In 2018, Tijani Mustapha, resigned from his job at a bank and ventured into making shawarma and pizza in Abuja. For three years, he struggled to grow the business and had to find a balance with a part-time consulting job. Just when he thought the journey to finding his feet would take long, Glovo contacted him in 2021, and today he has become a household name as Ahmad’s Shawarma and Pizza, delivering sweet treats to customers in major cities across northern Nigeria.
Starting Out
Recalling the challenges of the early days, Tijani described how discouraging it was making low sales and the struggle to retain customers. “When we started, selling was a very major challenge for us. Sometimes, I had to wait for like 2-3 hours before the next customer would come”, he said. Although times were hard, Tijani remained resilient and convinced that he was on the right path. It was so daunting that seeing two to three customers walk into the restaurant at the same time was a miracle.
Another challenge, when the business started taking off, was getting the right team with the mindset of business owners who would ensure operational efficiency for business growth by not compromising standards. For him, an entrepreneur may have the dream but not many people will key into his strategic vision, and because no one can do it alone, it is important to build a team of doers. Tijani had to create time to teach members of his team and watch them maintain the standards.
Partnering with Glovo
For a man, who had to close the restaurant at some point and work as a part-time consultant because he couldn’t pay rent and salaries, digitizing his business being online at Glovo was a breath of fresh air. The partnership elevated the business; changed the mindset of Tijani and with some strategic insights and structural changes, it soon started to attract the right set of people.
“I was actually approached by the Glovo team when they came to Abuja. I was contacted by one of their representatives. Although a few companies have sent in proposals, what attracted me to Glovo was the research I did about them. Reading through the company’s profile, I was convinced, most especially by the representative, a lady, whose analysis was direct and clear. The moment I realized it was an international brand, I was bought over instantly. I did not think twice, ” he said.
Glovo’s impact
According to him, the journey with Glovo has been very ‘fantastic and rewarding’, having brought so much growth to the business in terms of spread and increased workforce.
“When we started 3 years ago, we were very modest. The partnership brought about a lot of transformation in the way we run the business. It’s a very big plus for us to have that kind of partnership. No doubt, it has provided us with better structure on how to approach the business,” he said.
Speaking on growth, he mentioned how the company started with 6 employees, but after getting onboard the Glovo platform, they experienced a significant boost in sales and now boast of a sizable workforce of 110. He is very happy about the fact that the business has remained afloat, despite the economic headwinds in Nigeria which have seen many businesses die. In fact, some new ones didn’t last a year, while some are just surviving and gasping for breath.
In comparison to what business was before Glovo’s onboarding, Tijani explained that he only paid attention to sales. However, with Glovo, he started paying attention to analytics and statistics. Through data analysis, regular updates, and customer reviews on a weekly and monthly basis, he was able to see the state of the business in terms of performance and made the necessary adjustments to excel in customer services and quality.
Typical of an optimistic and successful entrepreneur, Tijani, shared his business dreams for the next few years.
“Currently, we have already got a location in Lagos that we are working on. Probably after Lagos, we may look at some other states around the south. But we are coming to Lagos State in the first quarter of next year by God’s grace. We plan to enter some foreign countries, at least two countries in Africa.”
