…AS VENDORS SPEAK ON GTCO FOOD & DRINK HOLIDAY EDITION
By Okosun Dennis
The two-days GTCO Food and Drink Festival might have ended in the Mega City of Lagos, but the positive ripples will continue to linger even into the new year as attendees warmly commended the ingenuity of the successful event that gave excellent opportunity to access variety of cuisines.
GTCO Food & Drink Festival, which took place at GTCO Centre, No 1, Water Corporation Drive, Oniru in Victoria Island between December 20 and 21st, 2025, is an annual culinary event in Lagos, and showcased diverse food entrepreneurs, street food, and local cuisine.
It was simply a bang considering the time of the year, when shopping is at its apogee. Providing a free entry to the attendees gave a convivial atmosphere for family-friendly fun; which by extension, supported local businesses.
With over 200 vendors, live Disc Jockey (DJs), play station and an Amusement park for the little kids, the first-ever Holiday Edition 2025, will continue to resonate in the minds of those, especially the kids that participated maximally.
VENDORS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES
As fun seekers thrung the venue, some expressed their amazement with the array of facilities, the ambience and the various decorations, an excellent testament that stood GTCO out.
According to Mr Jeremiah Okechukwu Stephen, who sells Roasted corn (Maize), could not hide his feelings describing GTCO’s event as “a smart move as people want to celebrate Christmas and New Year in a special way, especially the opportunity they created for the vendors, which is a massive one for business growth and development.
“GTCO presents opportunity for people to have access to different foods and delicious delicacies like the corn that I am roasting. As a vendor, I must say both the first edition in April this year and this one in December, I have gained more both on the financial aspect and making good contacts for business to thrive.
“With this opportunity, I am already looking at bigger business – owing my mobile food shop or a kiosk of my own that I can sell to the highest capacity,” Mr Jeremiah Okechukwu Stephen reiterated.
To Halima Usman, owner of “The Sandwich Bar” with her slogan “Rich Satisfaction” and the Chief Executive Officer Miz Shona, “the Coconut Lady,” the joy of having a space in the GTCO Food and Drink Special Edition is enough testimony that is already opening more business frontiers and expanding her reach.
Halima Usman, who has been in business for four years, was at the GTCO event for the second time and has maintained that consistency in her line of business.
“GTCO is doing a great thing by helping small businesses to grow. GTCO is the only bank that provides this kind of service for small businesses to grow and expand. It is great, no competition here as everybody is selling his/her own in their unique form.
On the crowd trooping to buy off her unique product, her description of raising the bar and promoting her sales will go a long way in sustaining her business entreprise.
“It is a whole crowd. It is amazing. Yesterday was ‘crazy’ and today is even ‘madness”, Usman acknowledged
On her part, Oshim Ayokunlami, who deals on Sweet bottled Palm Wine with her slogan “A taste of nature, A sip of Culture” have different varieties of palmwine from the Palm drink to Raffia Palm drink.
According to her, “This is my first time at GTCO, describing her experience as awesome and encouraging business expansion, she explained that “Business has been thriving well since we arrived here. All palm is different from one another. Some people do not know that some differences exist.
“I thank GTCO for allowing us to come and showcase our products to the world. It is a very nice show and pray God will continue to help to sustain it”, Oshim Ayokunlami re-emphasized.
PARTICIPANTS EXPRESS MIXED FEELINGS
While some expressed satisfaction with the organisation and quality of products and the camaraderie between customers and vendors, some demand more from the organisers – GTCO.
To Amarachi, a student of School of Hospitality, Lekki-Lagos, being at the GTCO without being charged to access the venue and having the opportunity to look around different stands and products, is quite refreshing and amazingly great.
Caught buying roasted corn, she observed that as a seasonal snack, seeing it at GTCO was an opportunity to grab one and munch it without looking back. “I haven’t seen it on the streets for a while. I like corn and seeing it being roasted, I just couldn’t walk pass it without biting it.”
To Eromosele, a first time attendee at the event, acknowledged the fact that more of this kind is needed, not just in Lagos but other chosen states.
A student of the University of Benin, however complained that the organisers should provide more of their bottled water for the audience. “You have lots of children here. They play and needed to be hydrated. They can also provide more seating arrangements outside for those that want to seat. It’s really not good to stand all day long. More seats are needed apart from what they have provided. I saw a little girl being attended to by the medics. She suffered exhaustion. The weather is not friendly – it’s hot”, he noted.
With GTCO showing commitment to SME empowerment, providing participants, selected vendors, small business owners the platform to express themselves and further enlarging their visibility, and as GTCO continue to provide access to entrepreneurs, it is a rendezvous for revenue generation and growing their business strength.
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