My Story
I worked in the banking industry for over twelve years, had a beautiful career, climbed the corporate ladder quite rapidly, acquired skills and had cogent banking experience with the attendant perks that the banking industry offers. I was part of the management team that set up Oceanic Bank, one of the new generation banks as the Pioneer Treasurer and subsequently set up the Bank’s Branch Network Coordination unit.
When the stress became too much, I resigned without any exit strategy or plan B. The first shock was that of insecurity due to lack of income and drastic transformation in my life style. But I also got married after my resignation so my husband began to support me.
It took a while for me to figure out what I wanted to do, but I knew it had to be something creative hence I started Dugo, a leading brand that provides total creative solutions in the management and service of Business Promotion using Promotional Products, Corporate Gifts, Recognition Products, Souvenirs and Timeless keepsakes.
Over the years, Dugo has evolved to become a leader and preferred brand in our industry by redefining standards and providing exceptional creativity. Dugo is also at the forefront of Local Production Of Afrocentric Bags and Accessories using our authentic African materials, like Asoke, Adire, Akwete, Kente etc. Women artisans weave or dye the material while young people make the bags. I had thought that with my banking experience, various training programs, especially in administration and leadership I attended, as well as an MBA, that I had skills to run any business successfully, little did I know that entrepreneurship requires its own skill set along with continuous capacity building.
An Entrepreneur is a jack of all trades and master of all!! Before I realized that I needed to acquire the skills to run a business, I had already made many wrong business choices, especially in the area of funding, because I borrowed short-term funds from the bank to fund fixed assets like machine for my business. Inspite of my banking experience I still had very poor and porous accounting and control structure this was compounded by the wrong choice of staff. According to Ecclesiastes 10:10 “If the axe is dull and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use strength but wisdom brings more success”.
I was contemplating closing down my business and go back to banking when I saw an advert from Lagos Business School for Entrepreneurship Training Program, I quickly registered and this opened my eyes to all that was wrong with the way I ran my business.
I came back and started all over again armed with the relevant skills, since then I have attended so many entrepreneurial capacity building programs across the globe and will rather invest in learning before anything else. I make it a duty to register with trade associations, train and get the age of the participants. Recently I took an online course from Harvard business school along with very young people, most of them Genzs.
In Nigeria, female entrepreneurs are faced with harsh operating business environment, taking care of the home front along with so many balls that women juggle. The cash flow challenges are enormous especially at the early stage of setting up a business, increasingly women are becoming bread winners in most homes. Therefore most women do not have any strategic plan to acquire skills to run a business and for many, capacity building is in the back burner because they cannot afford it
The challenge of working capital and cash flow is a constant nightmare and banks are not helping matters.
In 2020 when Covid happened , Dugo diversified and pivoted to local manufacturing of afro centric bags, accessories and garments, I realized that it is a huge challenge to work with artisans because of their low level of education, work ethics and absence of formal skill acquisition platform.
They are critical success factor and business continuity of our bag manufacturing business, I had to modify the vision and mission on Kingdom Investors to accommodate them. We need to provide capacity building programe to transform the bag tailors, cutters, adire and asoke makers all those in the value chain of our business for sustainability and business continuity.
For me it has been a long struggle with a lot of twists and turns, as an Entrepreneur there were times I wanted to quit but God has been so gracious because when I look back I can hardly find most of the companies that I met in my industry when I started, those I was outsourcing and learning from hardly exist.
At the early stage of my struggle I had planned that whenever the challenges became easier, I would spend my time and resources to ease the process for other women by providing free capacity building programs, mentorship and business coaching. However I have come to realize that in life you exchange one challenge for another. So challenges are constant but different at each level. When God gives you a vision he makes the provision!
To take the bold step of faith even in my lack and start this initiative and continue since 2006, my husband Dr Nwachukwu Nzegwu has been a tower of support, he funded my very first program. My other dream makers are, my one and only sister Kate Isa, Pastor Bimbo Odukoya of blessed memory and late Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, who was a the pastor of fearless leaders.
How can I talk about my faith in God, the passion to touch lives, the compelling belief that nothing is impossible ( I RATHER DO IT AFRAID) without mentioning my late parents Sir Raphael & Lady Mary Okwodu of blessed memory I owe immense gratitude to my parents.
In the past 19 years of Kingdom Investors I have seen God transform the lives and businesses of over 2000 women as they learn and apply the skills acquired free from our programmes to their businesses, the testimonies are mind blowing. Quietly but surely lives, businesses are transformed, women are nurturers, incubators and they have God given power of multiplication, the multiplier effect of this initiative is enourmous.
A thriving ecosystem where women entrepreneurs and young artisans create sustainable livelihoods, preserve African culture, and build lasting businesses.