I had zero capital. It took a while to build the customer base. I sold my phone to buy one manual sewing machine, one table, one stool, and one filling machine which was what I started with.
By Ishaya Ibrahim
For many aspiring entrepreneurs, challenge of start-up capital has been a huge burden that has killed many great ideas. The story is awash with hardworking folks who put in a lot in acquiring skills and mapping out great plans only to be hamstrung by the lack of capital to foot critical expenses for equipment, office space, or marketing costs.
Starting with zero capital
Animashaun Aminat Aderayo, founder of De’rayo Vocational Limited had no capital to boot when she kicked off her fashion designing trade in 2012. This was after an apprenticeship period that commenced in 2007.
“I had zero capital. It took a while to build the customer base. I sold my phone to buy one manual sewing machine, one table, one stool, and one filling machine which was what I started with. I had to do pre-orders to build the customer base over time,” the Ibadan-based fashion designer who specializes in making Afro-centric designs and fashion accessories including shoes, bags, and jewelry, told our reporter.
By biting the bullet despite having no capital to fuel her business dream, Aderayo proved Abraham Lincoln right in one of his works; ‘The Logic of Labor, the Labor of Logic, that: “Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.”
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Market niche
Aderayo’s products are unique, making to match outfits and accessories. This has stood her out in the crowd, as she is among the few Nigerian entrepreneurs who earn foreign exchange for the country through exports. “I love fashion and shoes in particular. I wanted to make shoes to match with bags. Producing to match accessories is what prompted me to learn shoe-making and bag-making.”
Aderayo is also providing vocational education to young Nigerians through De’rayo Vocational Limited. The training centre provides fashion and craft education to all levels of individuals with a standard curriculum in fashion, arts, and crafts. The vocational school is located at Oluyole Extension, Mobile in Ibadan.
The challenges
On the challenges she faces as an entrepreneur, Aderayo said: “Inadequate power supply and inadequate link to economic development have been gravely affecting the output.”
She added: “The general mindset of Nigerians towards “Made in Nigeria” products must be re-engineered. I believe that better knowledge and a positive mindset will go a long way in contributing to our general development as a nation.”
She has a word of advice to the government on what needs to be done to encourage other female entrepreneurs. “Power supply for those into manufacturing ranks very high amongst others”, she said.
She also advised the government to consider funding interventions for those who need to upgrade their equipment and even working capital.
She added that women entrepreneurs deserve special treatment. “I feel women entrepreneurs deserve a special medal. Yes, I just said that! Women in business need a special kind of courage because we have to deal with everything a male business owner does plus lose the ‘good girl – Lady-like.’ We have to deal with the shock and nastiness from people when we say NO, when we set clear boundaries, and don’t self-sacrifice at every opportunity. The government should create interventions that will empower and uplift self-employed women.”
Aderayo said she believes in Nigeria, hence, her decision to remain in the country to contribute her quota in reducing the rate of unemployment and engaging in export. “I’m passionate about job creation and manufacturing, I believe in industrialization,” she said.
Aderayo the person, the designer
Aderayo has over 17 years of experience in manufacturing shoes, bags, and fashion accessories. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Entrepreneurial and Business Management from the National Open University (NOUN), plus a Diploma in Marketing from Olabisi Onabanjo University in Ago Iwoye, Ogun state.
She was once selected among the Top 50 women in business in Nigeria (WOMEN X 11) sponsored by the World Bank to study Entrepreneurial Management at Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), Lagos Business School.
She was also selected for the Global Entrepreneurship Training (GET) West Africa by Hangdon University South Korea 2019
Aderayo was nominated for excellence in fashion and style for the National MSME Award 2022 by the Federal government of Nigeria.
In 2021, UNESCO featured her as one of the 50 kindest people in the world, representing Nigeria after her story was featured in the Kindness Matters Book.