#FoundersConnect: Mariam Jimoh, CEO & Founder of Oja (Ethnic Grocery Delivery Startup)

Mariam Jimoh is the founder and CEO of Oja, a one-stop shop for cultural foods. Oja’s mission is to radically reshape groceries and make foods from all cultures accessible from anywhere in the world. Mariam was recognized in the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Technology list, and her company also recently raised 3.4 million dollars in funding.

In this interview, Mariam shares her life and journey with us. From being born to Nigerian parents to learning all the useful skills that helped her in her entrepreneurship journey along to way, to founding a food startup that connects Afrocarribean people in the diaspora with ingredients to help them cook beloved meals from their home countries.

Watch Here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6t3eDO_3P0&ab_channel=PeaceItimi

Video Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

1:58 - Favourite Memory Growing Up

2:48 - The Journey to building Oja

8:14 - Lessons from University and Internships

10:00 - Companies founded before Oja

11:27 - Proudest Moment

12:44 - Experience Outsourcing

16:13 - The turning point for the Business

17:03 - Most exciting and frustrating aspect of running Oja

20:13 - Experience Raising Funds

22:07 - Experience Running the Company, the delights, and surprises.

24:30 - How she approaches Teambuilding

26:53 - Things she would have done differently

27:43 - What Inspires Her

29:10 - What she looks forward to in the future.

29:45 - Three Lessons she's learned along the way

32:00 - Advice to other black women