Chinedu Onyejelem meets David Arowolo, who swapped the driver’s seat of a Dublin bus for a bakery as owner of Heritage Bread in Navan The town of Ijero, at the edge of Ekiti State in Nigeria’s southwest, may be famous for its agricultural products – especially cocoa, the raw material for chocolate. But it is also well known as a home for renowned educators and business people.
David Arowolo, a philosophy graduate of the University of Ibadan in Oyo State, is one of them. “I am not a philosopher,” he says, “but the training I acquired there gave me the basic opportunity of knowing more about life.
However, he is quick to add: “The training I acquired from my father made me a real businessman. I am proud to say I am a businessman to the core. Ever since I left school, I have always been involved in one business or other.”
Today, Arowolo is a successful entrepreneur in Ireland, as owner and operated of the Heritage Bread bakery in Navan, Co Meath which he started in November 2008.
Arowolo’s road to success would make a good Hollywood script. In 1999, he moved to Ireland in search of greener pastures. While working for someone else has never been his ideal in life, it was necessary to make ends meet. One of his first jobs was working in a bakery – and for Arowolo, it was a wish come true.
“My interest has been on bread-making ever since I was very young,” he says. “Back home in Nigeria, bread was one of the staple foods, probably followed by rice.
“Eating bread everyday as a young man made me love it, and I thought when I grew up I would love to produce much better bread for other people to eat. This is what I’m doing now.”
Of course his dream could not be realised immediately. In fact, before starting his bakery he had spent the previous four years as a driver with Dublin Bus. But in 2008 he took a career break to finally take the plunge into the bread-making business.
While the bus-driving job enabled him to save up the money needed to start his business, Arowolo still wasn’t comfortable with driving people around everyday.
“Generally being an employee of someone else’s wasn’t fun, but challenging. It is another world, entirely,” he says.
In contrast, being his own boss and doing his own thing is much more suitable for Arowolo. He finds the world of bread-making a fascinating one, and is very passionate about the craft.
“I am a born bread-maker,” he says. “I have a bit of natural skill, and I have acquired some more through training. I learned a bit about the bread trade in Nigeria, and here in Ireland I worked in a bakery where a very good bread is produced.”
But all the skill in the world won’t help if customers aren’t happy. Happily for Arowolo, his bread is proving popular, and he appreciates the support from his customers. Indeed, he’s more than willing to take their advice on board.
“I especially want to thank them for their patronage and understanding at all times,” he says. “Even when things were not really good, they stood behind Heritage Bread. Their loyalty helped us weather all the storms.”
Arowolo’s next step is to make Heritage Bread a household name throughout Ireland. “Heritage is predominantly consumed by Africans in the diaspora,” he explains, “but we are looking forward to extending into the Irish market in the near future.
“Heritage Bread is something I believe the Irish community is missing because our bread is exceptionally good – it is made in a very natural way.”
Arowolo’s career break from Dublin Bus comes to an end this year. But with his increasing success as a bread-maker, it remains to be seen whether he’ll return to a job behind the wheel.
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