By Dipo Olowookere
Kemi Adu graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from a renowned tertiary institution in Nigeria. Embarking on her mandatory 1-year national service in Kano, she hoped for a better placement in a plum job.
While in Kano, she submitted her resume to numerous companies but was never called in for an interview. Daily searching within herself to understand the career that would make her happy, she halfheartedly hoped to be retained after her NYSC programme, while she decided what she wanted.
Kemi served as a teacher in public primary school. Though she was excited, she was worried that one month into the end of her service, there seemed to be no good job in sight. More importantly, she was afraid that she might be unable to reach her full potential.
Young, intelligent, with a vibrant and vivacious personality, she had quickly recognised the connection that the internet afforded social media users. She knew she was good with the people, so it didn’t surprise her when she garnered a large active following, as she consistently provided different posts on current and relatable issues. But this wasn’t enough – she wanted something that belonged to her completely.
Frustrated about her failure to get a good job, she decided to get married to any capable man who could provide for her. Six months after she met Seun, she was engaged. While Kemi was happy that her new fiancé was rich and always willing to spend, she remained unfulfilled. A month into the wedding, she broke up with him.
Looking to share new content on Instagram, she saw the House of Tara International’s 1000 Voices creative on her mentor’s handle. After reading the caption describing the beauty entrepreneurial summit, she wondered why she had failed to notice it before. Suddenly depressed, she tapped twice to ‘like’ and dropped her phone.
“There’s still next year”, she thought to herself.
Throughout the week, she watched out for videos and pictures from the event. She saw testimonials from male and female entrepreneurs, especially those who were just like her – trying to find their own voices through their dreams. Although she knew none of them, she could relate to their ambitions.
Few days later, Kemi saw an interesting Instagram post on the ‘SAVVY TRYBE’, another initiative from House of Tara International, from the same mentor. Moments later, she visited the official website indicated on the online artwork.
She was stunned to discover that House of Tara has always been committed to women empowerment and supporting female entrepreneurs in Nigeria’s beauty industry, especially with the launch of SAVVY TRYBE. Positioned as a platform to help women earn extra cash and be their own boss, entrepreneurs were also encouraged to build connection with influential beauty entrepreneurs under the mentoring programme.
She was certain that she had found exactly what she wanted all along. Knowing that she fit all the criteria to join, she clicked the ‘Register’ tab on the SAVVY TRYBE website and she began by typing her name.
