BY JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE
ANNE Ekwueme, is the creative director at Zibah by Anne Ekwueme, a fashion outfit that started in 2015. In this interview with Saturday Sun, she spoke about how it all started, her passion for Nigeria and the children as well as the importance of a strong family unit.
How has your background influenced your work?
Well, I’m a wife and mother of four children. I majored in history at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria for my undergraduate degree. Later, I completed an MBA in addition to a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management. I am a graduate of Rhema Bible Training Centre, Nigeria. I’ve also completed courses in public policy because I have an interest in national policy especially in Nigeria. I’ve been involved in a few things but in this season, the burden that I carry on my heart is for the nation Nigeria.
What inspired you to start Zibah By Anne Ekwueme?
I’ve always had a knack for business and fashion. I remember asking my mum for a loan of N10,000 when I was 18 or 19 so I could make clothes in Zaria and sell them in Lagos during the holidays. In 2002, I ran a business for a short while in Port Harcourt until I realised that I wanted to focus on my family.
So I gave up the business to be a stay-at-home mum. While on a business trip in Istanbul with a friend, I walked into this fabric store and it was as though I’d just walked into my purpose. I went in to buy fabrics for myself but I ended up buying fabrics for sale. So that’s where it all started.
In 2015, I started the brand, Zibah By Anne Ekwueme, selling fabric and making clothes, even though we’ve now evolved into a full ready to wear brand and bespoke occasion wear. At some point I perceived the Lord say to me, “clothe my daughters”. At the time I thought He was speaking about a specific group of people but as I stayed with the Lord, the instruction became clearer to me.
So what’s the unique selling point of your brand?
The brand is a classic contemporary one. The aim is that I want my outfits to remain in your wardrobe for as long as possible. So, even though we follow trends, that doesn’t define us because we aim to create timeless pieces.
Concerning fusing the old and the new, this is due to the abundance of historical material especially from my work on the Kathryn Kulman collection.
While working on that collection, it was my intention to remind myself and those around me that we all have tremendous potential. As a practising believer in Jesus Christ, there’s so much more that you are able to bring to life in everything that you do. In my opinion, Kathryn Kulman was a woman God sent to both her generation and ours. She was a stylish lady and her understanding of the Holy Spirit was profound. She had such a deep relationship with God that during her meetings before she appeared on stage, people were healed of terrible illnesses.
In summary, working on that collection was about being able to inform women out there that, despite her apparent perfection, Kathryn Kulman was not without problems but God still used her in spite of her flaws. So God is not looking for perfect people to use. He says, “come and give me your heart. Give me all of your mess and I will turn it around and use it as I desire.”
There has been some drama with some women in government here, including stories of stealing and so on. What’s your advice?
I think the real problem is that we have bought into a wrong narrative. We have become reactionary rather than proactive as women. First of all, the slogan “what a man can do a woman can do better” is misleading. That’s because a woman is very different from a man, there’s no competition. So, first I must accept that as a woman, I am a nurturer. Unfortunately, rather than understand that we are nurturers
who play a vital role in society, we took on the narrative of competing with men. So what I’ll say, especially to women in the marketplace, is that there’s nothing wrong with you being a woman. I love my position as a woman. It’s a position of strength. If we embrace our womanhood as God designed it, we will function in our real identity. As a woman, you must embrace the truth that God created you as His female expression. When a woman brings her value as a nurturer, nobody can deny it. So let’s stop being reactionary to men. Let’s find our identity, who we are in God and then we will begin to operate successfully from there. Be so congruent with your identity that no one is able to make you feel like a lesser person.
And when it comes to governance?
Every policy in a nation is intertwined with the family unit. If women understood that we have a responsibility to protect the family, our approach to certain matters will be different. We must understand
that we have been gifted with intuition, the ability to build and to solve problems. So when we are given the honour to serve our nation, we must come to then table with the strength of a nurturer as builders and
preservers of our dear country. With that mindset, we would do better in governance.
Earlier you mentioned that your focus is on classic designs but I know that is not cheap. Do you have something for everybody?
You know because we’re a classic brand, the people I serve range between the late 20s to their 80s. Classic luxury contemporary isn’t cheap but because everyone loves having classic pieces in their wardrobe, the people I serve come from all walks of life.
What has been the biggest challenge in establishing and growing your brand?
I started this business when Nigeria went into recession in 2015. As a nurturer, I didn’t have a lot of problems with human resources, like most people would complain, because I don’t bring people in as mere staff. I bring them in as team members and create a family atmosphere. I help people see the value in themselves; that way it changes their approach to work. So the main challenge when I started was electricity, but right now, there is the added challenge of inflation. As you know, we don’t necessarily produce anything as a nation; everything is imported. This is sad for a nation blessed with so much natural and human resources.
Another challenge I see is that we are not able to cater for our children as a nation. It’s sad that there’s no infrastructure and legacy in place for them to build on. There are no sustainable skills acquisition centres, no lasting platforms to encourage vocational work and even the existing educational system is faulty.
I’m sure there is a remedy. So what would be your advice?
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to these issues but I believe that the first thing that is needed is a love for our nation. It’s sad but we do not love and care for our nation Nigeria, particularly the stakeholders. A reorientation is needed for everyone on every level. Reorientation may lead to hope because if you take away a man’s hope there’s nothing left.
Our children have lost hope in us, so the primary thing is to let our children know that we care. Starting with the family unit as an example, parents have the responsibility to express love for our
children through affirming words and actions like “I love you. Thank you” or getting a hug that communicated “you’ve done well”. As a nation, our children need to know that we care for them and they need to see the legacy that we are leaving for them.
Does that explain why everyone is running away?
Yes it does. Once a person loses hope, there’s nothing left. Children shouldn’t have to question their parents’ love and commitment to them. It is our responsibility as parents to reassure our children but right now as a nation, our children are struggling.They’re fighting to validate and reassure themselves that they matter in the grand scheme of things.
In the midst of all these challenges, are there memorable milestones from your business you want to share?
Yes, there are. When I started the business initially, there wasn’t a lot of clarity but as I went on I realised that I was not on the scene just to make money, I was there to change the narrative. So I say to people that I don’t sell clothes in that sense; I sell a lifestyle. I sell a lifestyle that lets people know, “you are royalty” and it’s not dependent on you buying my clothes.
No! But when you come in contact with me, I help you see how valuable you are to God. On this journey, I’ve seen the lives of the people that I have worked with me as a team change. We’ve gone on to have a leadership initiative, where we’ve reached over 2000 women, teaching them about their identity, leadership and creating niche markets wherever they are by the value they bring.
In the course of the initiative, some women we trained were not necessarily entrepreneurs or in the corporate world but as they went through the programme, it made them realise their identity and they began to walk in it. For me one of the biggest successes of my journey as an entrepreneur is that I’m able to see lives change.
We ran an initiative in a community in the outskirts of Abuja (Karimu) for two and a half years before it was demolished. Every Sunday, for almost three years, we shared the gospel of Jesus and fed over 230
people. We also taught them entrepreneurial skills and gave them skill funding for their businesses.
While on this project, I had strict instructions from God not to solicit funds from anyone so this business funded it.
With the dollar skyrocketing, how do you cope with bringing in materials and still make profit?
This might sound like a cliché but God has been extremely good and faithful to me. I have realised that it is critical to hear God for yourself because it will save your life. In 2019, I remember when the Lord instructed me to start a cheaper line of the business. I launched that line in June 2019 exactly and in 2020 COVID happened. Because I heard and obeyed God, I didn’t lose a dime throughout the lockdown. I
was making money every day that right after COVID I increased the salaries of my team members.
After the lockdown ended, I discontinued that clothing line because it was just for that season. So looking back, I can say, it is so important to hear God. I’m not focusing on inflation, I’m focusing on providing value because that’s how I thrive. Another reassuring thing for me is that, when there was famine in Egypt, the priests of Pharaoh who
were priests for their gods were taken care of. He en- sured that their own portion was not tampered with.
In spite of everything, they didn’t go out looking for food because they were priests.
How much more a priest of God according to the order of Melchizedek,which I am?
So, my focus is to continue in my position as a priest and a king and that means working with and obeying the Lord’s instructions on a daily
Basis. Of course, we would encounter challenges but I don’t frame myself in them by meditating on the problems. I take one day at a time and trust in God’s leading and guidance.
How does Zibah by Anne Ekwueme approach sustainability and ethical practices in its production process?
We try to reduce waste as much as possible, and our employment and company policies are in line with prevailing labour laws. We give back to the community and our team members through targeted initiatives and capacity building workshops.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start their own fashion or lifestyle brand?
Solve problems, think for the people you serve (your clients) and anticipate their needs, respect their money, learn how to manage crisis and create value. Always give more in value than you receive
in payment for your services. You are on earth not just to make money but to solve problems and to transform lives.
What other things are you passionate about aside from fashion, leadership and how are you pushing them?
I am passionate about children and teenagers. I started an initiative for
teenagers in 2014 called Purity Rocks. Our children are being cultured by social media at a very tender age and fail to see the honour of living a life of purity.
The current instruction I have as it concerns our nation is to restore honour in our homes, teaching our children the fifth commandment to “honour your father and your moth- er so that your days will be long” (Exodus 20:12) and in the New Testament, a blessing is added – “so it will be well with you” (Ephesians 6:3) He said to us that if we would teach our children that, the major problem with the next generation will be half solved.
How do you juggle your many roles as an entrepreneur, a minister of God, a wife and a mother?
I have an extremely supportive husband. He has given me wings to fly. So that’s where it starts from and I am so grateful to God for him. I also have a strong support system at home. My domestic workers, who are now family to me, have been very supportive. Another thing is that I didn’t venture into the world of entrepreneurship until after 10 years of marriage and by then the children were not so young anymore. So that afforded me a lot of flexibility. I am also intentional about eliminating stress in my life. My advice to young mothers is to be content; refuse the pressure and navigate whatever season
you’re in with grace. If your husband’s income can sustain you, please embrace staying at home and raising your children. If you can get a job that is flexible, fantastic. Right now, both parents cannot afford to be out there and none of them is actively engaged in raising the children.