VISA SPOTLIGHT SERIES ON THE FOOTWEAR GENIUS: EVE MAINA – FOUNDER, SHOE SPACE AFRICA
After Eve quit her much-loved job because of unwanted sexual advances from male colleagues, she was left with almost nothing in her bank account and desperately had to figure out how to make money. Eve’s family have always traded in shoes. So for her, the shoe business is not uncharted territory. So Eve began selling shoes to make some money pending when she could get another office job. When the business began to show fruits of success, she decided to go into it full-time. Today, Eve owns Shoe Space Africa – one of the fastest-growing shoe businesses in Africa. This piece is about Eve’s journey with Shoe Space and how she has been able to grow her business from almost nothing to the phenomenal brand it is today. What is the story behind Shoe Space Africa? Starting Shoe Space was not intentional at first. I quit my job in 2016 and I was wondering what to do next. The only other thing I knew how to do asides my corporate job was shoes because I grew up in a family where my mum used to make shoes, my cousin used to sell shoes so it was an easy fall back plan for me. I did not know if it would work because I always liked the corporate life. Shoe Space started in January 2017. At the time, I had no savings so I started Shoe Space from zero. I talked to a friend in the business and she gave me some of her shoes. I posted them online and made some money from it. My capital was gotten from the money I made off those sales. I thought I was going to sell shoes for a short time and then go back to working a corporate job. However, when I started seeing headway, I decided to do it full-time. What are some of the challenges you have faced in the course of running Shoe Space Africa, what did you learn from it? I would not necessarily call this a challenge but this time last year, I experienced a tragic accident for the first time in my life. I was travelling to Kampala, Uganda by bus to consult on some shoes. At the bus station, I met a good friend of mine and because we wanted to sit together, I swapped seats with another passenger on the bus. The person that sat on the seat I was supposed to occupy passed on in that accident. My friend who had a safety belt on was thrown out of the bus and even though I didn’t have a safety belt on, nothing happened to me. I remained seated. This moment changed my life forever. After the accident, the way I thought and approached things in my life changed, my heart changed. Up until this day, when I think about that moment, I am stunned. Seeing someone else pass away on your behalf changes something in you. Many times in our life, we take things for granted. You look at your life and see all that you have achieved and you think you did it all by yourself. You forget that it is God that has brought you this far. With regards to the lockdown, the major challenge we have faced has been sales. What has helped us cope is the fact that we have an online presence. I also gave my clients offers and discounts that made my items more affordable for them. Being online worked to my advantage because most people were at home doing nothing except scrolling through their feed. Most shoe lovers are people that will purchase whatever catches their eye even if it is the last money that they have. What is your big vision for Shoe Space Africa? I want Shoe space to be a household name for quality shoes sold at affordable prices. More importantly, though, I want to leave a lasting legacy through Shoe Space. Right now, I am working on establishing a foundation that will provide Kenyan kids with quality shoes. So when you buy a shoe from She Space, you are donating a pair of shoes to someone else that needs them. So my big vision is to make sure African children that need shoes have quality shoes. What advice do you have for someone who wants to start a small business? Having a relationship with Jesus. I know not everyone believes in Jesus but Jesus us the one I give all the credit to. There is a certain kind of wisdom and clarity that you can only get from God. When you start a business, you may not be sure of what you are doing or where to go next but if you have Jesus, He will help you out with that. When you pray about something and ask for help, if He says no, if He keeps quiet or if He says yes, you know what to do and where to go as opposed to just doing things blindly and on your limited understanding. Discipline is so important. Even if you don’t feel motivated, discipline keeps you going. There are days you will not want to wake up but the discipline you have gets you awake. I call myself the 4 AM boss because I wake up at four am in the morning and I have been doing that since primary school. After I wake up I pray and get ready and then I am usually at Shoe Space at 6 am. That discipline has to be cultivated and maintained. If you want to take your business to the next level and meet more customers online, Visa is your plug! Visit their Small Business Hub to get the support you need. First 100 businesses to sign up get $200 worth of online advertising, so hurry now! This spotlight feature on Yomi Odutola is powered by Visa. Visa’s ‘Where you Shop Matters’ initiative aims to champion entrepreneurs
VISA SPOTLIGHT SERIES ON THE BOSS LADY OF LEATHER CRAFTS: YOMI ODUTOLA – FOUNDER, JOELA LEATHER
When Yomi’s daughter was a small child, finding the right shoes for her was a struggle because of the size of her feet. So Yomi decided to make a pair of shoes for her daughter. She designed the shoes on cardboard, went to the market at Mushin, Lagos, to source shoemaking items and created a pair of sandals for her daughter. Doing this filled her with so much joy so Yomi took it a step further and enrolled in a shoemaking and pattern cutting course in the UK. That desire to cater to her daughter’s shoe needs inspired what is known today as Joela Leather – a premium leatherworks store in Lagos, Nigeria. The name Joela is coined from one of her daughter’s names and what solidified Yomi’s choice is the Hebrew meaning – “The Lord is God”. This article is about Yomi’s inspiring journey with Joela Leather and lessons you can take away from her well of experience. You used to work in the corporate world, what made you decide to switch that for entrepreneurship? When my daughter was born, I wanted to be present. I had a very strong support system but I wanted to be there for her while she was growing up so I stopped working. Once I left the corporate world, I thought of all the possible businesses I could start. Growing up, my daughter had big feet and I could hardly find her size in shoes. At some point, I thought, it can’t be that difficult to make children’s shoes. So I started cutting cardboard and paper and putting them together to look like a pair of sandals. After that, I asked for where I could find shoemaking items on a budget in Lagos and everyone was like, “Go to Mushin.” So I went to Mushin with about 5,000 Naira. I came back from Mushin that day with a pair of sandals and a pair of slippers and my husband was stunned. That experience taught me that when you are moved to do something, you should do it immediately. You do not need anyone’s permission. Why did you decide to centre Joela around making ladies’ handbags? Like I said, I have always been in the leather industry. I simply moved from making children’s shoes to making ladies’ handbags. My knowledge of the leatherworks industry just made it easy for me to transition from one section to another. Joela itself started from requests. I had a leather shoe shop and we would make shoes and bags for little girls and then the moms would come and request me to make bags for them as well. They started putting in orders for bags and sometime after that I had to close my shops. I had three shops in Lagos and after I closed them all, the next thought was “what business can I do?” Since the request for ladies handbags was still coming in, I decided to give it a try. Once I put out my first set of handbags and the feedback and responses were really great. What do you think makes Joela stand out as a brand? The philosophy behind Joela is to make classy bags affordable and readily available. We are consistently crafting beautiful, well-made handbags. I want people to see our customers carrying Joela bags and say, “wow, where is that bag from?” I have had that reaction a couple of times and it brings me immense satisfaction. Most importantly, we do not want to burn a hole in your pocket. Joela partners with Footfarm– a charity that gives free school shoes to children in underprivileged communities. Joela also teams up with HR professionals for Work Wear Edit, an outreach program that provides women with employability skills such as HR/interview tips as well as coordinated outfits to gear them up for success. What is your big vision for Joela? My vision is to see African women carry beautiful and affordable bags. I am particular about the African woman because we go through a lot and we need beautiful things that will constantly bring us joy. When you carry a great bag and you are well dressed, nobody can talk to you anyhow. For me, it is not just about carrying a bag, it is about making us feel beautiful and confident. When women feel beautiful and confident, we get a lot done and positively impact the people around us. What advice will you give to someone who wants to start a business? You need structure. Structure and discipline go hand in hand. Don’t think because you are the one running the business, you can do it from your bed. While you can work from bed, have working hours, have structure, have guidance otherwise you will not be productive. Have a to-do list otherwise, your day will pass you by because you will not achieve anything. How can you help? What can you do to solve a problem? When you actually solve problems, the money will come. Fish and pepper sellers solve the problem of making food items available. We need to eat and we need to get the fish out of the sea, we need to get the peppers as closeby as we can. So look around you, look at the problems that around you and see how you can use your skills to solve them You need to be patient. Many of us are in a hurry to make money and this mindset can be costly. If you have structure and you are solving a problem, the money will come. If you want to take your business to the next level and meet more customers online, Visa is your plug! Visit their Small Business Hub to get the support you need. First 100 businesses to sign up get $200 worth of online advertising, so hurry now! This spotlight feature on Yomi Odutola is powered by Visa. Visa’s ‘Where you Shop Matters’ initiative aims to champion entrepreneurs across
VISA SPOTLIGHT SERIES ON WELLNESS EXPERT: LINDA GIESKES MWAMBA – FOUNDER, SUKI SUKI NATURALS
When Linda was newly natural, she could hardly find hair products that her hair liked and responded well to. This discontent led her to start making her natural hair products and soon enough, her friends and family encouraged her to turn it into a business. At the time, Linda was a practising lawyer in New York but her passion for beauty and wellness led her to leave Law and establish Suki Suki Naturals– a premium beauty company that sells organic hair and skin care products. This article is about Linda’s fascinating journey and how she turned her discontent into a sustainable business. How did Suki Suki Naturals begin? Suki Suki Naturals started as a haircare brand. Suki means hair in Lingala. I am actually from the Congo. So my passion started with haircare and then three years after I launched, I decided to go into skincare. So the haircare was because I went natural back in 2010 and I was struggling with my hair. At the time there was hardly anything on the market and the products you could find were mostly available in Canada and the US. Bringing products into the country was too expensive. I was like “I have to find a way to make this work for myself here in South Africa.” So I started mixing things and using herbs, clays, oils and powders. I eventually started sharing them with my family and friends because they were seeing that my hair was growing well and they wanted to know what I was doing. Did you ever see yourself starting a brand like Suki Suki Naturals? From the age of four, I was already playing with beauty products and as I grew up it just got worse and worse and worse and I had to be banned from my mom’s bathroom. Today when my aunties look at me and they see that I have a beauty brand, they are not at all surprised despite my being a lawyer. They are like, “we could see that happening.” Sometimes you have to think back on your childhood and ask, “what was that thing that made me so excited?” How do you keep Suki Suki Naturals authentic? I have had my moments of, “let me take on this partnership even if they do not align with my brand. Let me check if it is going to work out” and that is where lack of authenticity can start to creep in because you think you have to make certain sacrifices to see success. The problem with going with things that are not authentic to you is that you may end up doing business with people that don’t reflect your brand image. They are not the right custodian of your brand not because they are actively trying to bring down your image but just because you are not aligned. It is important to work with people that are aligned with you. I have had to learn to say no to opportunities that are not right for me. After all, Suki Suki Naturals is here for the long run, we are not here for just short wins. Did you face any major challenges as a result of the lockdown? I have been blessed during this time because my area of expertise is one where people were willing to spend simply because you are spending more time at home. Wellness and beauty are very important to people and most of them are like, “ah, I can’t go to the beauty salon, let me take care of my skin, let me take care of my hair.” I have seen a lot of amazing stories of women who have invested in their wellness. You know when you are constantly out, you have to go put your best look forward and sometimes, that comes at the expense of actually taking care of yourself- the makeup, the weave, straightening your hair all the time- but when you are at home, you can be yourself and that forces you to cultivate what you have. So skincare has boomed and I am super lucky that skincare and wellness have boomed because that is my sector and I have been blessed with the fact that my business has been good during this time. How did you keep the communication going with your customers during the lockdown? Social media has always been instrumental to my brand. It has always been great at aiding communication but it has shown its power this time. What I love about social media from a business point of view is that it gives you the power to define what your voice is. You can define what your business is about, to speak to your customer directly and that simplifies the marketing process. It helps to facilitate clear communication between you and your customers. You run a brand that is committed to helping people take care of themselves, How do you make sure you prioritise self-care in your own life? I try to disconnect on the weekends because my weekends are mine alone. As much as I don’t have a lot of family with me here in South Africa, I try to keep in touch with them. I disconnect by literally keeping my laptop in the office. On the weekends I don’t even want to open my laptop and my laptop hardly ever sees my bedroom. Also, I am not a fan of answering emails on my phone, for some reason, I just don’t like it. I try to keep that balance by maintaining opening and closing times and the people and companies I work with respect that. What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a business? Start today. Don’t worry about starting small. I started small. You don’t have to have it all figured out but get started. Operate from a place of authenticity and know your “why.” Why are you doing what you are doing? Don’t follow trends, don’t follow what others
Challenging Mindsets One Head At A Time With Curl Expert Rumbie Mutsiwa
Every entrepreneur has a story of how they started and what led them on that path. Rumbie Mutsiwa the founder of Rumbie & Co (a Sydney based hair salon) is a Zimbabwean who relocated to Australia 15 years ago and stumbled into the entrepreneurial world. Her story is one of resilience, pushing the boundaries and taking up space where minorities are often overlooked. She’s been recognised by Vogue Australia for having a unique hair product line that caters for most curly, afro and wavy hair textures. What was the turning point for you as a Zimbabwean woman living in Australia that prompted or inspired you to start your own business? Starting a business was never something I thought I would do, let alone the idea of being an entrepreneur. However, I am very grateful that God pushed me in this direction. Early on in my career as a nurse, I started to have this impulse, this impulse was to pray and to work out what I was truly gifted and talented at doing because back then, most people I spoke to and asked whether they liked their jobs were only resigned to sticking to their jobs because it provided them with an income and life doesn’t always turn out to be a fairytale as we know it. Something within me just couldn’t take that and I went on this introspective journey. To answer your question about what inspired me to start my own business, I would say there is two parts to this. The first being when my sister suggested I go into hairdressing. At the time, I was not impressed with her suggestion and actually found it to be quite insulting and disrespectful. These feelings probably stemmed from my upbringing in an African household and environment. Those of us who have grown up in these environments can probably relate to this because majority of the time you are encouraged to go down an academic path instead of a creative path. Despite these negative feelings towards the idea of being a hairdresser looming in my mind after my sisters suggestion, I decided to take a step back to find out why I was so upset about what she had said. I started to write down and unpack the reasons why I felt the way I did and began writing my vision. This was the first time I was truly honest with myself about what my passions were and I remember that process of writing being quite therapeutic for me. As I wrote down the things that inspired me, I discovered that I loved hair dressing. The moment I felt that I had written my heart out on paper and fully expressed my vision, I threw the pen and paper across the room and in that moment it hit me that I was passionate about hair. I loved hair and I loved the transformation and the power of it and a whole lot of other things about hair and the psychology attached to curly hair. The second part to me realising I needed to push through with my vision was when I had just opened up a salon space. I thought I would just have something small for myself and my clients but little did I know how busy I would get and how booked out we would be during the early stages. From this I started to realise that no matter how many times I tried to push in another direction, being a hairdresser is what I was meant to be doing. Back when I was still starting out, I tried to focus more on extensions but there were specific types of extensions that I wanted to pursue, yet those doors kept on getting closed. No matter what I did, and how good the work was people never came back. I started to get curly hair clients and that is how we coined the term “texture specialist.” How do you feel having your unique brand in Australia has had an impact on people who struggle to find hairdressers that with work with curly, wavy or afro hair? 65% of the world’s population has curly hair. To me that statistic is mindblowing because when you look at this space it’s underacted to. I do understand that there may be various factors at play that have shaped this narrative but I do feel it is now long overdue and having knowledge and information around products and on how to take care of your hair is a basic hair need that everyone should have access to. More work needs to be done to ensure that products which saturate the market are backed with research to minimise having people feeling frustrated with products that don’t work, damage the hair or are deer in price. Being able to work on my brand everyday allows me to cater a service in Australia that is unfortunately not available everywhere. My goal is to change that narrative and reach as many people as possible be it with my services, products or just my story alone of why I embarked on this journey. Do you see yourself expanding beyond Australia and introducing your brand to the African market? We are definitely expanding beyond Australia, we want to make Rumbie & Co available to all people with curly hair and we do look to get into the African market because, wearing your hair natural in Africa still is (while it is getting better) something that tends to be shunned upon and seen as a poor persons option for hair styling. When you wear your natural hair, you are seen in an unsavoury light, so collectively with our simple routines and the products, our goal is to definitely bring our brand into the African market. As to when and how that is going to be very interesting because the African market is very new to me even though I was raised in Africa, all I can say is if there is anyone
VISA SPOTLIGHT SERIES ON PLUS SIZE FASHIONPRENEUR: OUMA TEMA – FOUNDER, PLUS FAB
Ouma Tema decided that finding beautiful clothes would stop being a cause of frustration for her simply because she was plus-size. This tenacious mindset inspired her to start making her clothes and posting them on social media. Soon enough, friends who admired her style began asking where her clothes were from so Ouma started Plus Fab – a South African fashion brand that caters specifically to plus size women. Although Ouma started her business from the boot of her car, today she produces her clothes in top-notch factories and they are distributed in the fastest growing retail chain in South Africa. This article is about Ouma Tema’s incredible journey and how she has been able to turn her frustration into a thriving business. What was your life like before you started Plus Fab? Before I started Plus Fab, I was working for the government. I had a good time there because I learnt a great deal of professionalism. That was the foundation that helped me grow as a professional. I loved my job when I was there but I got tired of it. Also, I knew that this was not where I was supposed to be so while I was there, I began working towards my exit. Did you ever know you were ever going to start a brand like Plus Fab? As I was struggling to get clothes for myself, I was like, I need to do something to solve the problem of there not being stylish clothes for plus size women. It wasn’t something like, “oh I really would like to have a fashion brand.” I was not inspired to start my business, I was propelled by the problem at hand. So Plus Fab is a product made out of frustration. What do you think makes Plus Fab stand out as a brand? I always say that anybody can make a dress, anybody can do a jumpsuit but not everyone can instil confidence in people. We want women to go out in the world and be badasses. No black queen should lose her energy because she has nothing nice to wear. We do not want people to miss their graduation ceremony. We do not want clothes to be a barrier to that amazing life that you want to have. So we stay true to our promise. We do not sell something just because of the size. We also sell you the fashion, the fabulosity, the amazingness and the comfort. You can wear our dresses 10 years to come and you will still be popping. How were you able to keep Plus Fab running during the lockdown? What was nice about this whole thing is that people could buy online. At Plus Fab, we are proud of the fact that we produce all our clothes so as soon as facial masks could be worn in public, we were ready and pumped to produce scarf masks. It was challenging but making those scarf masks helped us push through. How did you communicate with your customers during the lockdown? We kept on communicating with our customers on social media letting them know that the frustration was mutual. Some customers lost their jobs but still came to buy their last dresses from us. They were like, “I do not know when I will get my next job but this is the last item I am buying from you guys for now.” How important do you think local communities are for small businesses? They are incredibly important. I always say buy local. It is the utmost act of patriotism because you are affirming that jobs must be created, sustained and there must be no poverty in your country and your community. In Africa, the biggest enemy is poverty so it is incredibly important for us to support our local communities. You make prom dresses available for young plus-size girls. Can you speak about that? I did not go to prom because I did not have a dress to wear. So I started this because I did not want young plus-sized girls to miss out to prom simply because they could not find the right dress to wear. I do not want dresses to be a haggle simply because of their size. What is your big vision for Plus Fab? Plus Fab is a fabulous movement. We cannot wait to start trading across Africa and then the world. I want Plus Fab to be a household name. I want it to be known from Cape Town to Cairo, Morocco to Madagascar, New York, Ghana, Nigeria, Lesotho and all around the world. So global domination is the idea. What advice would you give to people who want to start sustainable businesses? What problem are you solving and at what price are you solving it? I think the most important question you have to ask an entrepreneur is what problem are you solving? If you know, you will do the right business. Look at your community and see what they need and how you can provide value. Ultimately, entrepreneurs are problem solvers. If you are honest about that, the money will come. Know your customers: Some of our customers who love and support us got salary cuts and as much as they would love to buy from us, we understood that we were not a priority at the moment. We kept communicating with them and that’s why I can sit here and tell you today that we know where our customers are at. Some say, “I want to buy a dress but we are on lockdown. We can’t be seen in public, we can’t go to parties, We can’t go to weddings, so where am I going?” If you want to take your business to the next level and meet more customers online, Visa is your plug! Visit their Small Business Hub to get the support you need. First 100 businesses to sign up get $200 worth of online advertising, so hurry now! This
VISA SPOTLIGHT SERIES ON HEALTHY EATING GURU: CLAIRE DU PREEZ – FOUNDER HONEST FOOD
In high school, Claire du Preez found her passion for food in a Home Economics class. Though she did not pursue it immediately, the longing to feed people in a healthy and honest way drew Claire from the corporate world and back to her passion. So Claire du Preez established Honest Food– a cosy restaurant in Johannesburg, South Africa that serves mouth-watering vegan and vegetarian dishes. Claire is dedicated to building a genuine brand and ensuring that Honest Food is a welcoming and healthy environment for customers and employees alike. As she says, “I am incredibly passionate about food and the challenges that come with convincing people to lead a healthy lifestyle. So my goal is to make food affordable, attainable and delicious.” This piece covers Claire’s refreshing business story and valuable lessons from her experience with Honest Food. How did Honest Food begin? I started a juice bar when I was about 24 years old and I would set up juice bars at farmers’ markets. On Saturdays and Sundays, I would make freshly squeezed juice for people. I started off selling 20 and soon enough, I sold 30, 40, 50… Eventually, I opened my first permanent store and then I realised that with a juice company comes the food aspect of it. So I thought, why not get involved in that as well? I slowly started adding food items to the menu and it just kind of grew organically. I never did crazy marketing or you know, any sort of print marketing. It has all been word of mouth. Everyone that has come heard about it from someone else. What do you think makes Honest Food stand out? People come and they realise that they can eat vegetarian and vegan food that is delicious and they love that. Another thing that makes Honest Food stand out is the warmth of our space. The restaurant is set in a quiet and serene suburb. It is a great working space so it attracts a lot of people that do not work from offices. For them, Honest Food feels like a home away from home. Our staff are also incredibly welcoming, friendly and knowledgeable. Seeing as Honest Food is a second home for many, how did you maintain that feeling with your customers during the lockdown? We kept a really big presence on social media. Instead of letting our page go dead, we kept on interacting with our customers. We carried on with posting, shared recipes and tips. Even though we could not see them, we maintained the connection via our social media platforms. We also set up an online store and we started selling some of our grocery items through our Instagram page. This pushed us out of our comfort zone and made us grow as a business. Did you notice a change in the way your customers patronised and supported you during the lockdown? I definitely did. Our customers knew the lockdown was going to happen so they increased their spend at our restaurants. During the lockdown, we received donations from our customers. I also sold pre-sale vouchers at discounted rates that you could use after lockdown and our patrons bought them. Currently, people are coming to work from our restaurants. Our customers are dedicated to keeping our doors open and that is phenomenal. We see the same people coming back every day. We know they could go somewhere else but they are committed to us and it is a lovely feeling. What key lessons can you give to someone who wants to start and grow a successful business of their own? Don’t do something because you think it is going to make you money. Do something that you enjoy because it will be a very long time before you start getting profit from your business. For a very long time, all the money you make will have to go back to your business and if you do not love what you do, you will resent the fact that you have to do this. You need to have some kind of financial security. I know some people quit their jobs to start a business and they think they are going to be earning salaries from the beginning. It does not work like that. I actually had a 9-5 job for the first part of owning a business. I knew that I could always pay my bills and I was building my side hustle in the background. You need to persevere. Success does not happen overnight. I have had a business for seven years and it is only in a couple of years that I have started to see fruition. At some point, I sacrificed my social life for my business but it paid off. So if you work and see no reward for a while, don’t give up. If you want to take your business to the next level and meet more customers online, Visa is your plug! Visit their Small Business Hub to get the support you need. First 100 businesses to sign up get $200 worth of online advertising, so hurry now! This spotlight feature on Claire du Preez is powered by Visa. Visa’s ‘Where you Shop Matters’ initiative aims to champion entrepreneurs across Africa while encouraging consumers to support small businesses by shopping local. Visa’s initiative is supporting small businesses through the Visa Small Business Hub, a merchant platform providing tools and information on how to start, run and grow small businesses.
VISA SPOTLIGHT SERIES ON NATURAL WIGS QUEEN: REMI MARTINS – FOUNDER NATURAL GIRL WIGS
When Remi first went natural, she struggled to find hair extensions that could blend effortlessly with her kinky natural hair. So she teamed up with her hairdresser to make her first Afro wig and pictures of her wearing it sparked a conversation about natural hair on her Instagram page. Remi realised that her desire to wear afro-textured extensions was a desire other black women shared. With this insight, she started Natural Girl Wigs– a game-changing African hair company. This article is about Remi’s incredible journey and insightful lessons you can take away from her experience with Natural Girl Wigs. What was your life like before you started Natural Girl Wigs? Before Natural Girl Wigs, I worked in digital marketing and communications. When I started my business, I was recently promoted to Head of Digital Marketing for the agency I was working for. So on weekdays, I worked 9-5 and when I got home, I would sort orders. It was tough but I knew I wanted to do this. How did you know it was time to go into business full time? I was waiting for a green light that would signify that it was time to leave my job. That green light was the number of orders I was getting daily. Once my orders started getting to a number that could sustain me financially, I had an honest conversation with my boss, who is also my friend and I told her that in three months, I was going to leave. What is one misconception you think people have about starting a business? One thing I find that people think is a major challenge is money. I always tell people that money is not a challenge. With the way e-commerce is right now, what you actually need is community. If you have a community, then you have a business. Your community can even fund you to get the products. Let me use myself as an example. When I first thought of starting a hair company, the first thing I was thinking was that I needed to get all the money I could find. That approach failed woefully but when I took on a community-building approach, I saw the impact I was expecting money to bring. With how crucial community is to your brand, how did you maintain the interaction with your community during the lockdown? We collect our customer’s emails when they buy from us so when the lockdown started, we sent them updates. We wrote to them to see how they were doing beyond trying to get them to buy from us. I think that exposed us to the human aspect of business and our customers connected with us. Did the lockdown affect your business? Not really. During the lockdown, our customers were still buying. One thing about beauty, especially when you are a brand that uplifts others is that people want to be part of a good thing. There is a lot of sad news around the world so people want to be part of something that makes them happy, something that makes them feel beautiful. Even if it is just to go on a Zoom call or TikTok people still want to look beautiful. What advice do you have for someone that wants to start a business? Try to find your potential customer first. Start a page on Instagram and get a feel for the kind of things your followers are interested in. Share your personal story with your community so that they can connect with you. If you build a great community, everything else will flow. You need to learn to put yourself in your customer’s shoes. A lot of businesses have potential but people dislike the experience that they have with those businesses. Customer support can make or destroy your business potential. Build trust within your community. No matter who you are and what you do, you will surely find your tribe. You don’t have to post things that are not authentic to you because you think it will get you far. Try and present your products well, of course, but at the end of the day, try to build that trust with people. Once people trust your brand, nothing would hold them back from recommending your products, supporting you and coming back again. You want a business where your customers are your marketers. If you want to take your business to the next level and meet more customers online, Visa is your plug! Visit their Small Business Hub to get the support you need. First 100 businesses to sign up get $200 worth of online advertising, so hurry now! This spotlight feature on Oluremi Martins is powered by Visa. Visa’s ‘Where you Shop Matters’ initiative aims to champion entrepreneurs across Africa while encouraging consumers to support small businesses by shopping local. Visa’s initiative is supporting small businesses through the Visa Small Business Hub, a merchant platform providing tools and information on how to start, run and grow small businesses.
19 Businesses (And Side Hustles) to Start During the COVID-19 Quarantine.
Want some business ideas to make some money or extra income during the COVID-19 quarantine? How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you? Across the world, normal life as we know it is changing. In mild cases, some of us have had to adjust how we work, and in extreme cases, some of us find ourselves dealing with salary cuts and redundancies. No matter what you’re dealing with, it’s important to remember that there are things we can still control. [adsanity align=’alignnone’ id=144658] If you’re looking for ideas on how to make rent and grocery money from quarantine lemons, we’ve created a list you might find helpful. Topics this guide will cover: Business ideas to start at home and online Online platforms where you can gain digital skills Getting access to this list is easy: just fill out the form below to join our community and get download the list, as well as AWESOME weekly content. 19 Businesses to Start During Covid-19 Get a FREE list of businesses to start during quarantine First Name Email Country–AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntigua & BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBonaireBosnia & HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCanary IslandsCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChannel IslandsChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos IslandColombiaComorosCongoCook IslandsCosta RicaCote DIvoireCroatiaCubaCuracaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreat BritainGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuineaGuyanaHaitiHawaiiHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndonesiaIndiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea NorthKorea SouthKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacauMacedoniaMadagascarMalaysiaMalawiMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMidway IslandsMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNambiaNauruNepalNetherland AntillesNetherlands (Holland, Europe)NevisNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorwayOmanPakistanPalau IslandPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairn IslandPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRepublic of MontenegroRepublic of SerbiaReunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaSt BarthelemySt EustatiusSt HelenaSt Kitts-NevisSt LuciaSt MaartenSt Pierre & MiquelonSt Vincent & GrenadinesSaipanSamoaSamoa AmericanSan MarinoSao Tome & PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTahitiTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad & TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks & Caicos IsTuvaluUgandaUnited KingdomUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited States of AmericaUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican City StateVenezuelaVietnamVirgin Islands (Brit)Virgin Islands (USA)Wake IslandWallis & Futana IsYemenZaireZambiaZimbabwe Get the List! Go Motherland Mogul! Get your list of Businesses To Start During Covid-19 HERE Tell Us How We Can Help You During COVID-19
Africa should set its sights on feeding the world – Sola David-Borha, CEO Standard Bank Group (Africa)
Sola David-Borha is the Chief Executive of Africa Regions at Standard Bank. In this article, she shares her insights on opportunities in the Agriculture industry. Motherland Moguls, you don’t want to miss out on this one. Africa needs to make more food With the world population expected to swell by 2 billion people over the next three decades, Africa has an opportunity to step up and become a major global food production hub. For the time being, Africa remains a net importer of food, despite its vast tracts of underutilized land and other enviable natural resources. Its reliance on food imports weighs on the continent’s current account and spells a missed economic opportunity. The agricultural sector is possibly the continent’s biggest growth lever, with a sizeable potential for much-needed job creation. This is especially poignant considering that Africa is estimated to hold about 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land. Of the land that is cultivated, yields remain extremely low and irrigation techniques dated. Agribusiness is the next big hustle The adoption of modern and innovative farming practices could spur a step-change in the output of existing and new farmlands. The Netherlands, a country that is roughly 3.4% the size of South Africa by land area, provides a good example – being the world’s second-largest exporter of food by value, despite its size, thanks to high yields. Meanwhile, Brazil shows that it is possible for an emerging market to shift from a net importer of food to a net exporter. The South American country did so through trade liberalization and investments in agricultural research, among other initiatives. To shift the industry onto a new trajectory, a combined effort between policymakers, financial services firms and the industry itself will be needed. What you should be thinking about Financial services should consider how they can facilitate the sector’s growth by providing sustainable finance solutions across the agriculture value chain. Investments in areas such as logistics, renewable energy, warehousing, and other storage facilities, agro-processing plants, and irrigation technologies will be crucial, as will public investments in road and rail infrastructure as well as ports. Access to markets is also an important focus area, and measures to tackle this issue will boost the entire agricultural value chain. Policymakers can play their part by creating an enabling investment environment, as countries such as Kenya have done. To align policies across the continent, governments should consider existing frameworks. Regulations should be aimed at striking a balance between economic growth and safeguarding Africa’s natural environment. Encouragingly, the imminent implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will lower tariffs and promote intra-African trade in agriculture, making the continent less reliant on food imports from other regions. And through cross-border initiatives, Africa could strengthen its food export prospects. Standard Bank is funding African Agribusinesses African states and farming groups would also do well to adopt ‘smart farming’ concepts. Standard Bank, for instance, in partnership with technology companies, has piloted projects that use drones to monitor the health of crops, and digital technologies to monitor and regulate soil moisture in order to save water by avoiding unnecessary irrigation. Standard Bank is also working with development finance institutions and export agencies to develop sustainable finance solutions specifically for the sector. We are funding projects that allow small-scale farmers to transform themselves into contractors that supply commercial farmers. An opportunity for African Women Climate change poses a serious risk to Africa’s food security – and the world’s. The effects are already being felt – Tropical Cyclone Idai caused unprecedented damage in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi less than a year ago, while catastrophic droughts and flooding have affected South Africa and East Africa, among other regions. Currently, the devastating locust invasion in East Africa – Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia specifically – is threatening food security in the region. Considering that agriculture already accounts for a large portion of Africa’s GDP, the impact of climate change on the economy can be severe. Another risk is that the expansion of Africa’s agricultural sector will place more strain on the continent’s water resources, which need to be carefully managed. The adoption of advanced irrigation techniques is a good start. Standard Bank recently partnered with the United Nations (UN) Women on a project aimed at developing climate-smart farming techniques amongst rural women. The initiative is being rolled out in Uganda, South Africa, Malawi, and Nigeria. While the sector’s future is not without its risks, it may well be Africa’s biggest opportunity in the coming decades. Being a major contributor to GDP and employment, the agribusiness sector is the continent’s most effective lever for achieving inclusive growth. About Standard Bank Group Standard Bank Group is the largest African bank by assets with a unique footprint across 20 African countries. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, we are listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with share code SBK, and the Namibian Stock Exchange, share code SNB. Standard Bank has a 156-year history in South Africa and started building a franchise outside southern Africa in the early 1990s. Our strategic position, which enables us to connect Africa to other select emerging markets as well as pools of capital in developed markets, and our balanced portfolio of businesses, provide significant opportunities for growth. The group has over 53 000 employees, approximately 1 200 branches and over 9 000 ATMs on the African continent, which enable it to deliver a complete range of services across personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking and wealth management. Headline earnings for 2018 were R27.9 billion (about USD2.1 billion) and total assets were R2.1 trillion (about USD148 billion). Standard Bank’s market capitalisation at 31 December 2018 was R289 billion (USD20 billion). The group’s largest shareholder is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest bank, with a 20,1% shareholding. In addition, Standard Bank Group and ICBC share a strategic partnership that facilitates trade and deal flow between Africa, China and select emerging markets. For further information, go to http://www.standardbank.com SPONSORED POST.
iCreate Africa, building skills for the next generation of Nigerian youths.
Held in one of the vibrant cities of Nigeria, Lagos, by iCreate Africa, the iCreate Skill Fest is Africa’s biggest skills competition with over 2,500 people gathered to experience 80 skilled candidates compete at the National finals. What went down at iCreate Skill Fest! The two- day event featured 14 skilled trades varying from Construction, Creative Art & fashion, Technology, Educational Training Conference, the iCreate Skills Awards, and lots more. Out of the contestants, 13 ladies competed in cooking, fashion, art, carpentry, barbing and more, of which Mojisola Akin-Ademola emerged the only female gold medalist and Champion (top in her category, fashion). As a way of curbing unemployment and empowering youth, the iCreate Skills competition is an innovative strategy designed to promote skills-trades professions amongst the youth as a means to bridge the skill gap, thereby boosting the economy. The iCreate Skill Fest partnered with GIZ SKYE, Robert Bosch Nigeria Limited, Sterling Bank Plc, AGR Ltd, Siemens Nigeria Ltd., The Fashion Academy Abuja, Trace, House of Tara, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Society of Nigerian Artists, Soundcity, ULDA, Pedini, amongst many others. The iCreate Skills Fest 2019 champions! Emerging top in their category are, Ibraheem Ridwan (Carpentry), Christopher Olaniyi (Tiling), Miracle Olasoyin (robotics), Mojisola Akin-Ademola (Fashion), Ifedayo Emmanuel Bello (cooking), Emmanuel Abanobi (make-up), Kelvin Hassan (Barbing), Oluwaseun Akanbi (Electrical installations), Chima Solomon (plumbing), Leonard Manzo (automobile technology), Toheeb Ogunbiyi (Website development), Precious Audu (graphic design), Lot Madaki (leatherworks), and Oluwaseun Akinlo (Art). The Idea behind iCreate Africa The Founder/CEO iCreate Africa, Bright Jaja aims to use iCreate Africa to create five million jobs in five years. Bright Jaja aims to rebrand the general perception of skilled workers and place more importance on technical and vocational skills through the skills fest. iCreate Skills Fest is a platform that promotes skills excellence, showcases skills standards and careers, demonstrates benchmarks of excellence in teaching and learning and creates interest in public sector agencies and private organizations to invest in skills development. Winners of the iCreate Skills Fest 2019 receive technical training from various partners. The platform iCreate Africa has created for young female artisans, is paramount for gender equality and inclusive economic growth in the continent. After recording huge success last year by hosting 4 competitions across four regions, directly empowering 180 skill trade professionals with startup capital and equipment. iCreate Africa is creating a skills ecosystem and projecting skills in the mainstream, they are most convinced that the concept is a viable solution to curb youth unemployment and prepare the youth for the future of work. Skills are the future of Nigeria! iCreate Africa urges the public to invest in skills and target the next generation of Nigerian youths. These youths will power the economy, across the world. iCreate Africa,Skills change lives.