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!