Rotimi Williams is a 39 year old dedicated entrepreneur and rice farmer who owns the second largest farm in Nigeria by land size. Former journalist, now owns Kereksuk rice farm which started in 2012. The farm is located in Nasarawa, Lagos and sits on 45,000 hectares with over 600 employees. In a country where the citizens consume more than 6 million metric tons of rice a year, with a large portion being gotten from other countries. Williams aims to change that, because he believes Nigeria can attain self- sufficiency in rice production in the near future, says Forbes.
Start Up
Williams revealed that he did not start up on his own but became a part-owner of about 17,296 hectares of farmland where he agreed to share the profits made from the farm produce. He started a Structured Trade and Commodity Finance company with his partner. After a while he started consulting for small agriculture companies seeking to raise capital both locally and internationally. This was how the idea of the Kereksuk rice farm started.
Challenge
Williams was challenged with instilling peaceful coexistence between his workers and a largely permanent Fulani community. This led to the creation of a tech startup designed to bridge the gap between volatile agricultural communities in rural Nigeria and security agencies.
