Unemployed Graduate Who Started Catfish Farming With N200,000 Now A Millionaire

Nov 2nd, 2016 – Unemployed Federal Poly Ilaro Graduate Who Started Catfish Farming With N200,000 Now A Millionaire

Catfish business is helping young Nigerians to earn extra income and put more food on the table, as typified by Abiodun Eniola, who runs a fishery business, raising catfish.

If there is an entrepreneur recording success in fisheries business, Abiodun Eniola is one. Life has changed dramatically for him since he took up fish farming. Staying focused, he has grown his aquaculture business in the same way nature grows a tree.

He studied Urban and Regional Planning from the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, where he obtained in HND (distinction).

“ I did my Post-Graduate Diploma in the same course at Yaba College of Technology in 2011. I got into agribusiness (catfish farming specifically) six months after my National Youth Service around June 2008.”

Going into fish farming was not his first preference as a vocation. Like any other youth of his age, Eniola had dreamt of securing a job. Despite his good result, he could not bag any. Instead of losing patience, he tried his luck in fish farming.

His words:

“ The idea came through my inability to secure a white collar job after my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). I was offered a job in a poultry and catfish farm as a poultry attendant. I discovered that I was more passionate taking care of catfish more than laying birds in our farm. My passion led me to seek for more knowledge outside what I was taught an our farm. I worked in that farm for more than six years and my highest salary ever was N25,000, probably because I was not a professional in the field of agriculture. Yet I needed to earn more to meet my rising expenditure.”

He started with N200,000, being his entire life savings. He felt confident that he could get back the investment within two years. Today, the business is big with three direct and up to seven other indirect staff. He has 15 ponds. He is happy, working hard to take care of the fish so they grow quickly from baby fish into large fish that people can eat.

With more than eight years’ experience in the business, Eniola said fish farming business is profitable.

”I was also privileged to get information on expenditure and Income of the farm. I concluded that catfish farming is more profitable than poultry, easier to set up and requires minimum fixed capital.”