Mar 15, 2023
In honor of International women’s month, we selected a few of our female customers to talk about their business journey and how QuickCheck has helped them stand and keep their businesses running.
This week, we spoke to a fabric business entrepreneur dealer in textiles, the CEO of Mitchellah Concepts. She explained what motivated her and the setbacks she faced while running her business.
Tell us your name and a little about your business.
My name is Omolaiye Rita. I am into the business of African Textiles and Ready-to-Wear. Most of our RTW are beaded and stone that is embellished.
What made you want to start a business in that specific industry?
I started this business while waiting for admission to university in 1994. I like anything fashion because it makes a discrepancy. I began with Adire from Abeokuta with little cash.
What is a significant setback/obstacle you had to overcome while running your business?
The major setback is funding, we have varieties of African fabrics with different ranges and grades. The higher the grade the higher the price. For your shop or outlets to be accepted you need to have varieties. RTW is not a fast business because it is tied down to capital but when sales come joy sets in. The fabrics business is always affected by the situations of things around them, for instance, during the Covid pandemic people were only sourcing for food, not clothes which kept us in a tight corner. Currently, the cash crunch has affected sales and everything is on standstill. These irregularities affect the fabric business compared to those who sell fast-moving goods.
How hard was it to secure funding for your business as a female entrepreneur in Nigeria and how has QuickCheck helped you grow/scale your business?
It has not been easy getting funds and for the ones you sell, you need to turn them in as a fabric seller quickly. Another challenge is the high-interest rates on loans, and this can be frustrating but to keep business going you have to get it. QuickCheck business loan has been of help because the little loan given is used to get accessories for embellishing fabrics. It is fast and when you make payment on time you would have access to get a higher loan. I started with N5000, now I am at N115,000. QuickCheck is a good and reliable loan company.
What advice can you give to female entrepreneurs looking to start and grow their businesses?
My advice to female entrepreneurs is that don’t be discouraged. Start at your level and don’t compare yourself to others because the source of your funding is different depending on your background. Start without borrowing to avoid heartache and disappointment. Grow at your pace. When you are stable you can support yourself with a loan. Always remember that the loan is not yours until you have paid it all so be disciplined in spending.
Above all, be prayerful and fear God.