A WOMAN quit her high-flying banking job to start her own business – and it’s so successful even Raheem Sterling loves it.
Mariam Jimoh went from working in the banking industry to starting up an ethnic digital supermarket focussing on African and Caribbean foods.
The successful entrepreneur, from a Nigerian household, recalled not always being able to find traditional Nigerian food such as yams, plantain and okra in her local grocery shops.
Mariam had to visit her parents home or source out Afro-Caribbean markets if she wanted a taste of home.
This is what sparked her to leave her established role in the corporate world in 2018 to make finding the food she loved from home easier for herself and others.
The business woman told MyLondon: “The only time I could really get groceries was by ordering online or in advance but there was just a group of products that I didn’t have access to: my oxtail, plantain, and okra – it just made me think about why is it so hard to find these.”
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The woman had reached out to several people asking where she could find the food items online but no one had any answers for her.
This is when Mariam started her brand Oja – meaning “market” in Yoruba, a nod to her Nigerian roots.
It is the UK’s first digital supermarket that focusses on African and Caribbean foods.
Mariam believes that locating these very specific items in the physical market can be extremely difficult -as world food isles are not as varied as they could and should be.
She said she “wanted to streamline that process and find a way to deliver products to you when you need them fast”.
Mariam recalls having waves of positive responses from customers when she launched Oja in 2020 – and even said the website crashed due to the amount of people trying to use it.
Oja has since expanded beyond a single London postcode and now covers the entirety of Greater London.
The service now also caters for cultures ranging from Nigeria to Somalia to North and East Africa as well as the Caribbean.
Oja now offers a Halal range and beauty and haircare products too.
But this is not the only success that the company has seen as Premier League legend Raheem Sterling also invested in the business.
Sterling said: “There is such a natural connection with Oja for me. I can get my favourite home comforts, like Biggas and plantain chips, and having access to these products at short notice is amazing!”
Marian recalled meeting Sterling for the first time and bonding over meals that their mums cooked them as well as the connection with classic foods from home.
Sterling has invested in Oja alongside LocalGlobe- showcasing their strong beliefs in the brand and what it stands for.
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