When it comes to fashion, only few do it better that Louis Awode. He is the CEO and creative director of ClovisCasuals, a start-up unisex fashion label that operates in Lagos and its environs.
Louis was inspired to establish ClovisCasuals when he discovered a niche in the Nigeria’s fashion industry. “I did a feasibility study and discovered that Nigeria and Africa at large did not have any recognised fashion brand such as Nike, Gucci, Adidas and Louis Vuitton like Americans and European countries,” he says, adding that this is why he went into the business.
The political scientist-turned-entrepreneur tells Start-Up-Digest that he started his business with N15,000 in 2016. The amount was spent on the purchase of a sewing machine and other accessories.
Louis got the money from his first job immediately after graduation while waiting for his mandatory National Youth Service Corps.
“My initial start-up capital was my first salary of N15, 000 earned as a fresh graduate while working with a secondary school as a librarian,” the young entrepreneur says.
“This was the first money I invested into the business and, thereafter, the little proceeds I got were ploughed back into the business,” he adds.
He says the business has continued to grow steadily since starting as it can now fully run itself, adding that it now has increased client base.
The business currently has two full-time and four part-time employees.
The young entrepreneur says he sources his fabrics locally across markets in the country but plans are on-going to start sourcing from Ghana, China and Vietnam.
Speaking on what ClovisCasuals has done differently to remain in business, he says the business has continued to invest in its employees through trainings, and has made customers satisfaction a top priority.
“The fashion industry is highly competitive, no doubt, but at ClovisCasuals, our cutting edge is to create, recreate and learn,” he explains.
Evaluating the Nigerian fashion industry, Louis says that the space is exciting and highly competitive, with plethora of opportunities for businesses that can do things innovatively and creatively.
He points out that the business plans to establish a store in major cities in the country in the long run, while mulling to build an e-commerce model of selling its products in the short term.
Answering questions on the challenges limiting his business, Louis says infrastructural gaps have remained the major challenge facing his business.
He urges governments at all levels to provide grant opportunities for start-ups with excellent business ideas as well make adequate investments in bridging the country’s infrastructural gaps.
“Alleviating these myriads of challenges cannot be too stressed. Grants and easy loans should be made available to the youths wishing to go into entrepreneurship. Practical entrepreneurship should be included in our educational syllabus from primary to the university level for business prodigies to be birthed early in life,” he advises.
“This is one of the tenets of building our economy, using China as a critical example,” he adds.
On his advice to other entrepreneurs, he says, “Perseverance, creativity and consistency are the keys to winning a successful entrepreneurship race, with God on your side.”
Josephine Okojie
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