Kalikawe grew up in Botswana, as the name of her store suggests, but her business is in the thumping heart of Tanzania's biggest city, Dar es Salaam.
Naledi means
"star" in Tswana, one of the languages spoken in Botswana. So when
Kemi Kalikawe gave her lifestyle store that name, she decided to add a sparkle
to her business.
Funky fabrics
Shoppers who visit her
store find jewelry, sandals and vibrantly-colored outfits on the shelves. Some
of Kalikawe's garments even use indigenous Tanzanian fabrics like the Khanga
and Kitenge.
"I make dresses, I
cater mostly for women," Kalikawe explains, "and I do jewelry and
also sandals, which have all got an influence of African fabrics."
Revamping African fashion
for the future
Whilst taking a tour of the
store, Kalikawe points out one her favorite dresses, "I love it because it
defies what Tanzanians think of the Tanzanian Kitenge, which is funky, it's
stylish, and it can be worn anywhere."
With such a variety of
designs, fabrics and patterns on display it's clear that Kalikawe's work is her
passion. "Sometimes I see a fabric and it just speaks to me," she
says. "So I take that and start thinking of what I can do to bring out its
beauty."
Career change
As a child, Kalikawe
dreamed of working in the design industry, but she ended up studying marketing
in England. She soon realized she wasn't cut out for the advertising world and
moved to Kenya to study interior design.
Kemi Kalikawe, Naledi owner
"The school that I was
going to also had fashion design. I ended up wanting to find ways of promoting
fashion designers and so I put on a show for them," she explains.
"When I came back to Tanzania, I worked with the British Council... and my
job was to find underground fashion talent and put them on the stage. That's
how I ended up making my own dresses... and the people that would come to the
show loved my clothes.
That background is
reflected in her store, where she promotes other entrepreneurs alongside her
own creations. "I choose to include other designers because there isn't
particularly a space where designers can showcase their work," Kalikawe
says.
"It's expensive to
open your own store. So this was something that gave me that chance to promote
other designers plus sell my own things," she adds.
Like Kalikawe, many women
in Africa are capitalizing on their entrepreneurial skills. In fact, the continent
leads the world in the number of women starting businesses, with almost equal
levels of male and female entrepreneurs.
Overall, Africa has a
higher proportion of female entrepreneurs compared to other regions, with
Nigeria and Zambia (both 40.7%) topping the charts. The stats reveal that
countries like the United States (10.4%), the UK (5.5%), and France (3.1%) have
a less equal business landscape.
Overcoming obstacles
Over its six year lifespan,
Nalendi Lifestyle has established a reputation and a steady stream of clients.
But it wasn't always so easy for Kalikawe.
"I had to find a place
that was close to my customers, so I shopped around for different places where
I could share with somebody who had an existing space and they were not using
it. I had to do a lot of convincing when I finally got the space that I am in
now," she remembers.
But getting a physical
presence wasn't the only obstacle Kalikawe had to overcome. She says that
creating advertising and getting people to know that her shop was there took
time. "It's lucky that I am right by the road, so that way when people
pass by I put mannequins outside with my dresses."
While she has faced
difficulties, Kalikawe has no regrets; "I totally love what I do,"
she says. "From a kid, I've always known I was going to work in the
industry; in design industry somehow. I am so fortunate that I am actually
doing what I love to do."
She's got style though
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