Ali Grema: The Multi-Dimensional  Entrepreneur

 
Ali Grema is a serial entrepreneur, Energy Analyst and youth leader whose entrepreneurial journey has seen him go from energy analyst to event curator to restaurateur and now fashion. In this interview with MARY NNAH, he talks about how it all started and his plans for the future
 
 
Tell us a bit about your background.

My name is Ali Grema. I am an Energy Analyst with an entrepreneurial drive which I attribute to my late father Alhaji Grema Mohammed being a multi-faceted business tycoon.
 
Even though I have a great passion for public service as an economist and policymaker it didn’t deter my thirst in engaging in the private sector realm. Over the years this drive has led me to successfully build brands in hospitality, entertainment, PR and now in Fashion. I am a Founder of JamRock Abuja Festival, which is Abuja’s Largest outdoor festival event, a founder of a restaurant and butchery BBQ Corner Restaurant by Fat Butcher North and my newest addition is a Pan African fashion brand “Ali Grema” with a focus on promoting fashion using local artisans fabrics with the hope of keeping the heritage alive by commercial it with more functional use of it.

I was born in Lagos, then when I was a teenager my family moved to Abuja and since then I live and thrive in Abuja.  I am an indigene of Borno State and Shuwa Arab by tribe. Also, my first degree is in Environmental Management from ATBU Bauchi and Master’s in Energy Economics and Policy from the University of Dundee UK. My personality revolves around having multiple passions, national pride, personal development, and philanthropy in my little way.
 
 
How did you come to be the person you are today?

The wait for my dream job led a group of five friends to create what the City of Abuja calls “JamRock”, from an event of 150 people JamRock Abuja Fest exponentially grew with consistency to an event of over 3,000 attendees. The quarterly event became the city’s most prolific and sort after event attracting people both nationals, locals and foreigners from far and wide. Over the years, I focused on building an image around my identity Ali Grema from service to PR to modelling to lifestyle/travels to JamRock as it is pivotal in boosting my businesses to come.
The new page; as everybody else, I woke up with the news of an outbreak that became a pandemic and I was left with only one revenue stream which is being a Public Servant. The question of how people who live by daily means would survive led me to start an informal food initiative for the less privileged during the lockdown to augment the adverse effect on the masses in the Abuja metropolis and to increase average food availability access to the poor. The initiative through social media channels led Good Samaritans to donate to support the less privileged during this tough period; for the little role we can play can make a huge difference.
These phenomena made me go back to the drawing board and re-strategise what my future should look like. The result is all geared towards Agriculture and the retail aspect of it as the demand for food is paramount during any crisis.
 
This prompted me to invest in a meat processing facility, a butchery retail store and a restaurant in 2021 leading to the creation of BBQ Corner Restaurant and Fat Butcher Abuja Franchise store in Maitama District of Abuja FCT, soon to be two years since inception.
As they say, expansion is key and charity begins at home, this led to my decision to rally partners for our second restaurant outlet to be in Kano City (JunkYard Kano) in 2022 which is a year old. This is an overview of my journey, through partnerships and drive I can move from a dreamer to an entertainer to a Public Servant to a philanthropist to a restauranteur and now a fashion designer.
 
My Pan African Fashion Brand intends to focus on locally made handcrafted fabrics such as Adire, Kano Saaka wool/Indigo fabric and Akwete etc, as a way of preserving the culture by creating a ready-to-wear use of these fabrics as it is trending globally. I recently concluded the Kano Dye Pit Summer Collection which sold out immediately.
 
 
What is your plan for the Ali Grema brand?

I am at an age where my decade-long experience and dedication in public service have made me an expert in public policy and economics in the energy sector as well as in the hospitality and entertainment industry. Rather than being behind the scenes, I will be taking the role of advocacy in making sure our Government lives up to its task by supporting both the hospitality and energy industry as it uplifts and impact the majority of the Nigerian Masses with livelihood and productivity. It is our joint responsibility to play our path no matter how little, even though I will keep up my entrepreneurial drive.