Africa's Fashion and Beauty Industry

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Editor’s MESSAGE Positioning Africa as the Next Frontier for Global Fashion Brands and Retail

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he advent of the social space has brought the world closer to the people of Africa. Our rich culture is gaining traction around the globe. The ingenuity of the men and women in Africa’s creative industries – music, movies, dance, cuisine, fashion and rich culture attracts the world to the Motherland. To finish strong, we must not relent; we must not falter. Our adversities are the key to our opportunities.

commitment to be the epicenter of undiluted business publication in Africa is unwavering.

Happy reading!

As we all know, the global buzz on Africa’s fashion styles and brands has been remarkable and noteworthy. Notable designers around the globe are now embracing vibrant color palate of African fabrics. The ingenuity, creativity and inspiration from African designers are finally gaining reputation across the world’s fashion stage.

In this edition of Business Elites Africa, we are proud to present some of the pacesetters in Africa’s fashion industry. These brilliant minds are continuously showcasing the rich and diverse culture of the continent in their patterns and themes.

At Business Elites Africa, we are motivated by our mission to be the voice to the vibrant men and women of our continent. To this end, we have assembled a team of talented and passionate subject-matter-experts to lead the vision. Our continued success would not be possible without our team.

We are humbled by our success thus far, and inspired by our vision for the future. Our ETHELBERT NWANEGBO Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Disclaimer: The information on this magazine is for information purposes only. Business Elites Africa Magazine assumes no liability or responsibility for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All information can be withdrawn or changed without notice. Whilst every care has been taken in producing the information on this magazine, this does not guarantee the accuracy of the information. Business Elites Africa is not responsible for any opinion, expressed by its authors. Materials contained on this magazine are subject to copyright and other proprietary rights. No material on this magazine can be reproduced, adapted, distributed or stored in a retrievable system or transmission without a prior written consent from Business Elites Africa Magazine. © 2020 Business Elites Africa Magazine. All rights reserved.

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table

of

Contents

I N T E RV I E W S

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10

Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu Ethiopia

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Cameroon

Tara Fela-Durotoye

Mudiagha Clement Enajemo

Nigeria

Nigeria

Tanzania

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Tammy Nott

Ally Rehmtullah

Mai Atafo Nigeria

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22

Imane Ayissi

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Namibia

Kilo Francis Abiola Nigeria

ARTICLES

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Inside Africa's Blossoming Fashion & Beauty Industry; An Overview

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Aba Market: The Workings of West Africa's Largest Fashion Hub

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10 Emerging Fashion & Beauty Entrepreneurs in Africa

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Joy Adenuga

Oluwatosin Ogundadegbe

Nigeria

Nigeria

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Precious Okoye

Chidinma Chukwuemeka

Nigeria

48 Opara Nwaeze James Nigeria

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Evans Akere Nigeria

Nigeria

50 Thokozile Mangwiro South Africa

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I N T E RV I E W S

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Ikechukwu Urum Nigeria

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10 African Fabrics & their Fascinating Stories

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Why Do Big Fashion Brands Ignore Africa?

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Top Fashion Destinations in Africa

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Meet Africa’s “rebel” Fashion Entrepreneur – Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu BY: RUTH OKWUMBU

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orn into a community where people worked day and night for meagre pays and lived in abject poverty, Bethlehem decided early in life that she was going to build something that would enga ge the locals’ productively whilst creating a sustainable wealth for them and herself.

She has done exactly that with SoleRebels. Interestingly, hardly did she know from the beginning that her dream / vision was going to cause a huge disr uption in the African fashion industry.

Today, Bethlehem is the Founder and CEO of SoleRebels, the very first global footwear brand to ever emerge from a developing nation! Her company is also the world’s first Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

and only World Fair Trade Federation (WFTO) FAIR TRADE certified footwear company and the first truly African brand to become an international job creation powerhouse. SoleRebels’ international stores are projected to create hundreds of jobs in the countries where they are currently located.

remarkable skills were, unfortunately, not being adequately maximised. Bethlehem saw this arrangement as a skewed one where skilled individuals had to suffer poverty, when the skills should have been converted to wealth in the long-term. She had to change that.

How she Started SoleRebels A Look at her early years Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu was the first child and only female of the four children born to her parents. Zenebework, where she grew up, was a small, impoverished rural community in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city. But there was something unique about this place, and that’s the fact that it had lots of hardworking artisans whose 8

Fresh out of college in Addis Ababa in 2005, she sourced capital from her husband and members of her immediate family, with which she mobilized artistically-gifted members of her community and founded SoleRebels.

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across several countries, both directly and indirectly, generating a means of livelihood and creating long-term wealth.

All of SoleRebels shoes are hand-crafted strictly using Ethiopian craft practices such as hand-spun organic cotton and artisan hand-loomed fabric, while all of its raw materials are sourced locally. The brand has earned accolades for utilising a production process that is zero carbon production and very eco-sensitive.

The products have presence in over 30 countries including Singapore, Switzerland and Taiwan, courtesy of international ecommerce sites selling anywhere from $20 to $100. The company also has its state-ofthe-art, fully ecommerce enabled global website www.solerebelsfootwear.co from where it receives orders.

Although SoleRebels does not declare revenue publicly, becoming one of the top 5 finalists of the 2011 edition of the prestigious Legatum Africa Awards For Entrepreneurship ssuggests that SoleRebels may have annual revenues anywhere between $1 million - $15 million.

Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu Has Won many Awards Choosing the name SoleRebels came naturally in line with the idea which Bethlehem sought to create. Practically, all SoleRebels shoes are redesigns and reimaginations of the famous Selate and Barabasso shoe, a traditional shoe famously worn by Ethiopian rebel fighters who vehemently opposed western forces from colonizing the country. The shoe soles were made from recycled tyres and had a longterm durability as a result. This is one of the reasons why Bethlehem retained that idea.

There was also the assortment of locallysourced natural fiber ingredients such as the ancient Koba plant (an indigenous plant which has been cultivated in Ethiopia for over several thousand years) and organic Abyssinian jute fiber which has become a major ingredient in creating the mid-soles of SoleRebels shoes.

With these local weapons in hand, Bethlehem set out on a “rebel mission” – to reconstruct a picture of what footwears should be. The concept was in itself rebellious, a deviation from the norm.

Where some entrepreneurs were importing Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

ideas from the western world to start and sustain their businesses locally, Bethlehem took from her local community to the world.

“When I started SoleRebel several years ago, I didn’t know that it would be big or international, but I knew that I had to start something special for me and people around me. When we started marketing locally, people were not really amazed because it was the same thing they had been seeing around for ages, but when I started sending them into the international market, the reception was amazing,” she said in an interview with African Dream.

SoleRebels’s Unique Business Model Today, SoleRebels locally produces footwear that are a strong mix of ancient Ethiopian culture with subtle undertones of modern, western design influences. Hand-crafted and comfortable eco-friendly sandals, slip-ons and lace-up shoes are some of the products for which SoleRebels is now internationally acclaimed. From 5-staff in 2005, the company now employs thousands of people 9

Bethlehem is one of Africa’s most recognizable female entrepreneurs with several awards on her shelf. In June 2011, she was awarded the ‘Most Outstanding Businesswoman’ at the annual African Business Awards organized by African Business Magazine, and in November, she w a s n a m e d t h e ‘ M o s t Va l u a b l e Entrepreneur’ at the 2011 Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW).

Her love for promoting the Ethiopian culture can again be seen in the Garden of Coffee, a brand which locally produces hand-roasted Ethiopian coffee done by local artisans.

Bethlehem says that she thrives in business by identifying her weaknesses and carrying out targeted hiring, where talents are hired to fill the gap. “This has allowed me to hit new levels of performance” she says.

Some describe the shoe brand as the “Nike of Africa”, and a proof that outstanding innovations can originate from developing nations. w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

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How MUDI built Africa’s fashion empire from Scratch BY: DIMEJI AKINLOYE

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hen Mudiagha Clement Enajemo moved to Lagos, Nigeria, in 1990, he had no idea it was his promised land. He secured a job but lost it in eight months, leaving him in despair and devastated, not knowing it was fate rerouting his journey. Thankfully, some friends raised money for him to register as an apprentice at a roadside tailoring workshop where he learnt the skill that bailed him out of poverty.

In this interview, Mudi shares insightful b u s i n e s s g r ow t h t i p s f o r b u d d i n g fashionpreneurs who are struggling to navigate the fashion industry in Africa.

From a one-bedroom apartment in Lagos, Enajemo built MUDI Africa, becoming the ďŹ rst Nigerian fashion designer to open stores outside the shores of the country. The

Q: You have built a one-of-a-kind fashion empire in Africa, you have clothed the high and mighty of the society. How did it all start?

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brand now has a footprint in Ghana, Kenya, Ivory Coast and South Africa.

The Afrocentric designer has clothed presidents, celebrities and kings, including the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI who once visited his showroom in Lagos.

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A: I started in September 1993 from the scratch. No structure, no Godfather; no capital. I moved into Lagos in 1990 and worked with an uncle of mine for about eight months. When I lost that job, I began to live on the goodwill of friends and others.

When the opportunity showed up, I attached myself with an established roadside tailor, to learn how to cut and know a good stitch. I think what I have in me is the ability to create, to imagine. You don't learn creativity, it has to be in you. You can only learn tailoring.

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I N T E RV I E W

Social media is helping now unlike when I started. I built my business through pure hard work. I grew through creativity, referrals, and what have you. These days, upcoming designers focus more on the packaging which is the social media thing and there is no substance. Social media is good but when you focus too much on it, it makes you lose the substance that you need for the job.

Q: How did you transit from that humble beginning to where you are now?

A: First of all, you must be creative and above all, if I make money I put money back into the business. That's why I said discipline is key. I get to my office 7am every day since I started the business (27 years ago). I’m married to my job. It’s what you put in that you get. That’s why people don’t believe that I’m only into fashion because they don’t believe that you can do one thing and do it well enough to achieve so much success.

When I was working to get my first shop in 1997, RMD - Richard Mofe Damijo (iconic Nollywood actor) came to my rescue. He paid for the first shop which was N47,000. I worked from my one-room apartment in Ketu (a Lagos suburb) from 1993 to 97.

Little after, I was able to pay for a shop in Anthony (area of Lagos), for three months I didn’t move in because I was working hard to raise more money for the painting and other essentials. I started off there with only one sewing machine. As I made money, I put it back into the business. It’s a process. Some Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

designers want to be like me but they have just put four years into the work. The likes of Giorgio Amani are still working at their old age. But most people are always in a hurry.

Before you go into business, you must have what I call the PDD – Passion, drive and discipline, and that’s after the creative ability.

Q: What happened after you moved into that shop in 1997?

A: I was there for two years but could not raise money to renew my rent. The money I had could only cover six months’ rent, and I pleaded with my landlord to let me pay for six months but he refused. He said if I couldn’t pay for 1 year I should quit. He gave me one month grace period to raise the balance. So I started doing daily savings and luckily I was able to raise the balance. I continued to put money back into the business. Later, I moved the business to a two-bedroom apartment, then I rented another two-bedroom apartment in the same building and merged them to occupy a bigger space. Then, I bought my first generator for N1.7 million. I bought the second generator for the same amount. And all the while, my residential apartment remained one-bedroom. I wanted to consolidate my business before my personal comfort. I was finally able to move my residence into a two-bedroom apartment, and later opened my first store outside Nigeria in Accra, Ghana. That’s why I tell new designers to focus on the structure first and not the fame 11

Q: When did you start having big breaks?

A: When I started opening outlets outside Nigeria. After I opened Accra, I moved to Nairobi, Kenya, from there to Johannesburg, South Africa, then I opened Dakar, Senegal outlet in 2011 but the business did not do well there so I shut it down. Then I opened in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in 2018. In all of these locations, the Ghana outlet was more favourable when I opened it because of their free tax policy at the time. That really helped. And any country I go to, I first go to the Nigerian embassy there to seek the blessing of the ambassador before I make any moves. Plus, all the clothes we sell in these locations are made in Lagos. I have to do exports.

Q: What inspires you?

A: Apart from talent, discipline and humility are key as well. In this part of the world, people get carried away easily with success.

So three things have always helped me creative ability, discipline and humility.

Q: Why did you specialise in menswear?

A: I started with making clothes for men and women. I stopped making for women years ago because I wanted to understand the man's body chemistry and how to dress them. If a man walks into my office today, I will know your size, I learned that over the years. I figured I have been focused on menswear. I wanted to do well at one thing. w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

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TARA FELA-DUROTOYE

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he story of Africa’s fashion industry in this millennial era will hardly be told completely without the mention of major players like Tara Fela-Durotoye. She is not only the founder and current CEO of House of Tara International, but also the creator of the Tara Orekelewa Beauty range, Inspired Perfume and the H.I.P Beauty range. Today, she has become a highly respected mentor for make-up artists and small business owners in the fashion industry across Nigeria.

Tara is one of the pioneers in the Bridal makeup profession in Nigeria, and was also the ďŹ rst to launch a bridal directory in Nigeria in 1999.

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How Tara Fela-Durotoye Broke Grounds in Nigeria’s Beauty Industry BY: RUTH UKWUMBU

Her Early Interest in Fashion

Tara during an earlier interview.

Her interest in fashion started quite early while she was being raised by her father and step-mom after her parents separated when she was just 8 months old. Her Togolese step-mom was quite a fashionable woman by all standards. Tara picked interest in makeup just from watching her. Much later, she lived with yet another step-mother who was Nigerian. Tara later described her as a beautiful and fantastic woman.

Despite not growing with her biological mother, Tara remembers that her mother was very industrious and good at nurturing relationships. She also picked up a few things from her mother during their encounters.

“She was a fantastic woman, ver y fashionable. When you looked at her dressing table she had make-up products, she would paint her face in the morning, never missed her hairdressing appointments; her nail polish was always perfect. I grew up seeing her adorn herself and I liked looking at her through all that process. I didn't know that a seed was being sown in my heart,” said Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

How she Got inter ested in Entrepreneurship Tara experienced her first sparks of entrepreneurship when a businessman came to her school to address students about entrepreneurship. She later recalled that the man’s speech was really creative and wellcrafted, and got her interested in joining the entrepreneurial train.

the opportunity to test her hands and “see how women responded to make-up”. By the time she entered the university as a law undergraduate, she had caught the beauty bug, applying her makeup with such expertise that caught people’s attention.

Soon, they were willing to pay her to help beautify them too. It was against this backdrop that her hobby grew into a business.

She attended Lagos State University and went on to practice law. But the love she had for makeup sooner than later overrode all of these.

After her secondary education at Nigeria Navy Secondary school, Ojo, Tara had a oneyear stint with a perfume store in Lagos where cosmetics was also sold. This gave her 13

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At the age of 20 while she was still a law undergraduate at the Lagos State University, Tara started the House of Tara with the sum of N15,000. At this time, Tara had still not gotten a formal training in makeup. She would later do this at Charles Fox. During a recent interview, Tara recalled that it took a while for it to dawn on her that she had become an entrepreneur. Initially, she simply revelled in the pleasure of doing what she enjoyed – making women beautiful. It wasn’t long, however, before “the clientele began to expand, and slowly, it dawned on me that this was a big deal, and it could go far beyond a few random weddings and become a pioneering movement. I haven’t looked back ever since,” she said.

In the late 1990s when she started, entrepreneurship had not become ‘a thing’ as it has now the case. The beauty industry was still very underdeveloped, and it was, as a matter of fact, considered more normal to just settle into a legal career. But young Tara was not risk-averse and was ready to personally chisel her way down a path that had never been taken in Nigeria.

In the beginning, she faced some challenges She recalled that it was a bit of a challenge convincing people to pay for a service that they had previously gotten from family members at no cost. According to her, “before then, it was the norm for brides to get their mothers or aunts to apply makeup on their faces at no cost. It was quite difficult to convince them that the same service was worth paying for. But with time we broke through”.

Since 1998, House of Tara has become a trailblazer and industry enabler in the Nigerian beauty and makeup industry. It was empowering many through the retail, distribution channel management and education.

Speaking about her drive, Tara said that a major motivator for her was “Creating a business that impacts and generates income, developing micro entrepreneurs who will grow their business and employ more people so as to make the Nigerian economy better”.

Indeed, one cannot dispute the fact that the makeup industry has empowered thousands of women in Nigeria and across Africa who are now selfemployed and even employing Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

others as well. This proliferation of small makeup studios has definitely created some sort of competition in the industry. But that notwithstanding, House of Tara has continued to dominate the market. Her ability to rent makeup studios in strategic high-brow areas is one of the strategies serving to her advantage. She has been using this strategy since she started and it helped endear her to high net worth clientele, especially celebrities.

It should be noted that Tara Durotoye came to the limelight after she was featured in the Ovation Magazine as the makeup artist for Jumobi Adegbesan’s wedding to Richard Mofe-Damijo.

Getting married to a business consultant, Fela Durotoye also played a big part in helping her actualise her big dreams. On numerous occasions, she had admitted that the business counsel and guidance she received from her husband helped her to better structure the business vision and build the brand.

The ‘big’ brand challenge Like most businesses in the informal sector, House of Tara faced the challe nges of raising funds, attracting and keeping the right talents on the workforce, and keeping a focus on the vision even as it expanded across the country. “ I remember seeking a bank loan and the response I got suggested that I was crazy to consider getting a loan

for a business that was not in oil and gas. But the situation is very different today, because everyone now realises that the beauty industry is oil and gas, and every woman wants to look beautiful” she said in an interview.

The most recent challenge is that of counterfeiting “I was depressed” Tara said on her experience with counterfeit products. “It was something I thought could happen to international and bigger brands, but not mine. It was disheartening to see people selling a product with your name and knowing that this is not yours. It took a common voice of women who knew where we started from and stood up to speak for the brand and create the awareness,” she said.

A Story of Impact House of Tara will go down in history with a lot of firsts. The company is the first to develop Nigeria’s home-grown fragrance brand known as ‘Be Inspired’, and the first to come up with a home-grown makeup line Orekelewa. Despite all the successes she has achieved, Tara is particularly proud of herself for the number of people that have been directly impacted and empowered by her work.

Tara has hundreds of full-time employees working in more than 40 stores across Nigeria. There are more than 3000 independent sales representatives across the country and over 1500 graduates from her makeup school who have either gone on to work for international cosmetics brands, started their own beauty businesses, or beauty blogs. Indeed, Tara has lived up to the title of an “industry enabler”.

She has empowered tens of thousands of beauty entrepreneurs through the "Tara Beauty Entrepreneur" initiative, and remains a force in the industry and inspiration to other budding entrepreneurs.

Tara made the Forbes’ list of 20 Young Powerful Women in Africa, 2013 and was also nominated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

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How Nigeria’s Mai Atafo Became the new Face of Africa’s Fashion Industry BY: RUTH OKWUMBU

Leaving Corporate Nigeria to Focus on African Fashion Upon his return to Nigeria in 2002, he got a job with British American Tobacco Nigeria and occupied several positions in the marketing department, before moving to Guinness Nigeria in 2006 where he spent 4 years as Brand manager.

Atafo’s journey as a bespoke designer started while he was still at Guinness. He recounts it thus; “I started by making asooke waist coats for weddings for a couple of friends. Usually, the brides had their colours sorted out but the guys could not afford to get a new purple or lilac suit. So I thought we could still do something with the colour of the day. I specially ordered lilac and purple asooke with which I designed the waistcoats.

Everybody looked good on the day and people really liked the outcome. I did it for about six other weddings and that was the beginning of Mai Atafo Inspired”.

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or n in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Ohima Atafo spent his early years in Lagos before moving to Benin City for his elementary education at University Staff School, Benin.

Afterwards, he proceeded to the Federal Government College Ido-Ani, Ondo state for secondary school, before moving to the university.

Speaking during a recent interview, Atafo disclosed that he gradually grew into his love for fashion. “I got into fashion out of love of clothes. Since I was growing up, I always loved wearing good clothes. I did home economics in secondary school so I used to sew aprons and stuffs with my hands, and fiddle with my mom’s sewing machines. I broke a few needles, made myself a few knapsacks in secondary school but I never thought it was anything because I enjoyed doing it,” he said.

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Long before he Became a Fashion Icon As an undergraduate, friends came to understand that he loved to make clothes. He was always helping friends to get clothes at the market in Onitsha and this helped him to better understand clothes and the business of clothe making. He has always had an eye for good quality and whenever he saw a clothing item which he wanted but could not afford, he would make it for himself.

After bagging his first degree, he travelled to the United Kingdom where he earned a Master’s degree in Information System and Technology from the City University of the United Kingdom before returning in 2002.

In retrospect, he said that England exposed him more to fashion, giving him a deeper understanding.

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Another factor that inspired Mai Atafo’s fashion brand is that the designer experienced difficulty getting clothes (especially suits) that were his perfect fit given his unique physique. “I could hardly get a perfect fit,” he said. “If I got something that suited my sleeves, I wouldn’t get the body right because they would be really massive; and if I got the perfect body fit, the sleeves would be too short for me because I have long sleeves” he recalled.

Consequently, after buying his shirts and suits, he would make adjustments to them in order to get his perfect fit. The fact that people admired the clothes whenever he wore them outside also contributed towards the birth of the clothing label known today as “Mai Atafo Inspired ”. The brand soon gained media attention, thanks to the patronage of some celebrity clientele like Banky W, Femi Adebayo, Omowunmi Akinnifesi, IK Osakioduwa, amongst others.

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His major dive into the fashion world was his gig at the reality dance show “Celebrity Takes Two” where he styled top celebrities and performers. Since then, Mai Atafo has taken his stand in the fashion industry.

Launching Weddings by Mai In 2011, Mai Atafo Inspired launched a wedding line called "Weddings by Mai", designing perfectly fitting wedding dresses and tailored bespoke suits which created a social media frenzy in 2014 after choreographing with models on the runway at 2014 Lagos Fashion Week. He has since then etched his place in Africa’s fashion industry.

“I want to be the best suit tailor in Africa. I’m not a sucker for going international because those internationals are trying to come to Africa, so let’s be the champions of Africa before going out to the rest of the world,” he said.

The customer service challenge Mai Atafo believes that Nigerian customers are some of the most difficult in the world.

According to him, “they want the best pieces done for them and want to pay absolutely nothing for it. This is a country where people Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

want to be served the most even when they are not ready to give half of that service to someone else, and sometimes it is not easy to marry all that and run a business. But I do it happily because I know it is my job. No matter how beautiful the design looks in my head, the paying customer has to love it for my job to be complete. Customer service is more than important”.

Like many businessmen in Nigeria, Atafo also had to grapple with the challenges of power shortage and instability by resorting to alternate power sources at higher costs which customers have to bear.

There is also the obvious challenge of an unorganised fashion industry in the country, and this creates a situation where the money does not always go to the most creative people, but sometimes to the people who import and sell low quality clothes.

The industry also lacks the recognition and so does not get support from government and financial institutions.

“It is quite common to see institutions and even individuals dismissing us as ordinary fashion designers. Banks are not eager to give loans to the fashion industry because even though they know that you make money, they can’t seem to understand the repayment plan. So there are almost no funds, grants or handouts to help the 17

industry grow.

Even attracting the right talents can be a challenge because people would rather work for bigger institutions like banks and multinationals.

Awards In recognition of Atafo’s classy branding and affection for perfection, he has received several awards.

His awards include; City people fashion and style Awards as hottest new designer Male (2009) and special recognition (2010), Fab Magazine Fashion brand of the year (2010),Mode men magazine fashion designer of the year (2010), Best dressed men (2010) (2011). This style best-dressed men (2011) amidst others.

He showcased his collections at the Heineken Lagos Fashion week, the fifth edition of the ARISE fashion week 2018, and has been a major player in several other fashion shows. In 2017 Atafo launched “ Fo l l o w M a i H e a r t ” c a m p a i g n i n partnership with Moet and Chandon on his 40th birthday.

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Inside Africa’s Blossoming Fashion & Beauty Industry; An Overview BY: EMMANUEL ABARA BENSON

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fricans have always been very fashionable people. This truism can be traced back to precolonial periods – the use of embroidery to beautify colorful clothes, the intricate patterns of women’s braids, and the use o f a s s o r t e d c h a l k s f o r m a ke u p.

However, never before has African’s fashion-consciousness been more pronounced than it is today. The advent of Social Media has provided a much needed avenue to showcase the widearray of fashion and beauty trends that are peculiar to the motherland. And everybody is taking note. It is in light of this, therefore, that we decided to take a holistic look at the African fashion and beauty industry. What has changed over the years? Who are the pacesetters/major stakeholders? Are there opportunities in the industry?

These and more questions shall be examined in the course of this article.

Focus on the Evolution in the African Fashion and Beauty Industry Since the onset of the 21st Century, there have been some gradual but very significant transformation in the African fashion and beauty industry. First, there was the emergence of a new crop of African designers who have positioned themselves as groundbreakers and game changers.

Good examples include the likes of Nigeria’s Deola Sagoe and Mai Atafo, both of who found ways to incorporate Africa’s “uniqueness” into modern designs. In East Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

Africa, Ethiopia’s Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu established SoleRebels which has redefined the footwear industry in Africa by making use of recyclables to build a global footwear fashion brand, thereby proving to be both profitable and environmentally sustainable.

Across the continent, there are thousands of other creative individuals who are contributing immensely towards positioning the African fashion and beauty industry. And they are not all designers, by the way.

The Role of Afrobeats and Nollywood in the Renaissance of Africa’s Fashion and Beauty Industry Let’s be clear, there was a time in a not-sodistant past when the interest in African fashion was not so keen. Between the late 1960s and late 1990s, a lot of African men and especially women favoured western clothes, shoes, and even makeups. Women preferred to dress like their favourite movie stars, and would often “fry” and straigthen instead of wear their natural hair. Some scholars have attributed this as part of the negative impacts of colonialism and the idea that Eurocentric beauty trends represent the “ideal beauty trends”. Fortunately, this way of looking at fashion and beauty in Africa has since changed considerably, with millions of Africans now demonstrating 18

keen interest in African fashion. Despite this, a great number of Africans still favour foreign fashion items and trends.

One of the factors that played a key role in influencing the renaissance in African fashion and beauty is the emergence of a highly successful African entertainment industry. For the sake of specifics, I am referring to the success of Nigeria’s movie industry (Nollywood) and the globally acce pted musical g enre –Afrobeat.

Nollywood actors and actresses wear mostly African fashion in their movies which are widely-watched across Nigeria and beyond.

And they look quite beautiful in these clothes, thereby invariably influencing those watching them to want to dress like them.

More so, African celebrities are known to patronize top fashion designers on the continent to make bespoke clothes for them.

When they wear these and post pictures of them on their Social Media pages, their fans admire these clothes and desire to wear them too. This way, the interest in African fashion keeps growing.

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The Internet Has been very instrumental The internet has arguably made the biggest impact in the effort to re-define African fashion. A 2017 article on CNN argued this very point with a screaming headline – “The biggest game changer in African fashion is...the internet”. The article’s author recalled how, in 2014, pictures circulated around the internet which showed American popstar Beyoncé wearing a skirt and jacket by South African fashion brand Kisua. The items reportedly sold out just a few days after those pictures were seen by millions of people. Kisua’s Founder, Samuel Mensah, later commented on the role the internet played in this regard, saying: "The internet is a great leveler. The speed with which you can access markets and can generate awareness about your brand is unprecedented in the history of fashion."

A Global interest in African Fashion In a 2019 inter view with Vanguard Newspaper, fast-rising Nigerian designer Dennis Osadede argued that Nigerian fashion has become a strong part of global pop culture. Just like Nigeria’s Afrobeat has transcended global borders, so also has the Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

fashion sense. As you may well recall, it was just a few years ago in 2018 when the dashiki, a loose-fitting garment originally worn by West Africans (Nigerians to be precise), suddenly got thrust onto the global stage as everybody’s wardrobe favourite. The sudden global interest in the dashiki was mainly due to the pervading influence of the internet and the already growing interest in African pop culture and fashion.

Meanwhile, this global interest in African fashion has long gone beyond the fondness for dashiki. We are now witnessing growing instances of some global fashion brands incorporating African fabrics and design patterns in their clothes. Indeed, these are all wonderful developments. But the truth is that it has not been all about spice, sugar, and everything nice with the African fashion and beauty industry. There has been numerous challenges too. Let’s now examine some of these challenges.

The Challenges Facing Africa’s Fashion and Beauty Industry Earlier this year, Ugo Monye, another fastrising Nigerian designer, told Nairametrics that the Nigerian fashion industry lacks structure. It is a very fragmented industry despite the presence of a few dominant 19

players, he said. He then went on to explain why this is the case - “No one wants to work for anybody. People don’t want to be part of another person’s success story, because everyone feels they can as well float whatever it is you are doing. This is part of the reasons the industry lacks structure, and still not fully developed.” Now, this is one major problem facing the industry. There is also the problem of infrastructural deficit due to governmental failure, as well as the unavailability of essential raw materials which, unfortunately, results in high cost of importation. African designers also complain about the difficulty they often face when trying to access credit facilities. There is also the issue of undue competition posed by big global brands, and many more challenges.

The truth is that Africa’s fashion and beauty industry is growing steadily and has immense potentials. Yet, the industry needs a lot of support in order for it to actualize its fullest potentials. In the meantime, it is important for industry stakeholders to continually improve on themselves in order to excel.

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IMANE AYISSI

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mane Ayissi launched his eponymous label in 2004 after moving to the French capital, Paris to work as a dancer and model with global brands such as Dior, Givenchy and Lanvin. He has since gone on to show at several international fashion weeks, including Lagos, Dakar and Shanghai. His designs have graced Hollywood celebrities, Zendaya and Angela Bassett.

He also has showrooms in New York and Paris, and his ready-made cocktail dresses, made from Faso Dan Fani (the national textile of Burkina Faso), can be found at Alรกra, Lagos' answer to the iconic Colette in Paris.

In January, he unveiled his spring/summer 2020 haute couture collection as a guest designer, making him the third African designer to ever do so after Alphadi (Niger) in 2004 and Noureddine Amir (Morocco) in 2018.

In this interview with Business Elites Africa, Imane Ayissi talks fashion business in Africa amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Imane Ayissi Talks the Resilience of Africa’s Fashion Industry Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic BY: SIMEON ONOJA

Q: What inspired you to become a fashion designer?

source of inspiration.

Q: How do you discover new textiles?

A: I think it really came from all the beautiful and elegant women of my chidhood and especially my mother. She was travelling a lot and was able to buy smart garments and accessories from Paris. She was really one of the most elegant women of Yaoundé. My first dresses were for her.

Q: What’s your favourite part of being a fashion designer?

A: What I prefer is all the research part of a collection: doing researches about the concept, finding colours and fabrics, all the discussion with our artisan partners in France and in different African countries.

It’s always an exciting moment, when the collection is still in your imagination, with the potential of being the best collection ever designed, and starts to become slowly a reality.

Of course, I also love the excitement of the fashion shows, when my dresses come to live on beautiful models and are discovered by my audience.

Q: How did you get funding for your fashion business?

A: Since the beginning, it’s been selffinancing. I started at the very beginning with the money I managed to save up. Now the collections are paid by my company activities. Every season it is a challenge, and I would need to find investors for the next steps of development of my brand.

Q: How does your African heritage influence your designs?

A: The African heritage is a part of me. So, of course, it influences my work. But it is also the result of a conscious choice. I feel it is kind of a mission to show the beauty of African cultures and to show that african cultures have their place in the contemporary world. So that’s why I try to tell an african story, every season through my collection, even though Africa is not my only Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

A: It often involves a lot of research and can be complicated, as most of the beautiful African heritage textiles are slowly disappearing. So it can start in a book, or with memories of my childhood, or through vintage textile, and then the challenge is to identify artisans who have kept the tradition of this textile. They are usually not in big cities so it can take time to reach them.

Q: How has your design been influenced by other art forms such as dance, modelling?

A: I never design garment as only an object, but always within its relationship with the body. When I imagine the volume, the cut, when I choose the textile, I always imagine how it will move on a living body and what will be the feeling of the lady who will wear it. It is very important for me and I think it comes directly from my experience as a dancer.

A: Certainly when I got included into the Paris Haute Couture Official calendar by the Federation de la Haute Couture, especially as I was recommended by the Saint Laurent House. I saw this moment as a recognition of my works, but also it is really a way to show that African cultures and know-how can compete at the best and highest levels in every sector and can be associated to the highest luxury.

Q: What’s your advice for aspiring fashion designers in Africa?

A: First, they’ve got to be sure they are really passionate about fashion because it won’t be easy and fashion really needs hard work.

Then I would advice to study, study, study.

Fashion which is at the same time a business and an art, is far more complicated now, and young designers must understand so many different factors…

Q: How can African fashion businesses cope with the COVID-19 pandemic?

A: It seems the sub-Saharan part of the African continent is doing better with the pandemic than the rest of the world. I must say I am quite pleased to see that African people can actually be more resilient on this matter. So, for the African fashion designer whose clients are mostly on the African continent, it can be an opportunity to reach and convince new customers. But of course, African brands have to deal with the same issues about showcasing, communication… etc., and find new tools to keep in touch with their customers. I see how African designers can be creative with images and social networks, and once again I see this pandemic more as an opportunity of African fashion businesses.

Q: W hat would you say was a breakthrough moment in your fashion career?

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ALLY REHMTULLAH

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lly Rehmtullah is a Tanzanian fashion designer of Indian descent.

He studied at the Baum School of Art and Lehigh Valley College in the United States. He is the first East African designer to show at a London Fashion Week.

He spoke to Business Elites Africa on the state of Africa’s Fashion industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic, among other issues.

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Ally Rehmtullah talks how he built his Premium Yet Mainstream Fashion Brand BY: SIMEON ONOJA

they usually influence a large number of my designs. African fabrics like Khanga and Kitenge are so vibrant and colourful – it just draws me towards them and lets my mind wander to work with them.

Q: What inspired you to become a fashion designer?

A: Fashion was never something I had ever thought of doing as a career. However, I always had a love for art and creativity. It was in 2002 when I went to the US to study Graphics Design and Fine arts that I was introduced to Fashion 101 by my councillor and that was it – I fell in love from the start.

The Fabrics, the textures, the colours – it was all so exciting to me.

Q: How do you market your brand to the world?

A: We usually use Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to market our work to the international market. However, the focus right now Is to expand the brand nationwide in Tanzania before going international.

Q: What’s your favourite part of being a fashion designer?

Q : H ow c a n Ta n z a n i a ’s f a s h i o n businesses cope with the COVID-19 pandemic?

A: Every day is a new day for me – meeting new people, not knowing what’s going to happen next. Inspiring young creatives out there, and finally when you dress someone and make them smile. It is a very satisfying feeling to be part of someone’s happiness by just making them comfortable and beautiful in what they are wearing.

Q: For whom do you design?

A: Ally Rehmtullah is a premium yet mainstream brand. That means being in the Tanzanian Fashion Industry for over 12 years has led us to cater to all kinds of markets – We design for any average Tanzanian who wants to look beautiful and stand out from the crowd.

Q: How did you get funding to start your fashion business?

A: There was no funding. No one including myself ever thought Fashion would actually be my full-time career. When I moved back to Tanzania in 2006 and started talking to people about my passion, I got my first client who wanted me to make a New Years Eve dress for her. I went to the market to source the fabric, spent Tshs 35,000 on it (about 15 USD), looked for a tailor on the street by my place and explained to him how I wanted the dress to be stitched. The client loved the dress, paid me Tshs 150,000 (about 75 USD) instead. I slowly got into business. It was only 4 years later that I decided to actually have an office space and invest in a sewing Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

machine and my own full-time tailor – before that I used to work from home. And now 13 years later – Ally Rehmtullah is a successful fashion brand with a shop on the peninsula, a workshop and 25 employees.

Q: Do Tanzanians value locally designed clothes?

A: Recently as a result of time and the exposure of Tanzanians to social media – people are showing a lot of interest in wearing Tanzanian made clothes and supporting local talent. And of course – there are so many amazing young designers out there in the market right now who cater to all kinds of different people from different parts of Tanzania and at an affordable price too.

Q: How does your African heritage influence your designs?

A: I am actually a fourth-generation Tanzanian of Indian Origin. In the past, a lot of my work had a huge influence from both cultures while still being very young and trendy. However, with time I have recently started to enjoy a lot of African prints and 23

A: As we all know Tanzania had a very short brush with COVID-19 fortunately for us, but a lot of sectors within the country have been affected such as travel and hotel industries. A lot of designers who were catering to the tourism market have been affected quite a bit but for us – not so much in particular.

Q: Can the average Tanzanian afford you designs?

A: Being in the industry for so long, my prices have always been very fair and now since we are focusing more on ready-towear, our prices are very affordable and cater to everyone. An average ready to wear African print short dress would cost our customer less than USD40. So that pretty much caters to an average Tanzanian.

Q: What’s your advice for aspiring fashion designers in Africa?

A: Africa, especially East Africa has recently seen the importance of the Fashion Industry. It is not an easy industry to penetrate into since the government does not see much importance in it. Fashion is not all about making beautiful clothes – it’s a lot more than just that. Not all aspiring designers have access to fashion schools, hence researching and reading is key. Follow your dreams – trust me, it pays off! w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

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Hardcore Entrepreneur Tammy Nott is telling a beautiful African Story with her brand BY: DIMEJI AKINLOYE

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ammy Nott, a Namibian native, is set on a mission to build one of Africa’s most admired and globally patronised beauty brands using natural plants unique to her home country. To achieve her goals, Tammy is knocking down ever y barrier and shattering every glass that represents obstacles. And she’s winning, amid seemingly insurmountable challenges.

Tammy grew up in Namibia with her botanist mother where she learnt about the ancient Namibian Myrrh, the essential ingredient that would later form the core of her beauty company. With the hope of sharing the beauty and story of the natural plant with the world, she started ‘Rare Scent’, a brand she ran from her garage. She later launched Mbiri Natural Skincare with a loan she secured from the bank when it became obvious that she had to take her business to the next level.

Fastforward to present day, Tammy’s Mbiri brand is now a key player in the skincare Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

market in Namibia, South Africa and now in Europe. She says the brand is now eyeing the US market.

Business Elites Africa pressed Tammy for more and in this interview, she shares with us the backstory of Mbiri and how she almost gave up on her dream when the journey got tough.

Q: You pride your company as 100% natural skincare brand: a lot of beauty brands also claim that, what’s special about Mbiri Natural Skincare?

A: Mbiri is unique because of the African ingredients we use in our products – the ingredients present a story about Africa and more specifically about Namibia. The star ingredient is Namibian Myrrh essential oil harvested in the Namibian desert by the Himba women. Because Mbiri buys the oil directly from the community owned project any person that buys an Mbiri product is inevitably also supporting the project. Mbiri is connecting people from all over the world 24

and through the product a beautiful story is told.

Q: You once advised entrepreneurs to remember why they started when things get tough, why did you start your company? Share the backstory.

A: Growing up in Namibia I spent many holidays in the Namibian desert with my mother, who is a botanist and did a lot of research on the indigenous plants growing in the desert. Mother discovered that the Commiphora wildii plant, which exudes the resin that Namibian Myrrh is extracted from, could be commercially harvested. She assisted the conservancies in the area in setting up a processing facility. I grew up with the project and I wanted to share this amazing ingredient with the world so I started a skincare line that could not only tell this story but support the people in this area.

The desert plants and people are my inspiration!

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Q: The company has existed for over five years now, take us through the growth process – then and now.

I lived in Windhoek for 4 years and I now live in Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa with my husband who is a farmer.

A: Growing any business is tough especially in a competitive market like skincare. It hasn’t been easy, but perseverance is key! When I launched Mbiri we started marketing locally in Namibia first, in our second year we moved into South Africa. In our fourth year we then started exporting to the EU which has been our biggest achievement so far as the EU regulations are very strict and getting your products compliant is not an easy foot. Our goal now is to try and get into the USA which has a different set of regulations. This is something we will work on in the next few years. Last year we also launched an amenities range for the lodges in Namibia which has been challenging because it is also a very competitive market however Namibian companies love supporting each other so we are grateful for all the support from our Namibian clients.

Q: The journey into entrepreneurship is often a bitter-sweet one, what mistakes have you made and what lessons have you learnt?

Q: What’s your personal story?

A: I was born in Windhoek and lived in the small town of Omaruru. For High School I went to boarding school at Diocesan School for Girls in Grahamstown, South Africa.

Thereafter I obtained a degree in video editing at AFDA (African Film and Drama Academy) in Cape Town. I still do free-lance editing work from time to time. This helps pay the bills. It was especially handy when I was starting my business.

After university I went back to Windhoek with no intention in starting a skincare brand, I returned home to find some work so that I could save money to buy an aeroplane ticket to go overseas for a year. While in Windhoek I randomly attended a soap making course and this is where the idea of a skincare brand was born. Needless to say I never made it overseas as I started my business that year.

At first I started a brand called Rare Scent, which consisted of a table in my garage where I used a two plat stove and some pots to create my mixtures. I made everything by hand and put every label by myself.

I then realised I had to upscale or close the business because my garage wasn’t conducive for a growing business. I applied for a bank loan which was a serious mission. Accessing finance was a real struggle. Once I received the loan I upscaled and launched Mbiri Natural Skincare.

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A: Wow what a big question! It has been very difficult and one of the hardest parts is being a “one-woman-band”. Business can be extremely lonely, however, it is also extremely rewarding. The first time I walked into a shop in Windhoek and saw my products on the shelf, the feeling I got was incredible. And just can’t beat that. It is a real sense of achievement and pride.

The biggest thing is to keep going when you really do feel like giving up. There have been many times that I wanted to throw the towel in, however I am still here and Mbiri is still going. We cannot learn if we never have to overcome challenges or tough times. It is impossible to experience the real joys of success without the failures. My biggest regret would be not getting someone financially savvy onboard earlier in the business, numbers are not my thing and unfortunately passion can only take you so far. We have to be practical about the realities of running a business. I have learnt a lot from that.

Q: Are your products manufactured in Namibia? And what other markets do you serve apart from your home country?

A: I use contract manufacturers in South Africa. I get the raw ingredients in Namibia and send them to the factory. There is no manufacturing facility in Namibia that suited our needs. We sell Mbiri in Namibia, South Africa, the EU (our distributors are based in Germany).

Q: How do you think the beauty industry in Africa is faring in comparison to the western markets? What are the challenges and what’s the way forward?

A: The industry is growing here in Africa and it’s great to see so many emerging African brands. Africa does have its challenges though. Simple things like packaging and sophisticated raw ingredients aren’t as easily accessible as they are in other markets.

Regulations in Africa are also not as strict so if you launch a product locally and later decide to export it can be very expensive to change the product to meet international regulations, it is important to launch the products with all 25

regulations in mind if you are planning to export. One of the other challenges, which is slowly changing now, is that overseas markets do not trust African skincare products like they trust European made products. So, it is a challenge to convince the consumer in Europe that the product is of good quality.

Over the last few years this has changed, and it is important that all products from Africa are safe and presented well so that African skincare can be recognized and respected in the international market. Many beautiful ingredients come from Africa and we need to be using those ingredients to create value addition within our African countries.

I believe you’re aware of the culture of skin bleaching among mostly African women, what’s your take on this and as a stakeholder, what are you doing in terms of sensitization to stem the trend?

A: I believe we are all made unique and we need to embrace every element of our natural beauty and in essence, who has decided what beautiful is? Massive marketing campaigns have created a false sense of beauty.

Acceptance is such an important element when looking at ourselves and looking at others and the sooner we can replace judgement with acceptance the sooner we will see the beauty in every element of a person.

We need to stop listening to what we are being told by major marketing campaigns – why should they decide how we are meant to look?

I use a lot of African imagery in my marketing, the women who harvest the Namibian Myrrh in Namibia are Himba women who cover their skin with ochre making their skin a dark red colour – they use the ochre to protect their skin from the sun and they believe it to be beautiful. This is a long-standing tradition which has been used for centuries and the Himba women embrace this tradition with pride and I hope that by sharing the images of these incredible and beautiful women we can learn to celebrate different cultures and celebrate different types of beauty.

Q:What would you tell entrepreneurs who are just starting out?

A: Perseverance is the most important element – just keep going! And secondly get a good accountant or financial advisor if this element is not your strong point! Business is about numbers and you can only grow if your numbers make sense. And for anyone contemplating starting something - just go for it! Nothing ventured – nothing gained! w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

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Aba Market: The Workings of West Africa's Largest Fashion Hub BY: ADEMOLA WRIGHT

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igeria is home to some of the biggest markets in West Africa s e r v i n g i t s c i t i ze n s a n d neighbouring countries. Some of the major trading hubs are Onitsha Market, Balogun Market (Lagos), Oshodi Market (Lagos), Computer Village and the grandest of them all, Aba Market.

Located at the commercial nerve centre in the ‘Elephants City’, Aba, Abia State in Nigeria, Ariaria International Market, popularly called ‘Aba Market’ currently serves an estimated two million traders.

It is said to be the largest market in West Africa, particularly for its leather works and clothing which accounts for a large proportion of the market. For this reason, it is called ‘China of Africa’.

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The market dates to history following a fire outbreak that razed the ancient Ekeoha Market in Aba. It was after then that the market was established around the 1970’s. It was formerly located in a swampy area before it was relocated to the current site - a very large expanse of land in Aba. The market cuts across three local government areas, the Aba North, Aba South and Osisioma, all of which have both buyers and sellers meeting there for commerce - unifying the people who patronise it. The market grew to become a one-stop market where traders across different states in Nigeria, especially down south Nigeria would go and buy wholesale stock and resell at great prices in other markets.

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The international market has over 37,000 shops that were structured into 11 different sections with several trading activities going on there like tailoring, textile, footwear production, pharmaceuticals, printing, leather works, fabrication of tools, and mechanical parts, to mention but a few. More importantly, the market is the leather works capital of West Africa.

Manufacturers in the market boast of their client base which extends beyond the shores of Africa. The market also serves as a trade confluence for neighbouring cities and state like Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Rivers, and all the eastern states, producing strong and durable shoes at a lower prices compared to other states in Nigeria and in West Africa. w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

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It has a section for manufacturing of goods only. Many of the products in that section are handmade, some of which are sold cheap and can be knock-off replicas of other durable products across the board. Traders from far and near still patronise the section as they would expect to make good bargain by categorising their products into grades, depending on the quality being sought.

Another interesting thing is that buyers can have their desired products designed and produced to their exact specifications. This is one of the reasons why foreign businesses buy Aba’s products in bulk, and then return to their home country to re-brand and re-sell at significant profits.

The laudable success of the hub for its huge economic activities is largely traceable to the enterprising trait of the people—the Igbos.

They are known for their entrepreneurial strength and skills, producing all kinds of product that appeals to the eyes and taste.

Aside its export transactions regarding sales, Aba market also imports raw materials from different parts of the world, including the United States of America, Korea, Brazil, and China.

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Activities of the leather and textile industry

annually at an average estimated price of N2,000 for a pair.

The Aba leather industry is located around producers, input suppliers, marketers, among others like Aba North Shoe Plaza, Powerline, Bakassi, Omemma Traders and Workers, Imo Avenue, ATE Bag, and Ochendo Industrial Market. Although there are no accurate and verifiable information on the activities of the sector, according to Ken Anyanwu, the secretary, Association of Leather and Allied Industrialists of Nigeria (ALAIN), the industr y provides employment for about 40,000 people.

Its trading activities geared up to meet international standard. For more than two decades, the market has serviced clients both home and abroad, especially the West African subregions including Zambia, G h a n a , Z i m b a bwe, L i b e r i a , To g o, Cameroun, Gabon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Ivory Coast, to mention but few. Traders from these regions parade the market every week to buy goods for resale in those countries.

Majority of these people are engaged in production; many of whom have different specialities—stitching, peeling, designing, cutting, skiving, patterning, and finishing to make production easier and faster. These shoemakers’ artistry has made ‘Aba-made’ shoes gain dominance and recognition over the years in most states in Nigeria and beyond.

An assessment of Aba’s shoe industry revealed that the industry is worth about N640 billion. It was deduced from Anyanwu’s statement that about 6.1 million pairs of shoes are produced weekly. At this rate, the China of Africa is estimated to produce about 320 million pairs of shoes

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Nowadays, countries from other regions like Canada, China and Europe come to buy from the market either directly or through their Nigerian proxies. This pressure the volume of shoe production in the market to meet international demands.

The impact the industry is making in the manufacturing sector, led to the adoption and emergence of certain digital tech companies like Gada Africa, Jiji and Aba N a i j a M a d e, a m o n g o t h e r s. T h e s e companies drive the businesses online including marketing and distribution of leather products like shoes, sandals, belts, bags and even clothing.

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According to an interview with Ben Chiobi, a retired air vice marshal, who founded the Gada Africa, an online store promoting made in Nigeria or made in Africa products directly from Africa and by Africans, most of the online firms have built partnerships with local and international logistics handling companies to ensure that products are delivered safely, in time and in the exact conditions.

The clothing sections

At the China of Africa, there is something for everyone including clothing. As one of the biggest fabric markets in Nigeria and West Africa, the clothing section has different alleys of stalls for selling varieties of apparels including coats, jacket, pants, underwear, suits, skirts, waistcoats, sweaters, jeans, sleeves, Arabian clothing, corsets, and traditional attires to mention but few. The market is welcoming to both budget and upscale shoppers. “Many citizens in Europe and Africa have the market to thank for many of their wears,” said, Amobi Nwanagu, President, StandUp Africa, Aba North Multipurpose Co-operative Ltd. The prices of clothing in Aba market is very affordable and clothing business is found to be very lucrative, especially for traders who resell outside Abia State. Behind the numerous wears, fabrics and tailoring materials sold in the market are thousands of skilled fashion designers. There is a popular saying about Aba market that if there is any design that can not be found in the Aba market, then that design does not exist.

Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

Challenges in the industry

Intervention within the space

As a capital-intensive industry requiring about $250,000 to $750,000 to set up a standard shoe factor y, according to Anyanwu. One of the major setbacks is the non-availability of modern machines for production. Many of the machines are crude, hence requiring more manual labour.

This impediment led to opportunities for foreigners who would normally design to be imported into Nigeria for finishing,

The market which promotes international trade and robust output in the manufacturing sector took more than two decades to get the attention of the federal government as an economically viable market.

disrupting the value chain.

Another challenge among others is poor mode of export. Most of the shoemakers do not have a registered company, hence exports are done informally, making it difficult to track the goods and ensure conformity of standards.

Access to good credit facilities to acquire these machines will help speed up production and increase production volume to meet demands. Although the collateral for such loan may be huge, bor rower’s companies and the imported can serve as a collateral. There is need to develop strategies to track data in the industry for policy makers to get accurate data to develop the sector.

Lastly, as economically vibrant as the market is, it is clogged with all kinds of debris which would result to a flood whenever there is a heavy downpour, so to speak. The solution to this is quite simple: the government should set up a policy change and a feasible waste management culture within and around the complex.

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To raise the bar to meet international standards and to ensure that the market gets the needed global attention it deserves, the federal government, Government Agencies (MDAs) and all establishments like the Ministry of Trade, Investments and Tourism; Stand Up Africa; Federal Ministry of Science and Technology; Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC); ABA Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agric; Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC); Nigerian Youth Chamber of Commerce (NYCC); and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) among others are now contributing to, and supporting the #MadeInAba campaign. The first edition of ‘Pride of Abia Exhibition’ held in April 2017 in Abia State graced by the governor of the state.

As an initiative to provide clean, safe, affordable, and reliable electricity to the market, the federal g over nment implemented Energising Economies Initiative (EEI) through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to ensure rapid deployment of off-grid electricity solutions. According to the REA, 4000 shops and still counting have been connected to clean, affordable, and stable electricity generated from a 9.5 megawatts (MW) gas-based power plant built under its EEI by a private investor.

Re c e n t l y, t h e f e d e r a l g o ve r n m e n t commissioned Ariaria Market Energy Solutions Limited (AMES). It is a Special Project Vehicle (SPV) set up to fully fund, construct and manage a gas-fired power system, comprising an extensive distribution network and robust metering systems for each shop.

Looking ahead into the future Ariaria International Market will grow to become world class one-stop shopping centre for local players and foreigners, and it would also serve to promote the ambitious intraregional commerce and cooperation, as well as the anticipated African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

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ARTICLE

Emerging Fashion & Beauty Entrepreneurs in Africa BY: ROSEMARY EGBO

A

frica’s beauty and fashion industries are speedily gaining the global recognition they deserve. Several factors are responsible for this international relevance, with one being high-profile individuals, such as Michelle Obama and Beyonce Knowles, wearing designs made by African designers to epoch events or showcasing them in music videos and other multimedia channels.

a sort of sub-sector in these industries and many of them have become a force to reckon with on the continent and beyond.

Therefore, we’ll be looking at 10 of the fastrising entrepreneurs in the fashion and beauty industries on the continent.

She’s inspiring Northern African and Middle Eastern ladies that they can still slay their makeups while on hijabs.

Her goal is to express, inspire, and tutor North African women how to express themselves through makeups, and how to be comfortable in their own skin.

Plus, Africans are now accepting their fashion designers, beauticians, and cosmetologists more than they did in the past. Now, you can see African artists, celebrities, videographers, and the likes proudly projecting the works of African designers and beauticians.

This is also evident in various runway shows - New York Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week among others - African designers are taking centerstage and are competing shoulder-to-shoulder with major players in Europe and other continents. African fashion and beauty entrepreneurs are thriving and blazing the trails despite the obvious economic disadvantage in many African nations.

As the fashion and beauty industries in Africa gained global traction and acceptability, tons of creative entrepreneurs plugged in too. And today, they have created Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

Marwa Yehia, Egypt CEO, Marwa Yehia Industry: Beauty Marwa is an Egyptian hijabi makeup artist who is reforming beauty in the Middle East and North Africa. She’s the most followed North African makeup artist on YouTube with 767,000 subscribers and 392,000 followers on Instagram.

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Abiola Desalu, Nigeria CEO, Modara Natural Skincare Industry: Beauty Abiola Desalu is the CEO of one of Africa’s fastest-growing skincare companies, Modara Natural Skincare. She worked with PwC for 13 years before deciding to venture into skincare production due to her love for entrepreneurship and leadership. w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

ARTICLE

Modara Natural Skincare is an Africanrooted skincare company whose products come from Africa’s finest ingredients.

Abiola is very particular about what Africans apply on their skin, and this is why she’s all about natural products to enhance and make the melanin skin popping.

carry out extensive research on cosmetology and aestheticism.

Ayari Ann products are gender-neutral, ecofriendly packaged, animal-cruelty free, and most of all, organic. She started her company with a team of 5 students in 2017 and officially launched in 2018.

In 2016, she emerged as Top 3 finalist in the African Creative Awards in the “Best Emerging Skincare Brand” category.

Christine aims to greatly influence cosmetics by throwing more light on the importance of eco-friendly products. She also intends to change people’s perception of cosmetics as being a woman’s market.

Shereen Makhanye, South Africa CEO, Nubian Nature Industry: Beauty Borne out of love for hair and science, Shereen founded Nubian Nature in 2012 and established it as a company in 2013. It all started when she decided to go back to natural hair, but didn’t get any natural hair product that wasn’t damaging to her beautiful African-textured hair.

Ifeoma & Obioma Agu, Nigeria Founders & CEOs, Ivonmelda Makeover Industry: Beauty

She immediately embarked on extensive research to create products that aren’t harmful to African hair. Her hair-care products moisturize, strengthen, nourish, and promote healthy African hair.

Ivonmelda Makeover is founded by two sisters that are graduates of Mathematics who decided to venture full-time into the beauty industry as a result of their everburning desire to beautify African woman.

They started out as hairstylists, but have inculcated makeup, gele tying, and SFX into their brand while making a name for themselves in the last six years.

She intends to extend to bath and body products. She envisions spreading her brand to Europe, America, and becoming a natural hair-care and skincare household name.

Anwar didn’t know that a clothing line he created to tackle toxic masculinity and empower North African women would turn out to be this huge. He founded the genderless fashion company in 2017 with the intent to send a message in support of women being themselves.

The duo created their YouTube channel in August 2019 and have gained over 89,000 subscribers. Their videos have gained millions of views. They aspire to become Africa’s biggest beauty entrepreneurs and own their makeup line.

“We are breaking the gender binary and gender roles by representing a new kind of individual, freer than ever from societal norms and rules,” he said in his Africa 30 Under 30 interview with Forbes.

Christine Wanjiru, Kenya Founder, of Ayari Ani Cosmetics Industry: Beauty Christine was frustrated by the lack of diversity in Kenya’s skincare market. After identifying this problem, she went on to Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

Anwar Bougroug, Morocco Founder & Creative Director, Bougroug Fashion Label Industry: Fashion

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With Bougroug’s production office in Marrakech, Morocco, and head office in Stockholm, Sweden, Anwar has been able to work with Bershka and H&M within a short time.

His vision is to send strong gender breaking messages through his clothing line. w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

ARTICLE

Her passion for beauty and fashion propelled her into owning one of the biggest and flourishing fashion and beauty houses in Nigeria.

Her office in Abuja, Nigeria deals with local and international fashion and beauty brands.

She’s also very passionate about quality and affordability, which has led to selling good quality products people can afford.

She recently launched her skincare line, Konyin, and is working towards launching her fashion shopping app, Shop Ciar.

She has hosted fashion events for talented designers to showcase their designs.

Edwin Okolo, Nigeria Founder, Studio Imo Industry: Fashion

Olayiwola Ogedengbe, Nigeria CEO, Lamas Clothing Industry: Fashion

Edwin is one of the many African knitwear makers that is making loud fashion statements with his beautifully crocheted designs.

Although he had already developed a bias for fashion designing shortly after high school, Olayiwola was compelled to pursue a University degree – he, therefore, proceeded to the University of Agriculture Abeokuta (UNAAB) where he bagged a B.Agric degree. But before graduating, he had already launched his label, Lamas Apparel, and designing clothes for his peers and some working-class customers.

He owns a studio where he makes handcrafted unique crochet patterns. His designs have been rocked by celebrities like Dakore Egbuson-Akande, Temi Otedola, Adekunle Gold, and other.

His work has been featured on Vogue Italia, GQ South Africa, Beyonce.com, and BBC Pidgin. He’s not stopping anytime soon, and he’s hoping to extend to the bridal fashion industry.

Cynthian Nwadiora (Cee-C), Nigeria CEO, Cegar Sportswear Industry: Fashion Popularly known as Cee-C, Cynthia rose to fame after emerging the first runner up in the 2017 Big Brother Naija. She’s a Barrister who decided to harness her skills in fashion. A g i f t e d e n t r e p r e n e u r. C e g a r, C e e - C sportswear company was founded based on her unstaggering interest in fashion and fitness.

Kiki Osibanjo, Nigeria CEO, Glam’d Africa Industry: Fashion and Beauty

Her sportswear brand is currently one of the fastest-growing sportswear brands in Africa.

The unisex brand has been rocked by some A list celebrities like Toke Makinwa, Lilian Esoro, Mawuli, Lydia Forson, and a whole lot of others.

As a resilient fashion entrepreneur, her dream is for Cegar to become widely known in the sportswear market.

Upon leaving school, it was a no-brainer, as Olayiwola leveraged the network he had built as an undergraduate to navigate his path in the Nigerian fashion industry.

In 2009, the business rebranded and was changed to 'Lamas Clothing Nigeria' for better positioning. In the same year, he started gaining traction in the industry and by extension the Nigerian entertainment industry - he landed his first major job to style Big Bamo of the 'Olu & Tolu Maintain' fame for their 'Kowonje' music video which went on to become a mega hit at the time.

Fast-forward to the present day, the Lamas brand, which specialises in luxury bespoke tailoring, has won several awards in Africa and abroad. Olayiwola has been featured in international media as one of the fast-rising African designers. And with a long list of Alist celebrity clients like Tuface Idibia, Alibaba, Timi Dakolo amongst others, the talented designer is hitching closer to playing in the big league.

Kiki is a graduate of Law and Business Management from Aston University, UK. Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

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Meet Kilo Francis Abiola: One of Nigeria’s Leading Celebrity Makeup Artists BY: EMMANUEL ABARA BENSON

H

e makes Nollywood’s leading ladies look beautiful, literarily painting their faces for a living! That’s Kilo Francis Abiola, one of Nigeria’s leading celebrity makeup artists. It’s been almost a decade since the Ibadan-born entrepreneur decided to become his own boss instead of Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

wallow in unemployment. Needless to say that he has significantly accomplished his dream of conquering the Lagos makeup scene.

I had a chat with him recently, first to hear his success story and to better understand the workings of the makeup 36

industry In Nigeria, the fashion and beauty industry at large. I can only hope that you enjoy this and be inspired to also turn your own passion into an enterprise especiall y during these difficult economic times.

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Q: Nice to connect with you again, Francis. Do tell me, how did you get started in the makeup business?

Q: Okay. Would you say the beauty industry in Nigeria is booming at the moment?

A: Nice to meet you too, Emmanuel. The thing is, I never really planned to become a makeup artist, but fashion and beauty are two things I’ve always been very much interested in right from early on in my life.

So, after I finished school and found myself looking for what to do with myself, I kind of suddenly found myself in this business. And then I thought to myself – why not make the best of this opportunity!? So I did. And as the days went by, it gradually became bigger and better.

A: Absolutely! The fashion and beauty industry in Nigeria is a good way to become self-empowered and financially independent, instead of having to wait endlessly for white collar jobs that are apparently not enough to go round. At least, I can speak for myself; I am living my best life, in one of the most exclusive neighbourhoods in Lagos. And I foot all my bills from the proceeds of my craft. You just have to be good at what you do and be willing to give your clients the best of service.

Q: What has your experience been like so far?

Q: So, you are making all the money in Lagos like this?

A: It’s been a ride with humps and freeway…Just like any other occupation. It’s been majorly fulfilling for me and I’m not regretting making this choice. It’s even more beautiful and fulfilling being successful as a male makeup artist in the beauty industry.

A: (Laughs) If I’m making “all the money in Lagos”, I probably will have my own fuel station by now and won’t need to go queue to buy petrol. Let’s just say, I’m doing alright by myself.

Q: Exactly! Next question for you – what does it feel like being a male in a femaledominated industry like this? Do you ever receive special privileges or face certain obstacles?

A: Obstacles? Yes. One of these obstacles has to do with trying to break into the beauty industry in the first place. Initially, nobody will take you seriously. The mockery starts when question like “do you have a girlfriend?” is asked constantly. Remarks tend to make the experience uncomfortable for starters. But as times goes by, one gets used to it.

Q: I heard recently that male beauty experts are often lucky as they have more clients because these clients (who are mostly females, of course) are fascinated by them. How true is this?

A: Well, to a certain degree it is true. But I have to say that privilege for male makeup artists is not easy to achieve. The respect only builds after one has been able to make a name for himself. And this respect is mostly from people who have either patronized you or heard about you. So it makes it easier to market oneself being a man in the industry.

A lot of women find male makeup artists amusing too so they always want to patronize them, believing the males in the beauty industry are perfectionists. So yes!

Very correct.

Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

Q: Would you ever consider doing something else with yourself ?

A: Oh yes. Although I couldn’t possibly be doing anything outside of the fashion and entertainment industry. I have already established a lot of contacts in the industry.

So, maybe I would do something in TV soon.

Q: In that case, I guess there is no need to put that International Relations degree of yours into any sort of foreign policy use…

A: (Laughs) Absolutely not. It’s just for record purpose now; at least, I went to school.

Q: Your clients are mostly high profile female celebrities and high society ladies. Are you even affordable to the average Nigerian woman?

A: I have a budget package for every woman.

Anyone contacting me can be rest-assured they will look beautiful with a budgetfriendly package. But then again, my main target remains the celebrities.

Q: Do you work alone or make use of assistants?

A: I have assistants. Often times, bookings can get over the top crazy and I can’t do every client myself. So, I rely on my assistants to help out.

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Q: Just for the records, how long have you been in this business?

A: About ten years now.

Q: Do you have anybody you look up to for inspiration?

A: Honestly, no one. I am my own inspiration.

Q: Who would you say has been your best client ever?

A: Juliet Ibrahim. She is so sweet. She will let you do your job; no troubles, no plenty questions.

Q: Nice. Do tell me, what is your assessment of the fashion and beauty industry in Nigeria?

A: It’s been a major source of employment for many Nigerians. It has grown from a little baby to a grown woman now serving as a means of livelihood to both old and young Nigerians. It’s amazing how one can live comfortably with just making people look super pretty for their events. So in all, I say the fashion industry right now is rewarding.

Q: But what are some of the things you’d rather see done differently?

A: Well, not too many things though. It’s just that some makeup arts are abusing the makeup artistry. I see overly made-up faces and I don’t understand why there should be tons of makeup on one face. I’d really like to see a face look sultry and not hideous like masquerades!

Q: Well, it’s been nice having this chat with you.

A: Thanks a lot. It’s been quite a refreshing interview.

The fashion and beauty industry in Nigeria is a good way to become self-empowered and financially independent. w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

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Globally Acclaimed Makeup Artist, Joy Adenuga, Lets Us into her World BY: SIMEON ONOJA

J

oy Adenuga is a multi-awardwinning makeup ar tist. The Nigerian bor n, London-based Makeup Artist, Beauty Expert and Educator, has made a name for herself as a melanin specialist.

The beauty powerhouse has a huge and loyal fanbase and has worked on global campaigns with leading brands such as Dark and Lovely, Organic Root Stimulator, Closeup, among others. She's hosts masterclass with brands such as Bobbi Brown, Tom Ford, Smartbox Cosmetics and others.

One of Joy’s passion is editorial makeup, a lot of beautiful pictures of models she’s worked with have been featured on leading Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

magazines such as Vogue, Factice Magazine, Elements Magazine and FaceOn Magazine.

She was one of the few hand-picked makeup artists to serve on the crew of Beyonce in Chime for Change 2013.

Joy also takes pleasure in transforming brides on their wedding day. She’s highly skilled and recognised on a global scale. She’s a two-time winner of the UK Bridal makeup artist of the year (2017, 2018), she made the UK’s Top 50 Wedding Makeup Artist for 2019.

Early Days Joy Adenuga, the Delta State-born makeup icon, trained at the prestigious London School of Makeup. Prior to this, she had 38

already gained a BSC in Accountancy and worked as a manager in the Globacom Call Centre where she met her husband. The two are based in the UK with their kids.

Business Elites Africa spoke with this highly talented makeup artist making Nigeria and Africa proud internationally.

Only go full time as a makeup artist when you can comfortably pay all your bills with salary from the makeup business w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

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The Interview Joy Adenuga spoke to us about what inspired her to become a makeup artist she said, “Applying makeup to different faces/skin, textures/tones and seeing the transformation no matter how subtle, became somewhat an obsession from the beginning.”

This speaks to her deep understanding of colour tones and credits why she’s famous as a skin tone expert.

Joy spoke of some fashion icons who she admires and considers role models. She mentioned Danessa Myricks — a self-taught and highly experienced makeup artist who recently launched the Danessa Myricks University and runs a thriving eponymous makeup brand.

Joy also spoke of Pat Mcgrath who has been referred to by Vogue as the most influential makeup artist in the world.

Commenting on her mentors, Joy said, “I look up to Danessa Myricks and Pat Mcgrath. Their makeup skills, business acumen and the way they’ve gone on to develop their own makeup line is so inspiring to me.”

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Every artist has an aspect of their art with which they are most fascinated. Speaking on hers, Joy said. “Watching the whole look gradually come together is like a high for me.

When I finish, I actually want to do it all over again.”

A lot of aspiring makeup artists in Africa give up on their dreams due to lack of requisite funding - this is one of the key drawbacks for new businesses. Talking on when she started and how she got funding Joy simply said, “By working full time including a lot of overtime.”

entire mood board based on the subject’s facial features”.

The COVID-19 pandemic has largely disrupted Africa’s beauty industry, forcing entrepreneurs to rethink their business model. The lockdown and the continued need for social distancing, have forced beauty businesses in Africa to reinvent themselves in order to remain profitable.

Joy gives her advice on how beauty businesses in Africa can successfully navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. She said, “With social distancing lasting for a long time, this is the best time to expand on noncontact business ventures. Very important.“

As a Nigerian-born make artist doing exploits in the UK, one would wonder how Joy’s black cultural heritage influences her art. She responded, “Our skin is beautiful! I absolutely love working on different tones of Melanin and showcasing how beautiful our skin actually is”.

When asked what she’d consider a breakthrough moment in her career, Joy said, “When I was invited to be a Judge at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs)”.

At the core of every art form is the need to invent, create something so fresh it takes peoples’ breath away. Speaking on how she comes up with new looks, Joy said, “I’m inspired by whoever sits on my chair. I’ve lost count of how many shoots I’ve organised, where I’ve planned a certain look, arrived to see whom I’m working with and changed my

Providing advice for aspiring makeup artists in Africa, Joy said, “Do not be in a hurry to go full time in this career. I’ll advice remaining in a full-time job, then going parttime when you’re able to start making some money. Only go full time as a makeup artist when you can comfortably pay all your bills with salary from the makeup business.”

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do trends. I do whatever it is that I want to do. I’m not loyal to any trend as it were. So, it’s basically fashion on my terms, and fashion depending on the mood that I’m in.

That’s how the name came about.

Q: Tell us about the celebrity styling industry. How exactly does it work?

A Moment with Thestyleinfidel: Oluwatosin Ogundadegbe tells us about the Nigerian Fashion Styling Industry BY: EMMANUEL ABARA BENSON

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ashion stylists play a very crucial role in helping designers to communicate their ar tistic creations. They are also the ones who know how to dress up our favourite celebrities so that they come out looking all glammed up and radiant. Think of stylists as artistic curators whose job it is to collect the best arts and present them in a way that will be endearing to behold.

Still not getting quite the hang on it? Well then, that is why we talked to Thestyleinfidel, one of Nigeria’s leading fashion stylists. He explained everything you need to know about celebrity styling and more. Enjoy the read.

Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

Q: May we meet you?

A: Hi. My name is Oluwatosin Ogudadegbe, Creative Director and Lead Stylist at Thestyleinfidel Studios.

Q: Why do you call yourself “Thestyleinfidel?"

A: Well, because I’m not particularly loyal to any brand. I think I got the name from a scene in Sex and the City when Cary Bradshaw was with Samantha Jones and they were shopping in a boutique. The boutique attendant asked her where she’s been and she said she’d been cheating on fashion with furniture. I mean, infidelity basically is the act of cheating. And style infidel from my perspective is just a way of saying that I don’t 46 40

A: Where do I start from? I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m in that space because I basically help fashion brands tell their stories through fitting look-books, fashion campaigns, and sometimes editorials.

Sometimes I have exclusive clients who are celebrities. It’s not an everyday kind of a job, although they have people that style their everyday looks; on and off the red carpet.

That said, it’s quite a sensitive space because when you are working with celebrities, you realise where their head space is, and then you know you really get to spend time with them. It’s not as fancy as people think it is because , as expected, these celebrities are not in a jolly good mood. Sometimes, the mood is quiet. You always have to understand it because you are an image maker trying to create an impression and nobody wants to get on the worst stress list.

So, you always have to up your game. I mean, you will have clients who will pay you really well. You will have clients who don’t want to pay you. You just need to know what you are doing and why you are there. You need to also understand that you are running a business and not an NGO (a nonprofit).

In this space, I know things will still get better. Fashion is not where it used to be, celebrity styling and all of that. It’s a growing industry and I will just like to put this out there that if celebrities really want to look the part, they should please for the love of humanity treat their stylists well. They should pay their stylists well and also see to the growth of their entire glam team. They should remember that their growth should rob off on their stylist’s growth and their glam team’s growth. They shouldn’t be selfish. Instead, they should ensure that they pull these people up.

I do whatever it is that I want to do. I’m not loyal to any trend as it were. So, it’s basically fashion on my terms, and fashion depending on the mood that I’m in. That’s how the name came about. w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

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On how exactly the celebrity styling industry works… Let’s say a celebrity finds or maybe gets referred to a stylist, and then the stylist tries to understand the celebrity; their dos and don’ts – oh I don’t like o show my cleavage, I don’t like to show my arms…

There are certain salient information you need to know about your client as a stylist and what image they are trying to portray at that point. It is always very important. And then you know what designers you want to work with in that space. Some will tell you ‘oh I’m in a very boy meets girl, girl meets boy phase’ and then you realise that what you have to do is look for designers that fit into those aesthetics she’s looking for. Some might tell you ‘I’m just high fashion’, and then you know ‘okay o, for this high fashion, you are either going with Wisdom Franklin or I’m going with Sauvan Dijanur… So, you always have to find what designer, what fashion house, or how you can pull things together to be able to meet your client’s needs.

Also, building a good relationship with designers, fashion stores and boutiques is very key. This is essential while you are working with your client and after because, relationship is always important. If you ruin it the first time, coming back to them might be pretty hard. Now, depending on the relationship you have with the designers, you may get designers who will make custom pieces for the client. You may also come across designers who will politely tell you ‘no, we don’t dress these types of celebrities because they do not represent our ethos’.

Q: How lucrative is the business?

A: The business is now a lot more lucrative than it was when we started. It’s pretty amazing that people are starting to see that they can actually build a career in styling. Yet at the moment, it requires a lot of work. As you know, it’s a career in the informal sector.

So you know how hard you have to work. I will be very honest with you - it’s lucrative.

But when you are starting out, it might be very frustrating because you are still trying to build a brand. People are yet to see your body of work and all of that. But if you keep putting in the work, light will always fall in place especially when you are good at your work. So, like I said, the industry is quite lucrative, but it will get even better with time.

I mean, the way it is today is not how it was in 2010.

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Q: Do celebrities absolutely need stylists or is it a thing of class/luxury?

deeper level. And I think that Mazel Studios will definitely have to be one.

A: Oh yes, celebrities need stylists. Not everyone is a Blake Lively, not everyone is a Beverly Naya… Celebrities certainly do need stylists. How do I put it perfectly…It’s a symbiotic relationship. One of the references I always like to make would be to use Lupita Nyongo and Celine Dion. I use Lupita because the period she did 12 Years a Slave which earned her her first Oscar, she became fashion’s darling. Everybody loved her and this was because of her stylist. Her stylist also started getting a lot of attention after the actress started making all the best dressed list with Celine Dion, it was a different scenario. We all love Celine Dion.

After the demise of her husband, getting back into that fashion scene, she had Law Roach who is the biggest stylist that I personally love and respect his taste and craftsmanship. He instantly landed Celine Dion on the best-dressed list. So the importance of having a very good stylist as a celebrity can never be underestimated, especially when you know that you really don’t understand fashion.

With celebrities, it’s always been all about creating different experiences with them.

But I think one of the most remarkable would be Rita Dominic at the AMVC in 2018 when she landed on the best dressed list.

That was very humbling for me.

Having a stylist isn’t luxury. I mean, I think it comes with that terrain. It’s not a must, but it comes with that terrain because it’s your image at stake. I mean, you’re in the limelight and it is very important that you take your image seriously. You dress the part and all.

Q: Who would you say has been your best client so far?

A: First of all, let me emphasize that celebrity styling is not my core. A bulk of my clients are designers. Celebrity styling is more like a bespoke service that I render to celebrities. And yes, I’ve worked with a couple of names like Rita Dominic, Jennifer Obayuwana, Kate Henshaw, Adesuwa Etomi-Wellington, Linda Ejiofor, Lydia Aisen, and a couple of other names. But like I said, celebrities aren’t my core clients. My core is shooting look-books, telling a designer’s story with look-books, campaigns, and also sometimes with editorials.

Q: What has been the highlight of your career?

A: The highlight of the career was winning the Future Award Prize for Fashion. It was such a humbling experience for me. From my choice of outfit to even the mood and everything else that led up to that moment…

It was quite an experience. It reminded me of the journey and it was gratifying that people had been watching and people are always watching. So, winning the Future Awards Prize for fashion was major for me.

And also winning my first award as stylist of the year at Fashion Finest Africa in 2018 was another major moment for me. I mean, it was the very first award I ever received Q: What are your thoughts about the Nigerian fashion and beauty industry?

A: The Nigerian fashion and beauty industry is growing everyday and people are bringing their different experiences daily, their different acts of storytelling. It’s not where it used to be. Even those who have been there for long have no choice but to keep upgrading themselves. I also feel like it’s such a cut-throat business. You always have to look for how to stand out. Your aesthetics have to be completely different from the next person because that’s the easiest way to get people’s attention.

Above all, it’s a growing business. And like I said earlier, I’m glad to see that people are beginning to realise that they can actually make a career out of something so informal.

I mean, you have beauty experts, you have hair stylists, fashion stylists, designers… I mean it’s a whole lot. And it’s lucrative too.

I can’t particularly say so-so person has been my best client so far. I mean, with each client comes a certain kind of responsibility. Yet, there are certain people that I enjoy working with. Obviously, all my designers because they all tell different stories. I mean, there are certain clients that I really connect with on a 41

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How the Revival of Africa's Textile Industry Will Trigger Massive Growth in Continental Economy BY: MARYKATE OVWIGHOSE

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efore the African textile industry became an important asset in the continent’s economy, most of the fabrics we loved and cherished were originally gotten from European and Asian countries. Few years later, the textile industr y had boomed and become a source of sustenance of the African culture and its economy.

In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, the textile industry then generated an annual turnover of $8.95 billion, an average of 25% of the sector’s gross domestic product (GDP), which accounted for not less than 10% of corporate income taxes.

The textile and clothing industry presented a lot of potential for value-added benefits and job creation. It is estimated that up to 600% of value were created along the cotton value chain: from cotton production/farming, spinning and twisting into yarn, to weaving and knitting into fabrics, followed by dying, printing and designing. Figures obtained from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) estimated that 17.2 million Nigerians derived their livelihood from the textile industry.

However, the textile industry which was once booming started declining, and soon after became a shadow of itself. The causes of the textile industry’s collapse can be attributed to a lot of reasons including counter-productive local and global policy measures, neoliberal reforms and changing trade agreements, inadequate infrastructure; textile imports, among others.

What went wrong?

The introduction of trade liberalization in the 1990s gave room to easy importation of foreign textiles/fabrics into the African market, which led to an influx of imported Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

fabrics that drastically reduced the demand for locally made fabrics. According to statistics, roughly 60% of the clothing sold on Jumia, Nigeria’s largest online fashion marketplace, are imported. With few exceptions, African apparel does not have a significant share in the export market, and even in the local market.

And with the shutdown of the facilities, power shortages, lack of economy of scale, and the fragmentation of regional markets in most African countries, incapability of most manufactures to compete against foreignmade products, things went from bad to worse.

Another bad hit on the textile manufacturing industry was the dumping of highly subsidised alternatives - second-hand clothes into the African market. These were clothes that were likely manufactured in the western world, worn for 2–3 years or till they are out of fashion and then donated to charity.

Reports show that 95% of these clothes donated to charity are shipped to Africa and bought by African traders for less than $2, who in-turn sell them at retail prices in the African market. This activity affected the textile industry as Africans started buying these second-hand clothes due to their relatively cheap prices.

As a result, more people lost their jobs due to the closure of most textile factories/companies. And expectedly, the GDP of most countries on the continent plunged.

A report published by African Journals said textile firms in Nigeria were forced out of business, dropping from 124 companies to 45 between 1994 and 2005 – a decrease in employment by 87%, from 150,000 to about 20,000 in that period. And the few surviving 44

firms operated at less than 40% installed capacity. Over two million Nigerians whose jobs were attached to the industry, such as traders, contractors, cotton farmers and the textile workers were also said to have lost their means of livelihood.

According to the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation, 250,000 jobs were lost in the textile sector in Africa (BBC, 2018). Cotton price deflation caused by subsidy schemes in developed countries, like the USA, fostered a loss of income to African farmers to the tune of $250 million annually (Fairtrade Foundation, 2018).

In the late 1960s, Uganda was the largest producer of cotton in sub-Saharan Africa with 470,000 bales of cotton lint per year, most of which was consumed locally but by 2015/2016, less than 25% of that amount of cotton was produced (Hattem, 2018).

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Governments, financial institutions also germane to the resuscitation of Africa’s textile industry. Banks, especially the Central Banks of these African nations can come together to develop revitalization funds for the industry. Banks in Madagascar invested about US$10 million to support the textile industr y through a ‘Textile Sector Promotion Support Fund’. This provided technical assistance to 50 MSMEs (40% led by women) for building organizational capacity and improving basic processes and technologies. Also, in 2009, the Bank of Industry in Nigeria disbursed N100 billion intervention fund to firms in the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) industry, to revitalise the sector.

Putting a trade limit on the importation of fabrics in most western countries, especially second-hand clothes can also help in reviving the textile industries. For example, European countries, Canada and the US originally set up the MFA in 1974 to protect their indigenous clothing and textile industries by capping the amount any country could export to them, this helped to secure the indigenous products and factories. Just like the implementation of the rice exportation ban in Nigeria that saw a rise in demand of locally made rice, the reduction of exported fabric can also spark a rise in the demand of Africa made textile.

The Way Forward Well, not really. There is still an increasing demand for African textiles and garments globally. African patterns and designs are gaining recognition as truly iconic and fashionable pieces. This has led to the integration of International fashion houses with African influences in their latest collections.

to accelerate textile production and the country’s productivity as well as develope a heavy industry that will allow its full industrialization by 2025.

Moreover, providing loan opportunities, good facilities and uninterrupted power supply can also aid these factories to work smoothly and produce more fabrics for supply. As more fabrics are manufactured locally and accepted by the people, the ripple effects would be astronomical.

This indicates that there might still be hope for the once glorious industry. One major way to rekindle the decline is through government funding. A notable engineer in the textile industry, Edobor Irabor, said African nations need to invest a huge amount of money to have any chance of producing high-quality and ordinary-quality on a massive scale.

For example, Ethiopia’s objective is to generate USD 30 billion in export revenue from the textile apparel and accessories s e c t o r by 2 0 3 0 , s o t h e E t h i o p i a n government is investing in industrial parks Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

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Top Trends in Africa’s Beauty Industry BY: SIMEON ONOJA

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frica’s beauty industry has come a long way. According to market research the industry is worth billions of dollars, with South Africa alone accounting for $4.5 billion.

Nigeria and Kenya rank second and third among sub-Saharan nations.

The beauty industry on the black continent is more vibrant than it has ever been. Every year we see different trends in Africa’s rapidly growing beauty industry and with these trends come several market implications for Africa focused beauty brands. Let’s take a look at some of the trends in Africa’s beauty that we’ve seen in 2020.

Skin Bleaching Statistics published by the World Health Organisation in 2011 showed that 40% of African women bleached their skin. The percentage is really high in some nations; a whopping 77% of women in Nigeria, 59% Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

in Togo, 35% in South Africa, 27% in Senegal and 25% in Mali use skin bleaching products.

This trend stems from the growing interest on the black continent for a lighter skin complexion. A lot of Africans bleach their skin because they believe that a light complexion is more attractive and beautiful.

Research on the ingredients responsible for this skin bleaching such as hydroquinone and steroids has revealed some negative effect that will come from using those products such as thinning of the skin, stretch marks, skin discolouration and even blindness.

Plastic Surgery In nations like Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Sudan, plastic surgery is becoming particularly common. An influx of surgeons from the US and Europe who perform cosmetic procedures on the elite segment of the population is driving the rising market in Nigeria.

South Africa is Africa's largest plastic surgery hub; the Association of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons currently has about 170 members and it is estimated that over 50% of the procedures they do are for cosmetic purposes.

Globally acclaimed Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o of the Black Panther fame told Vogue, a US fashion and lifestyle magazine, that “I cannot run away from who I am and my complexion or the larger society, and how they may view that.”

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The trend of cosmetic plastic surgery is on the rise in Africa as other countries on the continent are starting to get on board with this trend. In Kenya, plastic surgery is gaining popularity at a rapid rate. Wealthy Kenyans usually travel abroad for their plastic surgery, but there are now a few Kenyan surgeons who have gained the requisite training and are performing plastic surgeries within the country.

obesity are in Africa. This has led to trends in d i e t s g e a r e d t o wa r d s we i g h t l o s s, memberships in the gym, and even Bulimia.

Africa is gaining an increased appreciation for the health benefits that come with an exercise - for some, it’s all about staying in shape, while for others the focus is fitting into that new outfit.

Beard gang

Body Shaping Wears

sales. However, growth in men's grooming is expected to intensify in the coming years.

This has prompted cosmetic companies to start launching skincare lines that appeal to this demographic.

One marketing strategy is to align products with mental wellbeing, prevention, and selfcare principles. In absence of disease, men rate mental stability as the most significant health factor. Tackling this pressure point is a major opportunity for product marketers to stand out at a time when stress is considered one of the greatest threats to human health.

Focus on 100% Natural

Africa is rapidly joining the beard gang trend which is hinged on the idea the well-kept beard depicts masculinity and sophistication. This trend has caused a dropped in revenue for companies popular blade and razor brands like Gillette.

According to a survey by Invista, 93% of women prefer lingerie with body shaping and contouring features and the average age of shapewear users is 38 to 42 years, given that women at this stage experience weight gain due to pregnancy and menopause.

There have been discussions as to whether or not wearing shapewear raises health issues? But with technological advancements, shapewear is becoming much more comfortable which makes this trend that could gain more prominence.

Beard gang enthusiast has expressed the pros and cons of the lifestyle - it costs more to maintain a beard than it does to buy a blade and razor, nevertheless, it is a cost there is will to take. The beard gang trend has caused razor and blade brands like Gillette pivoting to beard care products.

Fitness Craze

Male Grooming

The marketing of beauty products mostly compares synthetic and natural ingredients with buzzwords and logos that keep their customers captivated. While natural ingredients are often marketed as the healthier, better option, experts in the formulation industry have stated that both types of ingredients are effective and healthy for making cosmetics and personal care products.

According to a study by Frost & Sullivan, about 24-30% of the personal care and cosmetics ingredients market is made up of natural ingredients, while 70-75% is synthetic. The challenge now is to resolve the uncertainty that customers have about different types of ingredients and to articulate the unique role that both synthetic and natural ing redients play in the effectiveness and safety of beauty products.

As per a reveal by DW almost half of the 20 countries with the fastest-rising rates of Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

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OPARABOY Anyone serious about becoming a successful fashion designer knows that finding a unique style is the first most important thing to do. 26-year old Oparaboy, who is fast becoming a major voice in the Lagos fashion scene, realized this quite early in life. Fascinated and influenced by his parents’ high fashion sense since he was very little, he grew to develop a very unique sense of style that perfectly combines local Nigerian fabrics with other kinds of foreign materials you can think of. This is what great deigning is about. And he is owning his space. In 2017, he was featured in US Vogue just after a reporter stumbled on his spectacular ensemble during Lagos Fashion Week.

In this exclusive interview, he tells Business Elites Africa more about his fashion sense and his general perspective on Africa’s fashion and beauty industry. Enjoy the read.

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In Lagos, 26-year old Oparaboy Incorporates Indigenous Fabrics with modern Materials to Create Regal Designs BY: EMMANUEL ABARA BENSON

Q: Let’s get to know you. Tell us about Oparaboy.

A: My name is Opara Nwaeze James, aka Oparaboy. I’m 26, from Imo State. I like to see myself as a creative entrepreneur, a serial enthusiast, and a budding businessman. I’m the creative director for the fashion brand ÓboyLagos and the Co-founder of a tour and lifestyle agency called The Waka Chronicles. I also co-own a creative agency called Trendz Creative Agency and recently started the fast fashion brand Stylelopedia.

Q: In your Instagram description, you put it simply –style, tech and lifestyle.

How do all three combine to describe you as a 21st century designer?

A: Yes, those are things I’m passionate about. Style is something I can’t do without.

Style is a lifestyle and in my everyday lifestyle, I incorporate all three. Tech helps me see the world beyond my room walls and also helps me to share my expression with the world as well. So, they have influenced my journey as a 21st century designer in more ways than one.

Q: Let’s talk about ÓboyLagos; tell us how it started.

started. I started taking those fabrics, using them to make stuff. People would see the designs and love them. After I got my first US Vogue feature while attending fashion week in one of those outfits, I knew I had to kick the brand off and make it into something big.

Q: So, would you say your parents helped you find your unique sense?

A: Absolutely. My parents influenced it from an early stage…my father most especially. I saw the way he wore ingenious caps and attires and had shoes to match. That influenced my style. Now I wear indigenous caps a lot. (Laughs). My dad always said we were royals and that made me get interested in royalty. Royalty influence my style a lot.

Dare I say I’m a bit obsessed with it; when I dress up I know I want to feel regal, never basic.

Q: How would you describe your fashion brand; streetwear?

A: Uhmm!! No, although you can take pieces from my brand and incorporate them into your style as streetwear. I for one do that a lot.

A: Yes! Very competitive! Nigeria is filled with a ton of creative people. Almost every day when I wake up, I see something new! It’s exciting to watch. And that is competition.

Q: Who do you look up to?

A: Karl lagerfeld, Maki Oh, Deola Sagoe, Olivier Rousteing, Dolce and Gabbana, etc.

Q: Tell us about some of the challenges you face and what you would rather like to see change.

A: Access to funds will be the major one.

There are a lot of brilliant creatives out there whose creative ideas are not seeing the light of day because of lack of funds. So, if there were funds provided by the government that are easily accessible to the budding creative in this country, that will make a huge difference. With funds, a lot of the other challenges will be watered down.

Q: Thank you very much for your time.

A: Thank you.

Q: Who are your main target markets?

A: ÓboyLagos started when I was a child. I just didn’t know it was going to be called ÓboyLagos yet. (Laughs). As a child, I was dressed in the best of Aso oke and I saw my dad and mum dressed also in beautiful lace and prints. So, I think that registered in my subconscious. As I grew up and my love for fashion and style grew, I realized I was drawn to indigenous fabrics such as Aso Oke, Akwete, Ankara, George, Akwa Oche, etc.

My mum had a full box of these materials, and I would often go there to look at them and think about how I take and incorporate those fabrics into unique styles whilst making them look contemporary and not appear typical! That was how ÓboyLagos Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

A: I want to dress the young and the old.

Anyone who wants to feel regal, stand out and look good is my client.

Q: So, commercially speaking, how profitable is high-end streetwear in Nigeria?

A: Very profitable. Streetwear is popping right now and the youths are tapping into it and can’t get enough. So yeah, there is a lot of demand for that right now.

Q: Would you say the fashion industry in Nigeria is competitive?

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How Thokozile Mangwiro Found the solution to natural hair growth & turned it into a viable brand BY: DIMEJI AKINLOYE

Africa and an Operations.

Q : Te l l s u s ab o u t yo u r personal story.

A: I was born and raised in the township of K agiso, Krugerdorp, South Africa. My mother is a teacher who is an extremely passionate educator.

Therefore education was the most important subject in our household. I grew up under people who educated a whole community with love and passion. Education was said to be the only way to get out of poverty, especially in apartheid times when the environment was volatile.

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outh African-bor n Thokozile Mangwiro is an award-winning ICT pr ofessional who was gainfull y employed and steadil y building her career until her endless search for solutions to grow her 15-yearold natural hair inspired her to start and develop a hair product. This event led to the birth of her brand - Nilotiqa Hair Care.

The only major advice she got when she was starting out was “just start”, but she wishes someone had also told her that building a business is like planting a seed, watering it persistently and nurturing it jealously until it blooms. She learnt all the hard lessons on the job, acknowledging that it took patience and perseverance to survive her early days in business.

Mangwiro is now a full-blown entrepreneur, combining her duties as a wife and mother with building one of South Africa’s most loved beauty brands.

She spoke to Business Elites Africa about how she had to collapse her two brands into one and how she inevitably became a sales person overnight despite her shy nature.

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The experience of school interruptions and riots led my parents to reconsider the area we lived in and the schools we went to.

Family life was full of love, but unfortunately financial struggle. Attending a private school with children from well off homes proved to be a journey that when I look back on was difficult, but is what made me the person I am today… full of perseverance and strength.

I also grew up on a very strong Catholic background and through every step of the way would turn to prayer to get me through difficult phases. With all that said, I grew up under a very close knit family that laughed and talked a lot more than the average family.

As the eldest only girl with two brothers, I had to learn all about responsibility very quickly.

I attended university at the Tshwane University of Pretoria and obtained by Btech Degree in Information and Communications Technology, while working at Striata South Africa. I then moved to First National Bank and took on my Master’s Degree in I n f o r m a t i o n a n d C o m mu n i c a t i o n s Technology from the University of South 50

Q: Given that your background was in ICT, why did you start a haircare brand?

A: It is in growing my own natural hair for the past 15 years that I was inspired to create a natural hair care range that would truly nourish my hair. After going to several salons and an endless search for locally produced products that would help with maintaining natural hair, it was clear that there was a huge gap in the market for professionally formulated products for natural hair. I struggled for a long time, like many other women, with extremely dry hair [and skin]. The frustration of unmanageable hair and a lack of knowledge led to an intense research on the structure and benefits of natural ingredients such as Shea butter, coconut oil and avocado oil.

While Nilotiqa was being formulated, I continued to experiment with natural ingredients until I met Marula Oil. It feels like God gave me a little present one day and said… Here… meet Marula! Fact is the miracle oil that stole my heart is indigenous to Southern Africa. Marula oil was like nothing I have experienced before.

Luxurious, silky smooth and comforting to the skin. I knew I had found the magic that now forms the base of each Nyla Natural Product we make.

Nilotiqa and Nyla Naturals were launched with great feedback. They are proudly made with organic, natural and naturally formed ingredients to deeply moisturize and nourish hair and skin.

Q: So you own two brands?

A: Nyla Naturals was the first business and evolved into Nilotiqa. It no longer exists.

Nilotiqa is a natural hair care product line that is specially formulated for dry, damaged natural afro hair with a tendency to be brittle and prone to breakage.

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Q: How did you raise funds for your business?

A: My business is currently selffunded. I began building the brand while I was employed, and used the extra funds to get formulations made and purchase raw materials to create the products. It is now that the business is incubated and getting a little bigger that I am raising funds while learning how to run them successfully.

Q: What are the challenges you’ve encountered in your entrepreneurship journey?

A: One believes that through planning, everything will work out perfectly. Our biggest challenge so far has been around operations.

Getting all the raw materials together took a lot longer than expected because some of it came from Europe [now is locally sourced]. The packaging was also quiet challenging, to get right. There is still work to do to get everything working seamlessly.

However, we are in a space where improving our processes is possible.

One of the biggest fears was entering a competitive market and going against huge companies that have been in the market for a very long time. The fear subsided when people sampled the products and gave us amazing feedbacks; explaining how they had never experienced products like the ones we were offering. This makes me more certain and more determined to get these products into as many hands as possible.

Q: Are there challenges peculiar to women running business in Africa?

entrepreneur. South African does however, prioritise women businesses for funding.

Q: What would you say is the best business advice someone has given that you’ll never forget?

People not taking African women entrepreneurs seriously. I think people do not quite understand how big a single woman’s visions can be; and tend to think what the entrepreneur is doing is more of a hobby than an actual business. It seems impossible in their minds that a single woman can create a for midable company from the scratch.

A: “Just start” was what got said to me. I did not fully understand this statement until I actually started. We tend to overthink things and most times are stopped by our own fear.

We seem to scare ourselves into quitting. However, if you start and implement something, you will realize that it was not as scary or as impossible as you had thought it would be in the first place.

The negative attitude changes once people see the impact of the brand, or other people’s reaction to that brand. The attitude towards women entrepreneurs will change as their business [and resilience] grows.

Q: What do you wish someone had told you before you went into business?

Q: What lessons have you learnt in the cause of r unning your business?

A: There are different ways to skin a cat. Meaning, failure taught me that the way I was adamant on doing something did not necessarily mean it would work. Failing at something humbles you, but taught me to think more carefully and strategically.

My successes are just as humbling, making me realize that God is walking with me during this journey.

Q: In your business journey, what were you forced to do that is out of your comfort zone?

A: I had to do sales! I considered myself as not even knowing how to sell a thing. Selling my first products at a market was tough, however a friend and my husband showed me how; I had to forget all about my nervousness and shyness and sell!

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A: That starting a business and building a brand is a journey and not an overnight, ‘everything must be done now’ type of process.

Q: What advice would you give someone who just wants to start a business?

A: Patience and perseverance is key.

It is very easy to give up when you get the first “no”. However one needs to understand that selling and getting products to the market is a process and that the journey will be a long but satisfying one.

Understand how to run a business ‘professionally’. Find an incubation hub or mentors that will help you with Marketing Strategies, Cash-flow Management, Risk-Management and getting the Operations Processing correct. It is vital for your company to grow and remain sustainable.

Research a lot about the industry they are going to be an entrepreneur in.

Find the gaps where the big players are not filling.

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A Look at the Booming Business of Unisex Salons in Nigeria BY: EMMANUEL ABARA BENSON

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cross Lagos and beyond, salon owners are steadily adopting a more cost-effective and pragmatic approach in the way they do business. It is not unusual for a young man to walk into a salon for a hair cut, only to see so many beautiful ladies either having their nails fixed or hair relaxed. Unisex salons are all over the city of Lagos nowadays, and their businesses are booming. The current situation can best be described as a ‘paradigm shift’. But how exactly did this paradigm shift come about?

Business Elites Africa went on a factfinding mission across Lagos.

Next Barbing & Beauty Salon is Leading this Change A few weeks ago on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I visited one of Next Salon’s many outlets scattered across Lagos. It was my first time there. A colleague had spoken so highly of them, describing the salon chain as one of the best in the country. While this Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

description is subjective, one thing is clear – Next Salon is doing something different. It is fast becoming a leader in the unisex salon business. As I sat there having my hair barbered, I couldn’t help but notice. To my left, about four young women were busy relaxing and washing some women’s hair.

Others were in charge of manicures and pedicures. I saw some customers who were there to fix eyelashes. Others were getting full makeovers. To my right of course, were other men like myself having their hair barbered or facial hairs trimmed. It was a beehive of activities.

The scenario, I gathered, is typical of Next Salons everywhere, although not peculiar to them. It was intriguing to see, to say by the least. When I later spoke to one of the barbers, he offered some explanation into Next Salon’s operation. According to him, “Next Salon initially started out with its main outlet in Lekki. And as they got bigger and more popular on the island, they began expanding to different parts of Lagos. Now, I think they operate more like franchises.

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not directly employed by Next Salon. They only use the space and facilities and pay a certain percentage to Next…”

A Quick Look at the factors Driving this trend To be clear, unisex salons are not entirely new in Nigeria. Also, Next Salon certainly didn’t pioneer this tradition of combining male and female salons under the same roof.

However, never before have we seen this type of salons become as dominant as they are today. Walk into any neighbourhood salon today and you will certainly see both male and female customers there. The primary reason for this trend is underpinned by the need to minimize cost, as you shall see shortly.

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Cost Control: As you may well know, rent in Lagos can be quite expensive.

Then there is the cost of electricity and other service charges. Combining all these can be much, especially for someone who is just starting out in hair and beauty business. Now, what unisex salons do is that they provide a space for different players in the grooming business to come together, making use of shared facilities whilst minimizing cost of operation and ensuring profitability.

It is mutually-beneficial: Big salon brands like Next Barbing & Beauty Salon offer an opportunity for barbers, hair stylists, pedicurists and manicurists to take advantage of their big names to make sales. In return, everybody makes money in this mutually-beneficial arrangement.

A space to socialize: Unisex salons are more than just a place to barber/dress one’s hair. It is also a good place to meet new people. As a matter of fact, it is possible to find a potential lover at a unisex salon, just as possible as it is to find one at any other social gathering.

The barber I spoke to earlier confirmed this when he said “A lot of men like coming here to cut their hair because

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they want to use the opportunity to find babes. As you can see, they are always a lot of beautiful women around. So, these men pretend like they are just here to cut their hair, whereas they are busy looking around for which babe to talk to. And even the women themselves come prepared because they too are looking for who will talk to them. At least, since I’ve been working here I know about two serious relationships that started right here in this salon. It is good for business because the more people discover they can find love in places like this, the more they come. And the more they come, the more money we make.”

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Jessyjas Unisex salon, located at Rumuola, Port Harcourt

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Legendz Unisex Salon, D-line Port Harcourt, etc.

Below is a list of some Unisex Salons across major Cities in Nigeria Ÿ

Haramat Unisex Salon, located in Ikeja Lagos

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Peaches Unisex Salon & Spa, located in Omole Phase 1, Lagos

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Klinkut Unisex Salon, located in Wuse, Abuja

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Betty Queen Unisex Beauty Salon, located in Gwarimpa, Abuja

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BUSINESS PLANNING & STRATEGY BUILDING BY: STEVE C. IBEAWUCHI

Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

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h e n e e d f o r a we l l - d r aw n business plan has never been more critical in enter prise development anytime in human history than it now in our information driven wor ld. Large cor porations invest millions of Dollars researching and building operational structures as a way to compete favorably in the technologydominated market place and as a vehicle for sustainability, profitability, global positioning and stress-free compliance to the ever changing laws and the business landscape. Business plans are among some of the services offered by CPA and management consulting firms which not only provide needed direction but also provide well-researched, welldocumented tools and procedures for a smooth take off, working capital sourcing, cash flow, labor and inventory management, among other things.

A business plan can be prepared on two simple basis: as a preventive, pro-active (anticipatory) business measure or as a reactionary (fire-rescue) measure. Many knowledge managers and large companies want nothing more than a good bankable business plan. 99.99% of investors and investment managers need it before any decision is made on project funding project review of any kind. The idea of a business plan, however, remains a struggle for many small business owners. Sometimes this is because of their ownership forms and the cost of getting a business plan done. It takes some major catastrophic events to draw people's attention to the need for a business plan. It will require events like major business losses and sudden erosion of Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

profits, some kind of financial crisis or an IRS scare for most business owners to recognize the presence of an emergency. At this time, in most cases, it is already too late for any type of preventive measure.

There are immense benefits and perfect justification for a business owner, big or small, to invest in a business plan. These documents are indispensable both from the stand-point of the business, the investor and the funding public, but also for all other stakeholders. A business plan carefully spells out in perfect quantitative terms an organization's projected course of action over a period of time. It lays out the business size, industry sector, service demographics; as well as scope of coverage, nature and volume of investment required at every stage, with built-in margins of error. It is of critical importance and a matter of financial, social and, in most cases, legal due diligence that various levels of assessment and verification be undertaken before any major decision involving enterprise, wealth creation and social service on all fronts. The presence of a business plan provides a great sense of clarity and moral cushion to both the business owner and all third parties moving forward.

This is true with a small business as it is with a non-profit organization, a large corporation, government agency or any other type of human enterprise involving transference of wealth, money or money's worth, provision of material, social and human ser vices within any living community. Banks, financiers, promoters; grant-givers and other investors carefully examine a business' documented plan of 57

action, all substantive financial records before deciding whether or not to finance a new business enterprise or participate in any operating venture of any kind, regardless of what the optics, or what the rosy talk. A business plan is an essential tool in obtaining financing, attracting all kinds and levels of agency support and collaboration. It must describe in clear detail and in quantitative terms the business or service being rendered or proposed to be rendered. It must articulate and present all important known and unforeseen factors likely to influence the organization at different stages of operation.

This includes market trends, industry trends, competition, operations and management policies, production process; distribution, problem-solving strategies; financial resources, gulping need and other vital information about the vision and the project.

In addition, the plan enables the business owner to anticipate costs, plan for difficulties and take advantage of opportunities, as well as design and implement strategies that keep the company running as smoothly as possible. The ability to track and document such vagaries and operational components is already a huge PLUS for the project owner(s) and promoter(s) in search of funding and lateral collaboration with other established agencies.

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African Fabrics & their Fascinating Stories BY: MARYKATE OVWIGHOSE

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rt in Africa has always been a reflection of the culture of the people, and Africa’s clothing, textiles and fabrics have been a foremost significant form of African art. Cloth, in the African belief, goes beyond the mere covering of the body to prevent exposure. Its underlying symbolism takes its root in the value and belief system of the people. There is no gainsaying that Africans place great cultural value on cloth.

African fabrics have been part of African’s existence for many years now. This is evident in the fabrics themselves and the renderings on ancient tombs and pyramids. According to historians, African fabrics industry dates back to 5,000BC when ancient Egyptians cultivated flax and weaved it into linen. Early hieroglyphics, sculptures, and pyramids portrayed Egyptians in cloth dress, and in 2,000 B.C., renderings of early looms were discovered on Egyptian tombs alongside traces of linen materials. The African industry has since been growing strong with diversities and peculiarity of fabric.

The African print was initially started by the Dutch and was not created for Africans but actually for the Indonesian market, formerly East-west Indies. However, the Dutch wax prints gained significantly more interest in West African countries because of the triballike patterns. When the dutch realised its popularity with the African countries, especially in West Africa, they decided to pivot to making and selling it to Africans.

Kente cloth: Fabrics for the Royal

Africans integrated this foreign print to their unique culture by attaching unique names, African emblems; indigenous icons and imagery to each print, such as Speed Bird, Lovebomb, Grotto, also known as papaya Asa, Good living, Cha Cha Cha also known as “Change your life”. The African print is colourful, with endless patterns that can keep one excited for years to come.

The Bogolan Cloth or The Mud Cloth

Today, one can find a full tradition of textile flourishing throughout Africa. Let’s look at some popular African fabrics and their story

Kente Cloth, also known as Nwentoma in Akan or Kete in Ewe, is a great status symbol, and was traditionally worn by royals and people of high status in Ghana; mostly worn on important occasions. The Kente fabric is composed of interwoven cloth strips of silk and cotton. The people of Ewe, a tribe in Ghana, also have their own kente design similar to that of the Akan people.

Aso Oke, The party Fabric

Ankara, The Controversial Textile What started from the Netherlands, has grown to become one of the cores of the African culture. The African Print, also known as Dutch wax print, or our popular Ankara, is one of the representations of Africa’s unique culture.

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T he Bog olan cloth, also known as Bògòlanfini or mud cloth is a type of traditional fabric which is made by the Bamana people of Mali. This fabric is handmade cotton fabric and is dyed with plant dye or fermented mud. The Bogolan cloth has gained an important place in Malian culture. It was traditionally worn by hunters, which served as camouflage, also used for ritual protection, and as a badge of status, and worn by women as a sign of adulthood and celebration after childbirth. Mud Cloth is currently used by all ethnicities and status as an expression of national identity or as a fashion statement.

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This fabric is popular among the Yorubas of Nigeria, precisely in areas like Oyo, Saaki and Iseyin region. Aso oke means “top cloth”, representing cloth of high status. The Aso Oke is usually hand woven by men and used to create gowns for men called Agbada, women's headgear, men's hat called Fila, and women’s wrappers called Iro. w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

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The Aso Oke fabric is mostly worn on special occasions like festivals, chieftaincy, wedding ceremonies etc. The patterns and colours give the Aso Oke a true African identity representing special meaning that are significant to Yoruba culture. Although the Aso Oke is traditionally woven by men, there is a common believed that Aso Oke fabric weaved by women weavers has medicinal and spiritual powers, that brings blessings, protection and healing to the wearer of the cloth.

regular Kanga fabrics. The Kitenge is mostly worn in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Liberia, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is often worn around the waist by men during the hot weather and also by women on both waist and their head.

Bark Cloth, The Spirit of the Trees

Kanga, The talking cloth of East Africa

Made in the East of Africa, Kanga is a colourful machine-printed cloth dating back to the 1880s. The Kanga was traditionally made and worn by women in Tanzania and Kenya. Unlike the Kente and Mud cloth worn by people of high-status, the Kanga fabric is used by everyone for more casual wears like skirts, Apron, head-wraps etc; irrespective of their class and the occasion.

Although originally produced by India, the local textile industry in East Africa has done a good work of replicating this colourful beauty, adding a flare of the African culture to it and producing bulk quantities using large industrial rotary screen-printing; making it cheap and easily accessible for both women and men

Barkcloth was made by the Baganda people of southern Uganda during the 15th century.

According to Historians, the barkcloth was one of the first cloth concept made by mankind. Barkcloth is a soft, thick, slightly textured fabric, made from tree barks. This peculiar fabric was initially made not only in Africa but also in Indonesia and the pacific.

This versatile material has been used to make skirts, loincloths, draperies and wall hangings. Although made from local Mutaba trees, the barkcloth is harvested without bringing harm to the tree, which provides a great historical example of how to utilize the environment’s renewable resources.

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Shweshwe, also called Shoeshoe, is a printed dyed cotton fabric used by South Africans.

The Shweshwe fabric was named after Lesotho's king Moshweshwe, who was gifted with the fabrics by the French missionaries in 1840 and then popularized it in South African. Shweshwe fabric is typically used to make dresses, aprons and skirts. It is traditionally worn by newly married Xhosa women, known as Makoti or married Sotho women. Shweshwe is also used by contemporary South Africans as fashion design for both men and women from all ethnic groups. Due to its timeless popularity, Shweshwe has been described as the denim, or tartan of South Africa.

Ukara Ekpe, The Cult symbol

‘Kikoy’ African Fabric

Kitenge, The easter n Africa causal

Like the Kanga, The Kitenge fabric is an inexpensive, informal piece of clothing decorated with different colours and patterns, but is considered thicker than the

ShweShwe, South African pride

Kikoy which means to wrap or wrap around me, is a multi-purpose fabric from Tanzania and Kenya. It was introduced into Africa by businessmen who came from Arabia and landed in several cities along the East African Coasts. It is hand made with cotton can worn by men and women and used as a wrapper, beach towel, sarong, head wrap, skirts and shirt etc.

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The Ukara Ekpe was commonly used by the Ekpe groups in South-East Nigeria. These Ukara Ekpe fabrics are woven in Abakaliki and are designed by male Nsibidi artists. The Ukara fabric is designed with signs of the leopard and various motifs from the Nsibidi ideographic alphabet. It can be worn as a wrapper (a piece of clothing) on formal occasions. A larger version is hung in community and society meeting buildings and on formal occasions.

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PRECIOUS OKOYE

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recious Okoye is a Nigerian model who’s taking Africa to the world with her exploits in the beauty industry. She started modelling in 2013 in Nigeria's fashion capital, Lagos.

In 2017, she won the face of Black Opal Nigeria. She was crowned the winner and queen of the 2019 edition of the Miss Polo Nigeria pageant held in Lagos. The pageantry featured 35 contestants from each state in Nigeria.

Precious went on to represent Nigeria at the Miss Polo International pageant in 2019, which held at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Dubai, where she won the Miss Polo Africa title and placed top 5 among 23 contestants from around the world.

Business Elites Africa sat with the beauty queen to discuss life as a model in Africa and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Africa’s beauty scene. When asked about what inspired her to become a model, Precious said, “Growing up as a child, I have always had a keen interest in the creative world, things I can create and re-create with my time, energy and resource. So I went into modelling because I was passionate about it. It’s a platform where I can truly express myself while inspiring people to do the same”.

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Precious Okoye, the Nigerian Model Making Africa Proud BY: SIMEON ONOJA

Precious always dazzles on the runaway and has gained a loyal army of fans over the years. With all the stunning outfits, lights and camera, one would wonder what she finds most exciting about being a model.

According to her, “My Favorite part of being a model is knowing I always have to be in good shape, healthy, confident and positive at all times and hearing the camera shutters click”.

Black Models face discrimination both locally and internationally. In Africa for instance, an aspiring model could be percieved as being wayward, while on a global scale models of colour are often discriminated against for their skin tone and hair texture. Precious gives her take on how black models can deal with discrimination.

"Models of colour face a lot in silence treatment because it is believed their skin tone and hair type don’t fit in, whereas we represent Africa.

I believe models should be treated equally irrespective of their skin colour and hair texture. When brands and designers hire more models with different skin tone and hair textures, creatives and artists will learn to work with and treat everyone equally because we need them to bring out the best in us .”

Commenting on how profitable it has been as a model from Africa. She said, "I believe a great model will always stay true to the craft.

In doing so, you will be in high demand. But I must say Africans are yet to appreciate the craft because we still want to copy the western world when we have our own tradition, culture and style yet to be showcased to the world. Africa is beautiful.

It is high time we started accepting ourselves and every other thing will fall in place .”

When asked about her dream modelling job, she said, "Every Job that has come my way is a dream job to me and I am grateful for it while working to be better every day."

Talking about her most favourite memory from the Miss Polo International Contest, Precious smiled and said, "My favourite Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

memory from the Miss Polo international pageant was when I was crowned Miss Polo Africa in Dubai.

Watching the guests, mostly, rooting for me was phenomenal. Beside, the love I got from my fellow contestants from different parts of the world taught me that above all love is all that truly matters in anything we find ourselves in."

When asked how well she thinks African models are showcasing the black continent to the world, she said, "Africa is beautiful, there is a lot of stories to tell from Africa.

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Be passionate about it. Keep learning new skills .

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Be ready for rejection but most importantly never give up.

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Trust your journey and never compare yourself with anyone. You are uniquely you.

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Don’t forget God.

I believe we are just getting started. Although I commend the creatives doing their best to portray Africa in one way or the other, a lot can still be done when we start getting all the support we need and more African models start taking the craft seriously.

Speaking on how models in Africa can stay in business despite the COVID-19 fears, Precious said, "First of all, Health is important before any other thing and models are naturally creative and brilliant people with so much positive energy. This is the best time to add more value to ourselves and to the world, learn new skills to propel our career and use our platforms to educate and teach the world on safety precautions, whilst loving ourselves more.

When you are healthy, you will be able to stay in business. "Speaking on the evolution of Africa’s modelling industry she said," Yes I have seen Africa's modeling industry evolve.

When I started we were looking at modelling as something you do for fun or for some extra bucks, but it is an Art. It is a gradual Process, and it takes us Models and creatives to change the narrative."

Precious gives her advice to aspiring models." My advice to aspiring models is to be professional and confident at all times. Ÿ

Understand the craft. Modeling is Art.

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Always be ready to show up and put in the work.

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ARTICLE

Why Do Big Fashion Brands Ignore Africa?

BY: ROSEMARY EGBO

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ou might wonder why you only see one or two stores when you google “Gucci, Hermes or Louis Vu i t t o n s t o r e s i n A f r i c a . ” I t i s unspeakable that Africa, a continent with 54 independent nations can’t boast of more than two stores owned by these renowned international fashion brands.

It’s not a secret that these brands have neglected Africa despite the evolution in the fashion industry on the continent. We’ve seen the big brands create different designs with African fabrics but wonder what’s stopping them from launching more flagship stores in Africa, especially when its fashion industry is worth $31 billion.

Here are four possible reasons these foreign Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

fashion brands may not be interested in a robust and longterm business relationships with Africa.

Cost: These luxury fashion brands may be weighing the cost of their products for the African markets. Johanna Collins-Wood of Business of Fashion mentioned poverty as one of the reasons luxury fashion brands ignore Africa. Designs sold by most of these big fashion brands are expensive, and this is believed to be one of the reasons they're not fully established in Africa like in other continents.

They believe that Africans aren't rich enough to afford their clothes and accessories. But little do they know that Africans don't mind spending on what they like.

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Lack of diversification: The luxury brands are yet to harness the African markets because they've not found a way to properly tap into the markets. In 2018, the CEO of Gucci, Marco Bizzarri talked about Gucci inclusion and diversification through a press release during backslash for black imaginary on their turtleneck sweater line.

Nike is topping the charts because they've been able to carry out extensive studies of d i f f e r e n t m a r k e t s. T h e b r a n d h a s successfully penetrated 170 countries and also because exclusivity isn't part of its plan for the global market, African market is still not a focus.

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Short-sightedness: When you visit other continents, you're most likely to see African fabrics and accessories in the stores of these big fashion brands, but you’ll barely see their stores in Africa. As it seems, they aren’t seeing the bigger picture – the huge opportunity to engage the African market.

They preach inclusion and diversification, showcase African accessories in runways and stores but fail to understand that their presence in Africa goes a long way to portray what they preach. Fashion brands that are inclined to diversification walk the talk, and not only do so on social media.

Prejudice: Prejudice about Africa being a small market is one of the reasons some of these brands may not be investing in Africa.

Perhaps they still see Africa as the "Not so fashionable" continent they've always thought it was. When brands are driven by prejudice, then it becomes difficult make objective decisions even though it is logical.

Why We Need to Start Embracing Local Brands Instead of clamouring for international luxury fashion brands, we can boost our local fashion industry by ourselves and for ourselves. Here's why it's important to embrace our local fashion brands: Promotes creativity among local designers: High patronage helps bring out the creativity in our African fashion designers. This is because, when they see that their designs are accepted locally and internationally, they'll be motivated to do more.

The truth is that these big fashion brands didn't become big overnight. Check their backgrounds. Notice that they were greatly supported by their local markets. Buying local designs will keep the creative juice of African designers flowing.

Support our local economy: The fashion industry is a big part of the African economy. When the money we spend on fashion stays within the continent, the economy thrives. A thriving economy is an economy that supports local brands instead of enriching international brands that add little or nothing to our economy.

Builds a sense of community: Purchasing the services of African designers give both parties a sense of community. Designers feel supported, while the customers feel the Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

Africanness in every design.

African culture is best portrayed by Africans, even if more kudos are given to these foreign designers exploiting our culture. Our community is what makes us a people, and our pride and strength come from what w e ' r e a b l e t o a c h i e ve l o c a l l y a n d internationally.

Creation of job opportunities: Aside from encouraging creatives, buying locally made designs creates job opportunities. African designers do their parts in creating job opportunities not only for themselves but for other people when they enjoy patronage from African customers. We put the economy at a disadvantage when African designers are not patronised locally, which hinders their growth.

designs, especially if they don’t have robust network. Producing these designs and fighting to put them out there is a whole different battle African designers face.

Power shortage: Some African nations still battle with power shortage and endless power interruptions. This affects every industry. Designers source for means to power their production, which undermines their capital flow, thereby hurting their level of productivity and output.

What is the Way forward?

In order to create a booming and competitive fashion industry in Africa, there are things Africans must consciously do to promote local fashion designers.

Q: What is Stopping African Designers From Rivaling the Big Brands?

Firstly, Africans must be ready to buy and support local brands over these foreign luxury brands.

A: African designers are still struggling to compete with their international counterparts, and here are some of those reasons:

African governments need to pay more attention to the fashion industry. By so doing, loans and grants can be granted to grow, promote, and sustain the industry.

Lack of funding: Most African designers are struggling on their own without financial support from anywhere. The fashion business is capital-intensive, and this is why many of these designers are struggling to catch up with their inter national counterparts.

Thirdly, the creation of fashion academies and colleges should be looked into. There are very few well-equipped and structured fashion schools in Africa.

Governments of different African countries aren't doing much to assist fashion designers with soft loans and grants to boost their business.

Lastly, the right platforms to showcase these fashion designers should be created. These designers can’t compete when they’re in the dark. The international fashion companies making a mark have big platforms that enable them to do so.

Lack of good manufacturers: To rival these big fashion brands, African designers need to have good manufacturers they can work with. Due to lack of g ood manufacturers, many African designers go to China to manufacture their designs. This isn’t healthy for the African economy, and neither is it pocket-friendly for these designers.

Distribution challenge: Even when designers have surmounted the abovementioned hurdles, distributing these products becomes another challenge.

Production without a proper distribution channel is tiring and frustrating.

Lack of showcasing platforms: Quite a lot of designers struggle to showcase their 65

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Top Fashion Destinations in Africa BY: SIMEON ONOJA

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frica’s fashion industry is shaping up to be a huge revenue generator for the continent, with the industr y estimated at $31 billion US dollars.

The diversity and growth of Africa's fashion industry are already creating jobs for millions.

With fashion shows popping up in vibrant African cities, the world is starting to notice the black continent’s fashion industry. People are starting to discover and appreciate the uniqueness of African fabrics and the flair of African fashion designers. As fashion tourism continues to grow in Africa, it is necessary to celebrate the fashion capitals of Africa - towns on the continent that are making giant strides in the fashion industry. Let’s take a look.

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Johannesburg, South Africa After years of economic downturn, Johannesburg has slowly but steadily turned into a lively metropolis where fashion, music and art are an integral part of social life. The heart of the urban fashion scene are communities such as Newtown, Braamfontein and Maboneng.

In recent times, with increased access to resources, Johannesburg has held some impressive fashion shows. The locally hosted Fashion Week highlights some of the city’s best fashion designers such as Amanda Laird Cherry, Michelle Ludek, Sindiso Khumalo and a long list of others who showcase their outfits to international media, audience and fashion wholesale buyers.

The work of many Johannesburg fashion designers communicates a social 68

consciousness, either clearly or subtly, due to the political past of the nation and its effect on contemporary society. They tell their own stories of equality and pride through fashion.

Lagos, Nigeria Lagos, Nigeria’s commercially vibrant city is home to some of the most established fashion brands in Africa. Many Nigerian designers sell their creations around the world. Labels such as Maki Oh and Lanre da Silva Ajayi are worn by Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Alek Wek and other prominent people.

The popularity of Lagos as Nigeria’s fashion centre has been greatly driven by the prestigious Lagos Fashion and Design Week.

The state is firmly on track to become one of the biggest fashion capitals of the world. w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

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Dakar, Senegal Senegal's capital, Dakar, is emerging as a key African fashion hub in addition to its golden beaches, glitzy nightclubs and vibrant music scene. The National Geographic Traveler magazine in January ranked Dakar as No.1 on its list of urban hotspots. In the same year the New York Times included it on a list of 52 places to visit, stating that Dakar is "bursting with positive energy" and that local "design and fashion creations in New York showrooms would fit right in."

Dakar is getting noticed in Africa and the world through its Fashion Week which is organised by the Senegalese fashion designer Adama Ndiaye.

Unveiled 17 years ago, the Dakar Fashion Week Initially had just a handful of young local designers and models. The event has come a long way with hundreds of designers from around the world showcasing their designs as it is broadcast live on national television.

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Dar Es Salaam hosts the Swahili Fashion Week, a platform for designers from Swahilispeaking countries to exhibit their masterpieces, market their art and meet potential buyers. The event was first Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

launched by Tanzanian fashion designer Mustafa Hassanali. Swahili fashion week also helps to create employment in the region and promote made in East Africa fashion wears.

Tanzania is gearing up to celebrate the 13th edition of its Fashion Week from 4th – 6th December 2020 in Dar Es Salaam.

Niamey, Niger The International African Fashion Festival (FIMA) takes place in Niger every two years and pulls in over 2,000 attendees who discover new African fashion talents and lesser-known African enterprises.

The event is organised by Nigerien fashion designer Sidi-Ahmed Seidnaly who through his company Alphadi works to promote African fashion around the world.

Nairobi, Kenya When it comes to fashion, Nairobi, is considered Africa's New New York. Many designers based in Kenya have attained global recognition, such as the Suno women's wear brand and the Ashley Pittman accessories collection. The Festival for African Fashion and Arts (FAFA) and Swahili Fashion Week are annual fashion events.

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Luanda, Angola In 2010, Luanda hosted its first fashion week with a joint fashion business expo.The Fashion Week opened to rave media reviews creating positive publicity for a city that was otherwise largely remembered for its civil wars. Angolan fashion designer, Nadir Tati, who was later chosen to showcase her designs at Africa Fashion Week, New York, was among the featured designers at the festival.

Accra, Ghana Globally recognised fashion designers such as Aisha Ayensu, Mimi Plange and Anita Quansah all hail from Ghana.

Accra Fashion Week is organized by FashionGHANA, a prominent fashion media and management outlet with ties to more than 1,500 fashion stores across Africa and more than 90 distribution chains within and outside the continent. The aim is to bring collections and brands from across the continent and the diaspora together and drive educational workshops and media publicity .

Globally recognised fashion designers such as Aisha Ayensu, Mimi Plange and Anita Quansah all come from Ghana. w w w. b u s i n e s s e l i t e s a f r i c a . c o m

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Chidinma Chukwuemeka & her Husband are Building Nigeria’s biggest Footwear Academy in Aba BY: EMMANUEL ABARA BENSON

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teach me how to become a better boss.

have closely followed the activities of The Footwear Academy since 2019 when I became acquainted with its Cofounder, Chidinma Chukwuemeka on LinkedIn. As an active member of the networking platfor m, she would often write about her work at the shoe company, sharing lovely pictures of different kinds of shoes all manufactured right here in Nigeria. Now, I had always wanted to ask her some questions about The Footwear Academy but never really had the right oppor tunity to have the conversation. And then when Business Elites Africa began gathering materials for its “Inside Africa’s Fashion and Beauty Industry” edition, I knew right away that I had to interview her.

During the interview, we spoke about a whole range of topics, including her experience as a fashion entrepreneur building from Aba. We also spoke about an unpleasant work experience she had four years ago prior to embarking on the entrepreneurship journey.

Read the interview to find out how that unfortunate experience has contributed towards making her the kind of boss that she is today. Enjoy the read.

Q: May we meet you, Mrs Chukwuemeka?

A: My name is Chidinma Chukwuemeka.

I’m the Co-founder of The Footwear Academy. My husband and I started The Footwear Academy officially in August 2017.

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Q: So, why shoe-making?

A: Well, I think it has more to do with the influence of my husband because he liked it and he wanted to open up a shoe company and a training school for shoemaking. He had a big vision about it and I bought into that vision and today we have an academy.

Q : H o w p r o fi t ab l e i s t h e shoemaking business in Nigeria?

Q: Nice to meet you. Recently, you wrote a post on LinkedIn about a bad job experience you once had. Would you say that experience made you decide to become your own boss?

A: I don’t think it had any effect on me becoming an entrepreneur. But it has actually had a huge influence on the kind of boss that I am today. I’m quite sensitive to the needs of our team members that I supervise directly. I always try to evaluate the decisions that I make and how empathic I am to their needs because I have had a bad boss.

So, I really do not want to ever come off as the reason why someone would go into depression or hate their job because I want to get things done. So yes… even though the experience had nothing to do with me becoming an entrepreneur, it did, however, 70

A: The shoemaking industry is a very profitable business in Nigeria.

First of all, shoes are our primary means of transportation and everybody wears shoes. Even the poorest person will have at least a pair of shoes, slippers, or whatever it is you’d call it. So, it also depends on the niche market you are targeting, the kind of shoes that you are making, quality, etc. I always tell my students that the market is so huge, the market is so untapped. Asides from the shoemaking industry, the accessories market for the footwear industry is also a very huge and untapped area. The leather industry entirely is worth billions and billions of dollars. It is very untapped in Africa, especially Nigeria. And for people that are well positioned, they will be able to build profitable businesses off shoemaking.

Forex always directly impacts our business. Some of these materials are supposed to be produced here but they are not.

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I mean, we have programmes that go for as much as N500,000. Our six months programme is N500,000 and we have students that sign up for it. So, if someone had told me in 2017 when we started that people would pay N500,000 (half a million naira) to learn shoemaking, we wouldn’t have believed it. But it’s happening today.

Even in our production arm, we get a lot of shoe orders that we can’t even fulfil sometimes. So yeah, it’s a very profitable industry. It’s very, very profitable. It’s just that it’s very untapped and for every untapped industry, it has its own challenges.

Sometimes, footwear companies fold up because of lack of infrastructure, lack of funds for expansion. It may even be that the entrepreneur doesn’t know how to build a successful enterprise, doesn’t have good business skills, or lacks connections, etc. Just like every other industry, the footwear industry has its own problems. But is it a profitable industry? Yes, it is.

Q: What has been your experience so far being a fashion entrepreneur in Aba? A: Wow! My experience being a fashion entrepreneur in Aba… (Laughs). Well, I will say it’s been all about mixed feelings, really.

We moved to Aba in December 2018 and it was quite different from everything I knew.

We tried to work with a couple of shoemakers here in Aba (you know the older generation). We found it so hard to work with them because a lot of them were too rigid. They weren’t interested in learning the new methods that we had to offer. Some of them were quick to tell you ‘oh I’ve spent ten, twenty, or even fifty years in this industry’. They would make their boast in that fact that they have experience in the industry, even though quite a number of them had nothing to show for all those years of experience. So, it was not easy for us initially. It wasn’t easy finding shoemakers to work with even for the academy. We thought we could get shoemakers we could work with, people that were willing to pass down the knowledge they had to the next generation. But we also now found out that a lot of them had issues with their own shoemaking because some of them passed through the apprenticeship system. So, most of them do not have formal training or even a formal education in shoemaking. As such, they had poor finishing. A lot of them didn’t know how to make patterns… It just wasn’t easy.

I also discovered that this wasn’t an industry Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

that favoured women. The women we found were very few. Even at the Ariaria Market, you will find women basically only stitching for other shoemakers themselves. So, women were not used a lot. It was an industry that quite frankly excluded women.

And then when you are working with an older generation of shoemakers, they don’t like taking instructions from women (Laughs). It’s a pride thing, actually. So, my husband was the one that handled most of the relations that had to do with them.

Eventually, we had to let go of all of that and re-strategised. So, what we did was that we employed a couple of young people and interns and did our own training. This was after we got back from Italy in 2019. So, we did a call for application for interns, we employed our own people, and trained them ourselves. Now, we have very young people that are training in the academy. At least, they are easier to work with. Most of them have formal education and its’s just a lot easier to work with them. So, it’s been generally quite interesting.

Last year when we came back from Italy, we fully opened up an office reduced our training fee to N35,000, placed ads for applications. You know, we did everything really that we needed to do. And our dream and vision was that people will travel from different parts of Nigeria to Aba to learn shoemaking because Aba is like the biggest shoemaking hub and if you want to experience the shoemaking industry, the best place to be is here, right? So, we did all that.

And to be honest, we had just two students sign up all through last year; at least from July till the end of the year. Just two students signed up even though it was N35,000. And 71

it was really frustrating because we didn’t know what we were not doing right. But in the midst of that frustration, we decided to take a slightly different approach. Now, note that it wasn’t as if people were not interested in our training. As a matter of fact, there were lots of young people who showed interest. But a lot of them said they could not afford the fee. So, what we did was that we started reaching out to sponsor organisations like the Partnership Initiative of Niger Delta who we are currently working with now to train one hundred young people for free. From that we started speaking to other organisations like Pint Foundation and others. So yeah, these have been part of our experience.

Q: Tell us more about some of the challenges you’ ve f aced as an entrepreneur.

A: So, like I earlier mentioned, one of the challenges we faced has to do with putting together the right team. Setting up a team at first was like really difficult. For like the first two to three years, it was not easy getting a good team at all. Thankfully, we have a great team now.

Other challenges we faced was about getting students to make payments. A lot of young people could not afford the fees even when we reduced it to N35,000. But like I said, this made us to start looking for sponsor organizations that could do that.

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At one time, another major challenge had to do with funding. On other times, it was lack of infrastructure which unfortunately increases our cost of production and cost of training, basically, the Nigerian factor, really.

As you know, there are a lot of challenges that ever y entre preneur in Nig eria unavoidably gets to deal with. One of the hardest things we’ve had to work our way around. Thank God that has been sorted out. We now have like a strong team of seven.

Q: The Footwear Academy is steadily becoming a major player in the Nigerian fashion industry. How does it make you feel knowing that you built this company?

A: Well, there is still so much work to do. But, it is impressive that we’ve come this far in just three years. It’s something that I am so grateful to God about. I remember when my husband and I started, it was so hard trying to sell our vision to people, trying to pitch to investors and all that. This year has really been good for us. This year we’ve been able to train one hundred young people in Aba, thirty in Ihiala. We also got a lot of people to sign up for our private courses. We got a lot of B2B clients for our production units. Our team even increased. This year has really been good to us. One of the things we can attribute for that, asides the grace of God, is the fact that building a business is like planting a seed. You can’t see it when it starts sprouting, sticking tiny little roots in the ground. You just have to keep watering it hoping that someday the sun is going to shine. Before you know it, you will get one bud of leaves someday, and the n the next day you start seeing flowers. And then it starts bearing seeds and stuff like that.

Basically, that’s what is happening. It’s growing steadily. We are getting the attention of the government, we are getting the attention of the private sector. It’s really been a journey quite honestly. But it doesn’t end here because there’s still a lot to be done.

huge exports is that it has not been a priority for us for now. Most of the priority we’ve had in terms of growing the company has been ‘let’s first get young people to learn shoemaking, let’s get people to start making shoes and start fulfilling at least the orders that we have within Nigeria and Africa, then we can start thinking about exports. Exports are like sometime of the future. For now, it is not something we are actively pursuing.

Q: Are Nigeria’s FOREX troubles having any impact on you?

A: Yes, Nigeria’s FOREX troubles have affected us because most of the shoemaking materials are imported. This means that as the Dollar rises, materials are going to get expensive. Like before, a manual sowing machine was N35, 000 but now it’s like N45, 000 which is like N10, 000 extra. The prices of things are now so unpredictable. Even at that, there are materials you can’t find anymore because importers a r e unable to buy them or they are not availa ble due to bord er closures. It’s just really crazy becaus e 90% of the material s for shoe

mak ing are imp ort

Q: Do you export some of the shoes you make? If yes, how has the border closure affected you?

Q: How about the pandemic, has it affected your business in any way?

A: Asides from the time when there was general lockdown and businesses were closed, we also closed during that period. But in terms of business this year, I think this is one of our best business years. I think what helped is that people started thinking outside their regular 9-5 jobs you know – ‘don’t know when there will be another pandemic so I need to get a skill’. So people started thinking about getting skills, which for us is good business because as people are thinking in that way, it means that they are also willing to start investing money I learning the skill of shoemaking. So, I will say that the pandemic was actually advantageous to us, even though I cannot downplay the fact that a lot of other businesses were adversely affected by the pandemic and I emphathise with them.

Q: W ho do you look up to f or motivation/guidance?

A: I don’t want to sound cliché, but I will say God. God is my biggest motivation and guidance because trust me, we have been through bad deals. I think 2019 was one of our hardest years so far. We lost a lot of money. We had invested money towards getting a hostel for our students but business wasn’t just moving. Even when we wanted to g o to Italy to lear n more skills in shoemaking, our visa was denied. For about two to three months we were running around writing letters trying to get people to appeal the visa denial. And in the midst of all of that, I think our biggest source of strength was God. Thankfully, we also have a second network of friends, family, and mentors that kept praying with us, kept talking to us, kept encouraging us.

Well, in terms of guidance, we also have mentors. One of our greatest mentors is Jane Omar. One thing she kept telling my husband and I last year was to ‘stay the course’. She kept repeating it over and over again even when we were so f r u s t r a t e d . We w e r e c l e a r l y frustrated and she kept saying we should stay the course. And she was there for us.

A: To be honest, we don’t really do a lot of exports except for one or two orders that we get from Nigerians in the diaspora or some of our white American friends. We use DHL for most of those orders. The thing about Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

ed. So, FOREX always directly impacts our business. Some of these materials are supposed to be produced here but they are not. We are looking for alternative materials but still, it’s not the same. So yes, we are very much affected by the FOREX troubles.

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EVANS AKERE

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eet Evans Akere, founder of Va n s ke r e a n d a t r a i n e d Nigerian lawyer who dumped the legal profession for fashion, and now building a luxury lifestyle brand that is converting window shoppers to avid clients with his outstanding designs and craftsmanship.

The Vanskere brand was launched in 2004 with a goal to manufacture stylish and good quality clothes, using the finest and quality fabrics, and the commitment to the this purpose quickly catapulted the brand from obscurity to the mainstream fashion industry in Africa.

In this interview with Business Elites Africa, Akere tells us how laser focused he is to building a sustainable business while advising budding entrepreneurs to “Think big but start small.”

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The Fashionpreneur who makes Africa's coolest Trad wears BY: DIMEJI AKINLOYE

Q: What motivated you to start the Vanskere brand?

A: My love for fashion. Even as a law student, my sense of style was different. So you can say my desire for creating a different look was all the motivation I needed.

Q: How has the journey been?

A: Well, the journey has been a great experience. I have learnt quite a lot and I am still learning. In terms of the successes, I have been able to create a brand from mere passion. T he challeng es have been enormous, but we have been able to manage it. In terms of failures we haven't had any, we don't pray to have.

Q: You were a lawyer, why did you drop the profession for fashion, and if you could turn back the hands of time, would you make the same choice?

A: I dropped the legal profession because my passion for fashion supercedes that of law. If I could turn back the hands of time I'll do it again.

Vankere is a luxury brand, why did you target this market segment? Is Africa’s mass market a bad idea?

A: Not at all, the Africa mass market is not a bad idea besides we are looking at towing that line in the nearest future. When we first started, the business simply offered bespoke Business Elites Africa / ISSUE 110

services. Also bearing in mind the request of your customers tend to shape your business.

In no time, we became a full-fledged ready to luxury wear brand.

Q: Ar e your pieces pr oduced in commercial quantities and what other markets do you ser ve apar t from Nigeria?

A: We are a luxury ready-to-wear brand so that speaks for the quality as well as exclusivity of our designs. We do serve other African countries like Ghana and South Africa.

Q: Now that African designers, like you, are making native outfits look cool, do you see more corporate organizations normalizing it as a day-to-day workplace dressing?

A: It’s already happening. Generally, many bankers opt for the cool traditional look during the week. Some of these are our clients, so seeing a traditional piece in the boardroom is no longer out of place, especially in accordance with wear Nigeria.

Q: In your opinion, what’s stopping African fashion designers from competing favourably in the western markets?

summer. While the western brands create pieces for their different weather, so they sell all through the year.

Q: Why do you think big fashion brands like Gucci and the likes are not opening stores in Africa like they do in Europe and Asia?

A: The reason is because they will not sell as much as they do in Europe and Asia. In africa, they'll need to compete with the local brands, because majority of Africans wear traditional attires, as opposed to Europe and Asia.

Q: What needs to be done to make African consumers pride on local brands over the big western labels?

A: I guess we need a reorientation, becaue it affects every aspect of our lives, not just fashion alone. We believe anything coming from the western world is more superior and better than our local ones. Presently, I believe our clothes can compete favourably with the western brands in terms of quality and finishing.

Q: What were the right steps you took that helped your business grow?

A: I fueled my passion and ignored the distraction in the industry.

A: The major reason is weather, majority of African clothes are designed for warm weather, so they can only be sold during 75

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ARTICLE

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t is quite easy to offend the typical Nigerian when you refer to what they’re wearing as “local”. You’re more likely to get a negative response when you go “Hey, you’re looking local”. This is due to the negative perception attached to locally designed wears. Despite the rise of African fashion internationally, a good number of Nigerians still prefer to go for foreign brands such as Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein, Versace, Lui Vuitton among others.

With some of the world’s top fashion designers and brands coming from Nigeria, it becomes puzzling why Nigerians still haven’t gained the level of confidence that is expected of their locally designed wears.

Taking an in-depth look at consumer behaviour and perception in the country, the following reasons can be given for the poor outlook and patronage to local fashion by Nigerian.

Quality Concerns This is the chief reason Nigerians give when it comes to buying locally made fashion items. Over the years Nigerian fashion has gained a bad reputation, as most Nigerian wears ranging from clothing to shoes and bags do not last as long as their foreign counterparts. Nigerians would rather buy a pair of UK made shoe that will last for years than buy a locally produced one that will only last for some months.

High Cost

Why are Nigerian Consumers not Embracing Local Fashion?

One would expect made in Nigeria fashion to be cheap in the country. But that is not the case. A made in Nigeria dress, for instance, comes with a high price tag due to the low demand for such locally made wears. The designer increases the price to make as much profit as possible from the few customers available. The result is that Nigerians find it difficult to buy locally made fashion wears.

Another reason for high prices is that in Nigeria's fashion industry, there are many middlemen who raise the prices of outfits.

Nigerians interface more with these intermediaries rather than the actual designers themselves and what they encounter is ridiculously high prices.

BY: SIMEON ONOJA

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Poor Customer Service Nigeria’s fashion industry struggles with bad customer service as most designers and sales outlets consider it a done deal once an outfit has been sold, ignoring the power of aftersales service in gaining the goodwill of customers.

Imagine buying a clothing item from a store and your text messages or calls are rarely answered by the vendor or having to lay a complaint with a rude vendor. This is very common in the Nigerian fashion industry and it is a huge turn-off for local customers.

Poor Branding Nigerian fashion designers do not invest much in branding as compared to their foreign counterparts. You’ll find it difficult to see an ad on television that features a Nigerian fashion brand. There are a lot of promotional activities that can create a positive perception in the mind of customers which Nigerian brands are not leveraging.

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Not overlooking the global recognition which Nigerian fashion brands have been gaining with the likes of Michelle Obama and Lupita Nyongo wearing Nigerian outfits, a lot needs to be done when it comes to branding especially within the country.

Nigerians need to develop a sense of true appreciation for locally designed wears.

How will Nigerians appreciate their local fashion brands when proper brand advertising and necessary promotions are not put in place. When Nigerian brands position themselves favourably, Nigerians will start to perceive these local brands as being prestigious.

Status Symbol A lot of Nigerians share the belief that wearing foreign brands portray sophistication. They believe wearing Gucci or Versace shoe places you on a higher class than someone who’s wearing a made in Nigeria pair. Some Nigerians will go the extra mile just to have the latest designs by foreign brands so they are not underrated by society.

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This trend can be blamed on cultural imperialism - Nigeria has borrowed a lot of foreign culture to an extent where even the word “local” is considered offensive. When you observe the ongoing trend in the fashion world, you’ll notice that top celebrities and political figures such as Beyonce, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Jaden Smith and Andrew Flemming have worn Nigerian fashion.

Nigeria’s fashion industry is blessed with a wide range of fabrics and fashion styles spanning several unique cultures in the country and has got the potential to sit sideby-side with top fashion brands from around the world. But to achieve this the quality of Nigerian clothes, shoes, bags and other fashion wears must be improved upon. This will mean grants and loans for fashion designers to step up the quality of their designs. Once the quality of Nigerian fashion wears has improved this will help reduce high cost, since patronage will increase as more Nigerian will find it prestigious to wear local fashion. Other key factors such as customer service and branding will also need to be better handled.

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Ikechukwu Urum of Jabari Models Talks about the Integral Role of Model Management in the Fashion Business BY: EMMANUEL ABARA BENSON

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he fashion industry anywhere in the world would not be the same without the involvement of models. Those pretty-looking humans are needed to sell any fashion/beauty product, be it clothes, bags, shoes, makeup, hair products, etc. Now, here is the interesting thing – being a model is more than looking good and having a fantastic body. It requires certain skills which are perfected overtime. This is where model management and modeling agencies come in. Chances are you have heard about modeling agencies prior to this time, but never really got around knowing much about what it is that they do. Well, now is your chance to solve that problem for yourself because in this interview, we spoke extensively to Ikechukwu Urum who is the Co-founder and Director of Jabari Models, a leading modeling agency in Nigeria. Enjoy the read.

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Q: Hi there. Please, introduce yourself for the benefit of those who do not know you.

A: Hello. I am Ikechukwu Urum. I am the Co-Founder/Director of Jabari Model Management and also the Team Lead at The Qraft Company. I have been in the Modelling/Fashion Industry since 2015 which is about 5years now.

Q: What exactly does model management entail?

A: Model Management involves finding / scouting a talent, developing this talent by teaching them about the modelling business and what it takes to survive, and providing a platform for them to express all you have taught them. It is an all-round job I must say.

I always tell my models I am their new ‘best friend’ who they can trust with anything. I feel like for you to best manage a model, you need to have an understanding of how the person thinks and know how to communicate with said individual. It goes beyond just scouting and pushing for jobs.

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Q: What has been your experience managing these models?

A: Managing models comes with a lot of stress and I must say that as stressful as it is, it can be very fulfilling. The joy of finding or scouting an amazing face/talent and nurturing that person to become a super model or an in-demand model is next to none. There have been times where you have to struggle with booking jobs, ensuring the model has the right look for the season and being able to not just develop a model but also build a brand that clients will want to associate with. It is a very demanding job but it also very fulfilling.

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Q: Do you only manage runway models or all kinds of models?

A: Right now I manage High-Fashion Models who are involved in both Runway and Catalogue.

Q: Are these models only within Nigeria or do you have some outside of the country?

A: Right now I have models that are based in other parts of Africa and also one in the US. So, I don’t only manage models that are in Nigeria. If you find me an amazing face anywhere in the world, please send me an image and I will get to work. (Laughs)

that N50000 which is about 30%. Overseas, for a major campaign as big as that, you will get paid close to 20,000Euros and your agency/manager will also earn a decent living. So yea, it is glamourous here in Nigeria but honestly not so profitable.

Q: How does the profit-sharing between you and the models work?

A: The standard used to be 70-30 with the latter going to the model, but these days I hear some agencies in Nigeria go as high as 55-45 so it all depends on the agency. This is supposed to be the peak of fashion week if I am not wrong.

Q: The fashion industry is obviously quite glamorous. But is it also profitable, especially as it pertains to model management?

Q: This is supposed to be the peak of fashion week if I am not wrong.

U n f o r t u n a t e l y, n o t h i n g m u c h i s happening this year. How has COVID-19 impacted your business?

A: Yes, the industry is glamourous but the Model Management business is not so profitable in Nigeria. This is because the booking fee offered to models of jobs here in Nigeria is unbelievably ridiculous. You will find a model who does a commercial for a brand and the images are used for Billboards and you get paid as low as N50,000. Now bear in mind that the managers only get a certain percentage of

A: Honestly, it has ruined a lot of plans.

There are Nigerian Models who would have travelled abroad to Europe for fashion Week but they are stuck here in Nigeria because of the travel ban to Europe. Even here at home, a lot of shows have been cancelled because of the government rule that limits the gathering of a large groups of people in one space. A lot of models who have waited all year for these shows are getting disappointed

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as shows are either bring cancelled or done digitally.

Q: What are some of the challenges you face daily as a talent manager?

A: The Major challenge I have always had to deal with is resources. There aren’t enough resources to develop these models and provide the needed platform for them. You find an amazing face on the street and the cost of training the person, sometimes you have to buy clothes and shoes, give them transport money to castings and go-sees and even when you place them abroad, there is that challenge of how to cover visa fees, travel tickets, etc. Not having enough resources is one of my biggest challenges but still WE MOVE on!!! Another challenge I face daily is the fact that the industry here is not always very welcoming to new and upcoming models. A lot of brands and show producers prefer to work with already established faces and that can be a problem especially when you are trying to build the portfolio of your models.

Q: Lastly, do tell us what you think about the Nigerian fashion industry and your expectations for the future.

A: The Nigerian Fashion Industry is growing and I look forward to a time where multi-nationals will invest in the diverse talents we have. I strongly believe we have what it takes to compete within the international market.

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