Businesswomen From Nigeria

"Key global trends such as Brexit, the rising wave of populist and anti-globalization sentiments anchored by emerging bilateralism, divergent monetary policy stance of the advanced central banks and disorderly commodity price movements will also affect monetary policy at home. These global developments coupled with domestic factors will make monetary policy management very difficult this year. Based on these, monetary policy management in Nigeria must be diligent and collaborative to achieve its objectives of price stability in the home front."

"The challenges are many. Oil price volatility and the unstable global environment are major challenges for Central Banking in Nigeria as they are causing growth challenges and other spill-over effects for the local economy. Central Banking in Nigeria is faced with other enormous challenges such as the size of Nigeria’s informal sector. Globally, developing/emerging economies are characterized by a big informal sector which causes a lot of limitations to Monetary Policy implantation and coverage because a majority of the participants in the sector are not using formal financial services and so cannot be captured formally."

"The independence of the Central Bank is necessary. The Bank needs the freedom and space to take a long view of what is best for the economy and take decisions accordingly. Central Banks have consistently moved towards policy independence to pursue policies free from political interference. Although no central bank can be entirely independent of government’s influence, it must be free to choose the instruments it needs to achieve its mandate. The Bank must also be free from fiscal dominance; that is a situation where fiscal considerations unduly dictate monetary policy."

"So I want to encourage us that whatever we need to do, let us do it right. We must not subject this institution to that type of incident again."

"The experience was humiliating for her and the entire management of the bank, said it was the first time that the bank would be investigated in its entire history."

"Throughout my period at the bank, I have one slight regret and that’s during the period I was acting governor. It was the time that the CBN was being investigated. It has never happened before that the activity of the CBN is under investigation."

"We went for the IMF meetings and when we met with investors, they asked us: ‘what is happening? We understand that there was some financial mismanagement in the CBN.’ It was humiliating."

"Poor financial literacy is another. It is only when the vast majority of the Nigerian population is financially literate that they can participate in the formal financial system; the reverse is the case."

"I think for me, that was a low point. The credibility for this institution was eroded. For an institution this important to be subjected to that is bad. At the end of the day, it was not just the CBN that suffered for it, but the economy as a whole did suffer."

"At the heart of the legal practice today, there are two essentials. The first is business. It is essential that a Law firm is run like a business. This means that the objective is to solve the client’s problem as efficiently as possible. In pursuit of this efficiency, there is a need for top quality support staff in addition to competent legal practitioners. The value of competent support staff is evident in the increasing number of law firms that employ the members of staff to occupy roles such as chief operation officer, head of human resources, practice managers and other similar staff. The second essential for a 21st Century legal practice is ethics. It is of utmost importance that the ethics are not compromised on."

"Your feelings are valid. Feeling like giving up means you still have a small amount of motivation to carry on. As someone who was once in that position, I’d advise them to measure where they are now compared to where they were in the past. The growth, no matter how small, shows their dreams are still valid. Build a solid foundation, block out the noise from naysayers and enjoy the ride."

"STAY PRAYERFUL."

"Corona has always maintained a reputation for academic excellence. But what we were lacking at the time was a sense of the world around us. We didn’t have much general knowledge; that was why we started this quiz – to help our students appreciate the importance of knowing what is going on outside of their particular bubble"

"I felt that we needed something iconic that would change our city, change the way we see ourselves and also change the way the world sees us."

"I taught myself to make furniture and then started a furniture factory that still exists. But I realized I wanted to be around creative people. I started to travel within Africa, and discovered people making fashion and design pieces that were contemporary iterations of what you see traditionally—not what we would call contemporary in the Western sense, but in our context. And I thought that was very intriguing."

"I got the impression that although people were making these things, they didn’t feel as though what they were making was good enough to be on a certain level. A lot of what people were doing hadn’t been properly celebrated and there were these very beautiful, very well-crafted African items that people didn’t know about."

"I understand the connection: female founders, a strong and unique point of view, curated and presented with a focus on art and its interaction with fashion. But our mission is different: upliftment."

"It’s about beautifully made, bright, colorful, expressive things that have a story behind them. It’s about art, clothing, and design that’s unique and beautiful. It’s African but contemporary"

"I decided it would be interesting to have the best stuff from all over the world along with the very best from Africa all in the same space to get people from outside Africa to see what was possible, but also to get people in Africa to understand the value of what they had. It was a bit of an education on both sides."

"We are selling our culture. We’ve clearly become an epicenter for cultural exchange for all kinds of creative people. In my native Yoruba language, alára means “wondrous performer, one who thrills endlessly”—that’s how we see African fashion and design, and how we want global audiences to experience it and embrace it."

"I used to spend a lot of time with artists and designers and I had a lot of friends that were doing creative things and I enjoyed spending time with them."

"We will open people’s eyes to the incredible creative renaissance that is growing in Africa and how seamlessly it functions as a part of the global conversation of style."

"Going beyond luxury retail, we’ve become a platform for exchange across all the creative disciplines. Our curation is trusted, and our network authentic."

"Alara was conceived to show the world who we are today, to share how we live and to show Africans that we have a lot to be proud of, that we create and enjoy objects of exceptional quality and beauty, to celebrate those who have done it, and to support and encourage those who wish to exchange, educate, elevate and beautify."

"I have a huge vision, huge passion and huge ambition."

"We are women. We are meant to rule the world. We are super."

"ALÁRA was created to be a window to the world, an authentic curation of contemporary Africa...[it is also] a symbol of my personal journey of self affirmation and belief...a fulfillment of a burning desire to celebrate and elevate a lot of what I had come across on my journeys in Africa."

"Brands I believe embody the spirit of today’s Africa in terms of aesthetic and culture, luxury and fashion brands that people know, love and aspire to own and exceptional African brands."

"The luxury of having a purpose, identifying it and being able to realise it. It's rare, it's valuable and it's is covetable. That's Luxury"

"My love and appreciation for beautiful things and my value for artisanal products and respect for artisanship."

"I am surrounded by beautiful products with great history culturally and was always inspired by our own version of Luxury. I felt we needed a platform that challenged us into making traditional luxury objects covetable by ourselves and the rest of the world. Also I looked around and saw that we have great taste and love of Luxury but not many people were investing in retail in a formal way. I am also aware that Luxury Retail is becoming very experiential and that creating our own unique version of luxury retail will be interesting educative and inspiring."

"The exceptional beauty and versatility of Timber and the variety and abundance that we have here. Again the skills of the makers. For me honing those skills to produce simple streamlined and sophisticated designs is rewarding."

"I think we needed a symbol of what is now called the African renaissance, a showpiece that is unapologetic in its approach about who we are today,...that we have people who make and consume luxury and that we have done it all by ourselves."

"I devote a lot of time reading about and consuming the different art forms that we live with. I have tried to paint, I have made furniture, I have designed clothes, and I have always created experiences."

"When I’m trying to define African luxury, and this is not an exclusive definition, it has to benefit the person who’s buying it in terms of its value, but it also must benefit the person who was making it and the people in that chain of making it."

"Reni is showcasing the best and brightest in a way that allows them to shine – and the exhibition is doing the same."

"It was important for us to have an aesthetic that we believed was our aesthetic...we chose designers who reflected the ideas of bold, unapologetic beauty, [had a] conscience and celebrated craftsmanship. We realised quite fast that people wanted to pay for brands they knew and coveted and if we were to succeed we had to first of all listen to our market, get them super comfortable with us and then start to explore other brands."

"There’s a great appetite for consumption of luxury goods by Nigerians, but in terms of experiential retail with a concept...that is completely new...We have definitely had to educate the customer with regard to African Luxury, getting them to pay more for African goods that they have hitherto seen as craft and substandard."

"Reni Folawiyo is a pioneer whose determination and vision have created a contemporary visual language for African luxury. Architecturally, the concept of the Alára store is a celebration of design talent—an architectural promenade through the different parts of the program. Socially, Reni Folawiyo has carved a way to promote emerging talent while establishing a creative hub and an essential new destination for Lagos."

"tailoring is a form of creation that doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to garment making."

"There are a lot of challenges, but that which is of major concern is getting Nigerians who are so detailed to craft the designs we work on and give it the finesse we expect I think is something lacking in this country"

"Love God, Be persistent, Burn that Ship."

"More women and girls need to know what feminism really means so that when they are pushing the cause, they will know what they are fighting for exactly and tailor their efforts towards getting positive results from it."

"It is not about being popular but about being impactful."

"Culture is the bedrock of human civilization, it not only gives a sense of belonging and identity but also has the power to transform entire society, strengthen local communities and forge a sense of identity and belonging for people of all ages."

"People that think models are not spiritual need to free their minds and not try to box people."

"Many people know you to be an educationist but not many know that you were a big time trader who began at the age of nine."

"That is not true. Both installations were done openly and there’s nothing hidden about the two titles; there is nothing mystical about it. Iyalode means prime minister of the womenfolk. It requires someone who has integrity and who’s hardworking."

"Teaching is like a calling, you must be trained for it and you must have passion for it."

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Pray and get along with your life."