ABARI Bamboo sunglasses - Abari Abdulhamid Damilola #inthespiritofenterprise

Who would have thought, all that bamboo growing all over our land could be used to create really cool stuff. A few weeks back I read a feature on digest.bellafricana.com about a Ghanian lady who makes bicycles with bamboo and I was wowed.

Fast forward a few days and voila, bamboo again, but this time by a Nigerian making the coolest sunshades ever! You have got to read about him, and I agree with him, "Obe to dun, owo lo pa". Read the main story to find the translation ... lol

Enjoy.


Tell us about yourself

My name is Abari Abdulhamid Damilola, 27 year old (6th March 1989), from Lagos State, Nigeria. I am the first son and child of my Parent, and I have 3siblings. I am a graduate of Igbinedion University Okada, where I majored in Mechanical Engineering and I am currently pursing my MSc in Process Safety and Loss Prevention from University of Sheffield, UK.

I’m a typical Lagosian, born to hustle (legit), Engineering is my first love before I found business as my side chick, both of which complement each other, “Production and Management wise”, I am very versatile in my thinking and always wanting to solve problems, while I’m doing that I try to increase my source of income to become financially independent.

My Life philosophy : No body gets lucky unless they take the opportunities that come their way.

Tell us about your business

Business Name: ABARI Bamboo sunglasses

Started : January 2016

Why: Alternative to plastic sunglasses whose durability is not compared to Bamboo frame sunglasses

Information About the frames

THE FRAMES MODEL

CREAMIE MODEL
The Creamie model are made from ecological bamboo which is the original colour of the bamboo. This sunglasses are eco-friendly, water resistant, that float on water and Non-slippery when sweating unlike the plastic frame glasses.

They come with Wayfarer style, TAC polarized lenses providing full sun protection for your eyes from UV rays and strengthened flex-steel hinges.

COFFEE BROWN MODEL
Coffee model bamboo sunglasses are eco-friendly, look awesome, and they float on water. non-slippery when sweating and more reliable than the plastic frames.
They come in a Wayfarer style shape and suits most face notwithstanding the size of face

ACCESSORIES
Each pair comes in a hard bamboo case with a silk lens cloth, silk bag and a little gift.

LENSES
TAC (Tri Acetate Cellulose) polarized lenses offer superior visual and polarization clarity. They are hard coated to resist scratching and block out 100% of all harmful UV rays up to 400 nanometers, and are also lightweight and highly impact resistant.

LENS COLOURS
Available in Blue and Green, black other colours are coming out soon

What was your inspiration for starting this business?

I wanted to stand out from the crowd...as far as nigeria is concerned, I think I am one of the first to venture in this line...I have seen a few people also in the field of sunglasses but not with bamboo frames.

How did you get funding for your business?

Basically its been from my pocket, my savings from my previous jobs

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

None yet as I have been running on my on resources, also the fact I am not presently in Nigeria as I am doing my Masters degree abroad.

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

Convincing people that the prize justifies the product...people expect me to sell as the same rate as the once on the street but as the adage goes

...a pot of soup that is sweet..the money involved is what "killed" it.

I am of the opinion if you can afford to buy a fake at 7000 naira then buying an original at 10000 naira is not too wide for a range.

How will you summarize the journey so far?

Challenging...mixing studies and business is two tasking but i'm still young and have got the ability to multitask.

Given the Chance, will you do this again?

Over and over again, infact I should have started earlier before the fake sunglasses flooded the market, with people thinking they are wearing the real deal... An average RayBan cost between $100-300 and what is sold in Nigeria is less than $5...

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

When you try to solve a problem you can create a business out of it.

Everybody wants to wear sunglasses but people don't know the consequence of wearing a FAKE lens which is what is rampant in Nigeria.

Abari Sunglasses has a C.E and the lens are certified to protect from UV rays that has the potential to destroy human sights.

How can people connect with you

Contact details
Email: abaritm@yahoo.com
Instagram: @abaritm
Twitter:@abaritm

Kamaroozy Concepts - Bakare Joshua Adeolu

Tell us about yourself

My name is Bakare Joshua Adeolu. I am a Civil Engineering graduate of University of Ilorin, kwara state, Nigeria. I am a trained & certified Project Manager (PMI, US & Comptia) and I have got substantial experience in Project management, Sales, Energy and Banking. 

My philosophy of Life is ''Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life''.

Tell us about your business

Kamaroozy concepts was incorporated in 2014. My vision is to have an African fashion empire that will eventually become the foremost global centre of African Fashion activities. 

It is a Fashion emporium showcasing African fashion, by uniting fabric and fashion accessories dealers, clothing designers, tailors and seamstresses.

How did you get funding for your business?

Personal savings

What was your inspiration for starting this business?

I want to create a new market, a new solution and I want the world to see fashion from a different perspective. This time, there are no rigid rules because you are simply going to define what fashion means to you all by yourself. We have broken this down into requirements and we have been working hard to ensure we get the right model to the market to facilitate the life cycle experience as desired. We are launching our Minimum viable product by the end of this month.

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

Collaborations and getting the right people to work with. Its not really about the cash its about the team, commitment and hard work. Nigeria is a place where a basic level skilled person would brag of being advanced and most of the time you have to figure out this yourself before its late. Having said that, I have decided to look inward (people in my network) in getting referrals for any skill set I require on this startup. 

How will you summarize the journey so far?

It's been challenging combining this with my 8-5 job but trust me it has been a wonderful learning experience and that's the most interesting part of it. Most of the time it can be very lonely but you get a smile on your face when people you are meeting for the first time tell you how excited they are about what you are working on.

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

Hard work will always outweigh talent in anything you do and is the ultimate thing when it comes to becoming successful. On my entrepreneurial journey I have met quite a number of highly talented youths with no drive. I want you to stop and ask yourself, am I working hard enough to satisfy my goals and journey?

How can people connect with you?

www.kamaroozy.com
www.facebook.com/kamaroozyconcepts
www.twitter.com/kamaroozy
www.intagram.com/kamaroozyconcepts
08075720390
sales@kamaroozy.com

Meera Stitches - Gbemisola lawal #inthespiritofenterprise

Tell us about yourself

I am Lawal Gbemisola(nee Adisa). A wife, mother, academician , community builder , Agric economist and a fashion designer.

Tell us about your business

MEERA STITCHES is my business name . It is a fashion outlet where we are on the mission to promote our culture and local economy through the use of native and traditional fabrics, by specially designing these fabrics into unique styles that can compete favorably at international level.

We now have specialization and recently opened a kiddies African boutique to ensure we imbibe our culture through dressing from early years, but our line for adults remains solid too.

How did you get into this line of business?

How I got into this line of business is always funny to me, but I believe it's predestined. While I was serving my nation(NYSC) in Benue state. I was posted to Nigeria Immigration Service, but after the close of work and weekends I was always idle and I didn't like this, so by the second month into my youth service I enrolled myself with a fashion designer in my neighborhood with the aim of whiling away time and probably for personal use in near future. I learned sewing of office and English wear from Enex fashion School and realized that I was becoming enthusiastic, so after 6 months with her I proceeded to another fashion designer who specializes in Igbo and general native designs and spent another four months. All in all I spent 10 months to learn the craft.

After NYSC I rented an apartment and went into real sewing for business and since then have never stopped doing this work I love so much.

What inspired the name Meera stitches?

Meera stitches inspiration..hmmmm....It was initially Mira fashion house but when I went for CAC registration MFH was rejected and I had to stick with my next option. I had initially planned to go into partnership with a friend named Grace and I am Gbemisola. We joined the MI and RA in our names to form Mira, but for a better reasons we forgot about the partnership and agreed I use the name which wasn't approved anyway. I just like the sound of Mira and decided to extend the pronunciation and I came up with Meera Stitches, a name I will forever be proud of.

What main challenges have you faced and how did you overcome them?

My main challenge was starting because I was also running a Masters degree Programme when I started which made it a bit hard. But when you love what you do , the passion will keep you going, besides I learnt how to manage many things at a time when I was the Team Leader of SIFE (ENACTuS), University of Ado-Ekiti.

How would you summarize your journey so far?

I will just say thank you lord for giving me the strength and courage to keep going. And also appreciate all those that love me and who are never tired of motivating me.

Given the chance will you do this again?

Given the chance I will definitely do this again and again

What advice do you have for other businesses starting up?

My advice for upcoming businesses just like my own is that we should always dream big and remain focused.

Contact;

18b, 1st floor Rayop complex extension, airport junction alaakia Ibadan

08029998518, 08071608233

FAB Store - Babajide Familusi #inthespiritofenterprise

Hi guys! I didn't showcase any entrepreneur last week, nor the week before, I think! I am sorry about that, but hey, I am making it up to you today. I have quite a bit to share with you, but I'll go with this first before I share the other stories.

I also didn't do my pre-show post and I didn't because for the life of me, I couldn't come up with a concept for that day! Yes. Happens to the best of us (here's me feeling like one of the best of us, hehe). Anyway, guess what? The show rocked and I just have to do a post-show post after this. Sorry, it's my blog, so I get to bore you with all the good and not so good stuff in my entrepreneur's journey.... don't vez!

So back to the entrepreneur of the day. I knew Babs in my lag days and I must say the transformation from unilag Babs to this calm and collected business mogul is something I still cannot get over! Lmao. You just never know how people would turn out from school days! I am telling you.

Enough said, let Babs do the honors himself....

P.S When I visited the FAB store in GRA, I was blown away, especially by the fact that its all african, everything in there! AFRICAN!! Who would have thought? We need to start supporting our own brands.

Enjoy!

Tell us about yourself

My name is FAMILUSI AKIN BABAJIDE but people call me FAB. I am passionate about African Fashion and Lifestyle.

Tell us about your business

The Fab store is one of the offshoots of  the FAB Group that created the FAB Magazine. (Read about the FAB magazine here.) It was launched on the 30th of June this year and is located at number 25 Oduduwa GRA, Ikeja Lagos.

We have on offer - African Fashion Brands inclusive of Clothes for both Adults and Children, accessories, Hand Bags, Makeup and Art work.

What does Fab mean? 

It simply means - FABULOUS AFRICAN BLACK

What was your Inspiration for the store?

It was inspired by the desire to have a one stop shop where people can experience Africa and African Creativity in a positive way.

You carry only African brands, most people would have thought this impossible, How did you make this happen and what has been the reaction of the market?

The reactions have been awesome. Most say it is refreshing to have a place to go to experience African fashion.

Can you give us a cross section of the brands you carry? 

+Kiki Kamanu, Ejiro Amos Tafiri, Simieogieme, Grey Project, 24 Apparel, Literati, Little weavers, Lady Biba, Didi Creations.

What are the main opportunities that you have been able to leverage to get where you are today?

The fact that the  FAB brand already existed….

Given the chance will you do this again? 

YES!!

What advice will you give to other entrepreneurs looking to launch.

Do not quit your Day Dream!

Connect with us

Visit our website - www.fabshop.africa.com

Visit our store – 25 ODUDWA WAY, GRA, IKEJA, LAGOS

Email – omotayo@fabshop.africa.com

Call- 01-4531963