Bellafricana published in News

3rd Edition of The African Creative Exhibition and Awards (ACE Awards)

3rd Edition of The African Creative Exhibition and Awards (ACE Awards)

Bellafricana is set to hold the 3rd Edition of the annual African Creative Exhibition and Awards (ACE Awards) which will take place on Friday, the 29th of October, 2021 at the BWC HOTELS, Victoria Island, Lagos Nigeria.

Bellafricana is a tech-enabled community that provides a platform for creative entrepreneurs in the fashion, arts & craft, health & beauty, home & living, food produce & snacks industry, to gain visibility, increase sales, have the right business support and structure that gives them the capacity to grow their business. 

One of the many ways Bellafricana provides visibility is by giving recognition to these creative entrepreneurs, hence why it’s so exciting to announce the 3rd Edition.

The Annual African Creative Exhibition and Awards (ACE Awards) aims to laud the creative works of Nigerians (Africans) and is certainly one of the strongest tools in awakening creative, innovative and entrepreneurship drive in young people in Nigeria and indeed Africa.

The past 2 editions have garnered more than 6000 participants from different states in Nigeria and other parts of Africa; Captains of Industry, Upwardly Mobile Youth, Marketers, Trade Delegations & Missions, Procurement Officers, Brand and Business Managers, Art Lovers, Investors, Governmental Representatives as well as policymakers meet at this one-day event that is aimed at celebrating creativity and innovation. 

The aim of the ACE Awards remains the same:
  1. To acknowledge and celebrate creative and innovative works made by Nigerians (Africans).
  2. Honouring the creative and tenacious spirit of the African producer.
  3. Encouraging and inspiring new talents within the various Pan African industries through its annual program.

3rd Edition of The African Creative Exhibition and Awards (ACE Awards)

3rd Edition of the annual African Creative Exhibition and Awards (ACE Awards) would bring together the best creative minds in the fields of fashion, Arts & Craft, Health & Beauty, Home & Living, and Food Produce & Snacks Industry including 15 Creative Entrepreneurs that would benefit highly from this event. Preserving the African culture and promoting these Creatives, this year’s theme is “Creativity and Innovation in Nation Building”.  

Bukky Asehinde, Managing Director at Bellafricana says “Everyone likes a pat on the back when they have done something good. Our mission for the ACE Awards is to give these Creative Businesses a platform to receive the recognition they have long deserved. In showing our support and following what we do at Bellafricana, we would be granting some creative entrepreneurs business support worth $2,500.

The event has been endorsed by the Lagos State Government, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Nigeria-Britain Association.

ACE Awards 2021 has also received backing from the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Digital Marketing Skill Institute (DMSI), Access Bank & W Community, Business Day, Inside Watch Africa, Exquisite Magazine, Jordan FM, Cybertron, Pulse Ng, Pride magazine Nigeria and many more.

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s event is going to be a bit different. While it would still be a 3 part event, there will be online Flash sales, a physical Exhibition for a limited number of brands, which would run simultaneously with the Creatives’ Connect Networking Event and the ACE Awards Dinner which will be held at the peak of the event.

Event Details [ACE Awards Dinner]:

Theme: “Creativity and Innovation in Nation Building”

Dinner Theme: “A touch of Africa”

Date: Friday, October 29, 2021

Venue: BWC HOTELS, 1228B Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos Nigeria (Opposite Eko Atlantic).

Time for Awards Dinner: 6:00pm – 9:00pm

For partnership and sponsorship details, please contact the organizers;

Call: (+234) 808 636 3970

Email: [email protected]; [email protected] 

Register: https://aceawardsafrica.com/ 

Creatives Connect.

CREATIVES CONNECT - 3rd Edition of The African Creative Exhibition and Awards (ACE Awards)

The Creative Connect is an event created purposefully for creative entrepreneurs to meet, connect, bond and network amongst themselves. It provides access to a networking session with SME owners, creative entrepreneurs, Industry leaders and creatives from all walks of life discussing how they settled in to work during the pandemic and moving forward; essential business advice, collaborations and so much more. Bellafricana is always finding ways to help both upcoming and established creatives to harness the resources available to build their businesses stronger. And this event is just one of them.

In that same vein, Bellafricana would be giving business support worth $2,500 to several lucky creative entrepreneurs.

Event Details:

The Creatives Connect Theme: “Connect, Converse and Collaborate”

Date: Friday, October 29, 2021

Venue: BWC HOTELS, 1228B Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos Nigeria (Opposite Eko Atlantic).

Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm

Register: https://aceawardsafrica.com/creative-connect/#registration

Register now, as limited slots are available.
Exhibition & Flash sales

INTERESTED IN EXHIBITING? 3rd Edition of The African Creative Exhibition and Awards (ACE Awards)

Why attend? This is a great way to connect, network and shop!

It is the tradition to host an exhibition where attendees get the opportunity to buy quality Nigerian creative products on a large scale. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, only a limited number of brands would be hosted at this one of a kind offline and online shopping experience.

Bellafricana will be hosting you physically at the venue and virtually at flash sales which will showcase quality fast-selling creative products and you can buy them at the click of a button.

The watchword at Bellafricana is Quality, to this effect; Be rest assured of the availability of top-quality creative African-owned businesses at the flash sales.

The 4 focus categories for the exhibition are:
  • Arts & Crafts
  • Fashion
  • Health & Beauty
  • Home & Living
Here are some of the benefits of Flash sales:
  1.     Access to New Market
  2.     Sales and New Contacts
  3.     Opportunity to Participate at future events/exhibitions
  4.     Gain Valuable Knowledge

This is one event you don’t want to miss.

Event Details [Exhibition]:

Venue: Offline at the Event Venue – BWC HOTELS, 1228B Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos Nigeria (Opposite Eko Atlantic). And Online on Bellafricana Marketplace Website – www.bellafricanashop.com

Date: Friday, the 29th October 2021

Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm

Register to attend: Exhibitions & Creatives connect 2021

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Bellafricana published in bellafricana

Bukky Asehinde, helping Entrepreneurs through her platform: Bellafricana

Bukky-Asehinde

Bukky Asehinde, helping Entrepreneurs through her platform: Bellafricana.

Whether they choose to admit it or not, the goal of every business or product owner is to be noticed and patronised by people outside the shores of their country.

One problem business owners have faced for years is making their products noticed by other consumers apart from those within their vicinity.

Getting products noticed by global consumers is always difficult for Africa’s creative women entrepreneurs, but this challenge represented an opportunity for Bukky Asehinde, Founder of Bellafricana. Her platform is giving visibility to Nigeria’s creative business owners and their quality products.

Bellafricana, is a platform that empowers, supports and connects quality, talented and creative indigenous businesses to their local and global consumers.

Starting with Nigeria, their goal is to take it one African Country at a time.

Bellafricana Flier

Bukky created a platform to enable creative MSMEs to thrive, whilst doing all it takes to bring the quality products to the forefront of the market. She believes very much that a support group/community for these businesses will enhance the non-oil export in the African economy.

Bukky was inspired to start this up when she noticed a rise in the number of creative indigenous (made in Nigeria, Africa) brands that have great quality, yet are struggling to grow their business with little or no financing from both the government and bigger institutions.

She wondered for a long time, “Why should we wait on financial backing from the government and big institutions to help this industry, when we can create a platform to connect these Indigenous businesses who are maximising raw materials in Nigeria (Africa), providing employment for local talents within the country and creating wealth for the Nation?”. And so she conducted a research, which made her realize that one of the major challenges these businesses were facing majorly has to do with marketing and understanding the trade, which is the heart of any business.

This birthed Bellafricana, a community that showcases the products of local entrepreneurs to a wider audience, both locally and globally.

Bukky finds satisfaction as an entrepreneur because she is able to contribute to the growth of the economy, making an impact that will outlive her, and touching lives.

Bukky Asehinde, helping Entrepreneurs through her platform: Bellafricana

Bukky Asehinde, helping Entrepreneurs through her platform: Bellafricana.

Her counsel to women who are trying to start a business is simple:

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH WISE & POSITIVE PEOPLE:

This is so vital especially when you know your personality type. I am an extrovert and a positive person, so having negative people around me was a no no. This I know has certainly helped my journey. Another key one is surrounding yourself with wise people, as the bible says also “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed”.

GET MENTORS:

It’s important to have mentors who key into the vision of what you do and are thought leaders in their various sectors not necessarily celebrities. How? (you might ask) by keeping a relationship with them and striking a mutually beneficial balance of what they do, they will give you more than their time when you show you care.”

Bellafricana is that “support system” every creative business owner needs to be globally accessible.

Follow Bukky Asehinde on Instagram: Bukky Aka Creatives MotherHen (@bukkyasehinde) • Instagram photos and videos

Article culled from: Bukky Asehinde Is Helping Creative Businesses Thrive With Her Bellafricana Platform – Women of Rubies

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Jemimah Iwok published in Articles

Chioma Ogbudimkpa knocks our socks off at this amazing webinar session

Bellafricana x Chioma Ogbudimkpa Webinar

 

Bellafricana x Chioma Ogbudimkpa Webinar

Whoop! Whoop!! Last week Thursday, we held a mind-blowing power session with the PITCH QUEEN herself. Chioma Ogbudimkpa.

Can you sense the excitement in my tone? That’s because that session knocked my socks off. Literally!

Before I get into the nitty-gritty, let me give you a little back story, and why I was excited.

This covid-19 period, Bellafricana is not slacking at all. We’re organizing webinar sessions with Industry experts, as well as intra-community webinars as well. These webinar arose as a result of a need to gain some insight into areas that would be of immense benefit to our members post covid-19.

One of such areas is funding. There are lots of events, funding opportunities, and so on to take advantage of. But one hindrance is usually when it’s time to PITCH your product, or idea. We realized that this is a big issue for a lot of business owners, and that was why we invited Chioma Ogbudimkpa.

 Why was Chioma Ogbudimkpa just totally perfect?

For a start, Chioma owns the famous ‘REDBUTTON’ fashion label with a strong focus on sustainability. She has won notable grants from the Tony Elumelu Foundation, She Leads Africa Accelerator and the recent ‘Friends of the Vice President’ award.

Chioma has been featured on CNN Africa, The United Nations Sustainability & Innovation Expo, Spice TV Africa and the Young African Leaders’ Initiative.

It is also noteworthy to mention that she is a winner of the African Prize of the Global Creative Business Cup and Nigeria Creative Enterprise (NICE) program 2019 -powered by the British Council.

She has showcased her fashion pieces at many international and continental fashion engagements.

Can you see why she was the right person to shower us with this knowledge?

Anyway, the D-day came, and so many participants signed up and the session kicked off. I learnt so much, but I will share just a little of these with you:

  1. Research

One word that resonated throughout that webinar was Research like never before. Research your Industry. Whilst you’re doing that, ensure that your research isn’t restricted. You want your brand to be seen on a global scale, then you broaden your research. Find out what is been done (or not ) and see how you can use that do develop a strong USP (Unique Selling Proposition). Research the organisation you want to pitch to. Research, Research, Research!

 

2. Articulate your Brand story Properly

Story telling and Pitching are two peas in a pod. To give a successful pitch, you must be a great story teller. That means you have to be able to tell your brands story as flawlessly as possible. You may ask:”What if I don’t have a Brand Story?” Well you HAVE TO HAVE one. Whether you started because you were passionate about your craft, because you needed to make money, or because you needed to do something to pass the time, you have to reach deep and think about the “WHY”. There will definitely be a story hidden there somewhere. That story is one thing your potential investor looks forward to hearing. S, you have to work on it.

3. Pitch From a Place of Value

This point can never be overemphasized. You can’t tell your audience that you’re pitching because you need money (even though in reality, that’s what you need). But let them know what your product or idea will solve, and how you’re helping them. Sustainability is the new gold, so find a way to attach your brand to one of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). It gives your brand more credibility.

 

I could keep writing, but I’ll Just stop here. How were the responses we got from the webinar?

I’ll let you see for yourself :

 

 

Comments like these give us the needed encouragement to stop at nothing to bring our audience more than their money’s worth of membership. That’s exactly what we do at Bellafricana. To enjoy more these and many more benefits that come with being a member of our amazing community, click on this link 

You can connect with Chioma here.

That’s a wrap on the amazing webinar series we had. Say tuned for more gist. Bye!

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We believe that every creative entrepreneur has a potential to grow sustainable global businesses. Bellafricana understands the challenges and is honored to be a part of the Creatives’ dream. Their dream is our dream

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