Good news coming in from Nigeria, as a factory in the country can now boast of Manufacturing tomato paste, courtesy ‘Tomato Jos’ factory. The factory which is based in Kaduna state Nigeria is led by American-born entrepreneur Mira Mehta. The facility is said to be the third-largest of its kind in Nigeria. The idea to process tomatoes in tomato paste first came to Mehta as she was traveling for non-profit work in the northern part of Nigeria in 2008 where she saw first-hand the post-harvest loss of tomato crops.
She then proceeded to attend Harvard Business School in 2012, where she fine-tuned her business plan, and ever since then, her company tomato Jos has been perfecting its tomato farming process, increasing its yields and training local farmers.
Just recently, the company launched its much anticipated Tomato Jos paste variant into the Nigerian market, which is already in circulation in the Northern part of Nigeria. The new tomato paste is packaged in a 65-gram sachet, which comes in a superior flavor and color. According to information obtained, the tomato paste variant is said to be the company’s first consumer product since it began operation.
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Speaking at the unveiling event of the “Tomato Jos Paste, the company’s CEO Mira Metha had something remarkable to say.
In her words, “It is a dream come true. Though entrepreneurship is full of ups and downs, I feel encouraged whenever I see my passion for this business ignite in one of my colleagues. I am incredibly proud of the Tomato Jos team for their hard work and belief that we could achieve something on this scale. The facility is the only one of its kind in Nigeria that can produce sachet tomato products directly from fresh tomatoes. The product is currently available throughout Kaduna State, and we intend to expand to more states by the end of 2022. Our company’s theme for 2021 was ‘Let’s Do This!’ and, well, we did it! The future looks bright for Tomato Jos. We will continue to grow until we become a household name across Nigeria”.
I am very ecstatic to see this good news come from Nigeria because the country has been depicted to be more of a consumer economy than a producer economy. According to statistics, Nigeria is the world’s 13th largest importer of tomato paste, even though the country is richly blessed with fresh tomato products. It is indeed a thing of joy that a company in the country can now manufacture tomato paste because facts have it that there are usually post-harvest losses of approximately 45% of tomatoes in the country because buyers cannot be found.
According to Metha, she disclosed that driving across Northern Nigeria, she would see piles of tomatoes that farmers couldn’t sell. Not anymore, as the company can now transform those leftovers into tomato paste. This is a perfect time for the government to partner with Tomato Jos company and invest properly into the company, as well as going to set up many more companies like that so that there can be massive production of tomato paste in the country, which will stop the country from the importation of tomato paste.
According to the CEO of Tomato Jos, Metha, she disclosed that her company plans to raise an additional $10 million in debt and equity to fund further growth and expand its reach across the country. The exportation of these products will greatly improve the country’s economy as many countries will seek to patronize these products. Permit me to say that Nigeria is on its path to becoming one of the highest manufacturers of tomato paste.