By Sumaila Ogbaje

For many families, a loaf of bread on the breakfast table is an everyday essential as well as a means to fight unemployment and promote community development.

This is the belief of an engineer and Entrepreneur, Mr Henry Dakpokpo, who just unveiled what he called the “Bread Box” in Apo area of the Federal Capital Territory.

Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, Dakpokpo said the Bread Box was an innovation by Platterz Bakery to create jobs in many neighbourhoods across the country.

He said that he is using a solar-powered, mobile bakery to create jobs and bring affordable bread closer to the people.

He said the project was designed to address two major national challenges which are unemployment and access to basic needs.

“We discovered that rent and logistics costs make bread expensive in many communities.

“So we decided to build our own movable, containerised bakery that can operate anywhere, powered entirely by solar energy.

“It helps us save costs, employ more young people, and bring bread closer to the people, ” he said.

Dakpokpo said the idea was not just about profit but about providing meaningful employment.

“Unemployment is at the root of many social problems — robbery, drug abuse, and other vices,” he noted.

“If people are gainfully employed, they won’t have time for such activities. Each Bread Box location will employ between 12 and 15 young people directly, and more indirectly as distributors.

“So far, Platters Bakery employs about 92 workers across the country and plans to expand to ten Bread Box locations by the end of next year.

“Every community we enter, we’re taking young people off the streets and giving them a source of livelihood. That’s what keeps us going,” he added.

The entrepreneur disclosed that each bread box was a fully equipped, modern bakery housed in a repurposed container and powered completely by solar panels.

According to him, it allows for on-site baking from dough mixing to packaging so customers can buy fresh bread straight from the oven.

“It is mobile, clean, and environmentally friendly. We’re not on the national grid at all, everything runs on solar,” he said.

According to him, each bread box represents hope, a small but scalable model for national development.

“Our dream is to see Nigerian youths engaged, empowered, and contributing meaningfully to the economy.

“If we can meet people’s daily needs while creating jobs, then we are truly building the nation from the grassroots,” he said.

For many residents, the bread box has made life easier.

Mr Bala Hasley, a resident near one of the outlets, told NAN that the initiative had changed how people access basic food in his community.

Hasley believes the concept supports the Federal Government’s push for inclusive economic growth through small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

“I saw when they started building it; I didn’t know what it was, but now I come here every evening for fresh bread. It is convenient, it is affordable, and you can see that they employ people from our area.

“That is how the economy should work through local production and local consumption.

“What this government wants is for people to be productive, to create jobs and reduce dependence.

“If the government can support more of these innovations with grants or tax incentives, we’ll have more people employed and less pressure on the cities,” he said.

Hasley commended the bakery for the innovation, adding that they used high premium materials in baking the bread.

He urged the bakery to sustain the standard to be able to achieve the objective of job creation and meeting customers expectations. (NAN)