Right from her undergraduate days, Morenike Oluyemi had always dreamt of becoming an entrepreneur. Her inspiration came from her father who ran a garri processing business while she was much younger.
One can say that it’s only very few young Nigerians who would dream of becoming an entrepreneur after school. Many graduate would rather pursue white collar jobs at the expense of creating one for themselves.
Today, Morenike’s dream has become a reality. She’s the co-founder of Femnix, a fast rising brand making impact in Nigeria’s manufacturing space since it began in 2015.
Narrating how it all began. Morenike says “I grew up in a family where business was part of what saw us through education. I remember my dad lost his job early in life, we experienced several financial embarrassing moments and he had to start a garri processing business. Interestingly, the business against all odds was what sustained the home-front.”
Explaining further, the entrepreneur said her father’s venture got her thinking of how she could start her own business, as a way of reducing unemployment in Nigeria, with one goal mind, taking one unemployed person off the street per time.
“I know I would not achieve my goal by just saying it, products have to be created. So, in 2010, I learnt how to make cleaning products during my compulsory NYSC year in Imo State. Today, I can proudly say I have sellable products. I have added training, giving opportunity for many others to be empowered, I also started a program called project 10 where we empower women and youths in the rural area to start micro businesses’’.
Speaking on her brand offering, Morenike says Femnix now has a range of product and services.
“We have them in two categories. The Cleaning range which are Femnix Dish wash, Laundry wash,Car wash, Hand sanitizer, Air freshener among others. The food range which covers all range of food stuffs but for now is Femnix Palm oil, while Miss Dee Cookies is in the pipeline.”
Sharing her success secrets over the years, the production expert said excellent customer relationships is one key she never compromises. She says customer for her is king. As a result, she has had repeat customer base and enjoyed referrals.
She further noted that focus, resilience, patience, perseverance, consistency and strong support system from her amazing husband, Felix Oluyemi and her daughter, Darasimi Oluyemi, she refers to as her chief advert executive as well as her amazing team has been her staying power.
The production expert did not fail to share her significant achievements since inception. She notes.
“I can tell you categorically that consistency and diligence has helped us till date. From a production capacity of 200L per month using our hand, we grew in capacity to over 33000L of cleaning products using semi automated mixing machines and filling machine.
‘’Then, our product range increased from one product to ten product range. Also, customer base grew from two to over a hundred repeated ones. We have over eight repeated supermarkets and SPAR Nigeria being the largest distribution coverage nationwide.” She added.
Morenike Oluyemi says running a business does not come without its attending challenges. She highlighted a few, from getting NAFDAC certification for her products doing this all by herself to market rejection during her start-up days and a lot more which she says she has scaled through.
In her final word of encouragement to entrepreneurs, Morenike said “The journey is tough. The road is rough but I can assure you if I can do it, then you can do it. Just take one step at a time, remember it’s a process. Have a support group or system. Be rest assured, the sky is just the beginning.”
Wow… Thanks alot