Nigerian creates business exporting avocados and chillies from Rwanda to European supermarkets

Africa's agricultural potential is widely recognised. But how easy is it really to build an export business around it?

Seun Rasheed

Our new book, How we made it in Africa II: Real stories of entrepreneurs turning opportunity into profit, is available here. The book was recently shortlisted for the Business Council for Africa (BCA) African Business Book of the Year Awards 2026.

Interview with Seun Rasheed

FOUNDER AND CEO, SOUK FARMS

Lives in: Kigali, Rwanda

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Nigerian-born Seun Rasheed was working for oil giant Shell in Qatar when a holiday to Rwanda set him on a different path. During the trip, the wide gap between the local price of passion fruit and what it sold for in Europe caught his attention. He realised there was an opportunity to build an export business around that price gap.

Seven years later, SOUK Farms supplies Rwandan-grown produce – including avocados, chillies and beans – to supermarkets in Europe and the Middle East. How we made it in Africa editor-in-chief Jaco Maritz spoke to Rasheed about his entrepreneurial journey and the lessons he has learnt along the way.

Topics discussed during the interview include:

• How easy it is to start an agricultural export business in Africa

• Farming challenges: is Clarkson’s Farm accurate?

• How long SOUK Farms took to become profitable

• Why Rasheed chose Rwanda over Nigeria

• His key entrepreneurship lessons

Watch the full interview below: (only available on How we made it in Africa)