The chief executive officer of House of Tara International, Tara Fela-Durotoye has begun taking the message of Nigeria’s massive business opportunities across the globe – making premium appearances on several global platforms including the New York Forum Africa (NYFA), France 24 and Africa 24 by Reuters.
Mrs. Fela-Durotoye was a panelist on the Entrepreneurship Taskforce at the New York Forum Africa, which took place between 23 and 25 May in Libreville, Gabon alongside Madeline Berre, Managing Partner, Deloitte (Gabon), Jon Gosier, Founder, D8A Group and Appfrica (United States), and Dan Shine, Curator, The Innovation Hangar (United States).
The panel moderated by Dr. Martyn Davies, Chief Executive Officer, Frontier Advisory (South Africa) discussed issues including the growth of Africa’s economy across countries, support and sustainability for enterprisers and the long-term benefit of keeping African entrepreneurs on the continent.
“There is no real African beauty brand that can be exportable; we want to build a beauty brand that can be exported to the world,” Mrs. Fela Durotoye said on NYFA TV. “I think that our story is amazing; I think it’s a story the world wants to hear, I think it’s going to play a role in rebranding the whole of the continent.”
She also spoke to Stephanie Antoine of The Interview on France 24 about the global brand House of Tara is now building. She shared on the challenges of first developing a career in beauty in Nigeria and then securing funds to establish an enduring business. “For us at House of Tara,” she said. “Creating a business that impacts and generates income, developing micro entrepreneurs who will grow their business and employ more people so as to make the Nigerian economy better is what’s most
important.”
Mrs. Fela–Durotoye was also asked about the threat from Boko Haram and insecurity in Nigeria. She talked about developing empowerment centres in Maiduguri with a pool of different trades to teach them skills and build their capacity, so that they can boost self-esteem and regain hope in country and the future.
Above all, she was upbeat about the huge potential for growth of business in Africa. “If you start to see more successful businesses that are playing on a global level, the story of Africa will begin to change,” she said.
It will be recalled that in February, House of Tara had announced plans for its international expansion with rollout of 20 studios across Nigeria and presence in Kenya and Ghana by the end of 2014.