The voice behind the Pro-women Safe Sanitary Foundation!

Miss Vivian Akudo Nwogu was born in Ezinihitte Mbaise in Imo state, Nigeria. She is a registered nurse and the founder of the "Pro-women Safe Sanitary Foundation". Talking about young people doing big things, Vivian is the brain behind the "PADS FOR HER" initiative- a group of people who going into remote villages to sensitise girls on how to use sanitary pads as well as give them for free because they cannot afford it. According to her, giving a girl a pen is good but teaching them how to take care of themselves is  also very necessary;

" Early last year, I saw a campaign to give a girl-child a pen and I thought within me- these people are not even seeing that there's a problem with the affordability of sanitary pads and the need to solve it. There and then, I called a few friends to join me in the campaign for sanitary pads. After all that, the issue was not brought up again so in December, I had to kick-start it myself with a broadcast. My friends supported and responded by donating in fact, Mrs Chidera Emetu a secondary school classmate took it up and added my account number on Facebook which led to a lot people volunteering and donating. Between December 23rd and 24th, we realised  almost 40,000 naira which we used to purchase the pads and went into the rural areas in Owerri to sensitise the young girls we met as well as give them pads. You needed to see the joy in their faces and how happy they were so friends encouraged me to turn it into a Non- Government Organisation which led to the birth of the Pro-women Safe Sanitary Foundation".

Driven by her love for organising things in school and events as well as her profession, Vivian knew she could do more so she created a group for women sanitary on Facebook which was perfect for her idea at the long run. Furthermore, the problem of sanitary pads being unaffordable was her motivation;

"I have 3 sisters and I know how it costs my parents to take care of us monthly being that one pad costs 350-400 naira, sometimes we use more than one per month. You can imagine some girl out there who cannot afford 3 square- meal talk more of sanitary pad hence the use of rags and tissue paper. I even know someone who takes Vitamin K to prevent menstruation because she can't afford pad monthly, you can now imagine how risky that is". 

Like every other entrepreneur, Vivian faces challenges; she needs a website, a photographer, graphic designer, most importantly, she needs funding for the events she has lined up to ask for donations, as well as fundraising which will help generate money to continue running the NGO.

See pictures of her as well as her events below;

More info concerning her upcoming events will be communicated via the blog, stay tuned in to be a part of it any way you can.

Chefpreneur Extraordinaire..... Miss Chioma Andra Amadi!

She has a bachelors degree in Economics which she obtained from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, she is a full fledged Nigerian from Rivers state and I must say she is very chic. Chioma is one of those who loves to cook and with the entrepreneurial spirit embedded inside her, she turned her passion into a business hence her name " the Chefpreneur".

"I started professionally in 2016 from making burgers in church every Sunday then I gradually moved up to home made meals and catering for events. Now, I run a mobile service and sell as a food vendor".

Chioma's success story so far shows a drive for success against all obstacles - she admits to the fact that challenges are inevitable especially when it comes to finance and funding as she has to invest in the business but her mind is made up to keep the dream alive no matter what.

We are deeply inspired by her story and hope someone out there is too.

See pictures of her and some of her mouthwatering dishes below;

BYOG party at NOOK Garden!

Have you ever been to a party where you come with your own food? I don’t mean a love feast in church or a house fellowship get-together or even a family picnic....... A party where there is going to be dance, music from the coolest DJs in the Capital city and the best part is you get to come with your own grill, barbecue, food, you name it.... Trust me, there is nothing like it! 

Nook Garden  Abuja is having its first edition of “BRING YOUR OWN GRILL” for this year;

Date: 10th February, 2018

Time: 2pm

Venue: Nook Garden, PEB 05 plaza Zone 5, Abuja.

Come with your business cards to connect with people, a good cheer to make new friends and of course, your own grill!! 

Plus if you are a lover of good music?  DJ Burna, DJ Whales, DJ Sensei and a host of others will be there to blow your mind.

So if you are going to be in the capital city this weekend and you are looking for a place to go? Visit  Nook Garden!

Walking a mile in confidence with PiolaFootprints!

"By their fruits you shall know them"....., in this case, it is By their "shoes", you shall know them!. The captivation started from the package and of course, the content- PiolaFootprints shoes are indeed an epitome of style and quality, just a look and you will have a wild imagination of walking in them. The best part of it is the fact that the shoes are made in Nigeria by Nigerians....... intriguing!

Piola Footprint brand is owned by a Lagos state indigene by name Mr Daramola Babalola and his beautiful fiancee  Miss Yemisi Olympio. Mr Babalola is a graduate of international relations which he obtained from Lagos State University with a master degree in public and international relations from University of Lagos.

We contacted them right away and we can confidently assure you that you will be inspired and by their story...

PiolaFootprints kicked off in 2016 with the aim of making affordable footwear specially handcrafted in Lagos state, Nigeria with world class quality materials in beautiful and colourful designs for the Nigerian and global market. With the sale of over 2000 shoes in the first 6 months after their launch, PiolaFootprints emerged as on of the fastest growing fashion/footwear brand in the country with several awards and nominations.

"We are deeply inspired by the burning desire to make quality Nigerian made footwear to be more acceptable in the country and across the World. We believe that the #madeinNigeria movement has come to stay".

The major challenges they face are the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in Nigeria- Power, incessant fuel scarcity, preference of  foreign products over Nigerian- made products (although this is fast changing), high rate of online scam/fraud which makes selling online a bit difficult and so on.
In the midst of all the challenges stated above, this powerful duo have made up their minds to look at the brighter side;

" An average Nigerian is a survivor. We strive to survive against all odds with the burning desire  and passion to continue preaching the #madeinNigeria message. So far, our number of clients and recognition has kept us going as we continue to soar higher and higher".

See pictures of their footwear below;

                 

The Powerful Duo

                                MAYA awards 2018

They are on every social media platform, you can search for them.....

@piolafootprints

Another amazing opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs with FATE foundation!

FATE foundation is a non- profit private-sector led organisation created in March 2000 to tackle the high rate of unemployment and poverty in Nigeria by harnessing the strong entrepreneurial culture of Nigerians and providing the knowledge and support required to fully explore their innovative potential;

"Our mission is to foster wealth creation by promoting business and entrepreneurial     development among Nigerians."

They provide entrepreneurial courses and programmes through their school of Entrepreneurship and also business support and ancillary services to their alumni. This is carried out through;

• Entrepreneurship Education;  Aspiring Entrepreneurs Program (AEP)/ Emerging Entrepreneurs Program (EEP)/ Special Entrepreneurs Program/ short courses/ Webinars.
•  Enterprise Support;  Mentoring/ Incubation & Placement/ Consulting / Funding linkages.
• Entrepreneurship Research & Policy; Policy dialogue series on Entrepreneurship/ policy workshops / research reports/ thought-leadership.

 Interestingly, they would be going round 8 cities within Nigeria; Abuja, Enugu, Lagos I & II, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Ibadan and Calabar. If you would like to be a part of this and gain some digital insights to help grow your business, this is an opportunity for you- simply click on the link below to enrol for their 4-weeks programme to help you build a digitally enabled business;

      
       linktr.ee/fatefoundation

For Abuja interested participants, the date and venue are written below;

Date:  March 12- April 6, 2018

Venue: NAF Conference Centre and Suites.

            Plot 496 Ahmadu Bello way, 

            (near Next Cash and Carry) Kado, Abuja.

For more information, kindly visit;

www.fatefoundation.org/aep

 Goodluck.

The Brands And Brains Team.

Dexterity and Delivery with the man called Udoka Oyeka!

He is an actor, a director and producer....You can also rightly say he is a man of many characters judging from his numerous roles in blockbuster movies and in hit TV series "Tinsel" where he played the role "Tsav". Udoka Oyeka is indeed a full package- He has the looks that keep the ladies in check and expertise in movie- making that has earned him recognition not only in Nollywood but ALL OVER THE WORLD.

He was born in Dallas, Texas to Mr Solomon Oyeka and Mrs Florence Oyeka. He is the last child of his family and hails from Anambra state. At age 2, his family moved back to Lagos, Nigeria- his father who is a chemical engineer ran his own company and his mum worked with the National port as a civil servant. After his secondary school education, he moved back to Dallas to attend University of Texas, Arlington. He started acting when he took a theatre elective in college;

"I was trying to make up for my hours and had always been attracted to the arts department. After graduating,  I went to a drama school in Dallas and studied acting for the screen for 2 years. I made some short movies with some friends in Canada but eventually moved back to Nigeria to start directing and producing my own films".I get my inspiration from old films, a lot of foreign independent films as well as my interaction with people I meet everyday- everyone has a story that is unique to them. Music also has a lot of influence on me as well."

In 2011, he released his first movie titled " ZR-7 ( the Red-House 7) " in cinemas nationwide. ZR-7 was nominated for BEST CHILD ACT at the African Movie Academy Award (AMAA) that same year. Furthermore, his movie LIVING FUNERAL and NO GOOD TURN took him to the apex of the food chain as they were both screened in a bunch of International film festivals including Cannes film festival in France, Durban International film festival in South Africa, Pan African film festival in Los Angeles,  European Independent film festival and so much more. Interestingly, his new movie LAS GIDI VICE is at the international film festival Rotterdam, 2018.

The multi-talented Udoka Oyeka has gotten 12 African Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) nominations in all; his movie "living funeral" was nominated for Best short film, Best Director,  Best movie (drama), Best cinematography, Best screenplay amongst others. It was also nominated for Best short film in both AMAA(2014) and Best Of Nollywood awards (BON) in 2014 as well as a nomination for Best Nigerian film in Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) awards in 2014. 

 However, in the midst of all his achievements so far, he admits to the fact that he has faced a lot of challenges; 

"The journey has not been easy, there is always an obstacle holding you back from attaining your goals but the trick is to keep pushing and knocking until something happens. My passion has given me strength to push through and achieve the little I have done. There's so much more to do and so much stories to tell from Africa."

  Mr Udoka Oyeka is also a lover of soccer, basketball and of course, music from all over!

Below are photos of him and his works.... ENJOY!

   With Munachi Abii, Moet Abebe and KC Ejelonu during a shoot.