Supplying the American market with Nigerian superfoods

He felt that he could capitalise on it due to his unique advantage hailing from one country, and living in the other.

In 2011, armed with contacts he had made during internships in college and freelance work as a digital marketer, he secured a few distribution contracts for fashion apparel manufacturers in the US and returned home to Nigeria to market and distribute the clothing there.

Bringing those products into Africa was a whole other journey.

He played first at his college, where he earned a communications degree, and later the Los Angeles Galaxy.

However, today, at the age of 35, he spends his days talking to smallholder farmers back in northern Nigeria, convincing them to cultivate and grow hibiscus flowers for Afrivana, the company he founded in 2019.

Afrivana markets and distributes African superfood products, with dried hibiscus flowers as its highvolume offering.

Afrivanas products are sold in bulk or as private and whitelabelled items to clients in the US, UK, and select Latin American countries like Nicaragua.

The change in career path came when the young Bako saw an opportunity for trade between the US and Nigeria.