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

Calling all entrepreneurs – CcHub’s Call for Ideas is open!

Remember +BudgIT NG ? In my early blogging days, I made quite a bit of noise about them, hehe. It was their success story that made me fish out the +CcHub Nigeria in Yaba. They recently graduated from the incubation centre and are doing great.

In case you haven't noticed, collaboration, co-creation is the new cool. Let's face it, if we want more companies to last, we need to work together, to find synergies, to build teams, to leverage on each other's strengths. This is why you can't afford to keep your idea to yourself. There are tricks and tips for protecting your idea though and you can listen here, to what Wunmi and I had to say about this on the episode before the last of strike the anvil. At the end of the day, you are better off sharing.

Anyhoo, so the Hub is calling for ideas again and if you have been looking for a platform to leverage on, here's your chance........

Read all about it;

Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) is a launch pad for start-ups, transforming ideas to sustainable ventures that solve real Nigerian problems. To date CcHub has supported the development and launch of more than 50 innovative technology startups solving social challenges in Nigeria.




Will the next golden idea come from you?

You can submit an innovative idea that solves a real Nigerian problem to the CcHub Call for Ideas for up to $25,000 in investment as well as networks and market entry support to get you kick-started.

The aim of the programme is to encourage the development of Nigerian led solutions for real Nigerian problems, focusing on six key areas – Governance, Transportation, Healthcare, Education, Food Security and the Environment.

We believe that by engaging a community of progressive stakeholders (end-users, subject matter experts, government agencies, businesses, academics, civil societies etc.) who bring their creativity and knowledge to play we can co-create solutions to social challenges faced by the average Nigerian.

These are our 5 tips for creating innovative solutions

• Solve ONE clear problem: focus on one problem and not many
• Understand the problem: observing the environment, infrastructure, culture and lives of people by being there.
• Think creatively: start big, use constraints as a filter and find the simplest solution.
• Identify a service gap: is there a service that isn’t being provided or not being provided to a satisfactory manner
• Deliver value: what are the benefits for people using the end product, does it improve a persons life?

Submit an Idea

Ideas should be submitted here by Sunday 31 May 2015. Ideas will be assessed by a panel, and those whose ideas are selected will be invited for an interview. Following this, the most viable ideas will be taken into the CcHub Pre-Incubation and Incubation Programmes.

1000 ideas have walked through our doors but is yours the one that will make it through and stick?