CELEBRATING NIGERIAN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS #IWD

Nigeria is the leading economy in Africa right now and an exciting place to be a woman entrepreneur. So, throughout the month of March we are showcasing some of the inspirational women entrepreneurs who are changing the face of business in the country and getting the world to sit up and take notice of the products they are creating and the business empires they are building. Each of these businesswomen, in their own unique way, is flying the flag for Nigeria, either at home or around the world.

KELECHI MBAH, FOUNDER OF SERVICE DESK LIMITED

Kelechi Mbah is a Business Development Strategist with over a decade of working experience in the Telecoms, Media, Consulting and Technology industry.
A BET 5 Scholar. Kelechi is the Founder of Service Desk Ltd, a Sales Outsourcing Company ; Co-founder of Mr. Grocer-an Online Grocery company that also delivers
groceries to expatriate(Indian/Chinese) communities. A social entrepreneur with four launched projects to her credit; the Career Lane Initiative aimed at solving unemployment issues in Nigeria; The Business Leaders Forum-a breakfast networking platform for budding entrepreneurs, Techwomen-go-entrepreneurial; an initiative that inspires female coders and developers to start off innovative businesses and the Leading Lady Network forum-a mentoring platform for women who aspire to lead.
Kelechi is an apt communicator, facilitator and a personal development coach. More

UCHE PEDRO, FOUNDER OF BELLA NAIJA

Uche Pedro is founder of BellaNaija.com, a company that develops and delivers exciting online content aimed at Nigerian and Pan-African audiences. Uche’s savvy grasp of media trends has led to BellaNaija.com becoming the go-to lifestyle, entertainment and fashion portal in Africa. Her website has established a loyal following amongst the young, cosmopolitan, upwardly mobile set in Nigeria, with over 1 million unique visitors and 9 million page views each month. More.

ADENIKE OGUNLESI, FOUNDER OF RUFF ’N’ TUMBLE

Adenike 'Nike' Ogunlesi is the founder of Ruff 'n' Tumble a leading designer, manufacturer and retailer of designer children's clothing in Nigeria. Nike started out modestly in 1996 selling the clothes she made from the boot of her car and in bazaars. Today, Ruff 'n' Tumble is an instantly recognisable brand in Nigeria and has a reputation for being one of the top manufacturers of children's clothing throughout West Africa. Ruff 'n' Tumble successfully caters to the unique fashion sense of today’s youngsters, from new born to age 16, happily mixing indigenous lifestyle trends with an international appeal.

MO ABUDU, CEO OF EBONYLIFE TV

Mo Abudu, CEO of EbonyLife TV  has been listed on Business Insider‘s Top 100 business visionaries creating value for the world. She is the only African on the list with a ranking of 56 on a list of 100 people from all over the world. As the head of one of Africa’s most successful new media ventures, the Nigeria-based television network EbonyLife TV, endeavors to tell real African stories and change the conversation around the continent. More.

DEOLA SAGOE, FOUNDER OF DEOLA

Deola Sagoe, founder of Deola is the leading lady of African haute couture fashion from Ondo State in Nigeria. Deola has been at the cutting edge of high fashion since 1989 and became the first black woman to present a collection at AltaRoma, Rome’s celebrated fashion week, back in 2004. Her globally appealing style has earned her an enviable clientèle that ranges from Africa's first ladies, to society girls like Lydia Hearst, top model Alek Wek, and famous personalities such as Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith. Deola, a mother of three, studied at the University of Miami and University of Lagos and earned a Masters in Finance and Management. She was appointed Nigeria's representative to the United Nations World Food Program 'Catwalk the World: Fashion for Food' with the goal of raising money towards halving the number of hungry people in the world, particularly children, by 2015. Deola frequently exhibits her couture collection at Cape Town Fashion Week and has been an invited guest of New York Fashion Week in the past. More.

TARA FELA-DUROTOYE, FOUNDER OF HOUSE OF TARA

Tara Fela-Durotoye is a Nigerian-born lawyer turned Africa's leading beauty and makeup entrepreneur. She started House of Tara at the age of 20, from her living room, whilst an undergraduate at university back in 1998. She's since gone on to launch Nigeria's first ever bridal directory in 1999, and in 2004 she opened the country's leading beauty academy. Today, Tara has over 3,000 reps spread across Nigeria and 14 stores to her name and she is steadfastly dedicated to realising her vision of building a globally respected beauty company of African origin. Tara remains an inspirational role-model and mentor to make-up artists and aspiring beauty business owners across Africa. More.

OLAJUMOKE ADENOWO, FOUNDER OF AD CONSULTING

Olajumoke Adenowo, founder of AD Consulting, is a Nigerian Architect, Speaker, Radio Host, Philantropist and Author. CNN has described her as “Africa’s Starchitect”. She has been featured in the World’s foremost Architectural Journal; Architectural Record and has spoken on several platforms including the Global Women’s Forum and Harvard Business School (African Business Club). Olajumoke also hosts a Syndicated Radio show on Leadership called “Voice of Change”. More.

DR OLA OREKUNRIN, FOUNDER OF FLYING DOCTORS NIGERIA

Dr. Ola Orekunrin is a medical doctor, helicopter pilot and the healthcare entrepreneur founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria, West Africa’s first Air Ambulance Service. She's dedicated to bringing trauma care to the most remote parts of Western Africa and her company, an air ambulance service based in Lagos, is doing just that. She was motivated to start the company after her younger sister tragically died whilst traveling in Nigeria as a consequence of their being no medical air service available to transport her to hospital. Ola graduated as a medical doctor from the University Of York in the UK and is a member of the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine. Ola currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria where she is considered a national expert of disaster medicine and pre-hospital care. Her company has been featured on various local TV and radio stations as well as the BBC and CNN. More.

CHINWE OHAJURUKA, FOUNDER AND CEO OF COMPREHENSIVE DESIGN SERVICES

Chinwe Ohajuruka is the founder and CEO of Comprehensive Design Services in Nigeria. Chinwe is a US-based architect who splits her time between the US & Nigeria working on sustainable housing development projects. She is a passionate champion of green building solutions for Africa and she engineers and builds affordable green houses that are both energy and resource-efficient. Chinwe was selected as the Sub-Saharan laureate of the 2015 Cartier Women's Awards. More.

ACHENYO IDACHABA, FOUNDER OF MITIMETH

Finding an innovative eco-solution to Nigeria's problem of its waterways being invaded by highly destructive water hyacinth plants, also created a unique business opportunity for Nigerian entrepreneur, Achenyo Idachaba. Today, her startup company, MitiMeth, takes these nuisance weeds and transforms them into beautiful hand-crafted and highly desirable products. She has taken an environmental problem and turned it into a win-win solution for her business, local communities and the country. Each hand-crafted piece is created from the weeds which are harvested from the local waterways and dried out in the sun before they can be used for weaving into highly intricate and beautiful finished products such as baskets, tableware and even jewellery. More. 

BANKE KUKU, FOUNDER OF BANKE KUKE TEXTILES

Banke Kuku is founder and CEO of Banke Kuku Textiles, a company she started in 2011. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Banke moved to the United Kingdom at age eight giving her the innate ability to cross-pollinate traditional African and Western culture to create unique, luxurious fabrics for the interior and fashion industries. Anointed by leading commentators as the ‘Queen of Colour’, Banke promotes African tradition and culture through her exquisite textiles sold in the major capitals of the world and supports and promotes local textile mills in Nigeria. Her interiors range can be been found in major retailers like Selfridges London, and her fashion fabric designs have graced the catwalks of London, Paris and New York. More.

 

NGOZI OPARA, FOUNDER OF HEAT FREE HAIR

Heat Free Hair is the story of a woman entrepreneur with a passion for natural hair combined with the entrepreneurial drive to start a business providing natural hair extensions, plus a movement to educate and inform women on how to care for their natural hair. Ngozi Opera is the founder of Heat Free Hair, the first manufacturer of Virgin Hair exclusively created to blend with African American textured, kinky, and curly hair. The company provides hair extensions in the form of wefted hair, clip-in extensions, and wigs. The Heat Free Hair Movement expands beyond the company’s products and focuses on the education of the natural hair community through seminars and instructional videos, as well as events for natural women to network with other women alike. More.

LESLIE OKOYE, FOUNDER OF COOKIE SKIN

A personal mission to find a simplified skin care regime for women of African descent, led to entrepreneur Leslie Okoye launching her own line of holistic skincare products specifically created for women of colour. Today, her company, L’Okoye Cosmetics Inc. and her CookieSkinspecialist skincare range, is providing a way for women to build confidence in their skin and to create flawless complexions. L'Okoye Cosmetics develops and distributes quality skin care products for women of colour, selling and distributing worldwide to online and physical stores, supermarkets and spas. The company aims to redefine the meaning of beauty amongst men and women of African descent by making holistic skincare that doesn't perpetuate the idea that beauty is based on skin colour. Instead through its quality skin care products, L'Okoye Cosmetics aims to empower, build confidence and increase self-love in women of color through its brands, campaigns and seminars. More.

ADENIKE AKINSEMOLU, FOUNDER OF THE GREEN CAMPUS INITIATIVE

Like many parts of Africa, Nigeria has a number of environmental challenges that need to be addressed by innovative thinking and action. The Green Campus Initiative is entrepreneur Adenike Akinsemolu’s solution to getting young people in the country thinking green and becoming eco-conscious citizens. The Green Campus Initiative (GCI) tackles the challenges of climate change and environmental sustainability through innovative academic research, results-based green initiatives, and building a generation of environmentally conscious, socially conscious student leaders. It was established to educate, engage and enlighten young people to live green, as well as equip them with the vital tools to positively transform their communities, nation and generation. The programs encourage students to use bicycles and other means of sustainable transportation, conserve energy and water, utilize renewable energy, dispose of their waste properly, become social entrepreneurs through the development of vocational skills, and become eco-conscious citizens. More.

SIA ALEXANDER, FOUNDER OF THE CHILDREN’S ART WORKSHOP

For those underpriviliged young children and youth who live on the margins of the larger society in Nigeria, having the opportunity to be creative and enjoy being with others to express themselves artistically is a dream come true. One social enterprise is making this dream a reality - the Children’s Art Workshop in Lagos is the brainchild of social entrepreneur, Sia Alexander and is making a real difference to the lives of young people in underpriviliged communities. The Children’s Art Workshop provides free art-based workshops and fieldtrips to local Lagosian youth from impoverished communities. It utilises the site of the Nimbus Art Gallery as a community gathering center for children in the local area to come and eat, play, dance, create, make music, design, write, perform, etc. More.

RAINAT KOMOLAFE, FOUNDER OF BABIES ESSENCE

For new parents-to-be in Nigeria, planning for the new arrival can be a little daunting, particularly if it is a first baby. So, entrepreneur Rainat Komolafe has created a startup business, Babies Essence, taking all the guess work and effort out of the process, providing a genuinely one-stop shop for everything needed to welcome the new member of the family into the world. BabiesEssence offers a range of specialist baby-planning services such as personal shopping, baby registry, baby shower planning, and consulting services. Rainat has recognised that most parents are working full-time and don’t have much time to shop, however there are so many new services and products being introduced into the world of pregnancy and parent’s to be. At BabiesEssence, she is making shopping easy for new parents, empowering them to make the best decisions in preparation for their precious new arrivals. More.

OMOYEMI AKERELE, FOUNDER OF LAGOS FASHION AND DESIGN WEEK

Omoyemi Akerele founded the Lagos Fashion and Design Week in 2011 and is also founder and artistic director of Style House Files, the organising body behind the annual four-day fashion showcase. Style House Files is a Creative Development Agency that primarily focuses on the advancement of the Nigerian and African Fashion Industry. Omoyemi is widely regarded as a driving force behind the burgeoning Nigerian fashion industry. She helps brands gain essential international exposure through presenting showcases at Pitti Immagine in Italy, and through Lagos Fashion and Design Week. More. More.

TSARO-IGBARA KASIRA, FOUNDER OF MAKSARO FURNITURE

Kasira is a Business Development Manager, very artistic and has a flare for amazing furniture. She is the founder of Maksaro Furniture. They create amazing furniture pieces and sell, delivering to your door step with amazing finishing. More

Amazingly many more women are conquering different spheres of society. Women fulfilling purpose. Happy International W omen's Day.

As woman, what are you doing? What sphere of life are you conquering?