Thanks to La Cocina and Opportunity Fund for this story!
Chiefo Chukwudebe launched her West African catering business – Chiefo’s Kitchen – in 2009 at La Cocina‘s Street Food Festival. It was one of the busiest booths! But in order to sell so much food, Chiefo also had to spend quite a lot of money to prepare for it – so much, in fact, that when 2011’s Street Food Festival rolled around, Chiefo was apprehensive about whether she would have enough capital to secure a booth and purchase the necessary ingredients.
“It came down to: ‘Should I pay rent or should I be in the Street Food Festival?’ I thought I would have to skip the festival and lose the chance to grow my business,” recalls Chiefo. Opportunity Fund and La Cocina have a strong working relationship, so the team at La Cocina knew they could put Chiefo in safe hands when they referred her to Opportunity Fund for a loan. “I couldn’t believe it at first. It seemed too good to be true! It was the right loan that came at the right time.” With her $3,000 loan from Opportunity Fund secured, Chiefo’s Kitchen was even more successful her second time in the Street Food Festival, grossing $12,000 in sales.
Since then, Chiefo has gone on to launch her own catering business, serving delicious West African dishes to private parties and corporate events throughout the Bay Area. The next time you need catering for a business or personal event, please consider Chiefo’s Kitchen! With her $3,000 loan, Opportunity Fund was able to help Chiefo invest in her business at just the right time. We’re in the business of saying “yes” and we love to see what happens to these Opportunity Funded businesses as they thrive.
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