Monica Musonda
Interview with Monica Musonda
FOUNDER and CEO, JAVA FOODS
Lives in: Lusaka, Zambia
Before starting her own business, Zambia-born Monica Musonda, a lawyer by training, worked in Nigeria for Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man. She has described the experience as equivalent to doing an MBA.
After many years in law, she transitioned into business and, in 2012, founded Java Foods, the company behind the Eezee Noodles brand of instant noodles. Today, the company sells more than four million packs a month and exports to neighbouring countries.
Jaco Maritz spoke to Musonda about building the business – and the lessons she took from her time working with Dangote.
Topics discussed during the interview include:
- What she learned from working with Aliko Dangote
- Why she chose instant noodles as her first product
- How she got the business off the ground with limited experience
- The toughest parts of building Java Foods
- What she would do differently if starting over
Watch the full interview below: (only available on howwemadeitinafrica.com)
Interview Summary
After earning a law degree from the University of Zambia, Monica Musonda began her career in the public sector, working at the office of Zambia’s Attorney General. She then moved to the UK to complete a master’s degree at the University of London.
In 2000, she was back on the continent after accepting a job with Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs – now ENSafrica – in Johannesburg, South Africa. Starting as an associate, she moved through the ranks to become a director and led the firm’s operations in Africa, advising clients such as mobile operator MTN, financial services firm Old Mutual and energy company Sasol on expansion projects.
But Musonda was seeking international experience, which is why, in 2006, she accepted a job with the International Finance Corporation in Washington DC.
In 2008, she left to join the Dangote Group in Nigeria, founded by Aliko Dangote – widely regarded as Africa’s wealthiest person. Dangote started out by trading in products such as sugar, rice and pasta, and over the past 50 years built the company into a pan-African conglomerate with interests in cement, food, and oil refining.
Musonda describes her experience at the Dangote Group as similar to doing an MBA. She credits Dangote for inspiring her to take the leap into entrepreneurship.
From lawyer to entrepreneur
In 2012, after many years living outside Zambia, Musonda returned to Lusaka to start Java Foods.
“I really felt that I wanted to do something at home. I really felt that if we’re expecting others to come and develop our countries and make change, then we are going to be very disappointed. I wanted to really be part of the development of Zambia.”
Despite having no background in Zambia’s food industry, which is dominated by multinationals, Musonda and her team moved ahead with their first product: instant noodles branded Eezee Noodles. She was inspired by the success of instant noodles in Nigeria and believed the concept could work in Zambia. The country also produced plenty of wheat, which could be used in manufacturing.
Eezee Noodles on a supermarket shelf.
Initially, Java Foods imported noodles from China and packaged them locally.
Within three years, Eezee Noodles had become the country’s leading instant noodle brand.
That success did not come without missteps. In the early days, Musonda assumed most consumers would already be familiar with instant noodles and under-budgeted for marketing.
Her takeout from this is the importance of having a clear understanding of what consumers want, and how much they are willing to pay for it. Introducing completely new concepts can be risky business.
To build awareness, Java Foods began attending children’s events to demonstrate how to prepare the noodles and give people the chance to taste them.
The company also had to learn how to build a distribution network, working with wholesalers and navigating informal retail systems. Today, about 70% of Java Foods’ products are sold through informal retail outlets, with the remainder going to modern retailers.
Scaling up
In 2018, Java Foods raised about $5 million from investors, which enabled the company to build a factory and begin manufacturing noodles in Zambia using locally sourced wheat.
The company now sells more than four million packs of instant noodles per month.
If given the chance to start the company again, Musonda says she would have introduced more products in the early stages of the business. Introducing new brands is now a major focus for Java Foods’ future growth.
If she had the chance to start this again, she says she also would have let some employees go quicker. “I think we were kind and polite. We kept a lot of people who perhaps didn’t help us in our growth.”
The company has begun exporting its products to neighbouring Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Tanzania.
