My Passion For Africa’s Development-Olatorewa Oniru

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How can you describe the lady Olatorera Oniru?

A woman, wife, mother, citizen and entrepreneur who is very passionate about Africa’s development, about alleviating poverty and about maximizing natural human talent and natural resources.

Could you briefly run through your parental and educational background?

I was born in Ibadan. I attended Queens College, Lagos. I completed high school and my first degree in North Carolina, USA. I also did my Masters in Business Administration at Emory University, USA. I’ve additionally completed Executive Leadership courses at Stockholm School of Business and Economics and International Institute for Management Development, Switzerland.

What inspired your passion to become an entrepreneur?

I have a very strong passion for all things Africa; from culture to food, people and natural resources. Our continent is richly blessed. Being an entrepreneur in Africa means rising above the challenges to create opportunities that will magnify the continent, create jobs, alleviate poverty and gear up our industries to compete with developed nations globally. It’s challenging but it’s fun, it’s filled with passion and filled with opportunities and gradual results.

What are the highlights of the genesis of your business sojourn?

It’s majorly the testimonials we receive from our customers and the appreciation and recognition we receive from the media. Ensuring our customers receive the highest-quality fashion and beauty products they love remains our foremost goal as an e-retailer. Being mentioned as one of the Top 9 innovators in Africa means we will continue to work hard to give our customers the best products and services, innovatively and at the best prices.

Would you say your parental background had an influence or was it the kind of training you were exposed to?

It would be a mix of both. I think it is a mix of every opportunity and experience I have allowed myself to embrace over the past 15 years of being independent. But of course, my parents have played a major role by giving me moral support; enrolling at one of the best schools and advising me. My father  has always been an entrepreneur – a very good one. My mother is also very wise especially with the legalities of life and thus I tend to go to her for advice often. But beyond my parents, professors in school, bosses at work, friends at college and siblings have given me support.

How did you establish your fashion empire?

I put together a business plan that encompassed a one year plan, and a 2-5 years plan. I also utilized business development learning from business school. I pulled together a team of initial employees and together we’ve been working to grow Dressmeoutlet.com to retail high-quality fashion and beauty products to a global market.

What was actually the impact enrolment with Tony Elumelu programme?

It’s a great programme and we were glad to have been selected but we haven’t accepted funding from the programme. We are focused on growing Dressmeoutlet.com organically for now. Mr. Tony Elumelu is a great man with a great track record of success, managing people and running notable companies. Even greater is what he is doing, funding entrepreneurs across Africa. He is one of the few truly dedicated to giving back and in a very innovative way. We look forward to having him as a speaker at one of our upcoming events soon.

How did you build a lot of capacity for your outfit outside the shores of Africa?

We have an annual digital marketing plan that covers the key countries we are interested in expanding into. We also have a physical retail growth strategy under implementation for this year and beyond. It also helps being picked up with Google, Forbes and other notable companies. They help our customers to find us.

You were on the Forbes most revered list. How do you feel with the many feats achieved during your period of existence in the fashion industry?

Very grateful and looking forward to doing even much more. Building the African fashion industry is something of  importance to not just Africa but to the world at large. Africa fashion is unique, bright and inspirational. It’s surprising it’s not yet on the shelves of all the major retailers worldwide.

What dictates your fashion and beauty routine?

I love getting dressed and glammed up for special occasions and date nights with my husband but on a work day, my to-do lists are usually too long for fashion and beauty. I love casual clothes and I mostly wear made-in-Africa apparel and shoes.

Where do you shop from?

Honestly, I shop from Dressmeoutlet.com. Most of my fashion apparels: dresses, jewelry, handbags and shoes within the past year have come from Dressmeoutlet.com.

What’s your most memorable career moment in 2016?

I had several great moments at award shows, conferences, fashion events and more. Cocktails & Dresses remain one of my most memorable events. We had two editions in 2016 and both were filled with great people, glam, entertainment and so much to eat and drink. I save up a lot of my social and dancing skills for Cocktails & Dresses. We have a blast at each edition. The next one is coming up on May 7th, 2017 at Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos tagged Africa’s Greatest Retail Experience, The Innovation Edition. For more details, please visitwww.dressmeoutlet.com/cocktailsanddresses.

Where do you see your business in few years and any plan to diversify?

We plan to continue providing the best quality products and services at the best price possible as we continue to increase our customer base and expand into other countries. We look forward to multiplying our customers, supplies, partners and friends as rapidly as possible.