Nestle Nigeria has urged operators and attendants under its My Own Business (MYOWBU) initiative to move beyond daily sales and build sustainable businesses through disciplined financial management, good customer service, hygiene and responsible waste disposal.
The call was made on Thursday at the 2026 MYOWBU Engagement and Environmental Awareness Initiative 2.0 workshop, held under the theme, “From Pushing Cart to Building a Business.”
The initiative, supported by Nestlé Professional, is designed to provide young people with the tools, skills and opportunities to operate mobile beverage businesses selling products including MILO, NESCAFÉ and Golden Morn.
Speaking at the workshop, Business Manager, Nestlé Professional, Awelenje Ibraheem, said that the gathering was aimed at strengthening the relationship among Nestlé, distributors, operators and attendants, while creating an avenue to share ideas and improve business practices.
He said that 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 continued to receive quality and safe products.
Ibraheem stressed that although Nestlé works with the operators, the businesses ultimately belong to the operators and should be managed with the mindset of business owners.
“It is your business. Yes, we are doing it together, but eventually it is your business,” he said.
He also emphasised the importance of trust and quality, noting that consumers 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.
GIK/APA