Nigerian entrepreneur Adewale Aladejana created his business venture, Sapphire Scents, to produce affordable perfumes for the African continent.
Seeing the gap in the market for affordable and quality body fragrance, the start-up manufactures and retails range of perfumes to meet the needs of Nigerians and Africans at large.
Apart from identifying a gap in the market, Adewale was inspired to establish Sapphire Scents in 2015 by his passion to provide effective and life-enhancing solutions that ensure people smell good always.
“I love perfumes and I always ensure people smell good around me. If I smell a perfume once and I know the name and I meet someone wearing that same perfume in five years’ time, I would be able to tell you exactly what you are wearing,” the young entrepreneur explains.
Adewale started his business with N30,000 in 2015 and the business has grown tremendously and it is now a multi- millionaire enterprise.
The business made a million naira in its first three months of establishment, Adewale tells Start-Up-Digest.
“We started with N30,000 and in three months, we have made a million naira.”
Adewale uses various social media platforms in advertising his business and showcasing its range of Sapphire Scents.
According to him, Nigerians outside Abuja, where his business is located, make orders online for his products after seeing them on various social media platforms.
“Daily, I would post pictures of our perfumes and when anyone buys them, I would post client reviews and appreciations. I will post it on social media every morning and then people will make enquiries and if they are not in Abuja, I will deliver the products to them through transport lines,” he says.
The young entrepreneur sources raw materials used in manufacturing his perfumes both locally and from abroad. He currently has 30 employees working directly with him and 1,000 distributors spread across 32 states in the country, the United Kingdom, US, Canada, Cyprus, Ireland, South Korea and most neighbouring West African countries.
When asked what he is doing different that has made the business survive since 2015, Adewale says that his focus of creating an affordable and quality African body fragrance has helped the business stay afloat and grown.
Speaking on some of the business expansion goals, the mass-communicator-turned-entrepreneur says that the business aims to open its stores across major cities in Africa.
“We are opening stores all over Africa. We are already at Lennox Mall at Lekki and Jabi Lake Mall in Abuja. Our next store is going to be Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire by God’s grace,” he says.
When asked what the biggest challenges confronting his business are, Adewale says that finance remains the big issue. He urges the government to provide more funding opportunities for start-ups in the country.
Similarly, he explains that poor power supply and tough business environment are also some of the challenges confronting his business.
When asked his advice to younger entrepreneurs, Adewale says they should be focused and ensure adequate research is carried out about any business before venturing into it.
“Do not give up, keep your head up. There is a high consumer rate in Africa. If you are a producer, you will make a lot of money,” he says.
Josephine Okojie
