BELLAFRICANA AFRICAN CREATIVE EXHIBITION (ACE) AND AWARDS

The management of Bellafricana is officially announcing their first edition of Bellafricana African Creative Exhibition and Awards coming up on the 17th of April, 2017. This Annual Creative Exhibition and Award (termed Bellafricana ACE Awards) is fully endorsed by Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) and the Nigeria Britain Association.

The theme is “Celebrating Creativity and Innovation”, as it is time to encourage and reward the hardworking creative business owners for impacting lives and the economy.

Bellafricana is an initiative with a focus on Made-in-Nigeria (Non-oil) products where customers and suppliers engage and transact to bridge the buyer-seller gap and create a wider outreach for Nigerian products locally and globally.

Bellafricana has enabled African creative businesses a platform to receive the recognition they have long deserved. They aim to laud the creative works of Nigerians (Africans), which makes open competition affordable and accessible.

The organisers believe the time has come where we should all come together to recognise and encourage hardworking and greatly skilled men and women who are making a significant impact through their various Industries/sectors.

This event is proudly sponsored by Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and supported by other organisations such as Sovereign Guards Limited, Vibe Web Solutions, Noah’s Ark, Labule Restaurant, ASSETS, Lara Rose, Mensam Prints, Bakers Options, Inside Watch Africa, Timeless, and much more

What To Expect At Bellafricana ACE Awards 2017

This will be a three phase event in which two of the phases will run simultaneously while the third phase will be held as the peak of the event.

The phases are; Exhibition, Conference and Awards dinner.

Both the Exhibition and the Conference will be held simultaneously and the Awards will be held in a dinner fashion to close the event.

Exhibition

The watch-word at Bellafricana is Quality, to this effect; the organisers of the Bellafricana ACE Awards have assured the availability of top quality creative Afrocentric businesses to exhibit.

You will be able to access a wide variety of discounted quality made in Nigeria products all under one roof in these 5 focus categories are; Arts & Crafts, Fashion, Health & Beauty, Home & Living and Food Produce & Snacks.

HERE IS WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND AND NOT MISS THIS EVENT?

· Mouth-watering BBQ Chicken, Fish and Steak at the Sea Front

· Free Massage

· Free Spa Treatment

· Free Health Check

· Get up to 25% discount to shop.

· Get giveaways worth over ₦1,000,000.

· Fun Area for Kids – Games, Dancing Competition, Arts and Craft Making, T-shirt Painting and many more

· Painting Competition for Adults

· Make New Friends and Connection

· Free WiFi to browse all day

· ₦1,000 off Taxi Ride

· Highly Secured


To register and find out more, go to event.bellafricana.com/shopping

Conference

Themed: Practical Steps to taking your business Global

Key Note Speaker: Mr Olusegun Awolowo (CEO, Nigerian Export Promotion Council)

Bellafricana is always finding ways to help both budding and established creatives to harness the resources available to build their businesses stronger.

To this end, the conference will feature enlightening and engaging talks from renowned business men and women who have quality experience in these fields;


· Marketing Your Creative Business Globally

· How to Monetize your Creative Idea

· Branding that speaks for you

· Taking Your Non-Oil Product Global (Export)

· Sustainability and Succession Planning for Creative Businesses

· Perfect the Quality of your Craft and Evolve

To register and find out more, go to event.bellafricana.com/conference

Awards

Theme: Celebrating Creativity and Innovation

This African Creative Exhibition & Awards opens for nominations in various categories and Award competition.

Participants are offered a unique opportunity to showcase their talents and to have their work judged by the consumers and experts.

1) Best Indigenous Textile Designer

2) Best Emerging Beauty Brand

3) Best Emerging Fashion Brand

4) Best Creative Solution (ICT)

5) Best Supportive Made-in-Nigeria Celebrity of the Year

6) Best Eco-friendly Product Innovation

7) Best Innovative Product of the Year

8) Best Pioneer Craftsman/woman of the Year (Over 10 years)

9) Best Food Produce Innovation

10) Best Creative Kid Entepreneur

11) Best Creative Social Enterprise of the Year

12) Best Creative Kids Brand

13) Best Emerging Artist

14) Best Emerging Home & Lifestyle Brand

15) Best emerging African Brand


VOTING IS CURRENTLY ONGOING FOR THE AWARDS AND ENDS 05/04/2017. NOMINATE YOUR BRAND TODAY.


Go to the event website: event.bellafricana.com for more information.

Why You Should Participate

· The event is an important annual occurrence aimed at attracting an audience that include Captains of Industry, Investors, Upwardly Mobile Youths, Marketers, Trade Delegations & Missions, Procurement Officers, Brand And Business Managers, Art Lovers, Governmental Representatives And Key Decision Makers.


· The event is for enterprising Nigerian MSMEs seeking wider access to both internal markets and International markets and investors seeking joint-venture partners.

EVENT FACTS

Theme: “Celebrating Creativity and Innovation”

Conference Theme: "Practical Steps to Taking Your Business Global"

Date: April 17, 2017 (Easter Monday, Public Holiday)

Venue: D-Venue, Water Corporation Drive, Off Ligali Ayorinde, Oniru, Lagos, Nigeria.

Time for Exhibition: 10 - 4pm

Time for Awards Dinner: 5 – 9pm

For partnership and sponsorship details, please contact the organisers;

Call: +2348086363970 or +2348184457403

Email: info@bellafricana.com, community@bellafricana.com

Register: event.bellafricana.com

ASSETS and Bellafricana SME Export Workshop

African Sustainable SME Export Trade Solutions (ASSETS) and Bellafricana present Repositioning Nigerian SMEs As A Catalyst To Achieve Rapid, Sustainable Growth In The Non-Oil Export Sector.

Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions?

• Can SMEs become major players in the non-oil export value chain?
• Should my company get involved in export?
• How do I know if my product is export ready?
• If I don’t have a product yet what can I do?
• If I am a marketer can I get involved in export?
• Should I switch from import to export?

If you want answers to any of these questions, then you don’t want to miss a golden opportunity at the SME Export Workshop to get practical, down to earth answers to these and many other questions. You will also get the latest information about new incentives and critical issues affecting the non-oil export sector in Nigeria.


ASSETS and Bellafricana SME Export Workshop

WHERE?

At a special workshop to prepare SMEs for opportunities and challenges in the non-oil export sector at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

WHEN?

Wednesday 29th June 2016 from 9am – 5pm (Registration commences at 8.30am)

WHAT DOES IT COST?

Early bird fee: ₦12,000 (If payment is made on or before 17th of June)
Fee: ₦15,000 (After 17th of June till 27th of June, subject to availability of space)

HOW TO PAY:

Make payment to Bellafricana, Zenith Bank, Account Number 1013734944

Use your company name as reference. Once payment is made kindly scan deposit slip or proof of transfer to info@bellafricana.com, cc: smeexportsolutions@gmail.com with name and phone number.

TO REGISTER: Go to export.bellafricana.com

CONTACT NUMBER:

For sponsorship and more information, call Bukky on 08086363970

Participants will also benefit from the following:

Presentation on the NEXIM Non-oil export Stimulation Facility and other Export financing packages

Information about market access programmes including:

• ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and ECOBIZ
• USA – African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
• European Union – EU Export Helpdesk and EPA

Assessment of Samples:

(One product per participant) and contact with officials from Government and International development agencies who will highlight the special facilities assistance and training available for Nigerian export-oriented SME producers and marketers.

Presentations that will cover:

1. The importance of market entry requirements and specifications
2. Quality Assurance/Control,
3. Certification,
4. Packaging and Labelling,
5. Costing and Pricing,
6. Non-tariff Barriers,
7. Phytosanitary Issues,
8. Use of social media and ICT as platforms to promote and export products made by Nigerian SMEs.

WORKSHOP COORDINATOR: Ms Shade Bembatoum-Young, CEO African Sustainable SME Export Trade Solutions (ASSETS)

The Bella Community August Meet Up

Based on a research and survey we carried out recently amongst creative entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs, we have come to the conclusion that to sustain an online community of African made products and services, an offline community will strongly enhance the growth of the online vision. Bellafricana (a company that promotes African made products and services) hereby presents “The Bella Community”.

The Bella online community is growing very healthily and in fact we are so excited and convinced that an offline community will richly benefit and add more value to our community members. We are a community of creative entrepreneurs, but we also want to connect with intrapreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs.

When you are running a business, your business inspiration can come from almost anywhere. However, a few small business owners forget to use one of the most important tools readily available to them. One of the most important tools that you can use is community. In any city there will always be a community to connect with, and as an entrepreneur, you need this.

Calling all CREATIVE MINDS; artrepreneurs, handmade crafters, fashion designers, interior decorators/designer, bakers, shoe makers, musicians, poets, oh dear the list is endless and all other entrepreneurs and working professionals, wonder why I started listing (phew). You are a creative entrepreneur if you have a business how about that, hmm!

Wondering what benefits you get joining the Bella community? Here are 5 reasons;

1. Learn from other’s mistakes: Hearing what is going on with other people’s businesses enables you to really understand the real story of what is happening in their business. This may serve as a guideline on what to avoid in your business and the opportunity of being able to use their tricks for some great success tactics in your own business.

2. Exchange tips of business: For any entrepreneur, intrapreneur or aspiring entrepreneur, just starting out is so exciting, but this time of ideas and beginnings can also be confusing. Having other people that have had some experience be there to give you tips and secrets that you can use helps tremendously. You will be able to start off smoothly and keep growing strong during tough times.

3. Pass on knowledge: One of the biggest functions of the bella community of entrepreneurs is to pass on the knowledge that has been gathered from experienced professionals to the less experienced entrepreneurs. This is also a great place where you can find a mentor, and/or become a mentor for someone else. You meet a group of trusted entrepreneurs which grows to become a valuable business partnership and establish yourself with each other as a safe place to gather advice when you have a challenging decision to make.

4. Make valuable connections: Meet with like-minded creative minds. Networking is a skill that is essential in business and in your personal life. If you don’t know how to do this naturally, learn about it. Making these connections within the bella community is the greatest reason the community is here.

5. Learn new business skills: You get to learn new business skills together with real-life entrepreneurs and professionals.

Let’s make this official, join us at our first meetup on the 20th of August. This will be a monthly meetup. Every 3rd Thursday of the month from 5pm- 8pm.

Get ready to swap ideas, business cards, resources, shortcuts, strategies, traditional/digital marketing tools & tactics, put your business online, meet other key professionals and get valuable introductions to various thought leaders.

This is a real community, coming to you soon, so get ready and tell somebody…

There’s a limit of 40 seats, and they’re sure to be snatched up quickly, so register today and share this link.


JOIN THE BELLA COMMUNITY TODAY!

August Theme (Let’s Discuss): “Creating an outstanding brand in a competitive market”

Guest Speaker: Mr Lanre Adisa, CEO Noah’s Ark (A Creative & Brand Expert)

BIOGRAPHY: Lanre started his career as a Trainee Copywriter at MC&A: Saatchi & Saatchi in 1990. He left as a Copy Group Head in 1994 and later joined Rosabel (Leo Burnett) Advertising as a Copy Manager in 1995.

He moved to Franchise Communications as a Senior Copy Manager in 1996 and joined Insight-Grey as a Senior Copywriter in 1997 and was later made a Joint Deputy Creative Director in charge of the Creative Department in 1999.

He left Insight-Grey as an Associate Creative Director in 2003 when he joined TBWA/Concept as a Creative Director and was appointed to the Board of TBWA/Concept as an Executive Creative Director in 2005.

Under him, TBWA/Concept was adjudged the most creative agency in the country dominating the local award scene. He left TBWA/Concept to start Noah’s Ark in 2008. Within its first five years of existence, Noah’s Ark has scored a few first for Nigeria.

In 2012, Noah’s Ark became the first agency in West Africa to have its work published in Lurzer’s Archive. Noah’s Ark also became the first Nigerian agency to be recognized at Cannes Festival winning two national diplomas in craft for two of its entries.

Noah’s Ark ended the year 2013 as the second most awarded agency at the local LAIF Awards
Lanre has vast experience working on brands like Indomie Noodles, Malta Guinness, Samsung, Peak Milk, First Bank, FUMB (now Fidelity Bank), MTN, Econet, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Nigeria, UAC among many others.

He’s the first Nigerian Creative Director to attend Cannes Advertising Festival as a delegate in 2004. He served as a member of the Management Board of the Lagos Advertising & Ideas Festival (LAIF) from 2006 to 2012. He currently serves as an Adviser to the LAIF Board. He’s the President of the newly formed Creative Directors Circle (CDC)

Noah’s Ark is now evolving into a group of marketing communications service providers with the launch of Integrated Indigo and Underdog Productions in 2013. While the former provides PR, Events Management and Experiential Marketing services, the latter is focused on Audio-Visual Productions and Content Creation.

Beyond advertising, Lanre and his wife ventured into the Quick Service Restaurant sector in 2014 with the launch of Roots Foods Limited. The flagship restaurant of the company, Labule, opened its doors to the public on May 29, 2014.

ENTRY FEE: ₦3500 (Comes with a free meal and drink)

Venue: Labule Restaurant, 42A Ogudu Road, Lagos.




Call Bukky or Blessing on 08086363970 to become a member of the Bella Community and to Register!

This is a real message, so get real and tell somebody

Bellafricana - Bukky Bello #inthespiritofenterprise

Tell us about yourself

My name is Bukky Bello, I am the founder of Bellafricana. I studied Biochemistry at the University of Westminster in London. I love life, God, family and smiling. I am a woman on a mission, saved by Grace. I put God first in everything I do.

Tell us about your business

The name of my business is Bellafricana, and it simply means 'Beautiful Africa'. I started Bellafricana out of passion, drive and commitment to make a difference and to be innovative while creating what my target market wants; this of course happening alongside the intention of creating more jobs and development of local talents in these areas of creative expertise.
Bellafricana promotes local content by expressing the beauty of African textile in corporate gift items, souvenirs, interior decoration, casual and office wears.
We are also a marketplace where people around Nigeria (Africa) go to buy and sell unique Afrocentric and handmade goods to the world.

What was your inspiration for starting this business?

I moved back to Nigeria after my studies in the United Kingdom in September 2012 and commenced National Youth Service Corps (NYSC, a compulsory service for Nigerian graduates) which was were the main genesis of the company began. I soon fell exceptionally in love with African textile, but asides the regular use for fashion, I wanted to make a difference. You see, I always had a great passion for creative things and so I decided to carve a niche for myself by promoting local content whilst using local fabrics for gift items, interior decoration and wears.

I spent the whole of 2014 understanding my target market, but soon realised that I couldn’t achieve the vision for Bellafricana alone. The vision for Bellafricana is to be the largest online platform for Afrocentric and handmade products delivering around the world. Alongside this, I hope to promote local artisans, creatives and talents.

Now, from here on, I am planning towards the direction of my vision. I have seen a real need for this kind of community and have chosen to be the marketplace for Afrocentric (means: made from Africa) and handmade products. My three key ingredients to achieving my goal are Passion, Synergy & Growth

How did you get funding for your business?

ALLAWEE (NYSC Stipend), loved ones.

What opportunities have you been able to leverage on in your business so far?

Partnership with various chambers of Commerce.
Mentoring program with Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
NO grants just yet, however I came 4th at the Creative Focus event last year.
I have been self funding the business thus far leveraging on technology and partnership.

What Challenges have you faced so far and how have you been able toovercome them?

- Lack of essential resources - staff strength, mobility, business support...
- Lack of sufficient fund/resources to get to a larger scope of our target audience and expand the business.
- Access to International market (Distributors), export opportunities to a large target audience.

I have been able to overcome them by understanding the ESSENCE OF GROWTH and how ROME wasn't built in a day. Slowly but surely, with determination and perseverance, partnership and collaboration, I will achieve my set GOALS.

How will you summarize the journey so far?

The Journey so far has been BEAUTIFUL and I am excited about the journey ahead.

Here is a link to my journey so far: http://digest.bellafricana.com/hurray-bellafricana-is-18-months-the-journey-so-far/

Given the Chance, will you do this again?

OH YES!

What lessons have you been able to learn from your journey so far that others should know

1) You won't make a million overnight, it takes growth.
2) You can achieve alot more through partnership and collaborations.
3) Never stop gaining knowledge, keep researching.
4) If one way doesn't work, try again!
5) NETWORK!
6) Remain consistent with what you do, be an expert at your field.

Entrepreneurship is very vital for Economic Growth. Once must at least have an entrepreneurial mindset.

How can people connect with you

www.bellafricana.com / www.bellafricanadigest.com
www.facebook.com/bellafricana
www.twitter.com/bellafricana
https://plus.google.com/104047766419967967007/posts
08086363970, 08184457403
23, Ogudu Road, 2nd Floor Suite 23, Opposite Stanbic IBTC Bank, Ogudu, Lagos