Mrs. Biola Akinsulire is the chief executive officer of Igbadun
Concepts, a fashion and catering services outfit. In an encounter with
our Correspondent, Olamide Bakare, she shares her experience on her
entrepreneurship journey and hope for the future
Mrs. Biola Akinsulire hardly cuts the figure of an entrepreneur. But between the first five minutes of engaging with this reporter, it was apparent that the outward look is a complete contrast to her intellectual and entrepreneurial prowess. Little wonder, she won a GoldmannSach scholar, having acquired an entrepreneurial management certificate at pan African University, Lagos.Her gentle look coupled with her friendly mien added spice as this reporter took her up on the journey so far.
She said: "I started this venture four years ago. I have been in business for four years. This came after I had worked for a couple of years in one of the leading public relations agencies, TPT international."
In life, we are pushed by situations or circumstances that sometimes make us quit certainty for uncertainty particularly when we are driven by conviction. For Biola, as she is fondly called, passion was one major propelling factor.
"I have always had a flair for fashion even as a young person. I have always used my hand. I am a creative person. I cook; I sew and do different things at ease. Anything that has to do with art and craft is my forte, she said, adding; "There are times that you feel like closing down the business and going back to paid employment. But at such moments, what you keep looking at is the passion. Because whatever you do as a business owner, it must be something that you enjoy doing.
"Before now, I was working but I was not getting satisfaction. It was not something I loved. As a person, I love doing creative things. And you know that there are environments that do not encourage that. This is my own environment and I can create my world. So, sometimes my passion drives me.
"Apart from that, family and friends also encouraged me. When people in the corporate world appreciate what you do and envy your driving force, you wonder what really you are doing that is getting that kind of attention. But, of course, that is an encouragement. As it grows every day you keep having new ideas. As you read other people's story, you get a bit motivated that the sky is your starting point as far as the business is concerned."
On other services the company offers, Biola said that the standard is the same.
She said: "This is just one of the various things I am into. We also run a catering outfit. It is also called Igbadun Concept. We have a centre where we train people on how to make shoes, bags and other fashion accessories. We have been training for about two years now. We just moved into our own building. As I said before, we have a standard already. And that standard is that everything we make is top quality.
"Looking at our fabrics, we don't sell inferior fabrics. Everybody knows that what we sell are of good quality. For us, we don't say because we have built that level of confidence, we then take advantage of our clients. For us, keeping to standard and the creativity that we are known for have been our unique selling point.
"On the creativity front, it is impossible to imagine what we will come up with at any time. Even in our catering and our recipes, we don't compromise standards. In a nutshell, we are getting better every day. For us, our customers don't know what we are doing or bringing out. Every time, they are always looking forward to new things."
When asked the numbers of students that have passed through her, who are now fully on their own, she said: "I may not be able to give a specific figure. But conservatively, about 20 to 30 students have graduated in from training institute. Apart from that, many people who have gone through training are now fully established in Lagos and other parts of the country.
On the challenges affecting the business, she said that apart from the usual problems like infrastructure, confronting businesses, there is the inability to access grant.
She said: "Like an average SMEs, providing infrastructure for yourself is a lot of work. What that simply means is that you must have alternative means of power supply due to the erratic power supply in Nigeria. Besides, the cost of rent coupled with tax charges imposed by both local and state governments is a big concern that is taking serious toll on the growth of business. If you take Ogba, as an example, it is becoming a commercial boundary that is growing every day.
While assessing the fashion industry, Biola said there has been tremendous growth, urging all stakeholders to continue to raise the bar.
According to her, "The fashion industry is growing. People are being creative. Of course, we have a lot to improve upon because getting skilled hands and retaining them is one big challenge. In a society like ours, getting the right skill set and human resources is very challenging. But for the fashion industry, things are growing. We are competing with the developed world.
"Of course, our market is growing over there. We have got to a level where people come to buy our products. We are doing absolutely well but I believe we can do better. The challenge, to me, is that people are not ready to take the time to learn the ropes to become skilled. But overall, I think we have improved. We are not where we were two years ago. Things have really changed."
Asked where she hopes to see the business five years, Biola expressed optimism that it would feature among those on top.
"It is going to be global; it is going to be international. We are already having people showing interest in what we do even from outside the country. In five years time, by the time 10 or 20 SMEs are counted, we should be one of them," she said.
Mrs. Biola Akinsulire hardly cuts the figure of an entrepreneur. But between the first five minutes of engaging with this reporter, it was apparent that the outward look is a complete contrast to her intellectual and entrepreneurial prowess. Little wonder, she won a GoldmannSach scholar, having acquired an entrepreneurial management certificate at pan African University, Lagos.Her gentle look coupled with her friendly mien added spice as this reporter took her up on the journey so far.
She said: "I started this venture four years ago. I have been in business for four years. This came after I had worked for a couple of years in one of the leading public relations agencies, TPT international."
In life, we are pushed by situations or circumstances that sometimes make us quit certainty for uncertainty particularly when we are driven by conviction. For Biola, as she is fondly called, passion was one major propelling factor.
"I have always had a flair for fashion even as a young person. I have always used my hand. I am a creative person. I cook; I sew and do different things at ease. Anything that has to do with art and craft is my forte, she said, adding; "There are times that you feel like closing down the business and going back to paid employment. But at such moments, what you keep looking at is the passion. Because whatever you do as a business owner, it must be something that you enjoy doing.
"Before now, I was working but I was not getting satisfaction. It was not something I loved. As a person, I love doing creative things. And you know that there are environments that do not encourage that. This is my own environment and I can create my world. So, sometimes my passion drives me.
"Apart from that, family and friends also encouraged me. When people in the corporate world appreciate what you do and envy your driving force, you wonder what really you are doing that is getting that kind of attention. But, of course, that is an encouragement. As it grows every day you keep having new ideas. As you read other people's story, you get a bit motivated that the sky is your starting point as far as the business is concerned."
On other services the company offers, Biola said that the standard is the same.
She said: "This is just one of the various things I am into. We also run a catering outfit. It is also called Igbadun Concept. We have a centre where we train people on how to make shoes, bags and other fashion accessories. We have been training for about two years now. We just moved into our own building. As I said before, we have a standard already. And that standard is that everything we make is top quality.
"Looking at our fabrics, we don't sell inferior fabrics. Everybody knows that what we sell are of good quality. For us, we don't say because we have built that level of confidence, we then take advantage of our clients. For us, keeping to standard and the creativity that we are known for have been our unique selling point.
"On the creativity front, it is impossible to imagine what we will come up with at any time. Even in our catering and our recipes, we don't compromise standards. In a nutshell, we are getting better every day. For us, our customers don't know what we are doing or bringing out. Every time, they are always looking forward to new things."
When asked the numbers of students that have passed through her, who are now fully on their own, she said: "I may not be able to give a specific figure. But conservatively, about 20 to 30 students have graduated in from training institute. Apart from that, many people who have gone through training are now fully established in Lagos and other parts of the country.
On the challenges affecting the business, she said that apart from the usual problems like infrastructure, confronting businesses, there is the inability to access grant.
She said: "Like an average SMEs, providing infrastructure for yourself is a lot of work. What that simply means is that you must have alternative means of power supply due to the erratic power supply in Nigeria. Besides, the cost of rent coupled with tax charges imposed by both local and state governments is a big concern that is taking serious toll on the growth of business. If you take Ogba, as an example, it is becoming a commercial boundary that is growing every day.
While assessing the fashion industry, Biola said there has been tremendous growth, urging all stakeholders to continue to raise the bar.
According to her, "The fashion industry is growing. People are being creative. Of course, we have a lot to improve upon because getting skilled hands and retaining them is one big challenge. In a society like ours, getting the right skill set and human resources is very challenging. But for the fashion industry, things are growing. We are competing with the developed world.
"Of course, our market is growing over there. We have got to a level where people come to buy our products. We are doing absolutely well but I believe we can do better. The challenge, to me, is that people are not ready to take the time to learn the ropes to become skilled. But overall, I think we have improved. We are not where we were two years ago. Things have really changed."
Asked where she hopes to see the business five years, Biola expressed optimism that it would feature among those on top.
"It is going to be global; it is going to be international. We are already having people showing interest in what we do even from outside the country. In five years time, by the time 10 or 20 SMEs are counted, we should be one of them," she said.
