SMEs Showcased Local Talents at 2018 Beauty Exhibition

Emma Okonji

Over 60 beauty entrepreneurs showcased their local talents at the 2018 Beauty Souk exhibition sponsored by Diamond Bank, and designed to boost local content production among Nigerian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The SMEs exhibition, which was organised by Eventful Limited, saw several local talents on display, in line with federal government initiative on local content development, driven by technology.

Beauty Souk officially started last year and it is a marketplace for all the people interested in beauty like beauty vendors, suppliers, make-up artistes, people interested in spa and nails.

Speaking at the exhibition in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of Eventful Limited, Mrs. Yewande Zaccheus, said that Beauty Souk is a platform for the vendors who may not have money to advertise, who may also not be able to see the target market that are coming, leveraging the opportunities to engage with their customers.

“The Beauty Souk platform helps to grow the enabling entrepreneurs in the country. Anytime an entrepreneur is able to showcase his products, they are able to meet new clients, they are able to grow their business and they are able to learn from each other. The opportunity of engaging are so many, she said.”

“There are different categories at the event- Premium stores which are taken by the big brands and very small store for small businesses. There is something for everybody. We are not restricting it to big brands,” Zaccheus further said.

She revealed that Diamond Bank sees the platform as an opportunity to reach out to a important section of the economy, believing in women and women entrepreneurs, adding that they are putting their money where their mouth is.
“They do a lot for female entrepreneurs. This was another way to support because most of the people running beauty businesses are women and a lot of the consumers are women”.

Dr. Lilian Ibe stressed the need to educate Nigerians on wellness inspired, showcasing her products at Beauty Souk, adding that Nigerians should be more proactive rather than reactive on health grounds.

“As a brand, we want to enlighten the masses on the benefits of shea butter, and most importantly all the natural resources in abundance in this part of the world and encourage the usage”.

Oluwakemi Woyinsala, who works with Make Up Made In New York Mavin Nigeria, the major distributor for Milani, said: “We heard about Beauty Souk on social media and we resolved to make known our products, brands and participate in the fair.

“A lot of people have been coming into the fair to buy the beauty products, knowing that the products are original because there are lots of fakes out there”.

Differentiating Original Milani products, she said it is pretty difficult to discern the orginal products because the China product, which is like a carbon copy but that the application of the products give the knowledge of the differences.

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