Bolaji Ayinde-Sekoni, founder and Creative Director of Nouva Couture, and a graduate of the Regent University College of Science and Technology, was among five female entrepreneurs in Nigeria that were enlisted in a nation-wide multimedia campaign by Unilever Nigeria Sunlight.
The campaign was aimed at recognizing and celebrating leading women who were playing instrumental roles in empowering women in their different careers. Bolaji, who founded the award-winning women’s wear brand, graduated from Regent in 2012 with a BSc. in Management with Computing.
The five female entrepreneurs selected as part of the Sunlight brand’s campaign were drawn from various industries. They included Olubunmi Aboderin-Talabi, founding publisher, Clever Clogs Books; Bolaji Ayinde-Sekoni, creative director, Nouva Couture; Ifeoma Okoye, founder PaintedNails NG and ex-beauty queen, Bella Rose Okojie, a morning show host at City 105.1 FM, as well as Nelly Agbogu, founder, Naija Brand Chick and Nellies Nigeria. They each shared their stories of how they had made it their mission to empower women.
Asides being recognized and their stories shared, the collaboration led to the creation of a special collection dubbed The Sunlight Collection which was launched at the 2019 Lagos Fashion Week event.
Nouva Couture, established in 2010, has over the years, grown to become an esteemed fashion house in Nigeria, with a number of celebrity clients, including Nollywood star Omotola Keinde. “At Nouva Couture, 60 percent of our staff are women, and we provide them with the tools and environment that allows them to grow into confident and empowered professionals,” she revealed.
“I make an effort to support one young woman every year, provide her financial support and also mentoring where needed. I strongly believe that female empowerment should be centered around financial independence, and at Nouva Couture we walk this talk,” Bolaji emphasized.
“Coming from a family of strong entrepreneurs, empowerment has always been important to me. My mum taught my sisters and I all we know and I plan to pass this same empowerment spirit to my daughter. Female empowerment is at the heart of everything I do and partnering with sunlight, a brand that encourages and empowers women to empower other women makes this campaign worth the while,” she said.
Bolaji describes herself as a mother, wife, and fashion entrepreneur. Through initiatives such as this, as well as programmes like Shakti, which has provided economic empowerment for over 3000 women in the rural areas of Nigeria, the Unilever Sunlight brand continues to work towards building more inclusive African societies.
