Babajide Oluwase

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Ecotutu’s business model was primarily focused on providing cold-storage services in farm clusters. In 2020, their first operational year, they recorded a revenue of 1,764,000 Naira ($4,000) and had three employees whilst working in one location. 

The pandemic struck, and Ecotutu was significantly affected by the movement restrictions. Their business model was not Covid-proofed, and the sudden pause in activity resulted in them not making enough revenue to sustain operations. In response, the team developed and launched a new product line, Fresh Box – a last-mile cooling solution to preserve perishables on the go.

In two years, Ecotutu has served 628 farmers and aggregators and has helped increase their customers’ monthly income by 20 to 35%. They have continued innovating and have launched three new products – Fresh Box, Shopper Bag and Ice Cell – all contributing to an impressive increased turnover of 31,639,318 Naira (over $75,000). 

Business success to Ecotutu is about more than just the bottom line, its green credentials are impressive too as its innovations have saved over 3,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables from spoilage.  The team has grown from three to 14 employees with jobs being created specifically for women and young people. They plan to deploy more cold storage solutions and capture a significant share of the Nigerian market, eventually aiming to expand to other African countries.