Nestlé Nigeria trains young people on sustainable business, waste management
Photo :From Left: Category Development Manager, NESCAFÉ, Nestle Nig. Plc; Busayo Ogunlowore, Trade Asset Manager; Nestle Nig Plc, Adeola Ajiboye, Outstanding MYOWBU Operator; Abraham Joseph, Channel Manager, Nestlé Professional; Ibraheem Awelenje and Field Sales Manager, Lagos, Nestlé Nig. Plc; Femi Arowosafe during the Nestle MYOWBU( My own business) Engagement and Environmental Awareness Initiative Workshop in Lagos on Thursday/27/08/26.
Olasupo/NAN
Nestle Nigeria has advised operators of its My Own Business (MYOWBU) initiative not to limit themselves to making daily sales but to think of how to build sustainable businesses through disciplined financial management, good customer service, hygiene and responsible waste disposal.
The advise was given
during this year’s MYOWBU Engagement and Environmental Awareness Initiative 2.0 workshop held Thursday, August, 27, 2026
The workshop with the theme, “From Pushing Cart to Building a Business,” and supported by Nestlé Professional, is designed to provide young people with the tools, skills and opportunities to operate mobile beverage businesses which includes; selling products like MILO, NESCAFÉ and Golden Morn.
In his remarks at the workshop, Business Manager, Nestlé Professional, Awelenje Ibraheem, said that the gathering was aimed at strengthening the relationship among Nestlé, distributors and operators as well as create an avenue to share ideas and improve business practices.
According to him, the programme was built around three key objectives: connecting with and appreciating the operators and attendants, helping them grow their businesses and ensuring that consumers continue to receive quality and safe products.
Ibraheem stressed that although Nestlé works with the operators, the businesses ultimately belong to them and should be managed with the mindset of business owners.
“It’s true that we’re doing it together but it’s your business and as such you have to handle it with all seriousness it deserves.
He also emphasised the importance of trust and quality, noting that customers who buy products from the MYOWBU carts do so because they trust both the Nestlé brands and the people selling them.
According to him, operators and attendants should therefore maintain high standards in the handling and preparation of beverages, as poor hygiene could undermine the confidence consumers have in both the vendors and the Nestlé brand.
The workshop also featured a review of the MYOWBU operating model by Nestlé Professional’s Trade Asset Manager, Adeola Ajiboye.
Ajiboye explained that the MYOWBU model involves a chain linking Nestlé to beverage service providers and distributors, operators, attendants and, ultimately, consumers.
She urged operators to take proper care of the equipment provided under the initiative, including branded pushcarts, and to ensure that attendants properly handle and return the assets.
She identified high attendant attrition and low productivity of assets as some of the challenges affecting the programme.
Ajiboye said operators should promptly replace attendants who leave rather than allow pushcarts and other equipment to remain unused or poorly maintained.
She also reminded operators that they were handling food products and must therefore take food safety and quality seriously.
Speaking at the event, Nestlé, Sustainability Manager, Chinwe Obi, re-emphasized the company’s corporate commitment to zero-landfill packaging waste.
She noted that it’s operations have successfully maintained 100% plastic neutrality since 2023 by recovering an equivalent volume of plastic to what it introduces to the consumer market.
A major highlight of the 2.0 edition was the incorporation of intense environmental stewardship guidelines.
Vendors took an official pledge to actively prevent plastic pollution along their daily distribution routes.
