Uche Ukonu: How a Personal Need Birthed smallChops, a Vibrant Food Business in Nigeria

Uche Ukonu is the founder and CEO of smallChops, a platform that provides high-quality finger foods from handpicked vendors in Nigeria. It’s been over 5 years since its launch, and the food startup is going strong.

BEA: What inspired you to launch smallChops?

Uche Ukonu: SmallChops was launched from a personal need some time in 2015. I wanted to order a single pack of smallChops and at that time, food delivery was still in its infancy in Nigeria.  Nobody wanted to deliver a package to me because it was too small to produce. Over time, and with that experience in mind, I asked around and found out that a lot of people needed to be able to receive chops at home whenever they wanted, regardless of quantity. I discovered that this was a problem that called for a solution.I began to visualise myself as a factor in the solution of this problem, given that I had some experience in the food production and food service industry, as well as in technology. So I came up with the idea to build small chops. And when it came to picking the name, it was actually at a random TED talk. I ran into Mark Essien, the founder of Hotels.ng, and was talking with him about naming the startup. He gave a very interesting perspective, stating that Search Engine Optimization in Nigeria is still very lean. So, as much as possible, let your business name be instantly recognizable. That was what inspired me to get the domain name smallChops.ng, and we’ve been running with that.

BEA: What would you say is the biggest challenge in Nigeria’s food industry?

Uche Ukonu: Getting your products ready is the easy part because you can control all the factors involved. However, getting your product to your customers is where things get sketchy. This is because not a lot of businesses can afford to have their own fleet of bikes or design processes that will mitigate the failures of using third-party logistics services.For me, the biggest challenge in Nigeria’s food industry is logistics. I Don’t think any business has been able to solve last-mile logistics at scale. You still experience the same failure rate as everyone else.

BEA: What can we expect from smallChops in the years to come?

Uche Ukonu: The truth of the matter is that wherever our customers take us, that’s where we’ll go. We can have plans, and ideas, but once we test them with our customers, that’s when we can decide what really happens. Every innovation and revision we make is really in the interest of the customers. I’ll say what to expect is a better customer experience. A better ordering and delivery experience.

BEA: What’s your favourite part of being an entrepreneur?

Uche Ukonu: I would say my favourite part is solving real-life problems. That’s actually what I enjoy the most about being an entrepreneur. That ability to see an opportunity in problems and create profitable solutions. I find this very interesting and intriguingBEA: What’s your advice for entrepreneurs who have the odds stacked against them?Uche Ukonu: Being an entrepreneur is not just a business decision, it’s a life decision. You aren’t simply looking for how to make money; you’re searching for a way of life.  I personally believe that if you’re following a certain roadmap, there’ll be ups and downs, obviously.  But there are certain things that will be laid out in front of you. It’ll now be your choice whether to follow it or not. But what I’ll say is, first of all, make sure that you’re solving a big enough problem. Make sure that, as an entrepreneur, whatever problem you set out to solve is big enough. And make sure that there are people willing to pay for that solution.And then you just basically chased them. When you find people who are willing to pay, just keep refining your product and service to suit their needs. And then every other thing that comes along the way is just a stepping stone to enhance the business. If you look at things from the perspective of ‘I have this solution, and I’m going to better serve my customers’, it sort of shifts the focus from how difficult it is and puts your eyes on the reward, which is better service for your customers.

BEA: How do you relieve stress?

Uche Ukonu: I’m a very curious person. Nothing relaxes me more than discovering something new. I find new experiences relaxing. So one thing I do to relieve stress is to seek out new experiences.

https://youtu.be/kiiX2UUyneY