Innovation

Education is something that no one can take away from you once you have it. Around the world, millions of girls do not have the opportunity to attain an education. In developing countries today, men still hold the will of power, and in many instances, women stay at home while the men go to work and are seen as "heads of the household" because they are the only ones making money. Tomide mentioned, "whatever decisions women make, it must not be because they do not have the economic power." Imagine being fortunate enough to get an education but never losing sight of those girls who could not reach their dreams like you. You then grow up and achieve your dream of entering the fashion industry, representing your culture, and allowing everyone else to get a feel of it through a handbag. At the same time, seeing that you have reached your dreams, you want to do something to enable girls the same opportunity so that they, too, can achieve their dreams and impact the lives of many others like you. This is Tomide's story and innovation (CEO + Founder of Olori).

Tomide left Nigeria when she was 17 years old but finished high school there and then left the U.K. to study, and five years later, she moved to the U.S., where she currently resides. Her experience in the U.K. and the U.S. quickly became apparent to her that when they think about Africa, they think about poverty and charity because this is what the media puts out there. Yet she states that poor people are everywhere, which is 100% true. With this, it became her mission to show people the beauty of Africa in the way she sees it. Tomide wants to showcase the beauty of her culture because this is something the world has not yet started to see and is missing out on. She wants to depict Africa's beauty and culture in a way accessible to everybody. "You might not be able to tie our fabrics on your head for a wedding, but you can carry our bag." Olori uses traditional textiles called also-oke to make their bags, "they are handwoven using techniques that have been passed on from generations." These textiles are typically tied around one's head to be used during weddings and parties, "but today everyone can carry them in gorgeous purses." Typically they have men weave in the product in the back, but they do business with women-owned businesses. Olori is pretty much a way to learn about Africa and concurrently a way that fits into everyone's everyday lives.

When it comes to who exactly was involved in creating this innovation, Tomide explains that it was just her. She was the only one who did the business into what it is today, but at the same time, she had a support system. She said that people like her sister, who she was living with at the time, and her mom, who helped her learn more about the fabrics and find artisans, encouraged her along the way. Tomide also mentioned that she had mentors, but she was the one who created this innovative business model of her dreams at the end of the day.

Olori's mission is to "create high-quality pieces that celebrate individual expression and elevate collective legacy." Their vision statement is to "envision a world where the beauty of Africa serves as a beacon for generations' ascension." Tomide states, "what all of this means is that we create gorgeous African-inspired handbags that celebrate culture and heritage while empowering women. So we want to create products that everyone can wear that serve as an avenue for people to discover Africa's culture and beauty. Also, it means elevating girls and women in Nigeria instead of a hand." Olori started by helping Nigerian girls, but their partnership with CAMFED extended to six other African countries. For every sale they get, they put aside 2% of their sales and quarterly donate to CAMFED, but coming this year, they are trying to work with more local partners so people local to Nigeria, to be closer to the impact.

Inspiration

Tomide is the fourth child; she feels like she is an indirect beneficiary of such graciousness. She said that her grandmother was not educated and came from an obscure village in Nigeria, even though her brothers were. Her grandmother was one of those children that could not benefit from an education because of her gender. Yet, she saw the impact of education on her brothers and ensured that when she had children, all of them, including the girls, would have access to education. Tomide's grandmother did this, and Tomide's mother could get an education. Even though Tomide's mother went to school, she went without wearing shoes and toiling. Tomide's mother then said that when she had children, they would be highly educated. Tomide now has three degrees, her brother is working on getting his third degree, and she has two sisters that also have multiple degrees.

All of this made her think that her grandmother lived in an obscure village. Because of her single decision to provide her children with an education, "me and my siblings, even outside of Nigeria, are making an impact." Tomide sees how the ability to change one person's life is grand between her siblings and her alone since they together have been able to impact hundreds of people already. She says, "imagine if we can make this change for not just one person but millions of girls. So this was the trigger for me." She is living the life of her dreams because her grandmother decided for Tomide's mother to have that opportunity, and Tomide's mother continued to pass it on. She wants every girl in Africa and around the world to live the life of their dreams. Tomide also said, "think about when we say, we want more women in places of power, we want more women in politics, we want more women Presidents, it comes from education first. If we want this in 50 years, we need to start now. We are not there today because the women's force is not as empowered as it can be; we are just starting to make that progress. So when we envision an empowered world of women, we must educate them first."

Overall impact

Olori has been built to be a scalable, for-profit business such that as they grow, the impact they make also grows. They do not give all of their profits towards the cause. They take 2% of their revenue. In the beginning, they were aiding with about $50 to $100 a year because of how small they were, but as they have grown, so has their impact. Tomide said, “for me, it’s kind of like a commitment; if things are not going well and you are discouraged, you remember what it means to continue trying. You remember to continue to wake up the next day because you know that there are girls out there whose lives depend on your ability to continue to run your business.” That said, they take just a portion right now of their revenue (2%), but it is a business that also has a social impact where again, as they grow, so makes their impact. Before working with CAMFED, she researched how they work and split the money, given that some of it go into operations versus directly to the girls. With this in mind, Tomide made sure that she was on board and was in close contact with them, constantly receiving updates on the impacts they have made thus far. Through CAMFED, they can buy girls’ uniforms or pay for girls’ tuition, or once they graduate from high school, get them settled into either a university or teach them a new trait.

Tomide tries not to sell that they put money aside to provide an education to young girls in African communities. This is because “I want people to buy the product for the product and then carry it because they love it. I want them to see the beauty in Africa and our cultures and then know that they are changing a young girl’s life.”

In the short term, she thinks they will make a moderate impact on girls, who today pay for their education. In the long time, they want to create empowerment. Olori aims to do this because empowering more women will encourage them to take their places of power in the community and make positive, impactful decisions that affect us. Right now, that ratio is heavily skewed toward men. The impact of what Olori is doing is that they are creating a force of women that will occupy the business of power in the future. To continue, for the community at large, Tomide envisions a party of women who will be in seats of decision-making in the future. She is building that and contributing to that in whatever way she can today through her business. “This is for the benefit of our community, and Olori is making an impact on Nigerian girls, but these girls will make an impact all over the world.”

Business benefit

One of Olori’s values is “win, win, win,” which is “the courage to do right by ourselves, our customers, and our world.” By “ourselves,” Tomide, as the founder, feels like she needs to do better because she does not pay herself; instead, what is a priority to her is that her one employee is delivered and paid well. She mentions how she will not hire anyone else until they have grown enough for Tomide to pay them well. She says that in terms of the well-being of her employees (one employee), it comes in pay and flexibility. Her current employee works any hours that fit her life.

Additionally, it is also leading with empathy. Even though two years ago, when they were very tiny as a business when her employee had a baby, and they were just one year in, Tomide told her to go on maternity leave. “Take the time you need, and I will continue to pay you.” She said that as a small business, “this is such a physically painful decision to make because it is not like they have consistent income coming in or anything, but it was important that they started on the right track and that it all starts in-house first.” When it comes to her customers, again, she ensures that she is giving them the best value because “when people buy the bag, they love the bag, but then it is a plus for them knowing that they are also contributing to the impact on somebody else’s life. We allow them to do that.” Tomide again sees a world where more women are taking charge of the community. Education will enable them to reach their dreams and help them do the same for other girls who were once in their shoes.

Their innovation has ultimately enabled them to gain more publicity. Olori is being praised for ethically making their handbags by providing opportunities to those who inspired the brand and bringing change to young girls’ lives and, eventually, the future. They have grown and spread the word about their business with this publicity. “When I think about the impact that we have or that we make with our business, it is not necessarily revenue-generating, it is we want to do this, and we are going to do it. It is just making us feel fulfilled that we are not just here to be another accessory but also gives our customers one more reason to stick with us.”

Social and environmental benefit

Africa is beautiful. It is a land of opportunity and joy. “We have been through so much that we use humor to get through everything.” She finds it funny how everybody was tense when she moved to the U.S. and asked herself why there was so much tension in the air. “She says that she had to be very careful with what she said, but in Africa, “we are very open, curious, and always willing to learn and do not take things too seriously. We laugh about everything, but more than anything, Africa is beautiful.”

Tomide, through her experience, does not want people to see Africa as a place of poverty. She wants people to see it through her eyes, and her bags and to show the world that even under-resourced girls are equally capable as men and everyone else to reach their dreams and impact other people’s lives. Tomide, her mother, and her grandmother serve as testimony of this. In the end, education comes first when it comes to succeeding. One can make an impact by purchasing one of Olori’s handbags and begin to create this ripple effect that starts from helping girls in African communities to assisting girls globally.

Interview

Tomide Awe, Founder