|
Post by colonial pikin on Mar 4, 2016 17:59:39 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Her Highness on Mar 29, 2016 2:31:24 GMT
Kayode Fatoba showcases Nigerian village in new music video
NiceImage: Kayode Fatoba On a recent trip to Nigeria, a bright student named Kayode Fatoba met an aspiring musical artist who called himself Ganjaman. Moved by the passionate spirit of his new friend, the entrepreneurial Fatoba helped Ganjaman write a song and then shoot a music video for it. “Soji (Wake Up)” has since received more than 20,000 views on YouTube and has drawn international attention to the village of Ekiti. Elected as Simon Fraser University’s student society vice-president in 2014, Fatoba has established himself as an innovative leader in his campus’ community by starting clubs like the African Students Association, organizing the university’s first large-scale Peace Day event, and launching SFU Fashion Week. He also founded SkyNation, a digital company that makes website-hosting affordable in Africa, and in his spare time he also volunteers with Afrobeats. This list of accomplishments is impressive for anyone to take credit for, let alone a kid who grew up in Jane and Finch — a tough Toronto neighbourhood known for its high concentration of gangs and violence. “I’m really just involved and I’m passionate about creating,” Fatoba, who came to SFU on the prestigious TD Scholarship For Community Leadership, says. “But my creativity is much different because my vision is bringing people together and my ideas are very creative in a different type of way.” In a bid to further understand himself and what kind message he wants to deliver to the world, Fatoba decided to take a trip to Nigeria and rediscover his roots. When he first arrived back in Ekiti, he wept. Although he’d witnessed and experienced hardship in Jane and Finch, “it was a totally different experience me actually seeing what poverty looked like. But it was also weird because when I got there, it was an out of body experience… I [had] left there, grew up in Toronto, and all of a sudden I’m becoming semi-successful. My tears came from this overwhelming shock.” The Fatoba family, he adds, was the second one to leave the village. On a recent trip to Nigeria, a bright student named Kayode Fatoba met an aspiring musical artist who called himself Ganjaman. Moved by the passionate spirit of his new friend, the entrepreneurial Fatoba helped Ganjaman write a song and then shoot a music video for it. “Soji (Wake Up)” has since received more than 20,000 views on YouTube and has drawn international attention to the village of Ekiti. Elected as Simon Fraser University’s student society vice-president in 2014, Fatoba has established himself as an innovative leader in his campus’ community by starting clubs like the African Students Association, organizing the university’s first large-scale Peace Day event, and launching SFU Fashion Week. He also founded SkyNation, a digital company that makes website-hosting affordable in Africa, and in his spare time he also volunteers with Afrobeats. This list of accomplishments is impressive for anyone to take credit for, let alone a kid who grew up in Jane and Finch — a tough Toronto neighbourhood known for its high concentration of gangs and violence. “I’m really just involved and I’m passionate about creating,” Fatoba, who came to SFU on the prestigious TD Scholarship For Community Leadership, says. “But my creativity is much different because my vision is bringing people together and my ideas are very creative in a different type of way.”
|
|
|
Post by Her Highness on Mar 29, 2016 2:33:28 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Her Highness on Mar 29, 2016 2:35:12 GMT
One thing I know about Ekiti men is that they're geniuses and freaking hot.
|
|
|
Post by Her Highness on Mar 29, 2016 2:37:07 GMT
OMG Literally yesterday I went to Sally Hansen to get this product and this AA was telling me about Oyin's product. I was like WHAT?!! I didn't care if it works, but I'm supporting my sister Another Yoruba haircare manufacturer: Oyin Made
|
|
|
Post by colonial pikin on Mar 29, 2016 12:27:45 GMT
One thing I know about Ekiti men is that they're geniuses and freaking hot. him not too bad looking...he can get chopped
|
|
|
Post by Her Highness on Mar 29, 2016 16:53:15 GMT
One thing I know about Ekiti men is that they're geniuses and freaking hot. him not too bad looking...he can get chopped Lol
|
|
|
Post by Her Highness on Apr 5, 2016 2:12:15 GMT
Meet The Nigerian Woman Who Is Building The Fashion Amazon Of Africa
Olatorera Oniru is one of Nigeria’s most assiduous and ambitious young entrepreneurs. The 29 year-old lady is the founder of Dressmeoutlet.com, a Lagos-based e-commerce startup that retails fashion products sourced from across the globe. Dressmeoutlet.com strongly promotes made in Africa goods with the goal of retailing only the best 20% African designers. Olatorera continues to travel across Africa and beyond in search of unique treasures and creative manufacturers to retail on Dressmeoutlet.com and will be visiting China, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Morocco, Ethiopia and Tanzania within the next coming months. She enjoys going into the most rural of areas – learning, mingling and discovering unique treasures and natural resources that can be converted into luxury fashion apparel, shoes, jewelry and accessories. Dressmeoutlet.com ships worldwide and currently has customers in different states across Nigeria, Uganda and the United States of America. The company now employs more than 20 full-time employees and will officially launch with a sales and exhibition event in Lagos, Nigeria on May 22nd, 2016. With years of experience from top companies including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Ericsson, Central Bank of Nigeria and General Electric, Olatorera Oniru is successfully building Dressmeoutlet.com into a fashion e-commerce powerhouse and currently has funding offers from notable investors including Nigerian investor Tony Elumelu. I recently had a chat with Olatorera to learn more about her entrepreneurial journey and what she is doing to ensure Dressmeoutlet.com grows into one of Africa’s most successful online retailers. Tell me about your personal, educational and professional background?
I grew up partly in Nigeria and the United States of America. I attended primary school at Maryhill Oyo, middle school at Queens College Lagos and high school at Leesville High North Carolina. In 2008, I graduated Cum Laude Honors with a degree in Business Administration/ Management and Entrepreneurship from NC A&T State University where I had served as a Senator for Academic Affairs, Founder and President of the Association of African Students, Tutor for Disability and Support Services, Campus Lead for Monster’s Diversity Leadership Program and during a time when I had also worked for General Electric under the Financial Management Program Internship. Upon graduation, I accepted an excellent opportunity to work for Bank of America Merrill Lynch as a Senior Analyst for the Global Markets and Investment Banking group attaining my 2nd Fortune 5 company work experience. Working for Bank of America Merrill Lynch sums up one of the absolute best times of my life – working on Wall Street in the world’s greatest city that never sleeps – New York City, while leading million dollar initiatives supporting the optimization of revenue by investment bankers. I was one of the analysts at Merrill Lynch that led the 2009 Global Asset Services Initiative to integrate Merrill Lynch systems with Bank of America’s after the industry buyout and consolidation during the 2008 financial Industry crisis. During my employed years at Merrill Lynch, I also served as co-founder and president of Network of African Professionals in New York and as a Junior Board Member of CASA-NY (Court Appointed Special Advocates New York). After 2 years at Merrill Lynch, I accepted an opportunity to work for the Central Bank of Nigeria as a Senior Supervisor which I did for a year and then proceeded to obtain my Masters in Business Administration (MBA) Degree from Emory University where I focused on Finance, Leadership and Entrepreneurship. While at Emory University, I received scholarships from the National Black MBA Association and The Executive Leadership Council and was a finalist for the Emory Goizueta Business School Entrepreneurship Scholarship. I was also elected Vice President of Multi-cultural and served as Continent of Africa Captain. During my MBA days, I was keenly learning and strategizing on how to innovate, build, grow and lead a large company and thus my goal as an MBA candidate was to learn, learn, learn, plan, plan, plan. A good percentage of the business plan for Dressmeoutlet.com was written during my MBA days. Upon graduating with my MBA degree, I accepted an offer with Lars Magnus Ericsson Corporation that provided me the most amazing 3 years of work experience as a global consultant and subsequently as Head of Sales Governance for the MTN Nigeria account, an account that generated over 300 million dollars in annual revenue for Ericsson. While at Ericsson, I obtained two Executive Leadership Certificates from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland and from Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden. Over the course of my employed years, I travelled to over 50 cities in over 10 countries in 4 continents. My entire career has been whole-heartedly rewarding and now I am more than ready for the ups, downs, thrills and joys of the entrepreneurial world. So what made you delve into entrepreneurship? Seeing that you had built a very successful career working for multi-national conglomerates.
I was ready for the leap. I believe I have leadership capabilities to create, establish and innovate; and now I want to create global visibility for African products, create jobs for people, and generally do my part in making the world a better place and I would not have 100% of the freedom I need to grow if I remain employed. I have dreams and I want to make all my dreams come true and this requires me investing as much of my time as possible into my dreams. I want to express my love and care for people in my own way. More importantly, as comfortable as I was, earning way above average with the conglomerates I worked for, I just could not be too comfortable knowing that the poverty rate in Nigeria is 65% and even worse in other African countries. And I know we need more leaders in Africa coming out of our comfort zones to change the status quo. If we have the capabilities and opportunities to do something and do it well, we must utilize it, we must go out there and make a difference. I am ready to do whatever it takes to build the fashion industry in Africa, create more jobs, contribute to the economy, increase the standard of living and witness Africa blossom. With Dressmeoutlet.com, I aim to witness Africans innovating more with natural resources and capabilities, exporting more finished products and catching up with the giants of the world. Access to financing is always a challenge for many entrepreneurs. How have you been able to fund Dressmeoutlet.com?Dressmeoutlet is being funded from personal savings. I think it is safe to say that we are reasonably financially prepared for the next 3-5 years of running and growing Dressmeoutlet.com. Notwithstanding the fact that we are open to considering outside investors who buy into the company’s mission and vision 100%. We have been approached by companies that want to buy Dressmeoutlet.com and companies that want to invest in Dressmeoutlet.com. Selling Dressmeoutlet.com is not an option. Right now, the team and I are very focused on growing and increasing the valuation of Dressmeoutlet.com. What Does Success Mean To You?Success means doing everything I can to push my dreams beyond my biggest imagination. Success means providing for others, creating jobs, employing people. Success means witnessing a reduction in poverty across Africa, witnessing a worldwide increase in the appreciation of human creativity. Success means stronger leaders in politics, success means more entrepreneurs across Africa, and success means a strong boom in the retail industry across Africa. Success means the smile on employees’ faces when they get a raise, success means the smile on the face of the graduate from Mushin when I tell him you’re hired. Success means greater partnerships between Africa and America and between Africa and the rest of the world. Success means the rise of Africa. Success means Africa catching up with the rest of the world’s developed nations. Success means dispatching the very best products out of Africa to homes worldwide. Success means: Greatness. For Nigeria. For Africa. For the world. What’s next for Olatorera Oniru and Dressmeoutlet.com?I am strongly and whole-heartedly dedicated to Dressmeoutlet.com. What’s next is continuing to provide the absolute best fashion and beauty products to the world and satisfying customers 100% of the time. We want to grow on a daily basis and are constantly super excited when new customers sign-up on the platform and find amazing products that they truly love. What’s next is entering new territories, increasing our supplier database and multiplying our customer database in hundred folds. We have plans to double the size of our photography studio, our warehouse, and our manufacturing unit within the next 12 months. We are also increasing advertising and marketing efforts. More importantly, we are constantly looking for the very best products across Africa and worldwide and thus constantly increasing the variety of great items on Dressmeoutlet.com. We always have new products on the website every week thus don’t miss out on items you would love, visit Dressmeoutlet.com often. Any words of wisdom for young African entrepreneurs that are afraid of starting something?Please do it. Go out there and do it, one step at a time, one day at a time, one handshake at a time, one clap at a time, one achievement at a time. Africa now more than ever before, needs more entrepreneurs springing up and booming industries. Africa needs you, I need you, and the world needs you to succeed in whatever your passion is as an entrepreneur. Utilize any and every resource that comes your way. Speak to professors, attend conferences, and apply to opportunities. Push your dreams; don’t let anything stop you from doing anything great for the world. Simply do well, live well and work hard.
Forbes
|
|
|
Post by Honorebu on Apr 9, 2016 18:37:02 GMT
Nigerian Performance Artist, Jelili Atiku, Wins Award From The Netherlands Jelili Atiku, a Nigerian multimedia artist whose performances are concerned with issues of human rights and justice, was today honored by the Netherlands with the 2015 Prince Claus award. The award, which acknowledged Mr. Atiku’s outstanding work and the creation of a new artistic language, was bestowed on the artist at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Lagos. The artist, who was recently detained by the police after a traditional ruler complained about his performance, received the prestigious award for combining Yoruba traditional art forms with international performance practice. The award paid tribute to his thought-provoking performances that challenge assumptions and stimulate dialogue in an unconventional and dynamic form of community education. He was also cited as an artist who takes personal and artistic risks in order to open new possibilities and reach wider audiences, and as a pioneer dedicated to establishing space for contemporary performance art in Nigeria. Ambassador John C.M. Groffen of The Royal Kingdom of Netherlands stated that the award presentation “was a re-presentation of the award in the awardee’s home country.” Other highlights of the ceremony included dance performances, poetry readings, and goodwill messages from various artists and dignitaries. The citation described Mr. Atiku, who hails from Ejigbo community in Lagos as “an imaginative performance artist whose provocative spectacles use striking attire, unsettling body language, and unusual props to open up dialogue and influence popular attitudes. He drops himself right into the heart of Lagos, into the realities of the streets, of densely populated, poor areas, and entices people to interact and respond to his visual presentations.” The statement continued: “Rooted in Yoruba performance traditions, Atiku brings local elements to international performance practice, creating an extraordinary mix of action, symbolism, storytelling, disguise, costume, color coding and theatricality. A rigorous researcher, his subjects include commentary on Nigerian human rights in the ‘Assassination of a Political Prisoner’; politically charged critiques of the ruling class and Boko Haram; site-specific interventions on climate change, e-waste and fuel subsidies; and ‘Araferaku’ (loosely translated as ‘A Part of Me is Missing’), a moving personal eulogy to his father.” The award praised Mr. Atiku for “breaking new ground in contemporary performance art in Nigeria,” adding that his sustained experimentation was pushing the boundaries of artistic communication and strengthening public understanding, participation, and appreciation. The Prince Claus Awards, which honor outstanding achievements in the field of culture and development, hailed the laureate as “an inspirational figure for younger generations and a voice of the future.” The awards are presented annually to individuals, groups and organizations whose cultural actions have a positive impact on the development of their societies. In keeping with the Prince Claus Fund’s idea of culture as a basic need, the awards highlight significant contributions in regions where resources or opportunities for cultural expression, creative production and preservation of cultural heritage are limited. The awards, which are given to individuals, groups and organizations based mainly in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, recognize the excellent quality of work done by artists and intellectuals, and the recipients’ significant impact on the development of their society. The Prince Claus Awards recognize artistic and intellectual qualities, experimentation and innovation, audacity and tenacity. In addition, they seek to foster inspirational leadership and to enhance the positive impact of cultural expression on societies. Saharareporters
|
|
|
Post by Honorebu on Apr 14, 2016 22:22:41 GMT
We discovered LIHA Beauty on Instagram (where else!) and had to reach out after trying the beautifully aromatic coconut oil infused with tuberose flower. We’re not the only ones that love it as it was recently featured on Vogue.com.
The founders are Liha Okunniwa and Abi Oyepitan who champion natural ingredients in skincare but also want to shine a light on traditional Yoruban beauty, where women make their own beauty products and learn how to prepare natural ingredients from a young age. Luckily we got both Abi and Liha for the interview. Where did you grow up? Where do you live / work now?
Abi: I grew up mostly in NW London but I’ve lived in Hackney now for quite a few years. Liha: I grew up in Gloucestershire, living above shops and moving around quite a bit. When I left for London to go to Uni at 18, I swore I’d never come back but I missed it after a few years of fast living! What is your cultural background / heritage and in what ways, if any, has this motivated or inspired your work?
Abi: Both my parents are Nigerian and my heritage definitely inspires and influences our brand. Not only from the ingredients and techniques we use, but also from tales, richness and abundance we want to convey about our culture and heritage. Liha: My Dad is Nigerian and my mum is English. They both have a crazy work ethic that has motivated me non stop! They would be up at the crack of dawn to go to work, and all us kids would have to help in the shop on Saturdays, and do house chores Sundays. What and who inspired you as a child? And why….
Abi: My mother definitely inspired me as a child. For a long while she was a single mother as my dad lived in Nigeria. Seeing her work so hard bringing up four kids in a very tough neighbourhood was something that has always stayed with me. She never complained, she always made it look so effortless but it made me work just that bit harder because I know she sacrificed a lot to give us a better life. Liha: I was very inspired by my parent’s shops which sold African crafts, clothes and furniture as well as local craft and aromatherapy oils. I was a massive bookworm! We didn’t have a TV for a big chunk of my childhood which forced me to read a lot and get into music. My dad’s old pictures of him hitchhiking around the world in the 50s were a big inspiration. I used to look at their photographic slides and write little stories about the people in the pictures. It made the world seem small to me. What and who inspires you now?Abi: I think now what inspires me are the many women we’ve met since launching LIHA Beauty. I’ve been inspired and humbled by the support we’ve received from so many women who are also trying to build something and pave the way. Women like Sharmadean Reid who has been beyond supportive and her advice has been invaluable. Women like Michele Scott-Lynch founder of the brand Boucleme and Akosua Afriyie-Kumi founder of AAKs. It’s a powerful thing when women are bound together as a supportive force to bring each other along. Liha: Definitely all the women we meet, and all women in general! I find the fact that feminism isn’t a dirty word anymore inspiring, and the idea that some of that could be down to a book written by a Nigerian woman (We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie). I find the diversity of the Yoruba Diaspora inspiring. It’s amazing the impact it has had on so much of todays culture, and how you can see it everywhere from Brazil to Cuba to the United states. I’m currently reading a book called A Time Before Crack by Jamal Shabazz about early hip hop culture, which is another constant inspiration for me, and a book called New Atlantis about how musicians survived in post -Katrina New Orleans. Can you tell us more about Yoruban beauty?
Liha: In Yoruba culture there it is normal for women to make their own beauty products from a young age, and learn how to use natural ingredients like coconut oil, or plantain ash which is used in Black soap. Now more people are into natural ingredients we wanted to shine a light on the amazing ingredients and techniques from Nigeria, which is why we have used Yoruba language for the names. We will take traditional recipes and tweak them, by adding a British twist. For example, we couldn’t leave the plantain skins to dry in the sun in rainy England! So instead we roasted them in the oven and added English Rose essentials oil, and carefully selected ingredients from Africa like Molasses and skin brightening Moringa. We are trying to think really far ahead, so that as our production grows in size, the crops we use will have a we can have a positive socio-political impact on the world around us. What was your earliest beauty memory?
Abi: My earliest beauty memory is probably watching my mum shaving off her eyebrows and drawing them back on with ultra-black eyeliner pencil. I think back in those days the thin, black rounded eyebrow shape was all the rage! Liha: My mum would make fresh blends of aromatherapy oils each week and keep them in a big abalone shell in the bathroom, a little out of my reach. It was always so mysterious and magical to me, and I couldn’t wait to learn. What do you find beautiful and why?
Abi: I find the chaos of my family beautiful, I find the craziness of nieces and nephew beautiful – it reminds me that those traits are passed down one generation to the next and that’s comforting to me. Liha: I find my daughter beautiful -she’s a constant inspiration to me. I also find England really beautiful and inspiring. It’s hard to beat England on a sunny spring day, and the street style we have here is my favourite. Growing up I would look out of the shop window and see Skinheads, Punks, all sorts! I think we are in danger of things coming a little too homogenous. We need to make sure we preserve the parts of our culture that ensure creativity and diversity-it’s so depressing how many record shops and important music venues have closed down in the last few years. What were you doing before making beauty products?
Abi: I was a professional athlete for 12 years. I went to two Olympic Games including London in 2012… basically I travelled the World training and competing. As a former professional athlete I do quite a few things alongside building our brand; I’m a coach and personal trainer, and I’m also learning to be a Pilates teacher. I do quite a lot of motivational speaking to young adults and corporate engagement work. Liha: I have an art publishing company that makes posters of classic literature, and I was working as community engagement officer at a Museum. I really miss that educational element, but our workshops make up for it a little! What would you like to see more of in the beauty industry?
Abi: For me I want the beauty industry to be more inclusive; It’s no longer about having one shelves tucked away at the back for WOC, it’s about having a range of products for any skin type on the same shelve regardless of race. I would also like to see it being more transparent in terms of what is in the products. Liha: I agree- I would like brands to stop trying to sell the same thing over and over again in different packaging! People are too smart for that. What else can we look forward to from Liha?
Liha: We will be at Wah Power lunch on 20th April talking about product development. We also have a workshop coming up at Shoreditch House on the 27th May and some in Boxpark also in Shoreditch in the Summer. We will be launching some exciting new products soon, so keep checking in! thandiekay.com/2016/04/13/a-recipe-for-beauty-liha-skincare/
|
|
|
Post by Honorebu on Apr 14, 2016 22:31:09 GMT
Her Highness , Yoruba women just corner this beauty and skincare industry like say na birth-right Na only una waka come? ehn? See as dem fine. Oluwa mi ooo
|
|
|
Post by Honorebu on Apr 14, 2016 22:39:26 GMT
I think Tara Durotoye's H.O.T is still the biggest cosmetic brand in Africa if I'm correct
|
|
|
Post by Her Highness on Apr 14, 2016 23:00:32 GMT
Her Highness , Yoruba women just corner this beauty and skincare industry like say na birth-right Na only una waka come? ehn? See as dem fine. Oluwa mi ooo Find out if they're single nau. Don't just look from afar. These ladies are impressive! Post this on that other site and you go see hatefu posts just because they're Yoruba.
|
|
|
Post by Her Highness on Apr 14, 2016 23:01:39 GMT
I think Tara Durotoye's H.O.T is still the biggest cosmetic brand in Africa if I'm correct You sure. How about that makeup brand by that Somali woman? Forgot the name.
|
|
|
Post by Her Highness on Apr 14, 2016 23:01:51 GMT
Mary Kay nko?
|
|