In Africa’s most populous country, there is a long tradition of headgear wearing and turbans for special occasions. Adenike Akorede, founder of Korniks Concepts is one talented entrepreneur that is taking the art of headgear to a whole new level and building a successful business too.
She was inspired by her daughter in headgear making. “My daughter inspired me, when I gave birth to her in 2017, I was so engrossed with everything about her and I decided to make the first cap for her,” she said.
“It was so small but I was happy I was able to make something, later I saw a lady’s advert about turban making online, I learned through WhatsApp then boom the rest is history,” she further said.
She kick-started the business in 2018 with N5,000, money gotten from her savings. Since starting, the business has grown steadily as its orders continue to grow and social media impressions keep increasing daily.
According to her, Korniks Concepts excellent customer service has helped the business stand out among its peers.
On some of the business expansion plans, she said Korniks Concepts plans to have outlets across major cities in the country in the long run and open a training arm of the business in the short run.
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Also, the business plans to have a delivery vehicle before the end of 2022. “We plan to have two or three delivery vans as the case may be before the end of the year.”
On major challenges facing her business, she said poor road infrastructure has remained the major hurdle for the business. She noted that delivery times are extended owing to bad road networks.
To address the problem, she noted that her business is planning to buy its delivery van and also acquire machinery to produce more headgear at a faster pace.
She urged the federal government to support small businesses with grants and also bridge the huge road infrastructural gaps across the country.
To survive the pandemic impact, Akorede had to switch to training. “I did training for people and in return, a lot of them patronized my business as a way of saying thank you.”
In evaluating the country’s fashion industry, she said that the industry is flourishing and breeding sets of creative designers.
On her advice to other entrepreneurs, she said, “Be creative, no matter how small your business is, don’t eat with two hands, and lastly get proper records for your business.”
