PRINCESS OGHENE
I’m Creating Economic Empowerment for Women Using Fashion
An entrepreneur par excellence, Princess Kelechi Oghene represents a new pedigree of female entrepreneurs that will champion the economic advancement of future Nigeria. In this Interview with Azuka Ogujiuba, she reveals how her establishment, the house of GMYT is transforming the lives of Nigerian women, from the richest to the less privileged through fashion.
What’s GMYT all about? GMYT is coined from God’s Might. So it is actually pronounced ‘GeeMight’ but we spell it as ‘GMYT’. House of GMYT is the parent company of GMYT Couture, GMYT Salon, GMYT Fashion Academy, GMYT Modeling and now we are about to launch GMYT Foundation. At GMYT Couture we do head-to-toe bespoke couture. We take briefs from clients and create the apparels of their dream. We also bead apparels and customise them for clients, enabling them to stand out in the crowd. The GMYT Salon came about because most of the times, we had our clients trying to meet appointments with their stylists and at the same time having to come and try out their outfits. So we decided to create the salon, complete with makeup and pedicure.
GMYT Fashion Academy is trying to create the next generation of fashion entrepreneurs. We provide classes on free hand design and you have patterned design. We also teach the business management aspect of fashion. After training, we also retain our students as staff fashion designers, illustrators or instructors for the company. We place them in employments through our referrals and then we also empower them to start up their own enterprises. We are committed to creating well rounded fashion entrepreneurs. Then we have the GMYT events and modeling company and the GMYT Foundation. We are launching it on June 25. The objective is to raise resources through philanthropy and use it to train women on scholarships at the GMYT Academy.
When did you start as a fashion entrepreneur?
I have been in business for 11 years now. I started with a boutique. Then I was reading Management Sciences at Lagos State University as a part-time student. So I was running my business and studying at the same time. I did that until at a point in time after school when I decided that it was time for me to introduce my own brand and label. So I started the GMYT Couture. Last December, I launched House of GMYT officially to serve as a parent company to all my businesses after 11 years. My mother was a fashion designer and my siblings are involved in fashion business as well. Growing up, my mother made it compulsory that we all went to school and at the same time also learnt a skill. We all had to learn how to make dresses; how to bake; how to style and braid hair. My brother was taught how to make suits.
At the starting stage I was completely dependent upon the skills and knowledge from my basic training at my mother’s workshop. She owned a supermarket, a boutique and fashion business and she was into beadmaking. Her great attention to detail and her perseverance rubbed off on me. So I go all the way in getting close to perfection when I am making apparels for clients. So far, I have taken every course in fashion design and even though I may not have time to sew, I can easily do that if the situation arises. I am the creative director of my business. I create designs for all clients, supervise the making of the apparels and ensure that quality standards are not compromised. Currently I am advancing my business skills with a programme at Lagos Business School.
Why did you establish GMYT Foundation?
To empower women and enable them to create wealth – it is about ending poverty. I have the couture, salon and other businesses, yet running the foundation gives me satisfaction. Money cannot buy that. I am happy training people and watching them create designs and earn a living. The foundation is for less privileged. Initially, I spent 10 per cent of my earnings in funding these scholarships. But it is getting bigger. This is why I want to create visibility for what I am doing. I cannot do it all alone. I need support from people who are of the right disposition and interest. I have the capacity to teach a hundred students in the foundation. But I will need help with their kits, materials and equipment. If you look at the structure of the classes, to maintain the standard, it costs a lot more than just paying tuitions.
I have two foundation students that will graduate this month alongside 16 others from the academy. We have four students now studying under the foundation and we have 10 more on the waiting list.
When do you intend to launch the foundation?
The GMYT Foundation will be launched on June 25 at the Oriental Hotel. We have a fairly robust list of top philanthropists and high achievers who will grace the event. The official launch will coincide with the graduation and there will be a pop-up fashion show at which the graduating students will demonstrate their skills.
What has kept GMYT going? We have an excellent structure in place. We did a detailed research before we are able to create and implement this structure. We do ‘oneon- one’ training with every student. My students are people who already have a lot of disposable income. Most of them are highly accomplished and have their own homes with a lot of experience and responsibilities. They are highly exposed and knowledgeable. So we had to build a curriculum that fits into their system. We teach them at their own pace. We ensure that they get value for money and that we do not give them the feeling of having gone back to school. Most of them came thinking that they are coming to learn just an extra hobby,