The owner of the Restaurant Placali Abouré recently shared her journey as a culinary entrepreneur and the secrets to her financial success.
In a Facebook post, Véronique Vonan Ahoussi, the founder of the VEVO group, unveiled how she became a millionaire starting with an initial investment of XOF 29,700. She claims to have realized her dream. From a simple civil servant, she has become the owner of two large restaurants, valued at over 50 million. “I started the Placali Abouré Restaurant with XOF 29,700. Here’s how: I had already been employed for seven years in a state-owned company. My passion for staying active drove me to look for ways to earn more, as my salary was not sufficient. In 2018, I ventured into professional makeup, a very profitable sector. I was earning enough to live comfortably with my salary.
In February 2020, I became pregnant, with a high-risk pregnancy requiring cerclage. I found myself bedridden, unable to go to work or practice professional makeup.
During my pregnancy in June 2020, I craved Placali from my aunt, who had been selling Placali on the roadside for 10 years. While enjoying her dish, an idea struck me: to sell Placali online. Her Placali was too good to be sold just by the roadside.
I proposed a deal to my aunt: she would prepare her dishes for XOF 1,500 and I would sell them for XOF 2,500. For this, I needed a budget of XOF 29,700 to start the activity. Here’s the budget breakdown: 2 packs of bowls for packaging at XOF 5,500, fuel at XOF 5,000 for the trip to Adjamé, creating a web page with a photo and sponsorship at XOF 13,000 for the week, packaging bags at XOF 700. Total: XOF 29,700. I already had Wi-Fi at home.
My aunt prepared the dishes in bowls, and we had partner delivery services available to us. Orders were placed via the web page I had created with sponsorship.
We sold an average of 40 dishes a day, including tchep and abolo. I was earning between XOF 50,000 and XOF 80,000 per day without any additional investment. In a week, we made an average of XOF 300,000, and this lasted for 1 year,” says Véronique Vonan.
She continued by revealing that she then opened her first restaurant. “Thanks to the savings made, I was able to open the first restaurant located at Riviera Jules Verne, with an investment of XOF 4,000,000. At the restaurant, we served an average of 100 dishes a day. My aunt gave up her roadside activity to join me in this adventure as the main cook,” she added.
And as life is not always as we want, at one point she had to close the restaurant before reopening it later. “I was forced to close the restaurant later for two reasons: the demand exceeded the supply, and the owner of the premises wanted to use the space for other purposes.
With the savings from the first restaurant, I opened a second one in Bonoumin, with an investment of XOF 18,000,000. Once again, the demand was high, averaging 350 dishes per day.
With new savings, we opened another establishment in Marcory zone 4, with an investment of XOF 30,000,000, with our own funds. Today, Le Placali abouré has 02 large restaurants in Abidjan.
She also revealed that over time, she opened other restaurants outside of Ivory Coast. “We also plan to open another restaurant in the country soon, as well as a franchise in Europe, a call center, a headquarters, and 60 employees, plus a 4-hectare cassava field and a future mobile application.
We’ve also started in the agribusiness with the brand Odê (natural pineapple juice, red palm oil, Placali powder, Foutou powder, dried pineapple), which will soon be available. I created VOVE GROUP (the initials of my name) to legally manage and frame all my activities. Vove Group’s brands include Le Placali abouré, Odê, the House of Events, Vove Construction.
Starting from XOF 29,700, I was able, thanks to God, to realize my dream! Placali is now marketed in France (where I ship 100 dishes a week), in Canada, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, in Africa (Guinea, Gabon, Burkina), and other places. I quit my job as a Training Officer in a state-owned company to focus on my activity.
It’s not necessary to start big. Little by little, I built my network and developed my customer portfolio. Testimonials and customer loyalty have been a great support for me,” says Véronique.
To conclude, she revealed that she is writing her first book on entrepreneurship. “I bet on the quality of my product. Currently, I am writing my book on entrepreneurship. I give lectures and Master Classes on brand development.
Dream big! Add value to your product, believe in yourself and your potential! I come from a modest family. I grew up in a popular neighborhood like ‘le Remblais’, where I learned humility and to appreciate what I had. Compare yourself to no one… Pray a lot, because not all customers are necessarily clients… Pray for a great team that shares your vision.”