How Vanessa, Enobong push made-in-Nigeria brands to global market
Nigerian entrepreneurs are making money from promoting locally made brands globally through e-commerce platforms.
This is helping to push made-in-Nigeria products to the global space, providing consistency in quality and style of local brands.
Among entrepreneurs tapping into this space are Vanessa Nwuka and Enobong Kennedy, two ladies bringing innovation into the industry.
Vanessa Nwuka
Vanessa Nwuka is the founder and chief executive officer of Veestore, an online retail store that sells and distributes only African brands globally.
The online retail store acts as an intermediary between its clients and producers of different African brands.
Through her Veestore, Vanessa delivers products globally while charging commissions.
She was inspired to establish Veestore in 2015 to promote made-in-Nigeria products.
“In 2015 and 2016, Nigerian economy was bad and there was so much talk about buying Nigeria’s products to grow the economy and strengthen the naira,” Vanessa says.
“I told myself, what if I make African items easily available to people. So I decided to start Veestore, which deals with the online retail of strictly African brands and we deliver worldwide,” she states.
Vanessa says that her start-up capital was N300, 000, which she got from her personal savings. The capital then was only used in stocking a particular brand.
The young entrepreneur says her business has grown quite well since starting, from having to stock a single brand (called Cookieskin) and using emails and Instagram media platforms, to now owning a website and stocking several brands.
“We have also included a personal shopping service in May 2017 and with this service we are able to source for items or brands we don’t sell online for our customers,” she further says.
The undergraduate of University of Hull, United Kingdom, tells Start-Up Digest that high preference for foreign goods and lack of trust in African products are major challenges confronting her business.
She states that despite that things are fast changing in terms of quality and standards of Nigerian products, people still believe that anything produced in the country is of low quality.
This, according to Vanessa, has raised her cost, adding that she advertises the products vigorously to get the people to buy them.
The final year Chemical Engineering student urges the government to establish a specialised institution that will pay particular attention to promoting made-in-Nigeria products, stressing that campaigns on locally made goods should be done internationally as well.
She adds that exchange rate volatility has impacted negatively on her business, as it shot up delivery costs and prices. She discloses that the majority of her clients are Africans in the Diaspora.
The young entrepreneur says she is in partnership with a delivery organisation that has assisted in getting the goods to their customers in any part of the world.
Vanessa explains that Veestore has been able to survive the highly competitive retail space because it has been able to carve a niche for itself.
“The business has been able to carve a niche for itself, which is stocking strictly African brands, and we make sure we are affordable and, most especially, have a great customer service. We do not take anyone that contacts us for granted. Since starting this business, I have come across amazing products made by Africans and I must say we are doing very well,” the undergraduate says.
She stresses that Nigerians are gradually embracing e-commerce and that many now carry out transactions using cash transfer options on delivery.
According to her, the business is planning to increase its number of stocks of African products on its platform and also establish pick-up hubs across the country
Vanessa was a nominee of the SME 100 Nigeria Under- 25 CEO Awards.
When asked her advice to younger entrepreneurs, she says, “Always remember why you started and keep pushing. Invest in yourself. You have to keep on learning because things are changing and you have to be up to date.”
“Ensure you have mentors and people to advise you rightly. You cannot do it all by yourself. Lastly, challenges will come but I have realised that in that challenge there is a solution that will help you grow,” she admonishes.
Enobong Kennedy
Enobong Kennedy is the co-founder and vice president, marketing and strategy, Brandocks, an e-commerce start-up that allows users to customise their t-shirts, jerseys, polo shirts, formula one shirts and any kind of apparel online and get them delivered to their doorsteps.
Having worked as a marketing professional for over 10 years, Enobong identified a gap in brand consistency and apparel merchandising in Nigeria and decided to bridge it. In doing so, the marketing professional alongside her partner Ayodeji Fashore established a business in that regard in 2014.
“The world is moving into agric, retail, and travels, but there has really been no focus on brand consistency and merchandising, which is the gap we are trying to close. It was easy for me to identify the gap because I was a marketing professional,” she says.
The business started off-line and later migrated to the online space. It was re-launched last year by Enobong and Ayodeji, her co-founder, who manages the entire business platform from end to end.
“We realised that technology is the next big thing. We also realised that technology is where the world is going into, so we decided to marry that off-line experience online and that is what gave birth to Brandocks,” Enobong says.
The entrepreneur started her business with initial deposits from clients, which was used in project execution.
“When we started four years ago, we were lucky because we were dealing with corporates and we used their funds to execute the projects. The only money we were spending was on samples.”
The young entrepreneur says her business has grown tremendously since starting.
Enobong reveals that the business has five full-time employees and lots of contract staffs, saying that it hires workers based on the nature of a project.
She explains that the business is focused on promoting ‘Made in Nigeria’ as a brand, which is why she sources all raw materials locally.
Answering questions on what the business is doing differently, the entrepreneur says that the retail arm of the business has helped to sustain the entire enterprise.
“Our retail arm of the business has helped us remain in business because it allows clients to order in pieces and get them delivered to their doorsteps. The convenience we provide has also helped us stay in business,” she explains.
She states that the customisation market in the country is huge, as it is difficult to do without it in many cases.
“We are in partnership with some major wholesalers of textiles in Aba.
“As soon as we start churning out large numbers, we will approach local textiles makers for partnerships,” she says.
Responding to questions on challenges, the marketing professional points out that “the greatest challenge for us is the time of managing our quality control processes. We spend time managing and educating our tailors on what the clients want, and this is where bulk of our resources goes into.”
She identifies the country’s huge infrastructural gap as a major challenge confronting her business.
She urges the government to ensure quality checks and standardisation of products and machinery in the country.
The entrepreneur also wants the government to provide basic infrastructure such as constant power, good roads, and efficient railway system, stating that these are key for business growth and survival.
She tells Start-Up-Digest that the business plans to start exporting indigenously produced apparel to Africans in the Diaspora and also capture other markets outside Nigeria.
She also plans to establish a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative where kids in underprivileged communities will be kitted.
When asked her advice to younger entrepreneurs, Enobong says, “Quitting the job is not necessarily the first thing. You must draw up your business plan, identify the viability of your business and then identify how to scale up your business.”
“You must identify the need your business is addressing and seek mentorship and partnership because you cannot do everything alone. Where you have advantage, own it and kill it. Use your strength and tap into the resources you have.”
Josephine Okojie