East London Small Business Centre

Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Dakwa’s vision for her business goes beyond that of profit, rather through her designs, she wants to educate and improve the image of her country of birth.

“I started this business because of the political, social and economical situation in my country of origin. Due to a long lasting war, the situation in the DRC is one of the worst in the world. Women are used as weapons of war and according to the UN it is the most dangerous country for women in the world,” explains Dakwa.

It was this tragic political situation that inspired Dakwa to start her business, as she wanted to show that even in this chaos there was still a promise of a better future, a promise of hope.

Educated in Belgium and holding a degree in Public and International Relations, Dakwa has years of experience working in customer service and also as a financial advisor. “I first came to East London Small Business Centre because I needed guidance, people who would understand my vision, give me some advice and the tools to realise it,” says Dakwa.

After successfully starting her business through the support of East London Small Business Centre, Dakwa needed funding to create an e-commerce website in order to reach an already growing international customer base. Having sold her t-shirts in Belgium and France as well as in the UK, she knew this was the best way to reach a wider target audience.

“I was successful with my application for a loan of £3,000 from ELSBC which I will use to fund the development of an e-commerce website. The business is growing slowly as I was only selling face to face before, but the website will help me reach more people,” says Dakwa.

As well as her soon to be launched e-commerce website, Dakwa is in talks with a Congolise bank based in France that is interested in ordering her customised t-shirts as part of their branded merchandise.

Published 15th December 2011