Inighi is one of Cross River state’s most successful high street fashion brands. The fashion label has since its official launch in July of 2014, carved out a niche for itself in the market, catering to women of all age and sizes who aim to look trendy yet smart and comfortable. The label is known for its use of bold colours and geometric cuts while keeping in view functionality and affordability in the production of its ready-to-wear line, making the fashion line one of the most sought after on Konga and Jumia.

Inighi design startup nigeria made in niger deltaIn our recent trip to Cross River state, we could not help but stop by for a chat with the label’s CEO Eme Bassey. Eme received her training in Fashion Business from the London Fashion School-Fashion Antidote and went on to get additional certification in Fashion Manufacturing from University of the Arts, London. During our brief discussion, Eme tells us how she’s managed to take the business from just one staff to close to 15 in so short a time.
Interview excerpts below:

Startupnigeria: First of all, i am very sure my readers would be very eager to know the meaning of the word “Inighi”, are you willing to divulge?

inighi bell sleeve top

Eme: Of course (lol) Inighi is an Efik word that simply means “sweetness” “appealing” “attractive”.

Startupnigeria: One thing I have noticed, your clothes are “everywhere”, how did that happen so fast?

Eme: Yea, in the course of our market research, we noticed that everyone is on social media, almost everyone has a smart phone, so we leverage heavily on technology, which is basically social media because with social media, it’s all about personalized selling, you get referrals. It reduces the lead time you need to make a phone call and confirm an order and you can quickly analyse your sales. In conclusion, we leveraged heavily on online-marketing to gain traction.

inighi model startup nigeria

StartupNigeria: The fashion industry is a capital intensive one, how have you managed to stay afloat so far?

Eme: When we first started out, it was a bit scary because we were basically bootstrapping. Not too scary though because i did not go all in at first. I first started out just selling trendy clothes to friends and course mates while schooling in Yola and then one day I decided to create the label. After struggling for a while i was able to get a little assistance from the Micro-finance and Enterprise loan for small busineak came from the YOUWIN federal government grant. It enabled us get the industrial machines we needed and we were able to acquire an outlet in Lagos; we also organized our official launch event and took on quite a number of additional staff.

StartupNigeria: So just a quick one before you go, a lot of aspiring founders and innovators would love to hear a few words of wisdom from you. Got any to share?

Eme: Reading and research your top-most priority. The internet should be your best friend; all the information you need is online. Have a clear picture of where you are going. Do not allow anyone carry you away by preferring a thousand and one ways of getting things done. You will go through a lot of challenges but be persistent, keep believing. Also be flexible, be ready to pivot as there are always unforeseen events.

To find out more follow this link http://startupnigeria.net/from-cross-river-with-love-ceo-inighi-tells-her-story/