The March Edition of SME360 Magazine focuses on celebrating female entrepreneurs in line with International Women’s Day. As a result, we were privileged to interview 6 amazing female entrepreneurs running their businesses in Nigeria. In this post, we provide you a summary of each of these interviews.
Renee Chuks – Aldente Africa
Renee Oluwaseun Chuks is the co-founder of Aldente Africa, a hospitality and food product development company. This company seeks to serve humanity through food and food product development.
There are several product offerings by this company including “Aldente Premium Fresh Pasta.” This product is manufactured from local crops. It prides itself as the first gluten-free pasta and noodles brand in Nigeria and Africa owned by Africans. The company also runs several other projects including the Umami Center for Culinary Arts located in Lagos.
Despite being registered in 2017, the business made its big hit during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Renee recounts the need to eliminate GMO food products as the motive behind this business. The unique selling point of Aldente African is producing food from locally grown food crops. Another factor that contributes to their uniqueness is the fact that the products are 99% handmade.
The major challenge they have encountered is raising funds as a female-owned outfit. Thankfully, bodies like Shecluded have been of tremendous help. Her advice to budding female entrepreneurs is to focus on achieving their business goals. In her words, “International Women’s Day helps to solidify the strength of women and how much power we have once we come together.”
Omobolanle Odelana-Ogbamola – Moogbams Feedmills, Tripplemos Smoked Catfish, Mobpackaging
Omobolanle Odelana-Ogbamola is a mother of 3 girls and also manages 3 businesses. She holds a Master’s Degree in Managerial Psychology from the University of Ibadan as well as other certificates. Over the years, Omobolanle has stamped her authority on the Nigerian business scene as a staunch businesswoman as well as a philanthropist.
She started Moogbams Feedmills in 2013 because of her passion for agriculture, one she developed while working in the bank. Her other business ideas all branch from this idea. She sees her focus on the post-production stages of the value chain as her unique selling across the three businesses. As such, she has carved a niche for herself by producing top-quality feed that is packaged attractively.
Some of the challenges she has faced include fraud, unavailability of power, and lack of access to funds. While the business could have shut down from these, her passion for the business and having God on her side kept her going. In rounding up, she encouraged female entrepreneurs to learn to reset, restart, and refocus. Here’s what she had to say about International Women’s Day, “It is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change, and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by women.”
Temitayo Amushan – Motoya Kouture
Temitayo Amushan hails from Modakeke-Ife in Osun State. She is a single mother of a beautiful daughter and also the founder and creative director of Motoya Kouture. Her fashion brand focuses on designing exquisite wedding dresses, bridesmaids’ dresses, reception dresses, and clothing for special occasions.
Temitayo has been in business for about 10 years but she set up Motoya Kouture only 5 years ago. According to her, she began this business after helping a friend out with her wedding wear. She regards credibility and integrity as her business’ unique selling points. Temitayo regards stigmatization of Nigerian brands as the major challenge she has faced in growing her brand. Another challenge she has faced is raising funds for the business.
In rounding up, Temitayo tells budding female entrepreneurs to pay attention to details and never stop learning. Finally, here are her words concerning International Women’s Day, “It’s about celebrating us breaking grounds and standing up for the little girl child, businesswoman or woman in a career path.”
Carol Arheghan – Karotiz Couture
Carol Arheghan is not just an entrepreneur, she is also a pastor and business coach. Karotiz Couture is a uniform production outfit that designs uniforms for schools, corporate bodies, and special events. The business was established 8 years ago from a desire to solve uniform problems.
According to Carol, she began her business by subletting contracts to different tailors. Although it was challenging at first, today, she has her sewing factory where she produces uniforms. The unique selling point of Karotiz Couture is the unique nature of their products. Not every tailor can produce uniforms, let alone, uniforms of the quality that Karotiz churns out.
Carol believes her major challenge has been access to quality materials and the acquisition of the required equipment. She advises budding female entrepreneurs to be focused and determined to achieve their objectives. According to her, female entrepreneurs should not be hindered by their gender, instead, they should use it as a stepping stone. Finally, she sees International Women’s Day as a time to celebrate female entrepreneurs for their impact on nation-building.
Thelma Briggs – Animator/Product Photographer
Thelma Briggs is a 28-year-old entrepreneur from Rivers State. She is a product photographer and stops motion animator based in Lagos State. Thelma has been in the business for 4 years even though she only started it as a side hustle.
She began by working in a number of film houses and TV stations. Her experience showed her that raising funds to become an independent producer wasn’t a day’s job. Instagram presented her with the opportunity to utilize her skills to grow a new business.
According to Thelma, her selling point is producing top-quality jobs to match international standards. Some challenges she has faced include being overlooked because of her gender and raising funds for her business. She advises budding female entrepreneurs to stay focused, research, and grow at all costs. Thelma views International Women’s Day as a time to cheer and celebrate women all over the world.
Chioma Ukpabi – Kahdsole Designs
Chioma Ukpabi is a 25-year-old graduate of Bowen University and a shoemaker. She runs a brand known as Kahdsole Designs and she is a content creator. Chioma has been in the business for 2 years. Her inspiration at the time was to solve the problem of women with big feet like herself.
For Chioma, her unique selling point is the high-quality shoes she produces and the ability to recycle waste leather. She has faced several challenges including the fact that people don’t regard her as a serious shoemaker because of her gender.
Her advice to budding female entrepreneurs is to keep up with the energy despite the challenges of the business. Concerning International Women’s Day, she says that it makes it possible to appreciate women all over the world.
Conclusion
We believe that you have been inspired by our interviews with these great female entrepreneurs. To access the full interviews, visit www.sme360ng.com/magazine to download this edition.