by Ntsoaki Sibiya 

The Security Industry sector is becoming an increasingly critical source of jobs as the rate of unemployment among women increases. The unemployment rate among black African women stands at nearly 41% compared to 32% among men. These disparities are not only the product of a profoundly unbalanced economy, they also contribute to gender inequality in society.

Gender Equality In Private Security 

Pressure on the industry to increase its female factor is a task that requires dedicated and unrelenting attention. The empowerment of those historically disadvantaged through unfair discrimination in the industry is an integral part of efforts to achieve inclusive growth, create jobs, and expand economic opportunities for women in private security.

The main reason for women’s traditional exclusion from the industry is the issue of safety. However, this concern is being addressed by cutting-edge technology and high-end training designed to enhance personal safety along with job performance. Technology also provides high quality surveillance systems, real-time incident monitoring and reporting systems, smart phones, GPS tracking and reliable communication channels between control rooms and colleagues.

Women have gone through a series of struggles to prove their capabilities and become equal in the workplace to their male counterparts. More recently, women have actively positioned themselves for growth within the security profession in both government and private industry. There is a new movement on the horizon, and it includes capable women implementing a vision of change. The number of women in security is rapidly increasing in the workforce.

Economic Growth and Advancement of Women In Private Security 

The economic empowerment of women in private security is not a technical exercise achieved merely by improving industry policy and introducing progressive programmes. It is a process of fundamental social transformation in which the sector must be actively involved. Another vitally important reason for this initiative is that the economic empowerment of women is one of the pillars of the National Strategic Plan Against GBV and Femicide against women. By improving the economic circumstances of women, we are reducing their vulnerability to abuse and violence. If a woman is economically empowered and not economically dependent on a male partner, she is more likely to leave an abusive relationship. When you empower a woman, you empower a nation, you empower her as a mother because she puts her family first.

Women in private security are actively seeking out employment with the industry, and those who manage to secure jobs hold their positions for up to 5 years. This longevity alone indicates passion and commitment amongst women. Therefore mentoring and equipping women to take up space within the industry, and using the talents women have, is imperative to solving some of the problems our country faces.

Affiong is passionate about agribusiness and looking at innovative, market-driven solutions to add value to local produce given Nigeria’s unique agricultural landscape. Through ReelFruit, she has demonstrated a model for creating higher value markets which increase the use of otherwise wasted fruit, and which will ultimately increase the production of high-quality fruit available for processing, which increases farmer incomes. In 2015, ReelFruit was awarded a grant by IDH Sustainable Trade to complete an innovative pilot to train and hire 50 women in Mango farming in Nigeria, a first-of-its-kind intervention. 

Affiong Williams obtained a post graduate diploma in Business Administration from Wits Business School, Johannesburg, South Africa. She worked for 4 years for Endeavor Global, a global non-profit which catalysis economic development by supporting small to medium enterprises in developing markets.  She also completed the Stanford Seed in Emerging Economies program in 2018. Affiong is passionate in unearthing the job and wealth creation potential of agribusiness and global trade.  She believes enterprise is the only way to lead the continent out of poverty. Affiong is passionate about Entrepreneurship, Agriculture, and is an avid runner, completing over 10 marathons, and raising funds for charity in the process. 

Lioness Weekender spoke to Affiong Williams to learn more about this impact driven and her own entrepreneurial goals and aspirations.

When did your start your business? 

ReelFruit was founded in 2012. After living in South Africa for 12 years, 4 of which I spent working for an entrepreneur support organization, I decided I was going to come back to Nigeria to start a business. ReelFruit was established in 2012, after I moved back from South Africa. I had initially planned to produce fruit juices, but I did not have the capital for the machinery. Dried Fruit turned out to be the next best option and I began gauging prospective clients to see if there was a market for it in Nigeria and there was a lot of positive reception. The company become functional in 2013 and launched its mango and pineapple snacks, having used the prior year to get all of its certifications.

Number of employees 

We currently have 65 full-time and 20 part time employees.

What does your company do? 

ReelFruit is the largest dried fruit processing, marketing, and distribution company in Nigeria. Its business model is based on building and growing markets for higher value processed fruit products, generating multiplier effects in the fruit sector – transforming otherwise wasted raw materials into well-branded snacks, thereby guaranteeing a market for farmers and increasing their incomes. The company was founded to add value locally to fruit produce by focusing on processing, marketing and distribution of raw materials in order to be a job creation engine, generating employment across the value chain, from farm to factory.

ReelFruit’s product range comprises of branded and healthy dried fruit and nuts snacks (pineapple, mango, fruit / nut mix, and cashews), sold at over 400 outlets around Nigeria, through online channels and to B2B market (hotels, airlines), answering to the growing demand for healthy snacks. The products are also

exported to Europe (Switzerland and Belgium) and sold on Amazon.com. In 2020, ReelFruit sold the equivalent products of 1,200,000 pineapples that would have otherwise gone to waste, achieving $480,000 in revenues (despite COVID lockdowns and lost business that cost the company ~40% of annual revenues). ReelFruit is majority woman owned, has a 100% female management team, and 55% female employee base (full time and part time).

What inspired you to start your company? 

I was inspired to start my business because I was burdened by youth unemployment in my home country, Nigeria. I believed that by starting a business, one with huge potential to create jobs, I would be solving this problem. I decided on the agribusiness sector based on its job creation potential and its ability to uplift farmers.

What makes your business, service or product special? 

ReelFruit is innovative in the sense that we created a new sector of snack product in Nigeria, that didn’t exist prior. It took years of persistence to convince customers and retailers to adopt our products, but we have achieved major successes. We have produced millions of packs of snacks, and we retail our products in over 400 stores nationwide. 

Tell us a little about your team. 

The company has over 85 employees across Nigeria. The company was founded and run me. We have 100% female management team in key functional areas of the business.

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background? 

No, I do not have an entrepreneur background. As mentioned before, I moved back to Nigeria and decided to start my own company. It’s been quite the journey with a lot of ups and downs, wins and losses along the way but it’s also been extremely fulfilling, and I won’t have it any other way.

What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

As an entrepreneur who has spent the last 9 years building the largest dried fruit company by revenues and distribution in Nigeria and having just raised a $3M series-A investment to scale its operations, I am confronted with the fact that the work has just begun. My vision is to build an end-to-end agribusiness adding value across the fruit value chain, positively impacting smallholder farmers to consumers.

My goal is to build a lasting business that provides young Nigerians with the dignity, benefits and freedom formal employment offers. This is my key driver as an entrepreneur. I believe enterprise is the only way to develop my country and its people. Youth account for 45% of the workforce, yet 55% of them are unemployed. My business’ goal is to create 1000 direct jobs in the next 7 years.

What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur? 

Providing meaningful work for young, talented, and ambitious Nigerians. Daring to do things that have not been done before. Persisting and bringing dreams to reality.

What’s the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up? 

If you’re consumed by passion to start a business, I’d advise you do a lot of research, build a network in the industry, and stay curious and be prepared for a long journey ahead. 

To find out more about the work of ReelFruit and its impact, send an email to: info@reelfruit.com or visit the ReelFruit website and social media platforms:

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER

Book Review

Author Katherine Massey, believes we all have a story to tell but that sharing it is the hard part, and her new book Seen seeks to address this challenge. In Seen, 15 female entrepreneurs have found the courage to come together and share their personal stories. In their own words, they describe the process of finding their passion, power and purpose, and how they wish to inspire and encourage others to believe that anything is possible. 

In Katherine Massey’s new book, Seen, female entrepreneurs share their highly personal stories, each one of which is a personal testament of inner strength and resilience. Though each woman’s path has been unique, they share common elements of pain, loss, love and eventual strength to give them the courage to be the women they are today. Standing proud and finding the courage to be heard, this is a powerful collection from 15 women who are determined to support other females to lead a positive, caring, passionate and authentic life. Katherine believes it’s time to be Seen.

Author Quotes

Working with so many wonderful women – all with amazing stories and backgrounds – it was time for me to create a platform where they could come together, share their experiences, while letting their courage inspire future generations.

Each woman experienced unique challenges in their past that ultimately framed their future. It helped them lead to their passion and what has now become their life’s purpose.

I’m confident these women now recognize the power that storytelling has to not only heal and overcome, but to rise above. 

About the author

Meet Katherine Massey, or Kat as most people know her. Katherine has a no filter approach to life as “The Honest Blogger” and The Visibility Queen. She has been self employed for over 20 years, Katherine knows what it takes to build a successful business from the ground up with proven results. Katherine Empowers Women to gain the confidence to be seen, to step into their passion and purpose and get super aligned to their message and path in this world and claim back their power. Katherine runs a community group called The Visibility and Confidence Club, and a monthly membership called the VQ Academy. Where she brings women together to give them the toolkit they need to be heard and seen, and show up with Confidence. Katherine is a number 1 best selling author and her blogs and books appear globally. Despite all Katherine’s achievements and ambition the one she values the most was becoming a mum.

http://katherinemassey.simplesite.com

by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department

“One thing I love about customers is that they are divinely discontent. Their expectations are never static – they go up. It’s human nature. We didn’t ascend from our hunter-gatherer days by being satisfied. People have a voracious appetite for a better way, and yesterday’s ‘wow’ quickly becomes today’s ‘ordinary’. I see that cycle of improvement happening at a faster rate than ever before. It may be because customers have such easy access to more information than ever before – in only a few seconds and with a couple taps on their phones, customers can read reviews, compare prices from multiple retailers, see whether something’s in stock, find out how fast it will ship or be available for pick-up, and more. These examples are from retail, but I sense that the same customer empowerment phenomenon is happening broadly across everything we do at Amazon and most other industries as well. You cannot rest on your laurels in this world. Customers won’t have it.”…and so wrote Jeff Bezos in his 2017 letter to Amazon shareholders. Since then the world has just got significantly faster, customers more demanding for higher quality, lower prices and more speed, until Covid hit the reset button and the world stopped for breath. 

However, if the recent supply chain issues are anything to go by, the world has now awoken from its slumbers (and shock) and expectations have returned to pre-Covid levels. If you missed the chance during lockdown to reset your business, to do some spring cleaning of your operations, of your supply chains, of your customer experience, of your online sales, then sorry for you (to use a South African expression). You are now back to working all hours even during that time between 2.17am and 3.46am when you thought you could possible catch 40 winks and close the eyelids…(yes, we have been watching!).

This ability to ‘rest on our laurels’ is, as we mentioned last weekend (here), a luxury we simply cannot afford. Life is moving at such a pace and as Jeff states so correctly, “…yesterday’s ‘wow’ quickly becomes today’s ‘ordinary’.” We complain about the ‘youth of today’ demanding instant gratification, but the reality is that this is just the way of today’s world – our youth just magnify and vocalize urgency of everyday life in front of our very eyes. 

But is this a race we can never hope to win or even keep up with? How do we even start? The amazing thing is that just as we think something is impossible, so someone actually proves us wrong. Suddenly what seemed impossible becomes within reach and then commonplace…

No one in our grandparents’ day thought the human body could run a 4 minute mile, until Roger Bannister did just that (which was then beaten after barely six weeks!), and now is commonplace with the current record standing at 3.43.13. Women are running at ever increasing speeds with the current outdoor record being held by the amazing Sifan Hassan (4.12.33), the Ethiopian-born Dutch runner, with the indoor record held by the brilliant Genzebe Keneni (4.13.31), another incredible Ethiopian runner. Then when we turn to the Marathon, it is of course Kenya that leads the way…Mary Jepkosgei Keitany who won the 2017 London Marathon in an incredible World Record  time of 2:17:01, with Brigid Jepchirchir Kosgei, the current marathon world record holder for women running in a mixed-sex race, with a time of 2:14:04. All amazing Lionesses of the Track, setting new records, but just as important, setting new benchmarks for those following to surpass…

It appears that where previously we had set our limits, once the record is broken, a new limit is set and this becomes the new goal. That creates ever increasing speeds and demands on our lives and of course ever higher standards that we have to reach, match and then beat.

So how do we keep one step ahead of our consumers and in turn, one (or two) steps ahead of our competition? How do we ourselves become in Jeff’s words – “divinely discontent”? Jeff says in his letter: “There’s no single way to do it – it’s a combination of many things. But high standards (widely deployed and at all levels of detail) are certainly a big part of it.”

High standards. Not a surprise to readers of our weekly musings on the subjects of business, leadership, fabulous Coffee, and, organisational and operational resilience. The joy of high standards is that they spread as if through osmosis across an organisation. If you insist on high standards, all new hires will learn quickly what is expected, likewise, a lax attitude will draw all to the lowest common denominator, not least because great and energetic staff will simply give up and leave. As we wrote previously here, “…in a bad company at these times, one of the often heard complaints is that the ‘Rats deserted the sinking ship’, that is a lie – in fact it is so often the Rats that are left at the end on the ship unable to find anything dry.”

High standards is a way of life for these incredible runners and all athletes who dream of the top around the globe, whatever age. Rise at 5am, go for a run, come home, go to school, return, do homework, down to the track again and so on, and that is just for the girls dreaming of Olympic glory. The jump from representing your School, to your University, to your Club, to your Country, each time there is an exponential jump in performance and the standards they set themselves in an effort to reach such performance and to beat the competition. They are all obsessed with being “divinely discontent”.

In business, of course high standards have to be held firmly by the top and trickle down, and even Marcus Aurelius the last of the great Roman Emperors in his book Meditations talked about ‘Sincerity’ being one of the three main attributes of a great leader (the other two being Kindness and Modesty) as we wrote here: 

“‘Sincerity’.There is no option on this if you want to be a great leader. The rules are simple:

Tell the truth and nothing but the truth. This is a must. Do what you say you will do. Hold yourself strongly accountable to this. LISTEN…”. High standards indeed for us personally as leaders, but one of the best ways  within our business that we move our standards up to an international level, keep the high standards and then show high standards to the world are through the ISO Standards (here). 

If you have never heard of the ISO Standards, their website says: 

“Think of them as a formula that describes the best way of doing something. 

It could be about making a product, managing a process, delivering a service or supplying materials – standards cover a huge range of activities. Standards are the distilled wisdom of people with expertise in their subject matter and who know the needs of the organizations they represent – people such as manufacturers, sellers, buyers, customers, trade associations, users or regulators.”

The wonderful thing about the ISO Standards is that they too are “divinely discontent”. Constantly bringing in the latest experts, be they in Food Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, Shipping, Warehousing, Fashion, Health and Safety, you name it. If there is an industry, they most likely have interviewed and brought on board these international experts to design the high international standards necessary to run a business within such an industry. With updates and ‘better ways of doing things’ being invented at the coal face of industry daily, these standards are often being updated.

More than ever before, Nigeria is witnessing the rise of male and female designers who make ready-to-wear pieces and accessories that make men and women feel stylish and inspire confidence in them. Whether it is corporate or casual wear, leather handbags, these designers sure know how to style their clients.

And this celebration of Nigerian fashion was a key part of the Smart Money Woman Universe. Check out every single fashion brand involved in  the TV Show:

THE REPUBLIC

The Republic is a shopping and retail brand that brings you the best of Nigerian fashion brands. The Republic caters to the fashion needs of both men and women. There is an emphasis on the sale of chic, casual easy wear for both genders.

JZO NG

Connecting affordable fashion with sustainability and an attention to accessible, durable design is the fuel that propels JZO Fashion. Everything they do as a consortium is tethered to these ideas, and they influence our design decisions, our business strategy and the kind of men and women we dress. They care about where the clothes they make end up, who makes them and why they matter to the people who shop their racks.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUH8SKqLDVU/

ADEY SOILE

Adey Soile is a female fashion brand that caters to the fashion needs of working-class women in Nigeria. The brand creates chic, classic work wear and power dresses for Nigerian women. Their focus however now includes casual easy wear and night wear. The aim of the brand is to revolutionise women’s wardrobes and create timeless clothing that will never go out of style.

DZYN

DZYN is an Abuja based fashion brand run by Ogwa Iweze. The brand started out in 2013 by creating casual dresses but later upscaled into designing and large-scale production of garments. The brand’s inspiration is drawn from the Nigerian style and the integration of cultures that are quintessential to their homeland. DZYN prioritizes quality and ensures every stage of the production of garments is meticulously supervised to produce high-quality results.

For Style Sake (FSS)

For Style Sake, a fashion blog that began as a platform for two sisters, Salewa and Segi to keep up with each other especially with their new fashion find and evolving style in 2011 has evolved and has grown quite a following with over a million visits to the blog and counting and a women’s wear brand that is known for making stylish, one-of-a-kind pieces for women who want to make a statement or stand out. FSS is inspired by traditional Nigerian attire and uses unconventional indigenous fabrics like Asooke to create modern statement pieces.

Things Nigerians Love (TNL)

Things Nigerians Love (TNL) is a fashion brand founded in 2016 due to a lack in the market for non-traditional African clothing. The fashion brand is influenced by the founder’s sense of style and her takes on current trends. The brand has a mission to provide quality clothing for women who want to wear nice things without having to break the bank. Recently, TNL Designs unveiled its latest collection tagged Women of Colour which was created to serve as a reminder to women of colour to stand out and turn heads in any room they walk into and do so wearing colour.

ZEPHANS AND CO

Zephans and Co. is a brand that offers original, and well-cut African-made women’s apparel. The brand focuses on making women look strong and sexy in clothes that complement their style and that women can continue to wear season after season. Zephans and Co uses real African fabric such as adire and batik to make beautiful modern pieces.

CINNAMON LAGOS

Cinnamon Lagos is an international feminine fashion brand known for its fashion-girl appeal. The brand’s garments are strictly made in Nigeria. Cinnamon Lagos aims to make women look confident in her personal style and centre her as an important element of a well-executed look. They try to provide special pieces that accentuate the uniqueness in every woman – her confidence, elegance, and impeccable taste.

LOLA BAEJ

Lola Baej is a Lagos-based contemporary women’s label. The brand is known for detailed, bold, and sophisticated pieces that capture a woman’s femininity, strength and confidence. All of Lola Baej’s pieces are focused on ensuring that the woman flaunts her style.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ8Bb1wMY0h/

 

JEWEL JEMILA

Jewel Jemila is a ready-to-wear brand launched in 2016. Every piece that the brand churns out is super chic and sophisticated and made to fit every woman perfectly irrespective of her body type and to inspire confidence. Each piece is designed for movement, infused with beautiful colours to compliment the Jewel Jemila woman’s figure.

 

LADY BIBA

Lady Biba is a female fashion brand best known its stunning work wear.  Lady Biba’s looks are bold, interesting yet modest and will definitely attract attention in a positive way. Apart from workwear Lady Biba also has  a sister brand for loungewear, LB Eazy Wear.

HOUSE OF JULYET PETERS

House of Julyet Peters is a Nigerian womenswear brand. The clothing company uses beautiful fabrics of various colours including traditional African fabrics such as Ankara to make unique and trendy outfits ranging from dresses, power suits, gowns among other things. Each piece is meticulously made to give the Julyet Peters woman a unique  look.

KISARA

A woman’s outfit is never complete unless she matches with the perfect handbag. One of the places to shop for the perfect handbag is Kisara . Kisara is a fashion brand that creates quality handmade leather handbags for stylish women. All of their handbags are made from materials sourced local and meticulously sewn and painted for the Kisara woman to make stand out and build her confidence.

TOKA TOKA LAGOS

If you are looking to make a splash in contemporary pieces with an African touch then, TokaToka is the brand to visit. TokaToka which is a Hausa word for grey exemplifies all the stretch of emotions a woman goes through as we all live in shades of grey. Whatever a woman’s emotions are, TokaToka captures them perfectly in their designs. Their designs reveal a blend of comfort and style that reflects the TokaToka woman’s personality and makes her a confident woman.

KAISER SUITS

Kaiser is a lifestyle brand that creates and designs men’s suits. The brand prides itself as one committed to creating quality and timeless pieces for men with the intention that the Kaiser man feels elegant, dapper, amazing and comfortable in each piece.

FAZSION

Fazsion is a unisex retail hub that offers Nigerians authentic luxury fashion and beauty items at quite an affordable rate. All of their products are carefully and specially sourced from select brands across Europe.

ATAFO

Atafo is a menswear and womenswear fashion brand that drives on its delivery of opulence through bespoke services. The brand focuses on creating elegant and glamorous dresses for women and well-crafted bespoke tailored suits for men. With several features on shows like Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Arise Magazine Fashion Week, the brand has also launched its bridal line called, “Weddings” by Mai Atafo which delivers all the clothing needed to achieve a fairytale wedding.

1407

1407 is a rising menswear fashion brand. The brand aims at creating really stylish and classic pieces for its male customers. 1407 employs a variety of various techniques in creating men’s pieces. Some of their collections feature loose-fitted tunics, shorts, Bermudas and pants with impeccable detailing.

LISK

Lisk is a fashion outfit that makes tailored custom-made outfits and accessories. The brand leverages on technology as a means to bridge the gap in the fashion industry in Nigeria. The fashion outfit emphasises individuality and carefully tailored their outfit to suit their clients. Their versatility is seen in how they create outfits to fit into the daily lifestyle of individuals from the corporate world to owambe and every other thing in between.

FRANKIE AND CO

Frankie and Co is a womenswear brand that focuses on making women look stylish and great. At the core of the brand is inclusivity and diversity. The brand caters to the fashion needs of women irrespective of their size. Fashion and co wears can be described as casual and comfortable yet stylish and chic.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CER7mNjlgss/

GREY VELVET

Grey Velvet is one of the fastest-growing fashion chains in Nigeria with stores in major malls in the country as well as an online store. The fashion retail brand works with more than fifty (50) African and Nigerian designers to cater to the fashion needs of both men and women.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CU5DSGXt7jU/

IMAD EDUSO

Imad Eduso is a female fashion brand that focuses on creating, sophisticated, vibrant and functional pieces for the modern-day woman. The brand creates classic styles using contemporary trends and colours to create versatile pieces for the Imad Eduso woman. In 2017, the brand introduced its bridal arm, “Imad Eduso Bridal” for brides who want a minimalist but edgy design for their weddings.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUfKWlNAfGm/

ROKSANA

Roksana, derived from the Russian name for ‘Star of Magnificence’ is a female clothing brand. The brand creates ready-to-wear clothes for women with a taste and desire for timeless fashion. At the heart of Roksana is the need to create beautiful designs that radiate elegance with a combination of comfort, quality and style.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuGPDSYHHJ0/

ZIVANORA

Zivanora is a minimalist jewellery brand created for men and women who love chic, clean and modern style. The jewellery brand designs pieces that are graceful, comfortable, delightful and perfect for special occasions and every day in between. It is created for the wearer to feel special and confident in their style at any occasion or location.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSjWj-SAig0/

BLOOM BY FBD

Bloom by FBD is  a minimalist, functional and young at heart womenswear brand. The brand believes in making women feel special, beautiful and most importantly, confident! They specialise in pieces that are fun and flirty, and the range spans everything from cute summer dresses, to polished jumpsuits, flirty separates and more that are tailored with love.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUZo65AjqSp/

MAESTYLING

Morning Evening Afternoon Styling is an online retail store for African high street pieces. The brand creates a platform where designers can sell to a larger market and where everyday girls can find a wide range of amazing designs from Nigerian designers.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuY0kIznPPU/

BELOIS

Belois is a fashion brand based in Abuja. The brand is known for its stylish pieces. It employs beautiful fabrics including African fabrics to make comfortable, chic and timeless pieces that women can wear anywhere from the board room to parties.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQLSkLJMv5c/

KOLA KUDDUS

Kola Kuddus is a menswear brand in Nigeria. The fashion outfit offers bespoke services to men of different ages, sizes, and backgrounds. Kola Kuddus’ designs can be best described as urban African design – a unique blend of African authenticity and creativity. The brand offers elegant pieces that make a man look stylish and bring out his innate fashion sense.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTluYzzD9_6/

JOAGHSPORTS

JOAGHSports is Nigeria’s first fitness wear line dedicated to making sporting goods affordable and accessible to Nigerians and Africans. The brand’s fitness wear can be described as Afrocentric, catering to the athletic needs of Nigerians and Africans. JOAGHSports offers such as sportswear or activewear, workout gear or gym gear among others.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFUJvKSlpSW/

DAVANA JEWELRY

Davana Jewelry is a contemporary jewellery label known for creating a series of easy and effortless styles. The brand caters to people who like minimalist and modern styles. Davana Jewelry focuses on super affordable minimalist jewelry which customers can get without having to break the bank.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTAHIptDd2E/

ELANRED

Elanred is a unisex retail hub that sells both men and women’s corporate wears and casuals. The unisex concept store located in Lekki, Lagos has housed more than two hundred multi-brands from Nigeria and can be said to be a place for discovering fashion designers as well as beauty and lifestyle from Nigeria.

 

SHOP INKHA

The INKHA brand is for the multifaceted lifestyle of the millennial woman. With accessible pieces both financially and style-wise, your wardrobe will never lack of adaptable and trendy looks. Inkha also represents bold colours, quality fabric and avantgarde style. Whatever your next occasion is, you’re bound to stand out with an Inkha piece. The brand is every fashion girls favourite!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBV7yFGF_xJ/

SANUSI LAGOS

Sanusi Lagos  is an exclusive lifestyle streetwear brand that was formed to bridge the gap for affordable luxury streetwear clothing in Africa. The brand is inspired by a fusion of influences inspired by our environment, culture and lifestyle, heightened by Seyi Sanusi’s(Creative Director of the brand) love of Hip Hop culture, Music and Luxury Streetwear. The brand is a fresh perspective to Nigerian design and also a favourite with the most fashion forward African celebrities such as Ice Prince, D’Banj, Wizkid, Davido, The Mavins and more.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRhI2cKrrJC/

TORLOWEI

Torlowei is a  family-owned fashion house based in Lagos, Nigeria, specialised in designing and producing sustainable, timeless and ethical pieces.

 

BIG BEN KILANI

Big Ben Kilani is a premium suiting brand that seeks to challenge global perceptions of Africa through design, small batch production . All suits Their shoes are designed by the founder and made in Lagos, Nigeria.

 

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