”I am proud to be selling Amala”, actress, Iyabo Ojo reveals why she decided to venture into Amala business
For so many, selling Amala seems too local for someone in Iyabo Ojo’s caliber to venture into but the actress sees the business as another honourable way to make money out of her cultural heritage.
In an interview with Punch, the actress stated how she had to save and sell some of her priced possessions to raise money for the business. She stated in clear term that as a local chick, she made a name for herself by acting in Yoruba, her local dialect and Amala is part off the Yoruba culture thus she is proud of selling it.
“I am a local chic. I made a name for myself by acting in my local dialect which is the Yoruba language and in our culture; Amala is the in-thing. I am proud to be selling Amala because that is my culture. A Chinese man cannot be ashamed of owning a Chinese restaurant. What I did was that I brought something perceived to be local to the Island and I made it look posh. When something is local, it does not mean that it is dirty. People really long to eat Amala and I am not ashamed to be selling it’‘ she said.
She went further to clarify how she got the capital to start the business.
”I did not collect a loan to open my business, I saved. I had been planning to open this place for a very long time, so I had been saving. When I wanted to get my new office building, I sold some of my property. I sold almost all my gold if not everything. During that time, I sold one batch and when I needed more money, I sold the rest. I told myself to forget about gold for now because I know that I can make the money back later. With the support of good people as well, I was able to get my office building. The first lady of Kwara State who came to inaugurate the building supported me. Some of my godparents also supported me because I told them that I wanted to sell Amala”.
