Sheun Onamusi is a Nigerian-born United Kingdom-based entrepreneur-cum-political analyst. Onamusi, is also the head of the Nigerian British Business and Young Professionals Forum in the United Kingdom. In this interview with SEYI JOHN SALAU, he speaks on his experience as a young entrepreneur and how he empowers young Africans through his Redefine Africa Foundation initiative. Excerpts:
It is interesting to know you have always had an entrepreneurial mindset from a very young age. You opened a multi-million Naira Franchise T.M. Lewin Store in Abuja whilst undergoing your National Youth Service. How were you able to achieve this, especially finance-wise?
Interestingly, I never had the intention to be an entrepreneur when I returned home to Nigeria in 2009 after graduating from University.
My main motivation was to follow the instructions given to me by mentors who advised if I ever had the intention of going into politics or working in Nigeria at some point in my life, I had to do my NYSC. So opening up T.M. Lewin in Abuja was simply a coincidence.
Haven worked with T.M. Lewin in the UK, the opportunity alongside the capital needed, came to open up the store and I took it. I was able to build the 30sq meter store into a multi-million naira business using some key strategies. One was an obsessive commitment to Staff Development.
I made sure I prioritised my staff through weekly training sessions on customer service because I wanted to be different from other stores carrying our products. I also made sure my pricing strategy was competitive by reducing my margin on certain products so that I could get people coming through the doors.
I knew if I could get them through the doors, my investment in my staff, the creative display of our products in the store and the authentic story, which I had infused in my staff, of being the official retailer of T.M. Lewin in Nigeria will turn anyone who walks through the doors into paying customers.
I also maximised Word of Mouth marketing. It was easier getting people through the doors when they were hearing about the “talk of the town” where they sell only original T.M. Lewin products.
As the CEO of StillDapper UK, makers of the David Jacob by Dapper luxury leather-goods brand, designed in the UK and manufactured in the EU, why did you go into this enterprise in the UK and not Nigeria, and were there challenges setting this business up in the UK since you are not a national of the country?
My primary rationale for starting in the UK and not Nigeria was the desire to build a brand that could compete with other international brands when it comes to quality and heritage. One of my core values is excellence and I wanted to build a brand for people who had the same core values.
I found that it’s much easier to sell to a customer who has the same values as you do. It’s a known fact in the world of business development that people don’t buy products or services but what it represents to them.
I knew if my brand could represent quality and a rich experience, my clientele would choose me over a Christian Louboutin or a pair of Prada Ankle Boots. With regards to the challenges I faced; I had issues raising the initial capital needed to make the first set of shoes.
Manufacturing from the same factory that made leather goods for the likes of Fendi and Ted Baker, doesn’t come cheap. So I had to take out some personal savings and bank loans to get my idea off the ground.
It’s difficult seeing a young person run a thriving business in the UK. How have you been able to pull this off and kept it sustainable?
I grew up in Surulere and had a few life-changing experiences on the streets of Lagos. If there is anything it all thought me, it would be that you can’t survive life without tenacity and you need to hustle hard. I credit my success so far to these two traits.
So when I set out to Italy seven years ago to find manufacturers and many of them shut the door in my face because I didn’t speak Italian or because I was a Nigerian. I relied on what I learned from observing the daily hustle on the streets of Lagos.
I refused to give up and kept knocking on doors until the right one opened up. I also used the power of networking and leverage relationships that I had built over the years.
How well is your luxury leather goods brand business thriving in the UK and what is the patronage like from Nigerians and other nationals there?
We are currently strictly a Bespoke Leathergoods company which means we serve a niche market of luxury clients who value pristine made-to-order products. I would say we have made sizeable progress in the UK with clients spanning across four continents.
We have over 2000 styles of shoes, work with two factories in Italy and Spain where we make all our products and intend to, one day, with the right investors, open similar quality-driven factories across Africa, starting with Nigeria.
Some of our clients are Directors in Oil & Gas companies, Finance Managers, Tech Engineers (to mention a few) in Nigeria, the UK, America and Dubai.
It’s a trend that Nigerians now travel to other countries for greener pastures considering the current economic downturn in Nigeria. Do you see this trend shifting anytime soon and what is the best way to address this?
I frankly don’t see this tendency of Nigerians emigrating to other developed nations changing anytime soon. I also don’t see it as a recent trend because I remember it being the case from my younger days.
We all had aspirations of moving to the UK or the US because we acknowledged it had better economic prospects. Rather than changing, I foresee that it would increase especially when we consider that most western countries have a growing population of older citizens.
Developed countries will need the youthful hands which we have in abundance in Nigeria, to help build their countries and as a result, will continue to make enticing offers as we have seen in the case of Canada.
To ricochet this trend, the Nigerian government will need to be truly committed to growing local enterprise, human capacity development and own the Nigerian narrative as one where the future is bright and competitive vis-a-vis other nations. People need to feel it is worth living in Nigeria.
Can you tell us about Redefine Africa Foundation and what you hope to achieve through this initiative?
Redefine Africa Foundation evolved from years of active youth engagement in the UK where I put together events targeted at engaging black youths in London.
Our focus was on building purpose-driven young black youths who were willing to forsake knife/gun crime and will rather invest in their communities. We then set out in 2016 to create a broadly nation-building focused platform across Africa, starting with Nigeria.
Where our goal is to be a reputable Human Capacity Development platform providing Impact investment and pre-seed funding for startups while being policy influencers and culture shapers in a citizen-led polity building organisation.
Through your initiative, how have you been able to empower young Africans through capacity-building projects while also creating funding opportunities for them?
We have been able to impact young Africans through our inspirational Redefine Success Summit which holds every year in Lagos, Nigeria. We also hold regular Digital webinars and ideation programs for startups.
Over the last five summits, we have held in Lagos, we have been able to provide ideation services to startups and helped them develop their go-to-market strategy.
We have also raised funds to send out of school kids back into secondary education in Badagry and Lagos. One of our beneficiaries for the Ideation program also saw her hair care business improve profitability by 200 percent as a result of the guidelines we provided.
Nigeria is a country with several challenges limiting the capacities of small and medium-sized enterprises. How can this gap be bridged?
I believe there are two sides to this coin of bridging the gaps we see. On one side is the government which I am sure you are well inundated on what the government should be doing to help SMEs. On the other hand, is the individual citizen and I don’t see this talked about as much, whenever we discuss the challenges of Nigeria.
It seems to me that we often forget that the government is made up of individual citizens. For us to fix the many challenges in front of us, each of us will need to make a commitment to a higher value than self.
The banks will need to challenge their fund managers to provide more competitive loans to the businesswoman in Balogun Market and reduce personal loans they give to their cronies.
The directors of our private institutions will need to be committed to excellence which reflects in the way a customer complaint is dealt with which in turn has an impact on the general outlook of how we do business in Nigeria. Have you ever asked yourself what is the Nigerian standard?
I believe you will agree with me that we don’t have quality standards in both public and private sectors, generally speaking. This, in my view, has been the most limiting factor for SMEs especially when we talk about competing globally.
Read also: How inferior foreign products turned Delta entrepreneurs to innovators
Psychologists will tell you that a large number of our limitations are self-imposed by how we choose to live our lives and that is the same in the world of business. In a borderless world of the internet, SMEs with poor cultures and standards will shortchange themselves faster than the Nigerian climate will.
What is your advice to young, aspiring entrepreneurs?
I would say to the aspiring entrepreneur, think global first. There is a global stage for every product and service to thrive but first, you as an entrepreneur will need to see it in your entrepreneurial mind before it becomes a reality. You have to believe you have something of value that can sell to a target audience beyond your race and culture or environment.
Secondly, find a mentor and help them solve a problem of theirs. I see too many young people seek mentors for what they can get from them. Forgetting that the greatest way to receive is to give. I will also say manage your expectations appropriately.
“Rome was not built in a day, neither was the Ikoyi Link Bridge”! Anything of value takes time to build. Don’t let your desire for profits cost you the legacy you could potentially build through entrepreneurship. Lastly, dream big and after you are done, dream bigger.
