By Agatha Emeadi
Jennifer Onose Eremosele is the chief executive of Faikendawn Group, the multi-venture firm behind the Olokpo App, which is set to revolutionise the way caterers for events link up with clients who need their services.
Through the new app, clients now have the convenience to make choices from a wide selection of caterers right on their Android or iPhone.
In this interview, Onose, a strategic marketing and business developer, tells the story of how Olokpo was conceptualised and created.
How did the journey of the Olokpo App start?
We looked into society and wanted to give a positive answer within the food industry. We started by checking what competition was already doing within the caterer and user space and we found out that there are a lot of apps that do food delivery but none was bringing the caterers and the general customers together. We had a lot of people who said that they could handle catering for so and so events and wanted to be referred to prospective customers. On the other hand, some people needed a standard caterer for a particular event and wanted to be linked up with a good one. So, everybody was relying on references, and the caterers were not getting enough jobs because they lacked access to a platform to showcase their capacity and what they could do to prospective clients no matter where they were located. Equally, clients were boxed into a corner without having a variety of caterers and meals to choose from, because they do not have quality catering references. We, therefore, came up with this solution after keen research done over several months to build a catering app. Therefore, if one is a restaurant owner, hotel or outdoor caterer with different capacity, no matter where one is located, with just a click on the PlayStore or Apple Store, you can download the Olokpo App; it will be followed with a verification process once the numbers of the catering process are within reach. We are doing this so that from the festive season onwards caterers and users would have a great deal of jobs together. Olokpo would bring a lot of convenience. It is here to revolutionize and change the catering space. We are trying to solve the referral system by bringing the caterers and users together, bearing in mind that there are a lot of events that need caterers and busy homes that need personal catering services. The app will bring both users and catering service providers together. It will work the same way the Uber app works. For someone to move from one point to another, it’s just a click and an Uber ride is by your corner. That is exactly what the Olokpo app will do. The same seamless process, the easy way to get a caterer for any event. Just download and get caterers wherever you are. That is the market Olokpo App is designed to revolutionize.
Why the name Olokpo?
Olokpo is a Yoruba name which means caterers. If I had used a name taken from my Delta State language, it would have been longer (Ndi na Eshi Nri). So, Olokpo is short, and easy to pronounce by just about anybody. It gives a pan-Nigeria and Africanness that makes it easily acceptable. This particular phase of the campaign is the value campaign, where we want caterers to come up to unite all. If we have the exact caterers we want, we will check their details as they get on the app.
It is easy to compare Olokpo with Uber but food is a big deal. What if the caterer does not deliver?
We know that food is very special and important in every event, even at home. There is no event that one does without having food involved. Therefore, when we have several catering partners that we want, we would start verification immediately to check out their capabilities, to place the caterers on different levels. Aside from that, we do not want to be involved in getting to know the stage, which means a user has a choice of getting five to six caterers and inviting them on a preview of what they can do, their cost and effectiveness in delivering services. Another fact is, that when one gets to the app, the pointer can show as many caterers as possible, so one could choose and if there is any problem, the user will not be left alone because the caterer was sourced through the app. Again, the app has an opportunity for the user to rate and report the caterer because it is not functioning without a legal team who will do a lot of research and give a perfect legal view because in a situation where someone would want to spoil a caterer for no reason will not be allowed. A proven concern that the caterer committed an offence would be reported and the caterer forfeits being on the APP. We would avoid every inch of dissatisfaction; events not properly catered for and then compensate the user.
What happens in a situation when a caterer disappoints at an event?
Yes, in case of disappointment from a caterer, it falls into the compensation of the customer, because when one has paid but the caterer did not deliver and a complaint is made, showing payment details, we will investigate. Our findings will determine our action, but most probably to refund the user because the image of the firm is at stake.
What then happens to the user’s immediate party when guests have arrived?
In the eventualities of events, things happen. Even if the caterer did not come from the Olokpo App, there have been situations where caterers turned up late or did not turn up at all; so, things happen. Nobody wants to spoil her name or another person’s day purposefully. It might be possible the caterer had an accident, bad news, or something, but there must be a way around it.
Some people might want traditional food vendors like (Agoin and Togolese women) who are not sophisticated caterers. How do you put this category of caterers into the APP?
So, once a caterer gets registered on the app and is located, there are spaces to express yourself and what you do. Search engine optimization (SEO). One could be identified as a proper agoin or Togolese caterer who specializes in so-and-so or that you are a classic caterer who makes only international meals. The caterer has an opportunity to feature three or four events that she has been the caterer. Then, the user has the opportunity to make that decision and take what he or she wants.
What’s the world about the parent company?
Vikendon Group was set up six years ago, and we knew that different things could come up. We started with outdoor advertising because that was the field we have been in for the last 14 years; we have done jobs for many multinationals and registered with buying agencies, many of them located in GRA Ikeja; as we moved on, we added FMCG because we saw that we have the sales capabilities to build the sales team. This year, we added palm oil, because a lot of people complain about bad oil since we need it for all West African food. We went to Cross River and Delta states for our research and findings; it was in the process that we discovered the gap between caterers and users. We then started some months ago and here we are today.
How was growing up?
I am the first child out of six siblings. I grew up in boarding schools like Our Lady of Fatima College, Port Harcourt, a school run by the Eucharistic Heart Sisters, to Madonna University and back to Lagos for job opportunities. While growing up, I had always loved beauty and never knew I would end up in the food industry. I have participated in many beauty pageants like in 2007, when we contested for Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, MBGN. Munachi Abii won the pageant in our set. I also participated in Mrs. Ibinabo Fiberesima; Miss Earth and did not come out in the last five.