Saturday, 12th June, 2021 will be very memorable to over one hundred and fifty (150) fashion designing enthusiasts in Enugu as the Enugu SME Centre by Arinze Chilo Offiah exposed them to new opportunities that abound in the craft.
Arinze Chilo Offiah; a Special Adviser to the Governor on SME Development and Head of Enugu SME Centre in his opening remarks at the event held at Oaklands Hotel, Enugu, said the event is part of the new training series by the centre; Enugu Skill Acquisition Masterclass (ESAM Plus) and it’s an improvement of the previous sessions.
In his words: “Through ESAM Plus, we want to pair youths that have certain interests or starting their carriers in industries with prominent figures in that industry. This training will be both offline and online.
“This is going to be a combination of masterclasses and mentorship programme and it’s going to run every month and it’s part of the human capital development initiative of the Governor of Enugu State, His Excellency, Rt Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and its free.”
Arinze Chilo Offiah also disclosed that after the session, the young entrepreneurs will learn how best to monetise their craft and they will have access to these experts for more mentorship.
He thanked the audience for coming, assuring them this is just a tip of the great things that will happen in the fashion space. He reiterated his passion in ensuring that Enugu Youths are equipped with the right skill for the 21st-century job.
Orinma Ottah, the creative Director of Orynma Couture, with over six years experience in the Fashion industry, kicked off the training session with the lecture she titled ‘Right Steps to Breaking Barriers as a Young Fashion Enthusiast’.
In Orinma’s words, “Being an Enthusiast in a particular field is embodied in Passion to create, passion to explore, passion to understand the particular path you have chosen to thread on. Fashion being a world of its own, Recycling and still unscratched in Nigeria, you can carve out your own niche successfully”.
During the all interactive session, Orinma highlighted on; Passion, Understanding your environment, Creativity, Consistency, Capital and resources.
Another expert in the industry; Ngozi Okochi, Co-Founder and Creative Director-Lady Beellionaire, took the center stage and her training was on ‘Fashion Marketing and Visual Merchandising.
“Fashion Marketing is the art of finding the right audience for your products, attracting them and convincing them to purchase your products”, Ngozi said.
Speaking further, she disclosed to the participants, the practical way to ‘Attracting the Audience and Converting the Audience to clients.’
In Attracting the Audience, she highlighted that the following should be looked out for:
Location
Social Media
Pricing
Theme/Aesthetic
Visual Merchandising
Partnerships
Quality
While in converting the audience to clients, Ngozi enjoined the participants take the following serious;
Customer Service
Overall User experience
Value for Money
Some of the participants that spoke with our correspondent at the end of the event expressed satisfaction with the programme saying they never believed that event such high standard and exposure could be organized for free.
They also thanked the Governor for empowering Enugu SME and also appreciated the organizers of the program and the facilitators for the deep teaching and coaching opportunities.
