By: Abdulai M. Braima
Sierra Leone’s First Lady and President of the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), Her Excellency Dr Fatima Maada Bio, has inaugurated a Sierra Leonean-owned food processing facility in South East London, celebrating the enterprise as an example of women’s entrepreneurship, diaspora investment and Sierra Leone’s agricultural potential. The First Lady arrived in the United Kingdom from Rome today and drove straight from the airport to officially open Khadie Afro Foods, founded by Sierra Leonean entrepreneur Khadie Dumbuya Alabi, popularly known as Khadie Fresh. She runs the business with her husband, Femi Alabi. The engagement comes ahead of this evening’s inauguration of the Sierra Leone People’s Party UK & Ireland Regional Executive, which the First Lady is expected to attend. Operating since 2013, Khadie Afro Foods has grown into an impressive Sierra Leonean-owned African food enterprise in the UK, specializing in the importation, processing, packaging, retail and wholesale distribution of African vegetables and food products.
The company imports produce in substantial quantities from Sierra Leone, Togo, Cameroon and Nigeria, processing popular West African vegetables including cassava leaf, ugu, krain-krain, potato leaf, waterleaf, afang and ewedu. Its business model takes agricultural produce on a journey from farm to supermarket; from preparation at source and transportation to Britain, through washing, grinding, processing and packaging, before distribution to consumers and businesses. Mrs Alabi has also invested directly in Sierra Leone. Her company was registered there in 2018, with ongoing operations in Goderich and Lungi, strengthening commercial ties between Sierra Leonean agricultural production and the African consumer market in Britain. Welcoming the First Lady, Mrs Alabi thanked her for visiting the premises at 36 Raymouth Road SE16 2DB, and praised her inspirational work in advancing the interests of women and girls in Sierra Leone and internationally.
The First Lady said she was proud of Mrs Alabi for building such an impressive enterprise while maintaining strong economic ties with Sierra Leone. She encouraged her to continue expanding the business and creating opportunities for others. She also highlighted how the enterprise aligns with President Julius Maada Bio’s Feed Salone agenda, particularly its emphasis on strengthening agricultural production and creating markets for Sierra Leonean produce. “The work you are doing, both here in the United Kingdom and back home in Sierra Leone, reflects the vision of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio’s Feed Salone agenda,” the First Lady said. The opening also reflected Sierra Leone’s tradition of religious tolerance. The premises were jointly dedicated by Reverend Winston Webber of the United Methodist Church, Tower Bridge, and Imam Sheikh Baimba Ibrahim Conteh of the North Brixton Islamic Cultural Centre. For Mrs Alabi, the ceremony marked another milestone in a journey spanning more than a decade. For Sierra Leone, it showcased how diaspora entrepreneurship can connect opportunity abroad with development at home, taking Sierra Leonean produce from farm to factory and ultimately from farm to supermarket.
