STUDENTPRENEUR OF THE WEEK

Precious Igwe

We had an insightful and interesting interview with a brand owner/entrepreneur who is our studentpreneur of the week.

Q: Hello. Let us meet you, tell us about your brand.

A: I am Ijeoma Onuoha, a 300l student of English.
My brand is called IJAAY FOOTWEAR. I think the name quite explains what I do. I specialize in handmade footwear, I am a shoemaker. I make varieties of footwear for all genders. I also make bags and belts.

Q: What motivated you to venture into this quite unusual business?

A: Asides genuinely loving my craft, I ventured into this to promote the sale and use of handmade products in Nigeria, especially footwear. Most people are not comfortable buying Nigerian products because they do not trust the quality. Also, these handmade products are durable, and can be customized to the customers’ taste.

Q: When and how did you start the business?

A: I started during the lockdown. I had nothing to do, just like many people. I had some other skills like hair making/styling, but I wanted something unique and different, so that’s how I eventually decided on shoemaking. I started training with an expert shoemaker who also had a lot of female apprentices.

Q: That is very beautiful. However, how do you balance your business with your academics?

A: I balance them by placing my academics first, all the time. If I have so much school work to do at a moment, I reduce the amount of orders I accept, unless the customer is a really close one or it’s an urgent and important order; but most times I just decline. I just know that my studies is the priority.