Young, sassy, single, and satisfied. These words aptly capture Homto Zaida Dokpesi’s looks at any given time. But her feelings, her personality, and her essence could as well be fleeting, dramatic, and unpredictable as daily life itself.
Homto Zaida Dokpesi lives life like she is on a live stage production performance. Creativity is the order of the day, and that also dictates every move and line.
But, she is not fake, though an accomplished actress, neither is she recalling her lines nor does she need to rehearse. Homto, as she is fondly called by close friends, is authentic. With her, what you see is what you get!
However, she is hundred percent a lady with all the frolic and frills that the gender can accommodate, making her a full-grown, emotional female!
In addition to all that, Homto has beauty and brains. An untainted African dark skin that glows and remains unique in a world saturated with bleaching or skin lightening creams!
Being the daughter of a business mogul has added a good pedigree and lifestyle to who she is. In spite of that, Homto Dokpesi created her wings to fly early in life.
Urged on by the financial backing of her father, Chief Alegho Raymond Dokpesi, founder of African Independent Television (AIT), she attended St. Leo’s Catholic Private School Ikeja (Primary), Igbinedion Education Centre (junior secondary), Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls (senior secondary), Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, for Bsc. in Accounting, and then the University of Westminster, the UK for Msc. in International Business Economics.
Before moving back to Nigeria, she worked at O2 link; a professional service organisation in the UK, and HSBC also in the UK, as a Customer Service Officer.
On return to Nigeria, she started off with the compulsory NYSC programme, working at the office of the Auditor General, Wuse 2 Abuja. She later worked at Daar Communications Plc, first as an account officer, moved to credit control, before becoming the executive assistant to the managing director, Daarsat, the satellite arm of the Daar Communication brand.
Homto later stepped aside from family businesses to set up her own line of businesses.
She hit it off with Duchess H Couture, her fashion label, which sooner, graced runways in Nigeria and in the US, Paris, and in the UK, where she currently has agreements with stores that offer and showcase her fashion line in Dubai and the US.
Duchess H Couture produces ready-to-make clothes for kids and females, with products ranging from sandals, heels, flat shoe sneakers, suitcases, bags, to accessories, all made with Ankara fabric.
She has a Khaleed skincare line that produces cosmetics all made with natural ingredients, along with Zaida Cobbler shop that caters to all shoe and bag repairs, and located in the old Garki market in Abuja, with a network to supply wholesale, shoes from China.
As if that is not enough, Homto Dokpesi is the managing director of Staroil Energy, and still finds time to manage Moneymart TV as the MD also.
Zaida Food on the go is another business, which she started as it is on the go presently, which supplies hot rice, fried dodo, and Ayamashe stew for lunch to some corporate offices in Abuja. This also goes with Zaida Cupcakes and the amazingly repackaged kunu aya.
But Homto is not all work without play, though even at play, work still finds a way of locating her.
She was recently picked as one of the Nigerian ambassadors for the University of Westminster where she bagged a Master’s Degree in International Business Economics and she is currently working with the South Korean Cultural Centre in Abuja, where she hopes to assist to build a cultural exchange between both countries.
Awarded the Most Influential Female Entrepreneur recently, this Valentine season, Homto has indeed spread her wings to where it matters most.
Read also: Raymond Dokpesi, founder of AIT television is dead
Despite running her businesses, her father still accommodates her to assist him with her capabilities in his own business too. And being a top politician, Homto plays and somewhat, shares in that her father’s sphere of influence and level too, as was seen recently at her father’s birthday events in Abuja, where she was conspicuously attending to her father’s exotic friends, political bigwigs, and associates, mostly of the upper echelon of the society.
Homto says she is driven by passion. A mother of a young son, who is already making local and international waves in modelling, she easily accepts that she is adventurous, which is obviously true.
She combines her adventurous nature, with her entrepreneurial spirit to turn into money, her creative writing skills, as she escapes every now and then into her world of writing short stories which she sells at Walmart, Barnes, and Noble, Amazon, Bambooks, and Okada books in Nigeria.
“I have authored eight books,” she declared as shared how she got a breakthrough.
“While in the UK, a lady came to me and told me that she would love to have my brand in her store. That was the beginning of breaking into the international scene for me. She created some awareness because she has Africans, Caribbean communities shopping from her. That act opened doors for me in the United States. From there, I started selling to people in Dubai, United Arabs Emirates. It wasn’t easy really at first because I had made so many moves. I am of the opinion that no matter how many moves you make, it shouldn’t stop you from what you want to do. The barriers didn’t stop me. I just knew I had to push further.”
As well, Homto has a safe area. She loves it when she is creative because there she can hide. According to her, “When you are being creative, nobody puts a cap on you. You can be who you want to be.”
So, being the season of love, one was forced to ask Homto, “Have you found love again?
“I am in a healthy relationship. Now I live with an open mind. Nothing is impossible”, she replied.
So, how is she going to celebrate Valentine’s Day, Homto, who also said she draws her inspiration from paintings, the wonderful art of nature, from designs on a fabric, or even from just looking at an individual, replied saying:
“Valentine’s Day for me would be spent with the less privileged to show them, love. So a day with widows and beggars naturally making them feel special and loved as well will certainly make my day. I run my foundation, Homto Zaida Dokpesi Foundation where I reach out to widows and single parents so this Valentine’s Day will also give me a rare opportunity to show love to the less privileged in society.”
So, will the cupid arrow strike and lead to a permanent love, marital relationship for the most sought-after Homto Dokpesi this Valentine’s Day?
She laughs infectious laughter, which sprung out her beauty and elegance, like a bright carnation flower, flexing in the sun.
“I told you earlier, I now live with an open mind”, she concluded.
