Interior decoration industry is a goldmine— Nnoli

Chukwubuike Nnoli is the chief executive of Zubnol Investment Limited, a start-up that manufactures interior decoration products and supplies them to retail stores, open markets and several outlets.

Nnoli believes that the industry is a gold mine and has yet been fully tapped. He urges creative minds to swoop on opportunities in the industry, which are virgin.

“Yes, there is money in the industry, but the money is for those who are creative and dynamic,” he says.

“It is not for the lazy. The industry needs innovation and people who can break away with the past,” he explains.

Zubnol produces ‘throw pillows’, bed sheets, baby duvets and embroidery products. His basic business is to buy raw materials, which can be in unfinished or semi-finished forms, and turn them into finished pillows, bed sheets and duvets used in homes, offices and hospitals.

Nnoli’s products are basically categorised into Exclusive, Dulux and Premium. Similarly, the duvets are classified into categories A, B and C.

Based in Awka, Anambra State, Nnoli’s products are supplied to distributors and several outlets that, in turn, sell to final consumers.

Zubnol Investment Limited started in 2011 with N190,000 as Zubnol Ventures. The fund was used to acquire materials.

Just like many start-ups, the business faced challenges ranging from poor market access and lack of funds. However, things turned around in 2016 when the business began to gain traction. In February last year, Zubnol Ventures transformed into Zubnol Investment Limited, after acquiring machines that would enable it to sew pillows, bed sheets and duvets at the factory.

From N190, 000, the business has now grown to over N3 million, supplying products to over 10 outlets located across the country.

“Our target is to capture the local market and the West African market,” the entrepreneur tells Start-Up Digest.

“One of the key feedbacks we get is that our products are well designed and durable,” he says.

“We are in many stores already and demand is already overshooting supply,” he discloses.

According to him, Nigerians need to patronise more locally produced goods to grow the economy and create jobs.

“I am not expecting Nigerians to patronise made-in-Nigeria products just because they want to be patriotic. The truth is that locally made products are good enough and better than what we get from Asia,” he states.

Zubnol is planning to export textile and internal decoration products to the African market and redefine the interior decoration industry, but he knows he needs funding and more machines.

“Going into export requires some capital outlay. You will require a lot of funds. We need N10 to N20 million to acquire some more critical machines and move into a big factory. The creativity is there, the innovation is not lacking, but we need cheap and long-term funds,” Chukwubuike says.

“Our target is to satisfy the burgeoning local demand and then export to earn foreign exchange. This, with God, will happen soon,” he asserts.

“Our inputs are expensive, which is why some of the finished products are costly. However, in as much as we are making products with a touch of class, we are giving our customers what they want at affordable prices,” he states.

The Zubnol CEO says that the firm is coming up with an African brand, which will be sold across the continent.

He stresses that through the online shop, which will soon be ready, customers in Nigeria or abroad can buy Zubnol products online and have products delivered to them at stipulated time.

Nnoli says he will advise his younger self to keep his head cool and look unto God.

He says that the biggest mistake young entrepreneurs make today is to ignore the place of God in their business, informing them that the mistake is fatal.

ODINAKA ANUDU