Zainab Aliyu

supportive spouse and household systems/structures/care that allows them to follow their career/dreams and achieve work-life balance. It takes a village after all!

We need to smash stereotypes/cultural barriers/patriarchal/societal expectations of not being as valued as a male, deprived of qualityeducationasshe’sonlygoingto marry off, and be deprived of opportunities. So promoting their rights, promoting gender equality will help create a more inclusive society. Women need to be equipped with funding, training (technical and soft skills) and mentorship opportunities (to provide guidance and accountability) to start and succeed in their business, then watch them SOAR!

You have been a mentee on the Awec platform, how would you describe this?

Beautiful Art Of Leather-Ing With AABOUX

Zainab is a top of the line award winning designer of Nigerian origin who specialises in the making of top tier leather bags. With a knack for creativity and a drive for success, she has put Nigerian fashion at the centre of the fashion world after debuting during the New York fashion Week in 2023.

Thank you for granting us this interview. Tell us why you started your business. What gap are you filling?

I had worked in the corporate worldasaFinanceProfessionalfor well over a decade and across five continents, and was looking for more than the daily grind. I had alwaysbeeninspiredbymysisters who were creatives in their fields of fashion and graphic & UX design. I yearned for my own creative streak and purpose to manifest.

I stumbled across Leather craftsmanship in Nigeria after taking a friend to a local crafts market to get gifts for her return to the UK in 2017. I was impressed with the creativity that I saw, but after searching for styles, I couldn’t find any that were to my taste and standards of finishing. I then surprisingly sketched, designed and created my first two leather handbags. It was super exciting to discover my creative side, which felt natural, fulfilling, thrilling and stirred a fire in me!

With a creative flair, a passion to make a difference in my community and support causes I was passionate about, to leave a legacy and to be a part of changing the narrative on African products, AABOUX was birthed in 2017 and business commenced just over a year later in 2018, by 2020 I resigned from my high-flying job to focus on my passion full-time. AABOUX is a family pet name my mum fondly called me.

From the onset, I was very clear about wanting to build a global

My time at AWEC has been nothing short of amazing!! It has been sobeneficialandqualitative-from the reading materials, live sessions speakers, the assignments that challenge you and make you dig-deep, the peer reviews and peer sessions of contributing and learning from another, and one-on-one mentoring sessions. In addition the SUMMITs and networking sessions have been fantastic. Seeing previous cohort members scale their businesses and achieve so much is inspiring and motivating.

There has been a lot of learning, unlearning and re-learning! A lot of eye-opening moments, A-HA moments,reflectionsanddeveloping action plans for how to proceedgoingforward. Iamsuper appreciative of this opportunity, accountability and the community. I would urge you to definitely apply and give it 100% to derive maximum benefits. The whole experience has been PRICELESS!

Thanks for sharing your story with us, any last words?

Thank you so much for spotlighting women business owners. Any woman out there who has dreams, believe in yourself, remember your why, research, prepare and start!Yourdreamsarevalid!Don’t over-think, don’t wait for things to be “perfect”, just dip your toes in the water and start small. Many drops make a mighty ocean