genevieve magazine interviews the creative director of clan.
UNVEILING: SHE, THE POWER WOMAN CAMPAIGN
12 WOMEN. 8 INDUSTRIES. 1 MAESTRO FACTOR
“Barriers are being broken, and new territories being permeated by the re-awakening of the dynamic, high-powered, female anima”
RENI FOLAWIYO
INDUSTRY: CREATIVE, RETAIL, LIFESTYLE
WEARING: YAN
Reni Folawiyo (Mrs F), a VETERAN in the field of fashion, arts and design. She has successfully redefined fashion luxury for Nigerians with her concept store ALARA out of which she also sells custom-made authentic African furniture - a long-time passion of hers. ALARA taking on it’s true meaning of “wondrous performer” is also home to NOK, her quaint ethno fusion restaurant which gives a nostalgic feel of vintage West Africa.
ALARA is West Africa’s first fashion luxury and lifestyle concept store, and has been likened to global concept stores including London’s Dover Street Market and Paris’ Colette. Mrs F’s continuous commitment to promoting African luxury and lifestyle through the empowerment of local artisans provokes new ideas and narratives of what Africa is and who Africans truly are. She is currently listed on The BoF500 🎯 #GOALS
“Apart from the fact that I love beautiful things of quality, I also thought that our market needed something like this - we are big on luxury, so I thought it might be something that somebody should do and I thought why not me?”
Kicking it with the ever so cool Mrs F, at her concept store ALARA
TAYO BOLODEOKU
INDUSTRY: FOOD & CONFECTIONARY
WEARING: LUNANELLA X THALIA
Mrs Tayo Bolodeoku, known fondly as Mrs B, is a Le Cordon Bleu trained pastry chef and the founder of the highly sought-after baked goods and gelato brand, Hans and René.
Hans and René is Nigeria's very first 'made in Nigeria' gelataria. Mrs B, who has a first degree in Accounting and Business and a Masters in Business Administration found her love for baking during a difficult time in her life where her twins were diagnosed with autism. As a result, the name, Hans & Rene, was coined as a derivative from her twin sons’ names.
Hans and René which was humbly conceived in the founder’s kitchen has since grown into six outlets scattered across the city of Lagos in just over 9 years. It also boasts of a growing team of over 100 staff. The thriving brand doesn’t merely pride itself on selling gelatos & desserts that make our palates tingle with glee, the brand has succeeded in selling us all something so much more, happiness #PROFOUND 🌟
Tosin Durotoye
INDUSTRY : TECHNOLOGY
WEARING : CHRISSY X THALIA
Tosin Durotoye is a town planner turned technology strategist and is the Principal/CEO of The Red Kite Group and the Founder of the Bloom Africa - an initiative that curates engagements and safe spaces for ambitious African women to connect, learn and grow. One of Tosin’s most recent projects included establishing GreenHouse Lab - the first female-focused tech accelerator program in Africa. Prior to this, Tosin worked as the Director of Strategic Partnerships at an edutech company based in Boston, USA.
Tosin has more than 14 years of experience both in the public and private sectors. She served for 8 years as a Manager at NeighborWorks America - an NGO founded by the United States Congress. In this role, she managed training programs and special projects for 250 NeighborWorks’ network organisations and managed grants totaling over $10M.
Tosin is an Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leader and a Women in Africa Initiative Ambassador. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Wake Forest University and a Masters of Urban Planning degree from New York University’s (NYU) Wagner School of Public Service
#Gamechanger🥇
rewa udoji
INDUSTRY: FINANCE, THE ARTS
WEARING: KIMORA DUO
Rewa Udoji recently established the first African, female-owned Hedge Fund, Cranstoun, with a view to provide African investors with access to global capital markets, with a nexus encompassing Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.
Rewa is also a celebrated artist who is becoming increasingly well known for her strong spirited portraits of women. In 2017, she was invited to participate in a joint exhibition, Her Story: Sisterhood that Transcends, alongside an acclaimed Dutch photographer Dagmar van Weeghel at the prestigious Gallery of African Art (GAFRA) in Mayfair, London. Her collection, Onicha Ado N’Idu delved into the significance of naming rites and traditions within the Igbo culture in Nigeria - how the names shape the identity of the individuals they are bestowed upon.
Her most recent exhibition, INU NWUNYE, Bride Price, is currently showing at the Jonathan Ferrara Gallery in New Orleans, Louisiana #VIRTUOSO 🎨
“Financial Education should form a major part of every national curriculum. The notion that certain industries are reserved for a particular type of person is prohibitive; cut through esoteric language and it all boils down to common sense. I love Finance and I love Art - I’m unable to separate the two and that duality makes my world a very happy and balanced place!”
DETOUN OGWO
INDUSTRY: HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT
WEARING: SAKIYA X THALIA
Detoun Ogwo is a Development and Human Resources practitioner who is passionate about making a difference in the youth employment sector. With a career spanning over nearly two decades, her experience cuts across the human capital, strategic recruitment and customer care divisions of global multinationals such as Stanbic IBTC, Diageo, British Airways, British American Tobacco, T-Mobile and Halifax Bank Plc.
She holds a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Lagos and a Masters in Development from the ILO Training Centre of the United Nations System. Presently a doctoral researcher at the prestigious University College London’s Institute of Education, she has also earned a certificate in Organisation and Strategic Management (with Distinction) from the London School of Economics and Political Science as well as a Senior Leader’s Certificate in Social Enterprise from the Columbia Business School and also a World Bank Institute Scholarship on global strategies for Education Reform #lightitup 💡
She sits on the board of several organisations including The Skill Development Practice and until 2014 was the pioneer and co-founder of a federal ministry accredited national career centre, AGDC.
She remains a staunch proponent of the ideology that the skills and potential of young people are untapped national assets.
TEMI MARCELLA AWOGBORO
INDUSTRY: FINANCE
WEARING: YAN MINI
Temi Marcella Awogboro has more than a decade of experience in finance across developed and growth markets. As an investment professional, Temi has committed and deployed nearly US$500 million in private partnership capital across strategic sectors on the African continent in a bid to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Temi graduated with an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. She has an MA degree with First Class Honors in Economics from Christ’s College, the University of Cambridge, where she was a matriculation scholar.
Temi started her career at Goldman Sachs International, initially as a Derivatives Trader. She was promoted to managing a portfolio of structured equity derivatives, then as an Investment Analyst. She was named as Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Scholar and was a recipient of the Goldman Sachs and Institute of International Education’s Global Leaders Award.
She is an African Leadership Institute Tutu Fellow of the Archbishop Tutu Leadership Programme, which welcomes an elite group of Africa’s highest potential young leaders, representing a wide range of sectors. Temi is also a World Economic Forum Global Shaper with the Lagos Hub and Alumni Ambassador of the London Hub. Born out of the World Economic Forum, The Global Shapers Community is a network of inspiring young people under the age of 30 working together to address local, regional and global challenges.
Temi has received recognition for her contributions as an investment professional. She has been the recipient of the M&A Advisors European Emerging Leaders Award. She has also been recognised as the Female Lead’s Top 20 Women under 20 and Management Today/The Telegraph’s 35 Women under 35 in the United Kingdom #MAJOR 👑
“I am an investment professional, I love funding and supporting young businesses that are coming up with creative solutions to some of the challenges that we face”
FRAN ASEMOTA
INDUSTRY: HOMEMAKING
WEARING: BRIA X THALIA
Fran Asemota, ‘The Domestic Mumpreneur.' A woman navigating the intricacies of motherhood, using her experience in home-making and her natural flair for creating vibrant and functional homes to commercialise and curate lasting homely pleasures.
She studied Business and IT and ran a family owned Telecoms business before she packed it all in to pursue her true passion. With Fran Asemota Living, her homeware and lifestyle brand, she has turned her first passion, which is homemaking into her full-time ambition which is pretty daring in today’s world. #Pacesetter 🚀
Fran blends her personal and professional worlds, breaking down the traditional norms of what it means to be a successful woman, and proving that success does not always originate from the board room, quite ironically it can come straight out of your kitchen! Her dedication to her home provokes a deeper insight into the role of today’s woman and her versatility in the dual capacity of mother and entrepreneur.
“One shouln’t go through life being who ‘they’ tell you to do, be yourself and have fun doing it”
ALERO ADOLLO
INDUSTRY: BANKING
WEARING: YARA X PENELOPE
Alero Adollo is the Head of Private Banking at FCMB PLC. She is a driven professional with experience in Consumer, Commercial, Retail and Electronic banking. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Masters in International Law and Diplomacy #TITAN💫
TOKINI PETERSIDE
INDUSTRY: CREATIVE
WEARING: MALI
Tokini Peterside is the Founder of ART X. Born and raised between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, Tokini obtained a first-class degree in law from the London School of Economics & Political Science and an MBA from INSEAD. #UNREAL ☄️ After working in luxury brand management for the Moët-Hennessy Group, she moved into the worlds of art, culture and design with TP-Collective, a strategy consultancy she founded in 2012 that supported entrepreneurs developing new businesses such as ALARA (the David Adjaye-designed luxury concept store that also houses NOK Restaurant) and ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ (the film based on Chimamanda Adichie’s novel, starring Thandie Newton and Chiwetel Ejiofor). In 2016, Tokini created ART X, and has since served as the director of the organisation which stages annually ART X Lagos, the premier international contemporary art fair in West Africa; awards the ART X Prize, an annual prize providing funding, mentoring and residency support to emerging artists; as well as hosts ART X Live! - an art and music festival. In 2018 she was named one of the Quartz Africa Innovators, a list of the continent’s Top 30 pioneers #TRAILBLAZER 👠
“I would say that for the last five years, I have dedicated my career to working in the culture sector. I have worked in fashion, film, music and the art. I have also been collecting art for about 10 years. ”
BIDEMI ZAKARIYAU
INDUSTRY: PUBLIC RELATIONS
WEARING: KIMORA MONO
Bidemi Zakariyau is the Founder & CEO of LSF|PR, a full service public relations agency with core competencies in corporate communications, consumer and lifestyle brands.
Awarded the Best Law Student during her Business Foundation degree at Brooke House College, Leicestershire, England, Bidemi went on to study Law at the University of Sheffield. After university she interned at two top tier law firms in Lagos, in the same year she enrolled at the Nigerian Law School. While at law school, Bidemi founded LSF|PR, the agency’s clients include global and local brands including Philips, Branch, TREXM Oil and Gas Services, Baker Hughes (a GE Company), Remy-Cointreau, Williams Grants and Sons, Godrej and many more.
Under Bidemi's leadership, LSF|PR received a certificate of excellence by the SABRE Awards (2018) – the world’s biggest PR awards programme, dedicated to benchmarking the best PR work across the globe. In December 2018, the agency won the PR Campaign of the Year (Africa Category) at the African PR Excellence Awards in Dublin, Ireland. Bidemi has been listed by Forbes Africa as one of the innovators and game-changers in business on the prestigious 30 Under 30 list (2018), African Woman Leader by CMO Asia (2018), Rising PR Practitioner by the Nigerian Institute of public Relations – Lagos Chapter (2017). In 2016 she won the Future Awards for Media Enterprise.
Bidemi is a member of The Nigerian Bar Association and The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations. In 2016, she was appointed to join the board of Réle. Bidemi runs a mentorship program for women between the ages of 18-30 and a career develop program for entry level job seekers. #HEAVYWEIGHT 🏆
“Self-belief is important if you want to achieve anything. It’s also important that you have a clear vision and you are intentional about achieving your goals to prevent yourself from being pulled in different directions”
DR. MYMA BELO-OSAGIE
INDUSTRY: LEGAL
WEARING: CARRIE
Dr. Myma A. Belo-Osagie is Senior Partner in the law firm of Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie where she currently focuses primarily on advising international corporates establishing businesses in Nigeria.
Dr. Belo-Osagie holds an LL.B (1975) from the University of Ghana, Legon, and an LL.M (1978) and SJD (1985) from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. She was called to the Ghana Bar in 1977 after obtaining a BL at the Ghana Law School in that same year; and subsequently called to the New York Bar in 1983. She attended the Nigerian Law School from 1983 to 1984 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1984 as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Dr. Belo-Osagie is married; a mother of four; and serves as a board member on a number of Nigerian and international companies and trustee/board member of several Nigerian and international not-for-profit and non-governmental organisations.
In addition to her academic and professional qualifications Dr. Belo-Osagie is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences #MATRIARCH 👑
SHE, SS/19 LFW BTS
SHE, SS/19 LFW RUNWAY
