Native innovators achieve floor in import-heavy markets — Ikenga

The Founding father of Nature’s Light Contact, a hair product agency, Chika Ikenga, explains why entrepreneurs who present native options achieve markets which might be dominated by imported merchandise and the necessity to transcend perceived limits on this interview with ARINZE NWAFOR

What drawback outlined the hair care business?

Within the Nineties, there was a transparent drawback within the Nigerian hair care house. Girls have been experiencing scalp burns, breakage, and hair injury from merchandise they have been utilizing frequently. Many of those merchandise have been imported manufacturers that promised superior outcomes however usually left customers disenchanted.

What struck me was not simply the bodily injury, however the mindset behind it. There was a powerful perception that something overseas have to be higher than what may very well be produced domestically. This perception had develop into deeply ingrained in individuals’s considering.

As a chemist, I noticed issues from a unique perspective. I noticed a technical drawback that may very well be solved scientifically. However past that, a possibility to problem that mindset and show that merchandise made domestically might match international requirements, and even surpass them.

I keep in mind considering that if we might develop options particularly designed for African hair and African circumstances, we might create one thing actually transformative.

How did you develop into one of many early advocates of the pure hair motion in Nigeria?

Round 2001, we started exploring the pure hair motion, which on the time was nonetheless rising. We launched product strains just like the Monoi Oil vary, designed particularly for pure hair remedy. This was earlier than pure hair grew to become broadly accepted or celebrated.

Many individuals have been nonetheless closely reliant on chemical relaxers, and the thought of embracing pure hair textures was not but within the mainstream. However we believed that African hair needs to be celebrated reasonably than altered to evolve to overseas magnificence requirements. Over time, this imaginative and prescient resonated strongly with customers.

What influenced your resolution to remain in Nigeria amid the wave of emigration?

Within the late Nineteen Eighties and early Nineties, many proficient Nigerians have been leaving the nation. It was a time when many believed that higher alternatives existed abroad. Loads of my friends packed their baggage and moved to Europe or North America.

For them, it appeared just like the logical step. However I felt in another way. I believed Nigeria nonetheless had super potential. I felt there have been issues right here that wanted options, and I needed to be a part of constructing these options reasonably than trying elsewhere. I usually say that entrepreneurship is about seeing prospects the place others see limitations. At the moment, individuals noticed uncertainty in Nigeria. I noticed a possibility.

I needed to show that you may construct one thing significant proper right here at dwelling.

With a background in chemistry, how did your educational expertise form your journey as an entrepreneur?

My journey began on the college of Nigeria, the place I studied industrial chemistry and graduated in 1986. For most individuals with a chemistry diploma, the pure path would have been analysis work, laboratory roles, or employment in multinational firms.

However I at all times considered chemistry as a sensible instrument. To me, it wasn’t nearly formulation or experiments in a laboratory. It was about fixing on a regular basis issues that folks encounter of their each day lives. After graduating, I joined Ibachem, which was affiliated with Dow Chemical substances. That have was extraordinarily useful as a result of it uncovered me not solely to chemical processes but in addition to the industrial aspect of the enterprise.

I realized the best way to join scientific data with market wants. Understanding prospects, translating technical experience into helpful merchandise, and constructing relationships within the market—these have been classes that formed my method as an entrepreneur. Wanting again, that interval helped me develop two identities directly: a scientist and a businessman.

What pivotal second led you to go away the company world and launch your individual enterprise?

In 1996, I made what many individuals thought of a dangerous resolution. I left the safety of my company job and determined to focus totally on constructing one thing of my very own. It wasn’t a simple step. For a number of months, I labored quietly behind the scenes, conducting experiments, researching formulations, and testing concepts. There have been lengthy nights within the lab and loads of setbacks alongside the way in which.

Entrepreneurship is never a straight path. There are moments when issues don’t work, and it’s important to return to the drafting board. However these moments are a part of the method.

Out of these early experiments got here my first enterprise, Eunisell Chemical substances. It was a modest chemical enterprise that ultimately supplied the monetary base to launch what would develop into Nature’s Light Contact. By 1997, we launched the primary set of merchandise below the Nature’s Light Contact model: a relaxer, a shampoo, and a conditioner.

Breaking right into a market led by overseas manufacturers should have been powerful. What preliminary challenges did you encounter?

The largest problem was notion. At the moment, Nigerian haircare cabinets have been stuffed virtually totally with imported merchandise. Many retailers and distributors have been hesitant to inventory domestically made merchandise as a result of they believed customers most well-liked overseas manufacturers.

There was additionally a widespread inferiority advanced about Nigerian-made items. Even after we developed merchandise that have been secure and efficient, convincing individuals to attempt them was troublesome. Relaxers, for instance, have been extraordinarily standard on the time.

However many ladies didn’t absolutely perceive the best way to use them correctly. Harsh chemical substances have been usually utilized on to the scalp, which brought about burns and hair injury. On the similar time, pure haircare choices have been virtually non-existent.

Our purpose was to create merchandise that addressed these issues and labored particularly for African hair textures and local weather circumstances. Imported formulation have been designed for utterly totally different environments and hair varieties. They merely weren’t made with African customers in thoughts.

What methods did you employ to achieve shopper belief for a brand new native model?

We needed to be artistic and strategic. Since retailers have been hesitant initially, we determined to go on to customers. One in all our earliest methods was to have interaction college college students. College students are influential inside households and communities, so we recruited about 200 to 300 college students in Lagos to promote merchandise door-to-door.

We additionally distributed round 1,000 pattern cups so individuals might attempt the product themselves. As soon as individuals skilled it, the response was optimistic.

Many mentioned the relaxer was mild on the scalp, which strengthened the identify we had chosen: Nature’s Light Contact. These early adopters helped us construct credibility. Not all the scholars grew to become long-term distributors, however they performed a important position in spreading consciousness and introducing the model to the market.

Together with your model usually linked to innovation, how did you innovate in product growth?

From the start, we centered closely on analysis and understanding the buyer. Relatively than merely copying overseas merchandise, we needed to create a class that really belonged to us. We studied components that many firms ignored—issues like local weather circumstances, dietary patterns, hair textures, and on a regular basis grooming practices in Nigeria. These components affect hair well being considerably.

Our philosophy was easy: for those who perceive the buyer deeply sufficient, you may design options that genuinely work for them. This method allowed us to develop merchandise that have been secure, efficient, and uniquely suited to the African surroundings.

In what methods has the Nature’s Light Contact model grown?

The model has grown far past its authentic product strains. At the moment, we provide greater than 45 merchandise, starting from relaxers and shampoos to conditioners and specialised therapies for pure hair. However our philosophy stays the identical. We consider in fixing issues earlier than promoting merchandise. We’re not merely following developments.

In lots of instances, we’re setting them. Our purpose is to empower individuals, particularly ladies, to specific their private fashion confidently whereas additionally creating alternatives for financial empowerment.

Training appears central to your technique. What motivated you to create the Hair Institute?

Training was important as a result of we realised that many hair issues have been attributable to incorrect product utilization. Hairdressers usually focus solely on styling and aesthetics with out understanding the science behind hair care.

By the Nature’s Light Contact Hair Institute, we skilled professionals to develop into not simply stylists but in addition hair care consultants. To this point, about 3,000 individuals have accomplished the programme. This initiative helped professionalise the business and created employment alternatives.

At the moment, hairstyling is more and more seen as a decent and worthwhile profession, even amongst college graduates.

Are you able to clarify how strategic acquisitions helped you broaden past Nigeria?

One in all our main strategic strikes was buying HairSavvy Cosmetics, a South African haircare model. This was vital as a result of it made us the primary Nigerian firm to amass a South African haircare model. The acquisition served two primary functions.

First, it allowed us to amass data about working in numerous markets.

Second, it supplied entry to established distribution networks throughout Southern Africa. Increasing into new markets requires understanding native shopper behaviour, and that have gave us useful insights.

What vital obstacles has the enterprise encountered over time?

Like many rising firms, we’ve confronted a number of challenges. One main situation is the scarcity of expert expertise. Discovering the proper individuals with the required technical and managerial abilities can typically be troublesome.

One other problem is inconsistent authorities insurance policies, which might create uncertainty for companies. Advertising and marketing was additionally a studying expertise.

Within the early years, we centered closely on direct shopper engagement and campus advertising. In hindsight, we might have expanded into broader retail advertising earlier. However over time, we strengthened our retail partnerships and distribution networks, permitting our merchandise to achieve extra customers.

What long-term objectives do you’ve got for the expansion of Nature’s Light Contact?

Our imaginative and prescient is to construct a really continental African model. We need to deepen delight in domestically made merchandise whereas increasing throughout Africa and past.

Innovation will at all times stay central to what we do. Shopper preferences are continually evolving, so we should proceed creating options that tackle actual wants with out compromising on high quality.

In the end, our purpose isn’t just to promote haircare merchandise however to construct a model that represents confidence, innovation, and African excellence.

What key lesson out of your journey would you want entrepreneurs to be taught?

I consider entrepreneurship begins with seeing issues as alternatives. Once I began, many individuals believed Nigerian-made merchandise couldn’t compete with overseas manufacturers. At the moment, we’ve proven that excellence can come from wherever.

Innovation, high quality, and international requirements should not restricted to anyone nation. Should you stay dedicated to fixing actual issues and delivering worth, success will observe. That perception is what constructed Nature’s Light Contact, and it continues to information all the things we do at the moment.