How Adekeye Rashidat grew Royale Affairs into successful jewellery brand

The year 2012 will remain memorable for Rashidat Adekemi Adekeye. It was the year she took a hard decision to quit her paid employment in order to be with her growing family. The decision was informed by the insecurity in Kano, a city she worked at the time.

For her, the 2012 decision was a huge sacrifice because she was not used to being idle or financially dependent. Moreover, getting a job back then that could make her balance home and work life was difficult despite being successful in many interviews.

While she continued her life as a stay-at-home mother, Rashidat found herself on the edge of depression while trying to adapt to the new life.

However, in the midst of her dilemma, the tide changed. In 2013, she struck gold in jewelry business and, today, runs a jewellery company called Royale Affairs, which specialises in jewellery sourcing, training, and consultancy for high net worth individuals.

“On this fateful day, I was engaging as usual with my phone on the internet and I found a post on a popular website that caught my interest talking about importation. Though very sceptical, I gave it a try. I used the last N15,000 on me to place orders. It was a risk I had to take, but I had to pray not to be scammed,” she says when asked how she came about the business idea.

The Royale Affairs founder says her risk paid off, knowing full well that life is an opportunity and one must take a chance when it comes. She went further to learn the ropes of importation from the promoters of the opportunity and opted for jewellery till her goods landed safely in Nigeria.

“Facebook was the first platform I used to sell and luckily the items got sold out almost immediately,” she says.

“This gave me the confidence to continue and, to the glory of God, the jewellery business has grown to what it is today.”

Sharing a little of her background and how it gave her soft- landing in entrepreneurship, the entrepreneur says she has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, which helps her to navigate the tide.

“I am also a certified human resource person. Little did I realise that years down the line, the knowledge I had acquired in paid employment would someday help me navigate my path in entrepreneurship,” she notes.

She says that working in paid employment has helped her to stay above the numerous challenges that have come with running a business.

On the progress made so far in her journey as an entrepreneur, she explains that Royale Affairs is committed to helping women look confident, classy, and outstanding in any gathering.

“We achieve this by sourcing for unique, high quality jewelry and accessories. As a business consultant, I also take the stress off starting a jewellery business by consulting for high net worth individuals who want to setup a jewellery business for themselves or family members. In addition, I help fashion entrepreneurs who struggle with selling on social media to scale-up their business growth.”

As a way of contributing to the entrepreneurial learning space, Rashidat says she has authored a book, ‘Dear Jewelry Seller, Have You Found the Right Suppliers?’ aimed at showing the way to those who want to pick up the business. She urges women, especially stay-at-home mothers who want to learn the art of sourcing for quality jewelry and accessories, to start a jewelry business to connect with her on social media.

The jewelry entrepreneur says her business has contributed to the nation’s economy through her mentorship sessions, thereby reducing unemployment.

“So far, I have trained over 700 women to start jewellery and other related businesses, and they have subsequently recorded milestones in their respective areas of specialty. I do this through the use of both physical and virtual training avenues. In these challenging times of COVID-19, my Facebook training communities—The Entrepreneurship Africa Trybe and Jewelry Business School—have served as avenues for entrepreneurs to get the necessary strategies and tools to stay afloat the challenges,” she says.

Rashidat says she faces some challenges.

“Foreign exchange has been one of major challenges in the business, but we have to thrive and keep the business alive, regardless,” she says.

She encourages aspiring women entrepreneurs to stay consistent, focused and creative.