Liliane Ingabire: an entrepreneurial mindset = opportunity
For many fashion conscious buyers in Kenya, there is nothing quite like the experience of having a piece of clothing tailor-made by a professional with an eye for both design and detail.
“Before enrolling in DOT’s program I had a passion for fashion, as I would design my own clothes and jewelry, but I didn’t have a plan to start a business,” says Liliane Ingabire. Liliane, who finished her secondary education last year, joined DOT’s entrepreneurship training at Tamuka Hub to gain some skills as she waited to join university for her computer science course.
As she went through the program at the Kivuli Centre in Kabiria, Liliane learnt about the various opportunities that were available in her community and was able to learn how to turn her passion into a business. Her main takeaway from the program was the exercise of determining the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). During this period she was able to shape her business and niche customers.
After the MVP session Liliane discovered that her passion for fashion would help her to establish her business. Using the knowledge she had gained she decided to start designing African apparels and jewellery including bangles and necklaces for her customers.
She began by designing her own clothes and jewellery which she would wear as a marketing strategy. People would be intrigued with the unique and elaborate designs and would request her to design their attires. Her designing ventures begun while she was in high school and continued after high school where she would make outfits for her family and friends. She got her first breakthrough at Kivuli Centre when she showcased her designs during an exhibition and was able to reach a wider clientele from the local community.
Since she knows there is a market for her products, Liliane makes designs as requested by clients but also creates ready-made designs that she sells to other clients as ready-made outfits. She is working towards establishing partnerships with a network of tailors who can help bring her designs to life for both ready-made and client requested designs.
“In the future, I want to establish a store that will house the designers and tailors who are able to create the various designs,” she comments. The shop will allow her to grow her jewelry accessory business which will complement the outfits she designs.
For her education, she is currently applying for scholarships to join the university early next year. By this time she hopes to have developed her business to help her cater for her educational costs, a burden she would like to lessen on her mother.
