Entrepreneurs break social boundaries to make local food available in diaspora

Banku, Fufu, Akyeke and Koko are among many staple foods in Ghana and Africa.

These foods require a lot of preparation time, including the time spent traveling to the market.

According to a World Bank estimate, 7.6 percent of the total population of Ghana, about 1.7 million people, reside abroad.

Estimates from Ghana Missions abroad showed that Ghanaian migrants reside in more than 53 countries worldwide.

This population lacks access to traditional meals due to cultural differences.

"Banku mix, one of the flagship products. I took all the troubles of the market and all those things and I have done it like this so that they will go and pick this from the shelves then in ten minutes the food is ready," said Fafali Azaglo, the founder of Selasie Farms and Grossories.

Additionally, the growing number of women in formal work locally continues to reduce the overwhelming presence of many indigenous foods on the dining table in most urban homes.

The social vacuum created by these phenomena has presented a perfect opportunity for local entrepreneurs to innovate.

Fafali Azagloh is a local food processor with over two decades of innovations and food research.

Her Selasie Farms and Groceries, a food processing and packaging company came up with many solutions.

Among these are the Banku mix, Hausa Koko, Akyeke, Kokonte and Fufu mix, which are direct responses to Ghanaians in the diaspora who want to remain in touch with home through their favourite foods.

"We cannot send them the raw materials like that for the process so I thought that we meet them halfway so that they can also have a feel of their local foods," Fafali said.

These products become a solution for formal sector working women who have little or no time to go shopping in the market as well as the long cooking hours.

Selasie products are very unit, they are organic, and they are prepared hygienically. They are products that can cut down on your food preparation times so that you can have time to do other things.

Selasie Farms and Groceries seeks to expand through research into other demand-driven food options.