Be Inspired!
Showcasing Outstanding Startups In Africa. These women have started from the scratch
like everybody else, taking in every experience and learning from, it. Today, they
showcase an outstanding brand. These inspiring women share a desire for inspiring the
best in others through their lives and work – Be Inspired!
really excites me, as it is wonderful to make
something from what people normally
throw away.
INNOVATIVE WASTE DESIGN (IWD)
Founder: Colleen Deetlefs
Location: South Africa
Business Type: Product Manufacturing
Innovative Waste Design (IWD) is a
company that specializes in the up cycling
of different waste materials and empowering
the communities through training and job
creation. We manufacture different products
using old tyres and discarded tyre tubes. We
manufacture backpacks, fashion bags, laptop
bags and tyre furniture. The products do
sometimes start-off with a rubber smell. But
as one uses the product, the smell wears off.
CORNUCOPIA
Founder: Abimbola Osunkunle
Location: Nigeria
Business : Jewelry
At Cornucopia, we design, manufacture and
retail high quality handcrafted jewelry to
women of style, using semi precious stones
like corals, pearls and other gemstones.
Specifically, our aim is to help women
feel elegant everyday, wherever they find
themselves, whether they are at the office or at
40 Dabira Magazine
What Is The Inspiration Behind IWD?
I became an entrepreneur 20 odd years ago
when I started a clothing-manufacturing
factory. After my mom passed away I closed
the factory and I then became a clothing
and footwear buyer for 13 years. Then one
day I decided to quit. There was a need to
do something different from what other
people and companies were doing with up
cycling in South Africa, and I decided to
try working with discarded tyre tubes after
having seen it done internationally.
The products do sometimes start-off with a
rubber smell. But says Colleen, as one uses
the product, the smell wears off. I use my
products all the time. Working with waste
What Makes Your Brand Unique From
Other Competing Brand?
We are solving two problems that we are
facing right now. One is unemployment
and the other is waste. By purchasing our
products customers are helping us to solve
these problems and preventing waste from
ending up in landfill, and at the same time
creating employment for someone that was
previously disadvantaged.
Inspiring Words To Women Entrepreneurs
Follow your passion and never give up,
whatever life throws at you. Colleen Deetlefs
is a South African with a 20years experience
as an entrepreneur. IWD can be reached by
email: [email protected]
a wedding. Our jewelry pieces are deliberately
designed to be timeless, versatile, yet very
stylish. They usually become the pieces our
customers find themselves wearing all the
time. Our goal is for our customers to no
longer feel a need to visit Europe, or the US
to buy their jewelry. In fact our customers
often compare us to their jewelers in these
countries, usually with them expressing their
delight in finding us. I was good with my hands. I instinctively
knew how to put together jewelry compo-
nents to make pieces that people wanted to
wear. I was onto something! I resigned from
my banking job, set up shop on my dining
table at home, and focused on birthing and
growing Cornucopia. We have since grown,
with our showroom in a prime area of Lagos,
GRA Ikeja, and several outlets where our jew-
elry pieces are retailed.
What Is The Inspiration Behind Cornucopia?
As a young career woman, then working with
a bank, first in the Customer Service Unit and
then in Retail banking, I realized that It was
important for me own my time as I wanted
to be able to run my home as well as be
successful in business. It was at this point that
I realized that running my own business was
the way to go.
As I explored what would be a good fit for me,
i discovered a creative side to me and realized What Makes Your Brand Unique From Other
Competing Brand?
Our jewelry pieces reflect our ethos. We are
totally dedicated to inspiring elegance and
style in our clients, we continually up the ante
when it comes to our designs so that we can
satisfy our customers. We also committed to
ensuring that the Cornucopia experience is a
positively unforgettable one for anyone that
interfaces with us.
Back to Contents