We had an interview with the founders of ST Ankara, a clothing brand that deals in female and male Ankara print wear. We hope you can learn something new for your own business goals and that you will get to learn more about the businesses around you (more to come in the future).
Kindly introduce yourselves, please.
T- My name is Taiwo Oluwatoyin Rachael, I am the co-founder of ST Ankara wear. I am a final-year student at Rostov State Medical University in Russia.
S- I am Ojekunle Oluwasetemi, also a final year medical student at Rostov State Medical University Russia and the co-founder of ST Ankara.
Can you tell us a little bit about your business?
S- We deal with the sale of stylish Ankara print blouses for men and women. Recently we added trousers to our catalogue for women and we also ship all over Russia. For those who don’t know, Ankara is a type of fabric print native to some parts of Africa.
How did it all start?
T- Hmm, starting from the very beginning, I attended a Christian camp (SFC) in 2021 where we had an entrepreneurship and business master class. A man from Cameroon took the master class and I actually gleaned a lot from him. I remember telling God that I had some cash I could spare for a business but I had no idea of which business to go into.
A few months later, there was a get-together for Africans, I was not in attendance but I saw pictures from that event and one thing I noticed was that many people were not dressed in African attires. Mind you, the dress code for that event was meant to be something traditional. The idea immediately came to me about making African wear available for people.
Interesting. So you sew these clothes yourselves?
We don’t sew them ourselves. We have a fashion designer who makes them from Nigeria and ships them to us.
But do you guys have any background in fashion design?
T- No, I do not have any background in fashion design.
S- Yeah, I have some basic knowledge of fashion design because I took some sewing classes but not enough to help me work professionally. We just saw a need and we decided to address it.
It is common knowledge that getting men’s clothing is more expensive than women’s. As retailers what can you say about this?
We think this is very true, men’s clothes are more expensive mostly because the fabric itself is expensive.
What are the challenges you guys have faced and how do you overcome them?
There can come a period when there are no sales at all. The cost of shipping has also been a great challenge and there is just no way to go about it.
Also, getting the clothes from Nigeria to Russia can be a huge issue. In fact, we had a situation at some point where the clothes stayed in the post office back in Nigeria for months without being shipped, and even when we got the goods back, we were not refunded. The sanctions against Russia are also not helping at all. It was much more difficult at first but it has gotten better.
Gaining publicity too was an issue at first and because we are not social media people, pushing our brand out there was a bit difficult, coupled with the fact that school work can suck you in where you have time for nothing. With regards to publicity and getting our brand out there, we are grateful to Kwiberry, a platform that offers visibility for local businesses.
Hmm, we’ve even had that situation of what you ordered vs what you got. Our partner back home did not deliver the styles we exactly had in mind so we could not put those clothes up for sale.
Wow. What would be your advice for anyone looking to go into the retail of Ankara pieces or even those who want to make and deliver to the customers directly?
I would say that they should be patient. It may not go as you have planned, and at first, people might not be interested but this should not make you give up. Make sure you do a lot of research as to whether there is a demand for these wears in your region.
Another thing that would be best is if you can get someone to sew it in Russia rather than shipping the goods in.
Have you ever had issues with sizing?
No, even when we send it to people we have always received positive reviews.
Going forward, what is the plan for ST Ankara after graduation?
We have not thought about it. We are probably going to hand it over to interested persons here or take it with us wherever we go.
So, what are your parting words for us?
T- Well, for anyone out there who wants to go into a business like ours, just take note of all we said and start as soon as you can, nothing should stop you.
RS- Also take whatever you are doing right now seriously. If I knew I was going to go into this type of business, I would have taken my sewing classes more seriously and who knows maybe I would have been able to sew on a professional level.
We wish you all the best! Thank you for sharing your story.
Thanks for having us…
This is part of our support for the business community in Russia so follow these series -E-Solutions Business Spotlight.
If you also have an interesting personal/business story that you’d like to be featured, send us a DM and we’ll get back to you💚
