Disruptive Voice: How Tolaram brought instant noodles to Nigeria

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July 10, 2018

A couple of years ago, I wrote about Tolaram, the makers of Indomie instant noodles. Since my post, the company has continued to grow its brand in Nigeria and has begun expanding operations to other African countries, including Ghana and South Africa. The development impact of Tolaram’s Indomie noodles has been significant. From providing hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue to creating tens of thousands of jobs in the country, Tolaram provides an example of how market-creating innovations generate wealth and trigger economic development.

In this Disruptive Voice podcast, produced by the Forum for Growth and Innovation at Harvard Business School,  Toloram Africa CEO, Deepak Singhal speaks with me about the importance of creating new markets for its products in Africa. In addition, Singhal explains the process the company undertakes while they are creating a new market in a frontier or emerging market. Finally, he talks about Tolaram’s approach to navigating the complex infrastructure and governance challenges they face in the economies where they have businesses operations.

Efosa Ojomo is a senior research fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, and co-author of The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty. Efosa researches, writes, and speaks about ways in which innovation can transform organizations and create inclusive prosperity for many in emerging markets.