The Lives Tied to Hers
About
In 2016, while still working in banking, Dr. Rita Brodie-Mends started selling eggs with ₦35,000 and 50 crates. What began as a small business grew into a wider food-production operation, including Taroona Margarine and a bakery supplying products for airline catering.
But this is not simply a story of business growth. As the company expanded, Rita faced the difficult realities of manufacturing and doing business in Nigeria, from financing and logistics to costly setbacks that made her question whether she should continue.
At the heart of her decision to keep going are the people whose livelihoods have become tied to the business: employees, their families, and distributors who depend on its products. This documentary explores how a personal ambition grew into a responsibility shared with many others.
Editorial context
This story matters because it looks beyond the familiar narrative of entrepreneurial success to examine the people and responsibilities behind a growing business. Through Rita’s experience, the film explores the human stakes of building and sustaining a local manufacturing business in Nigeria.
Documentary25 minReleased 20 October 2026
Film details
- Featured
Dr. Rita Ejelehi Brodie-Mends
Nigerian entrepreneur and founder of HGV Foods Nigeria Limited, whose journey from selling eggs while working in banking to building a food-production business has created livelihoods for others.