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When Olubunmi Aderinsola Yahya, 25, arrived at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria to do her degree in Aquaculture and Fisheries Management in the Department (DAFM), she had no idea that it might one day lead to her becoming a millionaire.

After all, for a long time, many aspiring university students avoided the department partly because of their disdain for aquaculture and fisheries management, or because it wasn't one of the fashionable courses on the campus of Nigeria's oldest university.

"For many years, we struggled to attract students to the department," recalls Professor Emmanuel Kolawole Ajani, outgoing director of the DAFM.

Like many other students in her class, Ms Yahya set to work learning essential skills such as entrepreneurship, fisheries extension and economics, post-harvest utilization and biodiversity management, environmental management and conservation of renewable natural resources.

"My main focus was on my studies. When I finished my bachelor's degree, I decided to continue with a master's degree, which I completed in August 2018," she says.

By the time Yahya completed her Master's degree, she was already immersed in the practice of marketing the department's smoked fish products. To reinforce the entrepreneurial skills of DAFM students, interested learners can undertake the sale of smoked fish and receive 10% of the proceeds in return. The remainder is deposited in the university account and used for maintenance.

On the way to becoming a millionaire

Although Aderinsola Yahya had taken many relevant fishing courses, she was very interested in marketing and customer relations.

"When I was marketing the department's products, I developed a broad customer base and kept in close contact with my customers," explains the young entrepreneur. This close bond has won her the affection of her customers.

"That's mainly why I started thinking about setting up my own business. I had a market, a customer base and knowledge of fish farming."

In 2015, this native of Abeokuta, Ogun State founded her company, Bspice Products and services limited.

When she decided to go it alone, she put her vision beyond university, partly because she wanted a market to match her grand ambitions. Ibadan, some 150 kilometers north of the economic capital Lagos, has a population of around 2.5 million. This represents an important market for edible products, including fish and other sources of protein.

"When I started out, I introduced my products to existing customers. Later, I extended my deliveries to supermarkets."

To traditional marketing approaches, she brought her strengths in social media to attract new customers.

"Around 60 million buyers in Nigeria use social media. It's a big market and that's how we've penetrated and pushed our products through our social media connections."

Overall, BSpice Fish produces and markets smoked fish and other processed fish products such as Fish Snack Pack, fish oil, fish powder, fish spices and chunk catfish. As its customer base has grown, it has diversified its products. Today, it also processes and packages other products for cooking local dishes such as "okro", "ogbono" and "egusi" soup.

Monthly income is now estimated at between 2 and 2.5 million naira for B spicefish. This is approximately (USD 4,000).

Income, she says, tends to increase with festive periods such as the Muslim fasting period (Ramadan). "Based on our accounting, we have already generated close to 1.6 million Naira," she said when we met on May 16, 2019, on the campus of the University of Ibadan. Ramadan has been observed in all Muslim communities since May 5, 2019.

When CORAF and the Programme de productivité agricole en Afrique de l'Ouest (PPAAO) linked up with DAFM in 2013, producing future entrepreneurs was not a central priority.

DAFM, alongside the University of Buea in Cameroon and the University of Njalah in Sierra Leone, won a sponsored project. A multi-donor trust fund financed the project under the direction of CORAF.

The main aim of the project was to enable these three universities to further integrate fish farming research. The revolutionary nature of the results of this adaptive research project and the exceptional approach with which they were generated, as well as their level of uptake, led to buy-in from all stakeholders.

Not only has the University of Ibadan supported the department in extending the results, but many people in Nigeria and West Africa have also embraced the practice, including Aderinsola Yahya.

"I'm a product of integrated fish farming. Not only have I studied it, I've also practiced it," says Aderinsola Yahya.

Today, Aderinsola Yahya is an employer. She manages a team of six and operates six large ponds with a capacity of around 1,500 catfish at a time. Given the growing demand, she operates a year-round farm. When she runs out of fish, she turns to other farmers for supplies. She also partners with MAPA to supply fish when there is a shortage.

Her unique story has attracted development organizations who have invited her to international conferences to talk about her experience and motivate young people around the world.

Aderinsola Yahya, who just got married towards the end of 2018, is looking forward to his new passion as an aquaculture entrepreneur and fish farming consultant.

Over 50,000 people in Nigeria have adopted integrated aquaculture (fish, rice, poultry and pig production). Development organizations and research institutes such as WorldFish, FAO, etc. are also seeking to establish partnerships with the University of Ibadan's aquaculture department. This technology has enhanced the university's reputation.