery. And then we just found it challenging. So we ended up having to do it ourselves. And so that's what the journey we've been on to perfect that. Yeah. And he found the gap in the market, which we tell, you tell the story in season five, which is a wonderful story of you and your wife, you know, trying to find something in Ghana.

[00:05:34] And then Margaret, I'm aware you recently, you recently pivoted the Eater network, didn't you? Can you tell us a bit about that? Yeah. So when we had started, content was always key for us and what we do. But we then decided to try to go to market with milk it. So that's pre-measured pea-packed ingredients. And we were testing it more on key diaspora hubs. So London and New York City, even though the content was being created here for the milk it.

[00:06:00] But what we just found is that the market, there was just a challenge in terms of raising enough capital to get things off of the ground. Because, you know, it's the commitments in terms of the operation costs, and then it's getting to the consumer and the, you know, to get to the consumer, you need a good marketing budget and good sales and team. So because we just didn't have that resource, we just decided, actually, let's go back to what we were doing really great. And that was the content.

[00:06:27] And then we also kind of decided that, okay, so in scaling this model, it would be like, well, if Eto can create all this content for ourselves, we can create content for other small businesses who want to be more visible. And then, and then work with partners. So eventually there could be a partnership with Menu Finder, where, you know, they specializing in the delivery, the logistics area. So it's like, you could find one of our partners off Menu Finder and then get the food delivered to you.

[00:06:56] But we're creating, whether it's the recipes or just a theme around what that business is doing. So yeah, so we just went back to basics. Basics, yeah. That's quite interesting. It's like, it's quite interesting because with Alex, you started off on content. Now your focus is food delivery. Yeah. And with Margot, you started on something else. Now your focus is content creation. That's quite interesting. But I think one common thing I can take from both of you is the content creation. Yeah.

[00:07:23] How important, this is a question for both of you, how important is content creation right now in, I'd say, at least the food tech space? It's so important, especially with the younger consumer. So from that Gen Z perspective. And then whoever's coming after, they are doing everything on their phone. So if you think they're like learning, discovering, purchasing, everything is their phone before they think of anything else. So if you're a business and you don't have online visibility, you're going to struggle with that younger generation.

[00:07:53] I think the older generation are still traditional, but that younger generation, they do everything. Like TikTok was down in the US or it's been down. People are crying. It's like family members died. So content creation is so important. And I think as well, what we're doing, our mission is to put the global spotlight on African cuisine. And a large part of that does start with the exposure.

[00:08:17] So it's that English person that's sitting in the countryside in the UK. You know, the quickest way they're going to discover African cuisine now in this day and age is through media before they even think about going into a restaurant or go into the local grocery store to buy the stuff. So, yeah. And it has to be good. Really good. Like really good. No, I think you're right. I think, you know, the modern day customer is more savvy.

[00:08:46] You know, before they go into a shop, they will probably look up things online. Yeah. And then they go and observe what's in the shop. And even when they see what's in the shop, they may go back online again before making an actual decision. So there's a few steps that they take. Yeah. So that's quite interesting what you said. Very, very, very, very interesting. I think content creation is definitely, definitely, definitely key here. Alex as well. Yeah, no, definitely.

[00:09:10] I mean, at the end of the day, you're trying to entice people to, you know, you're trying to basically we're saying, look, we know good food. We'll show you where good food is and then we'll get it delivered to you. So you have to. What does that good food look like? Yeah. In the old days, as Margaret said, if you want to find out about something, you Google it. Then now you kind of Instagram it. And even further now, you go on TikTok. It's like TikTok will give you the truth. Then you'll see the real, what people are really saying about it. So you have to kind of make sure you're there.

[00:09:40] I mean, we've had people back in the day as well that used to say, oh, I came to Ghana because someone came to Ghana because they saw a picture of Red Red that I took. My favorite dish of Red Red that I took. It's a match made of food. Yeah. They said, oh, I came to Ghana last year because of this picture you made. So it's really powerful what she was saying about someone in the countryside somewhere in another country.

[00:10:03] They can see it and feel like they want to come there just from the way you display the food because you're displaying the food and the culture and all that as well. As well as obviously us building businesses around it. But that's what's making it inviting for some people. Absolutely. Yeah. I think this is really, really important.

[00:10:20] And I like what you said because in terms of like where you guys are now, I think because of the type of delivery that you do, I think, Alex, I think your USB in the market is handpicking, you know, certain restaurants, certain places that really stand out. And curating, you know, certain restaurants, takeaways for people to enjoy. And I think the importance of that is the content creation. I think content creation helps to bring those places to life, isn't it?

[00:10:50] I want to double tap on something you said, Margaret, because you were talking about smartphones and phones. I think, again, as I said earlier before, you two are both in a time in this industry where in the likes of TikTok and Instagram is very, very video short focus, right? And I think it's a great opportunity for food, you know, restaurants, takeaways and businesses such as yourselves to really get out there.

[00:11:14] So how important is the experience for the customer on smartphone, whether it's using your app, your network, your website, whatever? It's really important. I used to, in my early career, I used to work at Marks & Spencer. And one thing Marks & Spencer are really good at doing is providing a service and a quality product. And I think when, even though we're in the food tech space, I think for us, it all starts with that customer's experience or our partner's experience on the phone.

[00:11:44] So for me, for what we try to do at Ito is like African food is amazing. We know it's amazing, but it also starts with how it's displayed. So a lot of sometimes content creators, in terms of what they're presenting in the food space, it doesn't really look appealing. Like it might appeal to your auntie, but it's definitely not going to appeal to like global consumers.

[00:12:06] But for us, it's, you know, when you pick up your phone, not only is it a good user experience in terms of whether it's an application or you're on our social media page, but then at the same time, it's the visuals. It looks on point. And I think for us, at what we're doing at Ito, we've had a lot of tests that we've done. And we've now got like communities in Australia, Netherlands. These are places that I wasn't even focused on. Right.

[00:12:33] But I think it's because they're seeing what we're doing and they can resonate with like the quality and the feel. And yeah, like, yeah, sorry to say again, but it's just super important. And I think as well, when you're an African business, it's, there's a lot of stereotypes about us and how, you know, does this place exist, you know, fraud, et cetera. So you have to really show up and represent your country, your brand, your products, and really just offer world-class services.

[00:13:03] So, yeah. I agree. I agree fully. I think, you know, presentation determines, you know, perception. It's very important that everything is done with a certain quality. Like if the food is nice, then display it that way. Let it, let it, I'm not saying do things that, you know, that's people's choice to do super hyper edited stuff, but do it so that it's represented in the best way.

[00:13:30] So when someone comes there and orders or, you know, decides to do a class, makes that same food, they can see it represented exactly the same way. So from the time you saw it, to the time you experienced it, to the time you digested it, you know, you're feeling like this thing is, this thing is like, this is, this is what they promised. You know, that's how it has to be. You see why Alex had to be in this conversation. I love it. I love it. This is great stuff, honestly. I want to keep moving to the next part of the conversation. I'm talking about the market. Right.

[00:13:59] So, you know, there's a number of companies or restaurants that would try to set up a food business here in Ghana or even Africa or enter a market. For example, Nando's tried to enter the Ghana market. Yeah. I know they're in places like Zimbabwe, South Africa. You know, I was, I was in Zimbabwe last year and I was happy to see Nando's everywhere. So it's thriving there, but it's somewhere like Ghana. It's not thriving. On the other hand, KFC is everywhere in Ghana. They've expanded, they're doing fantastically.

[00:14:28] What would you say is, you know, what kind, what would you say some of the challenges in terms of entering a market such as Ghana in terms of a food market? And what do people, what would you say people get wrong? And what do you say people have to get, kind of get right in order to thrive? Yeah. So I feel like us Ghanians, we know how to cook. So we know like food is a part of us. Like it's who we are.

[00:14:52] So because of that, if you're a food brand, you have to either come in with a different taste profile to what's on the market and something that is nice. Or it's just, it's just studying the market to understand, okay, I have this product, but this is the taste profile. So I need to create a fusion product, not necessarily copy and paste in what you're doing in the US where the food is not that great, to be honest, and bringing it over to Ghana because it just won't work. Right.

[00:15:21] So I think, yeah, food businesses, they just have to learn the culture, understand, you know, like do a bit of research. Right. And then it's not necessarily copy and paste your product. Sometimes fusion flavors make sense for a market like Ghana, especially in a place where a lot of us can cook really well at home. So if we're going out to eat, it needs to be a really, and I actually have a story.

[00:15:47] Like I remember I took my mom for dinner at one of the post restaurants in Accra and she had to call the chef. She called the chef and told the chef that this food was tasteless. They need to add more seasoning and she took them through. And that's the consumer you're dealing with in Africa, in Ghana, specifically Ghana. You know, they know quality food. They know quality flavors. True. True. Look, I think, no, I've actually lost my train of thought. No, it's fine.

[00:16:17] So in terms of... The question again, sorry. Yeah, that's fine. Right, so in terms of companies or... Oh, the entry, yeah. The entry to market. What do people get right? What do people get wrong? Yeah, I think from... So if you look at some of the Nando, back to the Nando's. Yeah, I remember when Nando's was here. Yeah. And it wasn't nice. It really didn't taste nice. I think they had one thing that was nice. I don't know if it was the wings. There was one thing that worked. Yeah.

[00:16:44] But I used to live in South Africa and that's where Nando's is from. So it's, you know, Portuguese. So you look at the quality of Nando's there. It's like top level. So I don't know. And I've seen it with so many different businesses. They come and set up here. And in the beginning, they bring a lot of the ingredients and all those things. So it's the same. And then as they go on, maybe they don't anticipate how much it costs to, you know, bring and ship and clear those ingredients. And then they start substituting.

[00:17:13] And they start substituting a bit brashly. But then things don't taste the same. And it makes sense because they have to, you know, manage costs and all that stuff. But I think if the groundwork had been done initially, then they would kind of know how they need to enter. Or do the fusion thing. You see some... KFC is very... I mean, KFC is KFC. It really doesn't taste that much different anywhere in the world as such. You know, some are better than others.

[00:17:43] But it's not such a difficult thing to, you know, get people to buy into. You know what I mean? But some of these other ones, whether it's, you know, like the Nando's or specialized burger plate joints or whatever, they just don't taste the same when they're here, unfortunately. Yeah, that's quite interesting. Very, very good perspectives from both you as well. And in terms of the profile, maybe a typical African consumer, maybe wanting to order a takeaway, wanting to go out to eat in a restaurant. It could be Ghana, it could be elsewhere.

[00:18:12] Alex, I want to direct this question at you, of course, first. Right? Like, how would you say, or what would you say about the typical African consumer? What that profile, that avatar looks like? And what do they usually like? And what do they usually not like? I know it might be a bit too much of a broad question, but see if you can kind of answer that. So I'll answer it in, like, our customer base.

[00:18:36] So the average person would be someone who's, could be a student, to be honest. It could be a young professional. It could be someone from diaspora. It could be someone who's working here, like in embassies, things like that. Because of the profile of the restaurant options, you've got more top tier, which is obviously more expensive restaurants. And then you've got other things like boba tea and Rafika tea house and things like that.

[00:19:04] So you get everyone in the cross-section would order. The students to, you know, maybe the top earning, whoever. If they like bubble tea, they like bubble tea. So I think it's a mix, really. But I think you see a lot of, what I've learned, I suppose, from doing this, you know, I think it's three years since we did the delivery now. And a lot of Ghanians want and appreciate good food. So it's back to the point you made before. They actually, they know what good food is.

[00:19:35] So it's like, you can't come and fool them. Yeah. They know what good food is. And they know, they want to experience what they want to experience. So if you've told them that this is the kind of experience you're going to get by ordering this food from this place, they're like, okay, let's see. And if it is, they'll be back. And if it's not, they'll tell you. I love that. That's a very, very good point, actually. Because you can't fool the tongue, can you? Honestly, you can't.

[00:20:03] And I think Ghanaian food, I've Ghanaian people are raised up in such a way where we're used to eating very tasty, spicy food. So we kind of get accustomed to these kind of flavors, these kind of tastes. And Margaret, I want to kind of direct the question to you, but slightly differently. What different types of consumer profiles in terms of consuming food do you see out there? Maybe not even just in the Ghanaian market, maybe in the African market as well. Yeah. So I guess if we were looking at the Ghanaian market, it's quite interesting.

[00:20:32] So for us, we have house help, like your chefs or your home cooks. So what we find is their bosses haven't got time to train them. So they like the fact that Ito offers them, offers easy videos, especially for some of them that sometimes they struggle to read English, etc. So watching the videos and very simple, easy steps, it's just like win-win.

[00:21:02] And then what we're able to do with these individuals is inspire them. So for instance, we try, it's not just Ghanaian dishes that we want to put out there. It's as we grow, we want to showcase other African dishes like East Africa, South Africa, etc. And these individuals won't necessarily think to do that. So for their bosses, they love the fact that they can, you know, especially what the future of Ito looks like. They love the fact that there's going to be a platform where you literally say what your dietary needs are.

[00:21:33] And then ultimately it just starts throwing recipes. And we do have young professionals and students. On the female side, they're preparing for marriage. So you need to learn how to cook. You need to learn how to cook. Necessary. Yeah, it's necessary, especially here in Africa. And then it's also in the West. So in the UK, US, we do find, you know, women have to cook for their partners. They won't have house help. So they need to learn. And they didn't learn from their parents. So Ito is a nice place.

[00:22:02] But then in, I wouldn't say in Africa, we tend to have a lot of men that follow us in terms of following our recipes. But then in the UK, in the US, we do because they don't have house help and they're not sure when they're going to get married. So it's always quite interesting when you have men because, you know, especially when they leave like their mother's house, they didn't learn from their mother. And I think what they liked about our Milk It solution, which we put on hold before, is that not only can you learn, but then you get the ingredients delivered.

[00:22:32] So it's a more easy process to kind of learn African cuisine. And they're pleasantly surprised that like the flavors they're able to create on their own just with us assisting them with the recipe and the ingredients. So, yeah, that's our customer profile. Yeah. Beautiful. Yeah. I think, you know, cooking recipes, I think, is easier to follow than people think they are. And I think sometimes it takes a bit of experimentation, a bit of getting used to. But I think there are some people that just absolutely can't cook them out,

[00:23:01] what you throw at them. They just can't cook. You just let the experts do what they do. And they just stick to what they know how to do, whether it's DIY or whatever it is. So, yeah. So I kind of want to keep the conversation going. So I think, again, we're in the stage, well, 2025, where we'll start to see a lot more technology, you know, disrupt a lot of industries as well.

[00:23:26] I want to talk about how is technology, you know, innovating your business and helping you to kind of do what you need to do in your business. And I'll also direct a question to you, Alex, as well. Yeah. So for us, especially with Ito Premium, which is a solution by God's grace that will be out sometime this year, we want to be at a stage where we really understand our customer community. So we're going more into like personalization.

[00:23:56] So it's almost like you'll have your own private chef with Ito experience on our platform. And then we're using it in other ways. But unfortunately, I can't really disclose here. But a lot of what we've done so far, let's just say we've used data to guide us even in getting here as a business. We, me and my business partner obviously had our assumptions, had done our research.

[00:24:20] But then when you look at consumer behavior, what they're actually doing, it steers you into another direction, which is not bad. We are definitely a business that, you know, our customers come first, our community comes first. So the more we understand about them, the more we can kind of like direct ourselves and where the company's going. Yeah. No, I think that's really important. I think once you understand your audience, the better you understand your audience, the better you can actually curate experiences. Yeah.

[00:24:50] That's really important. Yeah. Thank you. Alex, I'm going to direct this question to you a little bit differently because many find us. What kind of features that you have you rolled out from the product roadmap or maybe you have coming up that has helped you to kind of position yourself well and compete well in the market? I think, you know, we had a previous version of the app, which, you know, people liked, which we're grateful for.

[00:25:16] So, um, but there were a few things like just people, cause you know, the way our app works, we show you which restaurants are in range and then out of range, stuff like that. So that's displayed a bit better. We've got a new version that's now going to make restaurants black and white when they're closed and show you what time they're going to open. And so make it easier to reorder and do a lot of things.

[00:25:38] And also the popular restaurants algorithm is done based on, um, how the most recent amount of orders at top ranked orders and things like that. But I think so in technology wise, we've got some big ideas. If anyone watches Marvel stuff, you, Iron Man, if Jarvis was going to help you order food, what would that experience be like?

[00:26:04] Like, so I should be able to sit here and say, literally hold, like you're sending a voice note to, um, the app and say, look, Margaret wants sushi. Sorry if you don't like sushi, but. Oh, I like sushi. Okay. Margaret wants sushi. Adrian wants a pizza and I don't mind a pasta. We've got a budget of 600 cities. What can we get? And this thing should be doing some chat GBT style stuff and then recommend. So that's what we want to work on.

[00:26:30] But in order to get to that, um, and again, something that Margaret said about the data we have to, we're using the tools available now to make sure that we're building the right data points. Because if you're going to use technology, it's going to be linked to all sorts of data points that you're building, all sorts of tags and all that thing. And that's what makes these technologies able to bring out, you know, suggestions and recommendations and personalizations and all those things quickly.

[00:27:00] But if the data is not there and it's not clean. So there's a whole data hygiene exercise that we're trying to go on now to position ourselves to be able to take advantage of some of these tools. And then, yeah, I mean, you know, there's all talk of AI agents and all these things coming out. So we'll see how to incorporate those things. But I think as much as those things are there, we have to make sure we do the basics well, do it tidy. Then we can leverage properly. It makes sense. So essentially, you know, establishing a strong firm foundation and just building up from there.

[00:27:30] Absolutely. Brilliant. Those are fantastic answers. Thanks for sharing those. Okay. We've already touched upon AI. At least you have a little bit. I think Margaret, I think you talked about that. Me. So I'm exuding that there is a bit of A already going on in the ETO platform. So what do you think the future of whether it's food delivery, food networks, content creation, both your industries, what would you see that the future of both your industries would look like, dub industries? Yeah.

[00:27:59] So I think for us at ETO, you know, when we look at our mission in terms of putting the global spotlight on African food, we want to create demand for African food outside of Africa. And ultimately, in turn, it's like a catalyst to help that small scale farmer through to that food producer sell more, you know, do more. So we want, you know, we want to see economic empowerment in our community.

[00:28:26] And, you know, I believe we have some of the best flavor profiles. So I don't think it's an impossible thing. But I think if we're really going to support Africa, support the food ecosystem, it really all starts with making a product popular on the global stage. And, you know, you think of, look at what Apple's done with the iPhone and the iPhone's a great product, but then it's exploiting communities in Africa. Right. ETO, it's kind of the reverse.

[00:28:55] It's like, yeah, let's make food popular, African food popular. But at the same time, we're investing in the communities where these foods come from. So, yeah, just really transforming the food ecosystem. That's kind of what's the vision. That's quite interesting. Before we go to you, Alex, I think it's quite interesting what you said, Margaret, because I think when I spoke to Black and Famous last year, Nanabuating with his, you know, his tailoring, I think his vision really is like,

[00:29:20] why can't, you know, African tailoring be up there with all the biggest brands in the world? Why can't we go to any store, any big department store? It could be Harvey Nichols or South Patricia, it could be, you know, a Macy's, wherever it is, and find some of these brands there. So why do we have that in fashion? So I think with food, same thing. I think probably with food, probably need the same thing. Yeah, similar. With food. And I know of Alex, with you, it's many find Africa, it's not many find Ghana.

[00:29:48] So, of course, you want to actually expand this to Africa, right? Definitely, definitely. All Africans have this experience that you're creating right now. Yeah. What would that look like? Because I'm sure that's probably, that's the future for you, isn't it? Absolutely. Yeah. I think, look, for us, we want to, there's a vision for menu finders to become the best food delivery business in Africa. And then the mission is actually to improve lives while we're doing it. So much, I think we all share that thing. We can't really be, but we come back to lift, uplift.

[00:30:18] That's what we're trying to do. That's what we're trying to build. But yeah, us would look like, you know, us in various markets, you know, whether it be South Africa, Kenya, Ivory Coast, different places, doing what we're doing. And then, you know, exporting something that other people can consume. We're always just always consuming everything.

[00:30:38] As you know, back to the iPhones, the Pixel, I mean, me looking at my Google phone, it's the same thing, but let's give them something that, you know, they can be proud of and want to associate and pay a premium price for as well. Because people pay for value. At the end of the day, if we're all demonstrating and communicating and delivering value, then people will pay for it. That's what we'll learn. Absolutely. Yeah, there's different markets. What was I going to say to you?

[00:31:03] So I want to move on and just talk about fundraising and, you know, what it takes in terms of like getting funds to be able to run these types of businesses that both of you guys are in. And the food is something that everybody needs to supply one. So you would think that, you know, maybe raising or getting funds for a few businesses is easy, but sometimes it's not quite the case.

[00:31:25] I don't know, Margaret, I don't know if you want to talk about maybe the business model Ito has and, you know, what you're doing in terms of to grow and expand the business, right? To fulfill this vision that we're talking about, this huge W1. Could you talk us through how that's going and what you're looking to? To do. Okay. Yeah. So in terms of Ito's business model, it's literally we generate revenue from advertising and sponsorship, as well as our new feature, which would be our subscription.

[00:31:55] So our consumers will pay a small fee to access our content and get that personalization feature. And then when we work with partners, we would take a commission on any sales we drive for them as well. And I think, you know, like if we link it into like the fundraising landscape, yes, food is important. Everyone eats every day, hopefully two to three meals.

[00:32:21] But, you know, when you think of investors now, and unfortunately you have a lot more investors that are concerned with, you know, generating profits so they can make a return, right? It moved the impact to the side. So when they're looking at businesses models, they need business models that can scale, you know? So if you think about your typical restaurant business, it's a hard model to scale because it's so heavy in terms of operational costs, et cetera. And a lot of restaurant businesses actually do fail.

[00:32:50] So for an investor, that's not attractive. So what we have to do at Ito is ultimately create a business model that one, yes, we can make money because we want this to be a sustainable venture. But how does this business model look in the next five, 10 years time? And if there's not a clear road to exit, then you're going to struggle to attract investors at this stage to put into your business.

[00:33:19] But again, I think, you know, me and my business partner, we really believed in Ito. So when we first kind of were doing our R&D and going to market, et cetera, we put in our own money, like, you know, the C capital to get us started. But obviously to grow the venture, we do need external funding. So for us, it's just making this business look attractive to the right investors. And for us, it's not we don't want to take just anyone's money.

[00:33:46] We want investors that also kind of understand the impact element of what we're doing and, you know, understand that it's going to take time because of how we're trying to change the culture around African food. So, yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Thank you for sure. Okay. But in Alex's year as well, what does the journey into fundraising and in terms of growing and expanding, many find that? What's that look like? What's that look like?

[00:34:14] I think, look, we've raised smaller amounts of money, less than $50,000, which is not enough to do a business like us. Because we've seen big entrants come into the market time and time again and leave. It's kind of like David and Goliath kind of thing. You know, we're competitors, but we're also, there's overlaps in terms of the customer base. But, you know, we're focusing on a certain niche.

[00:34:41] But I think, again, it's probably similar because we're both doing kind of like niche type businesses. And the traditional funders and the VCs and all of that stuff, they don't really favor businesses like ours. They're looking for huge growth, huge scale, huge numbers, whether you're in profitability or not. But, you know, and again, as I said, not really focusing on impact and stuff like that.

[00:35:07] But if you're here, back to the point before, if you're here, we've come back to Africa, to Ghana to do what we're doing. You want to build a sustainable business that can look after itself and look after its people and grow organically as well. So, on season five, when I came last time, you know, we were obviously burning a lot of capital cash to keep going. We're now at the point where we're breaking even.

[00:35:35] So, we're just, yeah, it was just taking, break even feels like profit even. That's how much it's like, because you're just literally drowning and then coming up the air and stuff. But because, you know, you believe in the idea, you can see the growth, you can see the trajectory. It's an upward trajectory. So, you believe in where it's going. So, obviously, the next stage is to now move to profit, which we hope, you know, end of Q1, we should start doing that. But beyond that, to really scale up, you do need investment, but from the right sources.

[00:36:04] So, we're even, you know, trying to be selective there as well. You know, you can't be too picky all the time, but at least you need someone who actually believes in what you're trying to do. So, I think with the way things are changing at the moment, you know, I don't know. And Trump is now in office. So, it will release a lot of money from US anyway. So, I think that would be one positive that will come out of that. Yeah.

[00:36:29] And it will probably allow for businesses like ours to raise money easier than it has been in the last few years. Oh, sorry. Can I say one thing as well? Sure. And like, I think it was it Jumia and Glover. They've exited the Ghanaian market, right? Yeah. Yeah. We were left in May, yeah.

[00:36:50] So, like, so what I feel African food tech entrepreneurs or even in other industries is you should be looking at those plays really closely and starting to form relationships with them. Because it's, there is a market here in Ghana, but you can't do it. But if you came and partnered with me, then there's a chance you could survive, right? So, like, for Menufinder, down the line, it could be actually, I can't pronounce their name. Jumia. Jumia might want to re-enter the Ghanaian market because they see the opportunity.

[00:37:19] But instead of them just coming and trying to bully the market and take over, it's like actually no partner with Menufinder. I've invested into Menufinder for Menufinder to grow so they're sitting on the cap table. Or think of another partnership where, like, you're exposed to that technology, whatever it is. But I think that's how African businesses should be positioning themselves. Because a lot of the big investors would go to Jumia or Global by saying, actually, no, we understand our market. We understand our customers.

[00:37:47] And if you really want to enter this market, you come in as a partner with us. And I think that's how it should be, to be honest. That's a good point. Good point. I think the key here is, from what you were saying, is collaboration. Yeah. Ownership is the key to maybe, you know, succeed in this industry and this market.

[00:38:06] And also, what I've also gathered from you also, Alex, mentioning, and you, Margaret, is I think having that international audience, whether it's expats, whether it's the diaspora, whether it's other companies coming in to invest into the countries or whatever, whatever that looks like. It's external funds coming into the country, into the country, to help, you know, bring the velocity of money into these businesses, these resources, these takeaways, when you find out, it's all, et cetera, to help make it work. Yeah. So, I mean, that's also not about Paul.

[00:38:36] So, it's an interesting point. You see, on the point you made about, you know, these other companies should be looking to, they should actually be looking to invest in companies like ours. Yeah. But the reason why they weren't is because their investors are crying for blood. And so, if you look at even Bolt, when they pulled out of certain markets, and GMI, when they stopped and then focused on just the electronic side, and Glover, when they left, they did it because they had to pull out of non-profitable markets.

[00:39:07] So, it's difficult. I think, yeah, when we become undeniable, they'll have no choice. I think that's the thing. We just have to push to get to that point. So, we will get there. Yeah. Because they'll just be like, look, if we don't buy into these guys, we're not going to be able to be in these markets. And the markets are so lucrative. Yeah. That's where we have to position ourselves. That's a true advantage that compared to the cultural. Yeah, definitely. A true advantage that compared to the cultural. Yeah. You understand the culture and society. And because certain people take certain things as well.

[00:39:33] I think that also it can be like a roadblock to these companies exceeding as well. And how the country works and the content work is very interesting. Definitely. Guys, it's been a fantastic conversation as well. I think we can probably start to round up. No pun intended. So, right. So, there's a lot of, of course, there's a lot of independent restaurants, a lot of independent businesses out there, food businesses. But I'm probably selling food or sending actual food to go and sit down in a restaurant or takeaways.

[00:40:04] Do you feel like there's an oversaturation of restaurants, takeaways, you know? A hundred percent. And is that the reason why there's a number of them fading? Would you say? I think to do any business, you have to understand your market. So, if you think about how much jollof Ghanias eat in a day, probably if I Google it, try and measure the tonnage of what we eat in a day.

[00:40:35] If you're a restaurant and you've got this fancy restaurant, new place, maybe Encantamos, whatever, nice aesthetics, and then you're doing local food again. I don't know how far you'll get, unless you're doing it with a twist, it has to be something different, something unique.

[00:40:53] Or, what people do is they start off with something unique, and because, you know, they've sunk so much money into the setup cost of it, that as they go in, you know, it takes time to introduce your market into certain things. Because it's not picking up quickly, then they start adding, you know, jollof and wajji, the local food. So, you can get a West Indian restaurant that's actually selling more local food than West Indian. So, to me, it's just ludicrous. So, I think there's a lot of oversaturation.

[00:41:23] People don't think, they look at someone else and just think, oh, well, Margaret set up a restaurant, I can do it as well. Which maybe you can, but it doesn't mean you should just try and do it in exactly the same way, same area, all of that stuff. You know, so I think there has to be a lot of thought and thinking around before you even start. What is it that people are looking for? People, we love jollof, we love Red Red. But, yeah, me, there's only two places I really eat Red Red from. Anyway, Living Room and Buka.

[00:41:53] So, that's all Margaret's platform. Come and get one of the chefs to prepare. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, yeah, so it's difficult. There's a lot of restaurants that don't seem to make it for that reason. You know, it's not easy. And then, you know, cost and supply and consistency and all of that stuff. So, yeah. And for me, I'm a foodie, but I'm obsessed with food. Like, I love food.

[00:42:20] And I think if you're going to open a restaurant and you need to understand that it's not just a place to make money, but there's an experience. For me, like, food makes me so happy. A good meal and a good drink. And no matter how stressful my day has been, I'm just so happy. And I feel like the only people that will understand that are, like, you know, your really good quality chefs or let's just say a home cook that's now opening a restaurant.

[00:42:47] So, I think when it comes to even onboarding staff, you have to onboard staff that have a passion for what they're selling. Because if you don't, you end up with situations where, you know, you set up a nice restaurant, you've gone on and hired random chefs, and then you're confused as to why no one's coming to your establishment. It's because the food is not nice. And if the food is not nice, no one is, yeah, no one's going to return. It's true. There's more effort on the aesthetics than the food.

[00:43:14] It's better you have a simpler place and the food is just on point. People will come. People will come. Like, real. Then you upgrade later. Yes. Real good food. Oh, my gosh. People will come. People will find, you know. Yeah. So, yeah, that's it. I think, yeah. That's fantastic. That's fantastic. So, the takeaway is maybe get the basics right. Find a way to stand out. Maybe collaborate if you have to. And, yeah, just understand what the people want and just don't overcomplicate it. Yeah.

[00:43:44] Yeah. Keep it simple. Yeah. Alex, Margaret, it's been a fantastic conversation. Thank you. Any final words to any aspiring food founders, entrepreneurs, many even restaurant owners or managers out there? Any advice you want to give to them in Africa, in Ghana or maybe want to enter in the market those markets? Yeah. So, I would give some advice. So, the first is, you know, take hygiene seriously.

[00:44:12] You know, clean establishment, wash your hands, make sure you don't have any rodents lying around, et cetera. Because, unfortunately, in Africa, food poisoning is still a big thing, especially when we have like tourists coming in, everyone's talking about runny stomachs, et cetera. So, how you handle food is super, super, super important.

[00:44:36] And then I feel like for any chefs, aspiring chefs or individuals that want to open a restaurant, I think, you know, just master your craft. Really master your craft. Because I think at Eater, we have like some amazing up and coming chefs and I've discovered them just because I can see in like the work they do, even before I've even tasted their food. And then when I tasted it, it tastes great. But it's like, I can see they're spending time mastering their craft.

[00:45:04] And I think once you become excellent at what you do, your work will speak for itself and the success will come after. And then, yeah, if you want to feature on Eater Network, do send us a message. I'm always looking for like talent in the food space. So, yeah, that's it. Oh, nice. Yeah, I agree with some of that as well. I think, look, if you want to come and do something, come and observe, come and see, come and experience, connect.

[00:45:34] Experience, you know, platforms like ours as well. Get a sense for what we who are trying to build things here, what are we doing? And if we're doing something well, what are those things? Take notes from them. But yeah, look, the main thing is we're not oversaturated. There's so much room for so many businesses and there's room for multiple businesses of ours to exist and still make good money.

[00:46:03] So there's opportunity here. But I think don't come and think it's that easy. You know, people will lap it up. Make sure you're selling value before anything else. If you sell the value, I'll go back to my red red living room. They give me value, so I'll go there. Even if it costs, you know, whatever, then much more than the roadside stuff. It costs more, but I know the value I get from being there, from the food and the experience and all of that stuff.

[00:46:32] So it's the same with Bukka or any other restaurant. Sell the value and then you'll be fine. Just keep that consistent. That's a great way to be by audience, Alex. Thank you so much for that. Where can everyone find Menufinder, Alex? Menufinder, you can find us on Instagram at Menufinder Africa, www.menufinderafrica.com or you can email me direct if you want, alex.menufinderafrica.com. Always cool to connect people. Make sure that's a background.

[00:46:58] Yeah, so our main profile is on Instagram, so Eto Network, E-A-T-O and then Network, all one word. You can also email me at Margaret, so M-A-R-G-A-R-E-T at M-S-E-A-T-O.com. Yeah, so yeah, that's where you can find me. Thanks, guys. I appreciate you guys both chiming in with your perspectives. Thanks for having us. Thanks for having us.

[00:47:28] It's been good. I love it. Glad you love it. I know, too. So there you have it, guys. Alex, CEO of Founder of Menufinder Africa. And we've got Margaret, founder, CEO of Eto Network. There's been a great, insightful discussion about foods, about the industry, about all of the above. Once again, guys, thanks for tuning in. If you have any thoughts, opinions or questions regarding discussion, please get in the YouTube comments if you watch the YouTube app or Spotify.

[00:47:57] Give us a review if you're listening on the platforms. Or if you want to drop us an email on the back of this conversation, info at the soundofcry.com or visit the soundofcry.com website. And yeah, guys, I hope you've enjoyed the discussion. I'm Adrian from the Sound of Crud Podcasts, and we are signing out. Yeah. Take care. See you guys. Bye. Bye.