Addie Olutola: Building a Fashion Line for the culture
Addie Olutola is the founder of D’IYANU, a ready-to-wear clothing line that offers African inspired fashion for men and women. She thought of the business idea while working as a buyer and also attending a Masters program in International Marketing. Her professional and academic background, coupled with a love for fashion and a passion for African-centered art set the stage for D’IYANU. A regular on my Instagram Explore Tab featuring #datenight outfits and a go-to brand for the culturally-conscious fashionista, D’IYANU encourages self-expression through its bold prints and unique pieces. The meaning behind the brand name draws from French (D’) and Yoruba (IYANU) influence, translating to “of something wonderful”–a reminder to everyone that they’re uniquely made and to dress like it. What makes D’IYANU even more special is Addie’s commitment to seeking ways her business can empower her community and help address the social issues it faces. The company has grown to 12 employees, many of whom are Nigerian women, and has donated a portion of its profits to nonprofits that provide clean water and education to African communities. In this interview, she gives a sneak peek into her world and shares her wisdom on how to build a purpose-filled business. Tell us about your journey of starting D’IYANU. Since university, I held a purpose to help build schools and clinics and provide opportunities to people in underdeveloped communities in Nigeria and other African countries. I later launched D’IYANU with a mission centered on community engagement. Since our start, we’ve donated over $20,000 to causes that support African communities and the D’IYANU brand continues to grow daily. What were some important lessons you took your work experience to your business? My first job out of school was for an online pet store. I learned a lot of valuable lessons about inventory and website management that helped me when I launched my own business. My second job as a buyer helped me hone my vendor and customer relation skills which was much needed as well in my business. All my previous jobs really contributed to my success as an entrepreneur. I would advise aspiring entrepreneurs to regard their current and previous jobs as stepping stones and commit to gleaning as much knowledge and skill as possible from that role [bctt tweet=”Not every business is the same. Don’t make the assumption that what worked for another company will necessarily work for your own – @AddieIyanu” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] What did you learn from your biggest failure? One failure we experienced was trying to implement an ERP system that was too big for us. It was an archaic system used by larger companies and thought it would work for us. We made many assumptions, and it ended up costing us a lot. The lesson learned was that not every business is the same and not to make the assumption that what worked for another company will necessarily work for your own. Also, make sure you do your due diligence and get as much of your questions answered as possible. Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work? I listen to some motivational speakers regular such as Les Brown, Jim Rohn, and Tony Robbins whose words have helped me through tough times with my business. Words from Les Brown such as “It’s not over until I win” or Tony Robbins “I can, I will, I must” ring in my mind when I’m feeling discouraged. As your business grows, what are some core values that will remain important? Always keep customers first and maintain excellent customer service Hire great people and keeping them happy within the team Continue to innovate and try new things with operations and fashion Make sure that D’IYANU continues to give to great causes The African fashion market is heavily saturated, how do you cut through the noise to differentiate your brand? Since starting D’IYANU, my goal has been to make sure that we’re differentiating ourselves by offering quality, ready to wear clothing at reasonable prices, quick delivery, and quality customer service. Our men’s fashion line, for example, has allowed us to reach a rarely tapped market and to gain a competitive advantage in the African-wear industry. With the substantial relationship between e-commerce and social media, what are some creative strategies you’ve experimented with or want to explore? With social media, we recognize that the possibilities to connect with new customers are endless. We’re currently exploring our options in using more video content and collaborating with influencers. What is your personal brand mantra? “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style.”- Maya Angelou What’s your advice for a budding entrepreneur? Write down why you want to start your business. Make sure the reasons are compelling enough to get you going on tough days. If your reasons are compelling enough, you’ll figure out a way to make your dreams a reality and continue to push in spite of failure. [bctt tweet=”Make sure your reasons for starting your business are compelling enough to get you going on tough days. – @AddieIyanu” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] What are you most excited about at the moment, and what are your next steps? I’m excited about our use of a new type of fabric that’s woven but has a little bit of spandex for stretch. No one else in the African fashion market is using this type of fabric to my knowledge. We have to get it special made. It looks like cotton, but it’s made with a rayon/nylon/spandex blend. It can stretch to accommodate curves nicely. We have a few pieces that we will be launching in January 2019 with this material which is exciting! Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
Chidinma Emodi Chukwuemeka: Pitch your business proposition from the ‘why’ perspective, not the ‘what’
Chidinma Emodi Chukwuemeka is a seasoned entrepreneur with a specialty in Brand and Digital Marketing. In July 2017, Chidinma and her husband, Mr. Bentley Chuwkuemeka officially launched The Footwear Academy. The Footwear Academy is a footwear training and production school for individuals interested in the art of footwear production and sales. Their vision is to enable shoemakers in Africa starting with Nigeria produce exportable standard products. Her Start-up The Footwear Academy has pitched and participated in various local and international startup competition. They are the recent winners of the Proudly Made in Aba Hackathon – winning a grand prize of $50,000 from Ford Foundation. They also took 2nd place in 2017 at the Open Mic Africa startup pitch competition organized by Techpreneur Africa and MIT Legatum. Chidinma is an Alumni of Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI Regional Training Center) – Onsite Nigeria Cohort 4. She was awarded star of Business and Entrepreneurship for her cohort. She is self-driven and very passionate about helping brands and people succeed. [bctt tweet=”You have the ability to be anything you want to be ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”]
8 Innovative Ways to Fund Your Startup
Dear Motherland Mogul, anyone who said starting a business is fun and easy told a fat lie and worst still, have never started a business. One of the biggest hurdles an entrepreneur in Africa (or anywhere in the world) has to cross is the hurdle of financing their business. It’s the reason why many fabulous and potential million dollar ideas die every day or remain mere ideas. Like it or not, money is everything in an entrepreneurs world. Without it, ideas are buried and passions are watered down while frustrations set in, making even the strongest of personalities call it quits and go back to their corporate jobs. I’ve come up with 8 innovative ideas you can use to fund your startup without necessarily borrowing money. Depending on your situation and kind of business, you’ll find at least one or two you can apply immediately to get your business running. 1. Sell your valuables Yes! You saw that right. If you’ve been struggling with acquiring funds to finance your startup and nothing seem to be working, maybe it’s time then to look inwards. Search your house thoroughly for any valuable item that could fetch you a fortune when you sell…that gold wristwatch, expensive jewelry, MacBook, or iPod, whatever. It’s time to let them go for the bigger stuff. If you aren’t ready to get rid of these precious items to make your ideas work, then it doesn’t matter what you say, you are not ready for business! Or better still, you are not convinced about your ideas. Entrepreneurs are people that can give everything including their lives for something they believe in. That is one skill you need to survive in this overcrowded business space. 2. Dip into your savings This is what your savings are meant for: to invest in opportunities and ideas that can transform your life and change your world. Your savings are not meant for spending, fixing urgent situations or paying debts. You can have separate savings for that but primarily we save to invest. Just in case you don’t have any savings, you might want to take some time making some money at first. So try to get a job where you could work for some time and save before starting your business. 3. Your Rich Friends What big money is to you is nothing to some of your rich friends. You know this is true. Instead of dying in silence and wondering if they will be willing to help you, swallow your ego, take the bold step and pitch your ideas to them. You’ll never know if they’ll support you unless you ask. If one rich friend says no, walk up to another until all of them have said no and at that point, you know something else is wrong. Maybe something that has to do with your approach or the feasibility of your ideas. Your friends should be willing to help you make your dreams come true especially when they can. After all, what are friends for? 4. Crowdfunding from family and close relatives Crowdfunding is a good fundraising alternative for entrepreneurs. It involves raising a small amount of money from a large number of people. Crowdfunding can be done through online platforms. The best people to start fundraising from are your family and relatives. You can start by listing down all those who can potentially fund you and write down how much you think they can conveniently donate. Once you’ve located your potential donors, go reach out to them. Pitch your ideas so that they know what you’re capable of doing. For some other family members, you can ask to instead borrow money and then pay as your business yields profits. 5. Leverage on funding opportunities Governments, NGOs and other private and public bodies are providing support to entrepreneurs all over Africa. Since more people are participating in entrepreneurship, these bodies come up with initiatives and CSR projects to provide financial support to budding entrepreneurs. Be sure to leverage these opportunities when they show up. Other funding opportunities include idea-pitching events. For example, the upcoming SLA Accelerator gives entrepreneurs an opportunity to pitch their ideas. Then the top selected ideas get to win large sums of money, partnerships, and mentorship. Such events provide you an opportunity to not just fund your business when you win, but also learn from your mistakes if you lose. In the end, it’s a win-win situation where you get to build on your ideas either way. 6. Partnerships Regardless of the kind business you run, a partnership is a smart way of funding your startup. Strategic partnerships will not only afford you funds, but also help you leverage the experience, expertise, resources, and network of the other party. Just make sure you go about it the right away and involve a legal personnel in all your dealings and agreements. 7. Microloans and peer-to-peer lending While I always discourage small businesses from starting up with loans, at times, that might appear to be the wisest step to take. Microloans are small business loans offered by microlenders to help small or relatively new businesses finance their business. As a new business, you might not qualify for a bank loan because of the collateral requirements and others. But with microloans, you can get your business started without acquiring too many debts or paying high-interest charges. Similarly, peer-to-peer lending is a new debt financing method that provides a platform where lenders are connected to borrowers. You don’t need a financial institution for a p2p lending. The interest rates are also at an all-time low and less risky and safer than other methods. 8. Angel and seed investors Angel/seed investors are wealthy and affluent individuals who provide a business startup with capital or funds usually for a convertible debt or ownership equity in return. Most small business owners don’t buy into this idea of business funding. This is because it involves sharing their business ownership with another business even if it’s a small percentage. However, you
Peggy Moele proves that Aquaponics is an innovative way to breed organic food for African communities
56-year-old Peggy Moele is one of the few women in South Africa practicing aquaponics and aquaculture-agriculture in her 10 hector veg and fisheries farm. The new system of aquaponics and aquaculture has helped Peggy win awards and getting much recognition and a helping hand from the Department of Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries in her country, South Africa. She was one of the few women of a group of farmers funded to go on an excursion tour and workshop in chines province to learn about the modern solutions to organic farming and fisheries in early 2017. Khethiwe Mndawe interviewed Peggy Moela after receiving her award as woman farmer of the year in her municipality and nomination nationally at the Woman in agriculture awards 2017. Peggy was born and raised in rural Bushbuckridge, growing up with values that depend on the land farming to create sustainable solutions for the community to never go hungry. As a young woman growing up in the nomadic homelands, the poverty of the families around her always touch her to work towards how she can bring solutions for other families and greater way of making a living. “I started out running a catering business, unable to find work in my area yet seeing the poverty and lots of lands always draw me to agriculture I came from a poor background and I’ve always see the challenges and need of the people in my community and it has always been a wish of mine to create employment” said Peggy Running Jubilee farms with her son they had decided that they wanted to go into fisheries and explored those possibilities after a visit for an official from the department of agriculture, in her province who expanded their knowledge and supported then in kick-starting building their first pond. After having built over 10 ponds and growing they started with 360 Tapia fish from Mozambique practice and Aqua phonic and aquaculture fish farming and organic veg farming and their journey in China studying the different options toward organic farming and fisheries. Mrs. Peggy Moele got her first recognition after winning as the female entrepreneur farmer of the year 2016, she was selected as the top female in agriculture in Bushbuckridge again in 2017 and awarded at the Provincial agriculture female awards by the minister of Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries 2017 and nominated in the nationals for her unique and developing farming business in her 10 hector farm. A system that combines conventional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. With pigs and cows that she has bread over the years, she had discovered with her son the proactive of aquaculture, using excretions from the animals being raised can accumulate in the same pond water, increasing toxicity. “With the aquaponics system, we use the water from an aquaculture system which we feed to a hydroponic system. The by-products are broken down by nitrifying bacteria into nitrites and subsequently into nitrates, which are utilized by the plants as nutrients, and the water is then recirculated back to the aquaculture system”. “We have been doing most of the work ourselves in putting these systems together and they have produced many results and accelerate the vision or organic farms and fisheries for the community and working toward commercial supply.” Said, her son, Boka Moele, Manager of the Jubilee farm “Seeing that I came from elders who always ventured into farming, feeding the communities and sustaining themselves through farming. It was easy for me to decide to go into farming. I took all my profits and saving from my catering business, and in 2011 I approached the chiefs in my village area and bought about 10 hectares of land” said Peggy Moele They started to use 6 hectors of the land and cleared, to begin seasonal crop farming. Things were very difficult in the beginning, I couldn’t afford any workers, those that worked for me, I would offer them and their families groceries and vegetable to sustain them as we were struggling and still growing. “After the department had heard about my farm in Bushbuckridge, they came to view our farm our progress and to hear what challenges we were facing. The official then introduced us to aquaculture and fisheries, he showed us how to build our first pond and ever since we have built much more on our own to cater for our fisheries business. We have since been breading the Mozambique Tilapia fish. Initially, we started with 360 fishes in 2013 and we are amazed at how much the fishes continue to grow and multiply. We have since been having a good relationship with the DPT of agriculture and they have been very good to us in assisting us and I am so grateful” said Mrs. Peggy Moele Today we have close to 20 ponds in counting, a good irrigation system and they have been adding their keep of cows and pigs. The farm sustains itself with the season veg crops they farm and they have opened not to various student and agriculture researcher to use and practice form. “We are so proud of her and we believe she is the best representative of women youth farmers. We hope form today onwards mayflies will follow her. It is inspiring to see our women in mud and surrounded by flies other that plastic hair and makeup because we admire that when they touch the land they subdue and multiply its uses to feed the nation and with this they can lead the men working with the land and producing form it to a point of economic contribution” said Minister of Agriculture and rural development and affairs in the Mpumalanga province, Mr. Vusi Shongwe They have hired a few young people and families in her surrounding communities, who work and contribute to the development and economic transformation of sustainable farm in the Mpumalanga province that is going commercial and exploring n bigger
Mpho Maseko: Take risks or you will never know
Mpho Maseko was born in Swaziland and raised by a single mother. She completed her primary education in Swaziland and her secondary education was split between Malawi, Blantyre and Nelspruit. Her higher education started in Durban, then she completed her Bachelor of Business Administration in Johannesburg. Currently she has 14 years of work experience from Customer Services to Human Resources Development. Ripinde Virtual Admin was founded in 2015 after she resigned from her full time job because of a family influenced decision. In the process of finding her feet she quickly learnt that self belief is the key to growth. Goal setting and time management strategies help her accomplish the things that matter. Most of the time that means redirecting her energies into things that will add value in her life. [bctt tweet=”Goal setting and time management strategies help Mpho Maseko accomplish the things that matter” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] What is the most influential factor that has contributed to your company’s success? The most influential factor that has contributed to Ripinde Virtual Admin’s success is the drive behind the brand. We value success and always strive for excellence in everything we do, no matter how small the tasks may be. As a virtual admin firm what are the challenges you face as you have to deal with companies that have different ways of doing things? The challenges we face as a Virtual Admin service provider vary from one client to the next. For example, 80% of our clients are small businesses that range from a one man show to a maximum of 15 employees on payroll. Understanding and managing people is a very important aspect in this industry. We conduct a profile analysis of each client, and through communication with our clients, we are able to deliver according to each client’s expectations- we do not have a one size fits all service. Essentially, to get clients requesting some of your services such as bookkeeping and business management there has to be trust. How do you ensure that your firm is trustworthy? Our four values sit at the heart of everything we do . We respect our business, we value excellence, we are customer-focused and we serve with integrity. We have a strategic support team ranging from certified payroll administrators, bookkeepers, and business administrators, and they all ensure that we provide quality and professional customer service. We gain trust from clients through managing and instilling confidence. By taking our clients through the process of explaining how we work and ensuring that we have understood the scope of work. Most of our clients come from referrals and we can only be certain that we are doing a great job. Do you ever decline client requests? Yes, we have declined a client request before. We have processes in place to protect our clients and ourselves as the service provider. Unfortunately we do not start work without an agreement in place- signed by both parties. We have had clients before that want us to begin without the correct measures in place, and we have burnt our fingers before and now we know better. Do you consider yourself a risk taker? Risk taker? I have learnt that in business you have to take risks or you will never know and if you do not know how do you move forward? When you launched Ripinde Virtual Admin, you basically gave up on the security of having a full time job to start your business. Did you resign after Ripinde had started? I resigned and then started my entrepreneurial journey. I love the journey because I get to set my own schedule and make my own rules. Brave! So was there a backup plan or were you just confident that this was going to work? I had no back up plan, I had no choice but to make it work. And moments of doubt, how do you conquer those? I do not make decisions when in doubt, never. I realised that doubt is not unique to me and that it can be disruptive. So in those moments I accept that I need to relax, distract myself by taking time out to play, talk to myself and seek wisdom from my mentor – my husband. Why is it important to not sweat the small things in life? Worrying about things that are not important can take over your life, limit the chances of your success and cause health issues. When I don’t sweat the small stuff I find that I’m more confident to deal with the bigger stuff. Any entrepreneurial tips on how to avoid a burnout? Healthy eating & exercise Always do your best and don’t take anything personal Establish boundaries – personal and business Stay true to your boundaries and values Remind yourself why you started your business, and how far you have come Manage your time Change your routine – work from different environments, meet & learn from new people Be bold and take time off to relax What’s the most interesting thing you’ve seen or read this week? I recently learnt that there is a website that enables students to raise funds for their education – crowd funding for students. Its amazing! Loved this story? Let us know here!
Lessons we can learn from Lynette Ntuli’s success
Many women in Africa and the world are making great strides in their respective industries. It’s also common that when you have someone you look up to, it’s usually someone in the field that you are in. Whether you’re in tech, construction, or engineering. We tend to overlook other women in other industries because we have that perception that our role models should be within an industry we’re familiar with. This doesn’t have to be the case. As a woman in the tech industry, my admiration for Lynette’s work ethic and passion was welcomed. I was introduced to Lynette Ntuli when I was previously at an incubator and accelerator and looking into which successful women we would approach to be a speaker at a conference. I’ve followed her journey since then. Lynette is in property, asset management and infrastructure development. She is the CEO of Innate Investment Solutions based in Durban, South Africa. She also has a passion for youth development and leadership and is also the Founding Director and Chairman of IgniteSA.com. She’s definitely a force to be reckoned with! Here are a few lessons we can learn from Lynette’s success and how she keeps making a difference: Be consistent For the past 11 years, Lynette has been a powerhouse in the making. One thing about her is that she does not stop achieving her dreams. From being the first black woman at the age of 24, to become the General Manager of one of Durban’s regional shopping centers to being the Co-Founder and CEO of a property, asset management and infrastructure solutions company. Tip: Lynette keeps consistent by focusing on not losing momentum. She believes that in anything you do, you will probably fall. Try and do things over again until you get it right. What is important is to keep your head high through all the trials. Help others grow In your pursuit of greatness and achieving your professional, personal and entrepreneurial goals, it is important to pay it forward. Some people make paying it forward their daily bread, and their passion. For others, you gain years of experience and want to share what you know. Sharing this knowledge will lead to making an impact in someone else’s life, whether the impact is big or small. At the age of 25, Lynette and 3 of her friends wanted to continue empowering others. This is where IgniteSA.com, a youth-oriented digital media and programme platform, grew. They had already grown their skills, and networks and wanted to share them with young South Africans from all sorts of backgrounds. From there onwards, they built an ecosystem in education, skills development and entrepreneurship. This initiative was to help change the future of South African youth. Work hard One may not work tirelessly, chase their goals and dreams, be successful and not have worked hard for it. Great work ethic and hard-work is what will get you where you want to be. This is evident in Lynette’s success and how she continuously pushes herself. Tip: When what you do on a day-to-day basis is your passion, it definitely is a bonus. It makes the hard work seem effortless so keep pushing #MotherlandMoguls! Stay true to yourself It’s important to also stay true to yourself when looking into grow into your career or business. This is one lesson that all women should keep in mind when on the road to success. Yes, we can look up to many people in our industries and in other industries. But staying true to who you are, and what YOU want to achieve will be key in continuing in your journey to success.
Career lessons from Ethiopian born business mogul, Mimi Alemayehou
Ethiopian born, Kenya raised Mimi Alemayehou is a Managing Director at portfolio company Black Rhino Group, and Executive Advisor and Chair of Blackstone Africa Infrastructure LP. After studying International Law and International Business, Alemayehou found development consultancy firm Trade Link Holdings LLC. She has held major positions as Director of International Regulatory Affairs at WorldSpace Corporation and was United States Executive Director at the African Development Bank. The mother of two has also served as Executive Vice President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). If you are like us, you will hold your breath after reading about Alemayehou’s career journey. Below, we share some insights from this African power lady. 1. Strive for your educational goals Mimi: The first successful entrepreneur I knew and looked up to was my grandmother. She could not read or write but she was one of the smartest women I have ever known. I often wonder how far she would have gone if she had been allowed to go to school by her parents, who chose only to send the boys to school. Although, the silver linings of your career may not shine through that window frame just yet, your education is a step towards reaching your career goals. Mimi agrees (higher) education is a huge part of the African growth story. 2. There is much more in your future After being asked whether she thought her position at OPIC was the climax of her career, Mimi replied: “I have always believed that life is a journey of learning; there is no end to it until you are no more.” Although, success can be comforting, that comfort shouldn’t stop us from going beyond our comfort zones. There is always a next move. “I don’t believe there is such a thing as a perfect position or a dead-end job. At every step, you learn. Life’s a journey of learning.” 3. Believe in your work ethic During her career at the African Development Bank, Mimi was the only woman working in the midst of 17 men. “I have never doubted myself in the things I pursued. Fortunately, I have had some amazing mentors in my life and in turn I try as much as I can to mentor as many people, particularly young women.” Confidence is key when it comes to directing your future. Feeling strong about what you do and what you want will minimize doubt. 4. There are ways to do it all “In terms of the balancing act of career and family, I believe mothers are natural multi-taskers”, is Mimi’s response to ‘how she does it’. And no matter how many exciting career moves she has made, she says “being a mother is my biggest accomplishment so far.” Mimi believes prioritizing and accepting the pros of cons of having to travel for work is key to combining career and motherhood. 5. Approach situations with an open mind “My most impressionable years were probably during my time in Kenya. I met so many people from many parts of the world for the first time in my life and that had a long term impact in my life as it made me more open-minded and gave me a greater appreciation for human diversity,” says Mimi. 6. Be picky with what advice you take Mimi’s powerful statement: “I got to where I am today partly because I did not always listen to the advice I got. For example, earlier in my career I was always interested in working on Capitol Hill but a lot of people, including some of my own family members told me that there was no way a member of Congress would hire someone who was not an American citizen. I pursued this dream anyway and was ultimately hired as legislative staffer on Capitol Hill. I have found it invaluable to question things and not necessarily take “no” for an answer.” Be aware of your possibilities, be thorough in how you approach them and follow through. If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here