The Nation Newspaper

Category: Small Business and Entreprenuership

  • Building a future out of wood

    Building a future out of wood

    Her dream of starting a furniture company has turned into an amazing entrepreneurial success story. Founder and Creative Director of Design Options (DO.II), Mrs Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, is a living proof of a dream come true. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The founder and Creative Director of Design Options (DO.II), Mrs Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, always wanted people  to buy beautiful furniture and home furnishings and this desire became her mission.

    She said: “I was 12 years old when my father was studying for his MBA degree. He would come home from the university and tutor me on what he was studying. This inspired my interest in business. I decided to study accountancy in the university because I was very good in Mathematics and also because I knew I was eventually going to pursue a career in business.

    While I was at the university, I discovered my interest in interiors. Upon graduation, I decided that my interest in interior design would be my future career. Eventually what I actually ended up practising which is my real passion, is furniture manufacturing. The interior design aspect of my business is to support the core business of furniture manufacturing.”

    In 1990, she took the plunge into business ownership, kissed jobs good-bye, and set out in pursuit of the dream of starting a furniture production company. She started doing some small jobs and mainly through personal sale, until she began to get more and more work. “Design Options was started with little or no capital and was built on goodwill and excellent business practices,” she said, adding. “Today, the picture is different.”  Now, with a steady stream of orders coming in, she has moved to a bigger workshop where she has the potential and a space to do more designs. The place is much more industrial-manufacturing friendly and there’s room for expansion. The movement to a bigger workshop has resulted in her increasing her staff strength.

    On how much DO.II is worth now, she said: “It is safe to say we have quadrupled more than our initial investment.”  At the moment the main challenge, is the high cost of production and the lack of cost effective power supply.  She noted: “Alongside this I would say the lack of a consistent flow of high quality raw materials, a very low calibre of manpower and an unregulated competition from imports, render us a lot less competitive than our foreign counterparts. We cannot work without power, so I will say that is actually one of our major challenges.

    To boost capacity, she has employed over 40 technicians who provide their expertise in various capacities and departments.

    Today, she has built a company that produces furniture from a large production facility in Ojota, Lagos, with regular deliveries to large corporate and government agencies.  Her service is proving to be in  high demand and she offers her impressive craftsmanship in both traditional and contemporary styles. She has had to make a lot of sacrifices in order to build something from nothing.

    The sacrifices are huge, no surprise there. Fortunately however, the payoff happens a little bit each day. It comes in the form of accomplishments every week as she watches the   little company turn into a national brand. What she has learnt over the years is that design and business are interlinked – one cannot succeed without the other. The other thing is that positive leadership conveys a clear message and vision to the staff.  Consequently, she is enthusing her staff with passion and dedication to business and this has gone a long way to helping the company achieve success.

    The best thing that has happened to her is recruiting young crops of professionals determined to see the business grow. Right now, the young team is taking the image and brand of the company seriously. These efforts are impacting on revenue and brand awareness.

    She is encouraged by the fact that growth will continue to accelerate in the face of the current economic downturn and the attitude of government towards banning importation of products that can be produced locally.

  • From make-up artist to successful entrepreneur

    From make-up artist to successful entrepreneur

    There are countless talented make-up artists, but very few who possess the entrepreneurial skills required to take their talent to the next level. Asabe Tonia Moses has a business to prove she’s one of the select few.

    Asabe Tonia Moses popularly known as ATM is a make-up artist. A graduate of Mass Communications from Kaduna Polytechnic, she never really thought of make-up as a career.

    But things just changed. Her words: “The idea started during the previous one year industrial strike (ASUP). While the strike lasted,  I normally go for make-up modeling at Dee Jang make-up studio and academy, Kaduna. It was more of a dream come true, because I love colours and looking good as well. So I decided to go into make-up knowing full  well that I’ve got to pursue a dream even before I graduate from school. I chosed makeup artistry because I’m passionate about it. I love colours, I love to look good .Of course it is lucrative.”

    The  strike was a blessing in disguise as she took advantage of it to start her make-up artistry business.  She started with little capital. She started with N100, 000.  She has been in the business for three years now.

    So far, the  experience is rewarding financially and emotionally. She has learned so much about make-up artistry and products, and how to behave on set and interact with people in that world.

    To achieve this, she has given everything to it. With experience, she knows how to pick the right make-up for red carpet looks, understand the lighting in different venues, and knows how to work well with celebrities. She has really worked hard on building trust.

    One thing also helping ATM is her media background. This helps her to build relationships and get booked on bigger jobs.  Regularly, new clients request for her based on word-of-mouth.

    Over time, she  found out that the business needs somebody that is patient, creative, calm, reliable, thick-skin to criticism, warm-hearted, eager to please, confident, flexible, jovial, ability to style-step and passionate. She almost has all of these.

    Apart from being a make-up artist and beauty expert, she is a successful businesswoman and presenter. Her  most satisfying moment is graduating seven students under her own studio. In addition to running her company, she is also a freelance presenter.

    As her brand continues to grow nationally, her message remains the same: “The secret to beauty is simple—be who you are.”

    She is proud of her accomplishments. In 10, 20, years to come, she sees herself and business close to AlikoDangotes’.

    Her words: “ He is  my mentor, and I quote him.“ So many youths want to be like me over night but it took me 30 years to be where I am today. Start small with big dreams.

  • Baking her way to success

    Baking her way to success

    A Lagos entrepreneur is making waves with her call and order cake service. She personifies the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerian women. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Lagos entrepreneur Mrs Kwaghdoo Enyi, is reaping from perfecting the art of baking cakes. She is the proprietor of Kays Pastries Limited, a pastry company based in Lagos. She schooled at FGGC Gboko and read Economics at Benue State University.

    What started off as baking for loved ones soon transformed into a business for Mrs Kwaghdoo Enyi. Having worked in a corporate environment, she wanted to do something creative. She used to bake on and off, since she was a child. She discovered a passion for baking and found her baked goodies were a hit among friends .That was when she seriously thought about turning it into a full time entrepreneurial venture.

    She said : “I have baked since I was a teenager, luckily for me I had the full support of my Dad, I formally registered a company called Kays Pastries Limited in 2008.”

    She added: “I started off in my kitchen, baking for friends and family with basically, my cooker oven and a hand mixer.”

    Having decided that she wanted to start a home bakery business, she invested in a reasonably large oven and several baking equipment.  She has 15 staff.  Her expenses are flour, butter and other bakery items.  She said : “My company is a call and order cake service, we offer specialty bespoke cakes for events, cakes tailored to reflect the hobbies and personalities of our clients.”

    Delivery is also fast; with cakes delivered in a short notice. Maintaining good relations with clients, colleagues in the industry as well as other entrepreneurs is also key. A passion for baking and the artistic side of cake decorating has steered her through the tough challenges in the business.

    On ideas, she is constantly on the lookout for new trends and also undergoes training any chance she gets.

  • Lagos tackles multiple taxes to boost wealth creation, jobs

    Lagos State government has reiterated its determination to tackle multiple taxes in the bid create jobs and unleash entrepreneurial potential of residents.

    Speaking in Lagos, the Commissioner, Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr Babatunde Durosimi-Etti  said  the  state is  working to reduce tax and regulatory burdens on business.

    Consequently, there are moves to harmonise taxes between the state and local government councils to enable businesses pay all their  taxes thorough a single window.

    He reiterated that the government is  determined to  incentivise the creation of new jobs in the formal sector by  focusing  on infrastructure development, skill development, rural economy  to have  a direct impact on job creation.

    According to him, the government is promoting domestic manufacturing sector, while simplification in tax rules for start-ups and small businesses would encourage entrepreneurship in the country and boost job creation.

    These measures, he  added, would  have the potential to create gainful employment, build domestic demand and thereby revitalise the economy.

    Durosimi-Etti noted that the state was going to witness a rapid escalation of efforts to produce moreentrepreneurs and better support them.

    He saidthe government is determined  to  help the  next generation of entrepreneurs get the financial help – and the confidence – to turn that spark of an idea, into a growing, thriving business.

    He maintained that there are plans to ensure workforce has the skills necessary to take advantage of emerging opportunities.

    Meanwhile , stakeholders at the just concluded Lagos State Government Wealth Creation and Employment Summit have called on policy makers and business leaders to work together to aid skills development and instigate labour policies that would help workers cope with the economic structural changes.

    The summit urged the government to create the enabling environment to help smaller businesses exploit the business opportunities, by improving resource efficiency of SMEs and facilitating market access for entrepreneurs.

    The summit observed that access to finance constitutes one of the most significant constraints on growth and entrepreneurship, adding that entrepreneurs have particular difficulties in raising finance in the early stages of their businesses.

  • ‘I sold my car to start my businesses’

    ‘I sold my car to start my businesses’

    Continuing in the family tradition of entrepreneurship, the National Secretary, Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN), Frederick Nwokeleme, says the constant challenges of business ownership should propel an entrepreneur to be more innovative, with a greater mindset to succeed. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    A graduate of Federal Polytechnic, Oko in Anambra State, Frederick  Nwokeleme, is the founder of Jubilant Family Industries Limited- a Lagos based manufacturer of personal and body care products.

    The business, which started in 2010 with less than N20,000, is today worth N20 million in assets and turnover. From the factory of this firm comes shea butter cream, fythol herbal soap and herbal liquid bath and toilet cleaner.

    The success story of Nwokeleme depicts the resilience of a focused and passion-driven entrepreneur. Convinced of his belief in the business, Nwokeleme said he had to sell his car to raise funds to start the new business. Today, there  are 15 people on the payroll of the firm across its two outlets in Ikorodu and at the Industrial Development Centre (IDC),  Aba,Abia State.

    Nwokeleme, who is also the National Secretary of the Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN), cut his entrepreneurial teeth while selling cement for his father.  After saving enough money, he left for school.

    When he graduated, he worked in an auditing firm for a while, before taking up teaching appointment in a private institution as a teacher.

    While teaching, he had what could be described as ‘entrepreneurial seizure’. Under pressure, he decided he was quitting to start a business producing and packaging household and body care products.

    To start the business and grow it fast, he knew he would need a significant amount of startup capital.

    He had no choice but to sell his car to enable him to actualise his dream. With the proceeds, he bought his first materials to produce. Though it was challenging, he was convinced the idea was a winning one.

    He was aware that he would have many competitors and for this reason he decided to adopt a low-cost strategy at the very beginning. He sought funding advice from a few different sources, but the best source of advice came from friends who have gone through the same ups and downs when trying to raise start-up finance.

    He kept a tight rein on his costs and built in a contingency plan in case he was faced with unexpected costs.

    He started producing in his office and was marketing the product one-on-one to his friends and in the shops.  The products sold like hot cake.  His   big risk 10 years ago has paid off.  He now drives a better car.

    With tenacity, luck and drive, he has been able to create a successful production company in Ikorodu, Lagos State. Today, Nwokeleme’s entrepreneurial flair is not in question, neither his business acumen.

    His crowning achievement would be conquering the market by providing products   with a high quality and responding to the customer needs.

    He is open-minded; ready to face variety of challenges and to take advantage of the opportunities.  Nwokeleme is looking for ways to create growth and value, drive value from the right transactions and where to compete. At the moment, most of his efforts are focused on bringing his products  to as many people as possible. He  intends to  expand  the range, creating more products.

    Three of his outstanding characteristics as an entrepreneur are fast working, paying attention to details and treating customers well.

    But he is  angry at the exploitation of young entrepreneurs who are desperate to borrow money to finance their businesses at all cost.

  • Entrepreneurship through agriculture

    The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, has enjoyed success as an entrepreneurial university. A lot has been done to promote entrepreneurship development through agricultural and allied programmes. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State is educating students and faculty to become successful  innovators and entrepreneurs.

    To achieve this, the university is investing millions of naira in researches and programmes which  students and faculty can turn into jobs, technologies and economically competitive advantages for the nation.

    One of the vehicles with which the  university is achieving this is Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (CAVA II), a research project sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The project , is  promoting  value addition to cassava.

    CAVA II is led by FUNAAB, working closely with the Natural Resources Institute of University of Greenwich, United Kingdom; International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria, Food Research Institute, Ghana; Food and Nutrition Centre, Tanzania; Africa Innovations Institute, Uganda; Chancellor College, University of Malawi and other partners.

    FUNAAB’s Director of Grants Management, Professor Kolawole Adebayo, is the Project Director.

    The project is implemented in five African countries namely: Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi, with the aim of improving the livelihoods and incomes of at least 200,000 value chain actors, especially smallholder farmers and processors, by at least $177 million in five years. This is  achieved through stimulating the sale of more than two million tonnes of cassava into high quality cassava flour (HQCF), starch, ethanol and other cassava product value chains.

    Other  ventures established  by the university  include the Cassava Production Unit, the bakery, palm oil unit, cashew nut unit, pineapple plantation, College of Animal Science and Livestock Production (COLANIM), cattle production venture farm and the Institute of Food Security, Environment Resources and Agricultural Research (IFSERAR) Farm.

    To enable the university community have access to agricultural products at affordable prices and to showcase research findings, the Directorate of University Farms (DUFARMS) has commissioned its agro mart shed.

    The  Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olusola Oyewole, said the agricultural products displayed were made possible due to the experience gained by DUFARMS staff that were sponsored by the university to the Songhai Farms, Republic of Benin ,  to understudy and replicate a prototype of the farm in FUNAAB.

    The Acting Director, DUFARMS, Mr. Michael Jaiyeola, appreciated the level of support given by management to the farm, noting that the construction of the agro mart shed was done using various products from the farm with the intention to generate more income for the university and enhance the production process at zero wastage level.

    He said the various end products from the farm would include cashew nut, palm oil, garri, cassava flour, yam, cucumber, moringa tree products, pinapple, maize, bush-meat, snail, plantain, banana, tomatoes, palmwine, among others.

    The Gender Issues and Youth Development (GIYD) arm of the Agricultural Media Resources and Extension Centre (AMREC) of university  was awarded a Certificate of Merit for its impressive performance during the just-concluded 7th Gateway Trade Fair, held at the M K O Abiola Trade Fair Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

    The  AMREC team, led by Dr. Elizabeth Oluwalana, was awarded for the display of various herbal products that are useful for healthy living and also for conducting a vocational training for participants alongside the Industrial Park Unit (IPU) of the University, led by Mr. Ayodele Elijah, who led the IPU team to display FUNAAB products such as garri, honey, fufu and cashew nuts among others. The trade fair with the theme: Promoting Trade for Sustainable Economic Growth, was organised by the Ogun State Council of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, in collaboration with Tacoms International Limited.

    In a related development, women farmers from the FUNAAB Extension Areas as well as the Community-Based Farming Scheme (COBFAS) communities, were trained by GIYD) in snail farming and the production of disinfectants.

    The Project Co-ordinator, GIYD, Dr. Olufunmilayo Oluwalana, appreciated the Vice-Chancellor for his support and interest in the empowerment of women as well as the resource person, Mrs. Aderele Gbemisola, for giving back to the society.

    The co-ordinator noted that the knowledge gained from the training would boost their economic status and contribute to making their environment bacteria-free.

    Dr. Oluwalana has also developed and patented products in collaboration with Professor Sam Oluwalana of the same university.

    The products are shea butter balm, herbal soap and UNAAB Twin Beehive (UTB). Other value-added products are herbal skin care (a moisturising and skin nourishing body lotion for anti-aging treatment); ginger, turmeric and moringa powder (immunity booster for variety of dishes as well as preparing fruit preservation); garlic powder (a natural antibiotic that combats hypertension and lowers cholesterol); 100% coconut oil (a natural oil care that promotes long healthy and beautiful hair); cayenee/chili pepper powder (this is used as condiment or taken with tea and pap in the morning, afternoon, evening or anytime); herbal soap mouth wash.

  • Govt urged to take stricter measures to prevent companies’ collapse

    The Global Leader, Clients and Markets, Grant Thornton International Limited (GTIL), United Kingdom, Mr. Gernot Hebestreit, has urged the Federal Government to introduce stricter measures and corporate transparency to prevent companies from collapsing.

    He also wants the government to increase the audit threshold to reduce companies’ exposure to fraud.

    Hebestreit, who is an international expert in busines development, while speaking in Lagos recently, noted that it was not in the interest of the country’s economy that companies falsify  their  financial records in order to impress the public or prospective investors.

    He regretted  that  auditing companies are associated with  firms that  deliberately manipulate their revenues.

    He   observed that   lack of transparency and accountability was presenting a major risk to the efficiency of capital markets, financial stability, and long term sustainability.

    He stressed the importance of good public financial management to improve service delivery and robust governance.

    He said this would improve the fiscal position of governments and aid both economic and social progress.

    He explained that Nigeria was missing out on potential economic growth and social wellbeing as a result of weak regulation, stressing that high quality regulation would  lead to better productivity and more inclusive growth.

    For  Nigeria to be great, he stressed the importance of financial reporting in the public sector and for Nigerians to be prepared to take responsibility for effective management of  public sector resources.

    Hebestreit explained that Nigeria is the biggest destination for companies in Europe but that it needs to put in place structures that support accountability and transparency to make it the cornerstone of the next phase of Africa’s robust and job-creating growth.

    He explained that the purpose of the organisation is to help countries and organisations build a vibrant economy, based on trust and integrity in markets, dynamic businesses, and communities where businesses and people thrive.

  • Entrepreneur savours sweet sauce of success

    Entrepreneur savours sweet sauce of success

    Tomato is a very valuable resource as many homes rely on it to improve the quality of their dishes. Lagos based entrepreneur Jide Adedeji has introduced a preservation method to make it last for a long time. This preservation technology has turned a money spinner for him. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    There’s no telling where a food entrepreneur will find inspiration to launch a business. These days, entrepreneurs are braving the financial risks to gather their own rewards by creating and marketing new products from cheese to nuts.

    One of them is Managing Director/CEO, Easy Sauces Nigeria Limited,Dr Jide Adedeji. He is a busy man. A dynamic serial investor. Adedeji is among professionals in the vanguard of entrepreneurial revolution. He was the pioneer Chief Executive Officer of Teragro, the agribusiness subsidiary of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria, which produced commercial orange, pineapple and mango juice concentrates for the first time in Nigeria.  He is an expert in creating and developing natural flavour ingredients from  farm produce.

    Adedeji has several ideas about food processing; these ideas cover the huge desk in his office in Lekki, Lagos. But top of crops for processing is tomatoes. This, according to him, is because of the rate tomatoes spoil and waste. So processing tomato is what is occupying his time now.  He did enough market research and found there was a huge gap in packaging fresh tomato product. As tomatoes have  a short shelf life, they have to be properly processed if they must last long.

    Due to  lack of storage and processing facilities, bad roads and poor access to markets, about half of the tomatoes harvested every year get rotten,  wasted and never get sold. As a result, many farmers suffer serious losses after all the money, time and effort invested in farming tomato during the year.

    Tomatos are not available all year round; they become very cheap during harvest time and expensive in the dry season. He   decided to implement a business project out of this. When fresh tomatoes are in season and flooding the markets, he tries to process them into sauce.  Today, the project has brought him tremendous success. He is proud of making tomato sauce  for a living.  His company also processes fresh pepper and tomato sauces packaged in sachets. ESNL creates fully cooked easy delicious authentic sauces for stews, soups, pasta, jollof rice, moi-moi, beans porridges, casserole and all cooking where tomatoes, peppers and onions are needed.  The sauce is African in its concept, preparation and texture. It is formulated with authentic sauce ingredients and it is free of added sugar, honey, corn syrups, and starches and dairy.

    Adedeji said it is cost-effective and readily available at different pack sizes.  He said: “Families can now enjoy the benefit of readily available sauce at affordable price.” The other thing is that it has a shelf life of 12 to 18 months without refrigeration.

    Offering this  and lots more is  opening  up a subsector , which  he  sees as  one  of the most untapped areas,  with many  restaurants and eateries opening  across the country.

    Having operated in the United States before coming back to Nigeria,  Adedeji  knew he  had to adopt international best practices, the highest standards of service quality and operational excellence to all its valued customers.   The inclusion of value-adding processes in the business is what has given him some advantages.

    Today, the result is tremendous. Besides creating a means of livelihood for himself, he hires 30 people on full time basis apart from 30 casual workers.

    Despite the use of technology, he explained that the business is still   labour-intensive. His  regular workers is 30, but  he  engages another 30  casual workers, depending on the volume of purchase orders he receives from his buyers. He  expressed a lot of grit and determination to break into the local market, and is unfazed by stiff competition from the larger and more established brands.

    His path has not always been easy. He has encountered problems. Even now, he has to understand how to adapt and how to modify his project. One is that infrastructure is poor.

    Further constraints are high cost of accessing foreign exchange and little information on prices.  Safeguarding the input supplies and the product quality are additional limitations that have to be overcome.  To overcome this, the team makes efforts evaluating the quality of the produce and the farmers’ compliance with international safety standards.

    He has learnt a lot of lessons. One is that the initial struggles and despair of launching a start-up to many successful entrepreneurs, is not to seek immediate returns.  He is happy to play an important role in employment generation and  provision of affordable food products for large numbers of households.

  • Lagos to create wealth, jobs for residents

    Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr. Babatunde Durosinmi –Etti  has said the government is determined to build more wealth  and job creating activities that would lead to a more successful, sustainable and fairer economy.

    Durosimi-Etti told reporters that there is a plan to explore more talents and resources to build the state’s  potential to become a hub for the industries of the future. To this end, the ministry is strengthening collaborative approaches to drive and raise productivity.

    According to him, the government is resolved to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurship and innovation to boost economic performance.

    He said the state is encouraging more apprenticeship training courses, with a refocused skills training plan.

    Durosinmi –Etti    said this will boost job prospects across the  local government areas. There is  an action to create  openings for artisans,  build resource projects and  reform the  education system to prepare a workforce for the future .

    According to him, the government has the  objectives to maximise the school-to-jobs plan, including focusing on early hands-on learning in schools, shifting education to match jobs in demand and entering partnerships with industry and labour to deliver training.

    The government, he stated, would  be  asking institutions to focus their training programmes and courses on what it calls high-demand occupations.

    On  job registration/ labour exchange centres, he said there will  be  one in each of the five divisions of the state.

    Consequently, each local government / local council development area is to establish annexes of the centres in their various domains.

    He said the ministry has so far commissioned the Badagry Division Centre in Ojo Local Government Secretariat, Ojo and the Lagos Division Centre at Igbo Efon, Eti-Osa Local Government Secretariat, Eti-Osa.

    The Ikorodu Division Centre, according to him,   is being  renovated while office spaces have been secured at Epe and Mushin Local government secretariats  to accommodate Epe Division and Ikeja Division respectively.

    He stated also that the ministry was able to get five guidance counselors re-deployed from the Ministry of Education to work at the centres on career guidance, in addition to other IT personnel.

    The job registration /labour exchange centres (LECs), are meant to provide wealth creation and employment services with the state government giving focus on career counseling, he added.

  • More Nigerian businessmen in UK coming home to invest

    MANY Nigerians and Africans in the United Kingdom are returning home to invest, an international expert, Evadney Campbell has said.

    Campbell, who was in Lagos to conduct training for small and medium enterprises under the auspices of Sterling Business Network(SBN), told The Nation that situation in Nigeria is welcoming for those in the diapora, adding that  Nigeria has prospect for rapid growth, with increasing business opportunities and a thriving consumer market.

    According to her, Nigerian entrepreneurs living in the United Kingdom are coming to set up small multinational companies to establish their presence and explore opportunities across the continent.

    She explained that investment by the returnees was  very important, adding that the local economies need them to bring  knowledge, technology and  create jobs.

    She added that SBN is focused on making sure more Nigerians in the Diaspora participate in the nation’s economic growth.

    During the training workshop, delegates will learn how to maximise their brand potentials and media presence.The interactive training workshop will give participants tips and practical exercises on how to develop their own PR campaigns, including how to create an effective press releases, using social media platforms to promote brand, products or services, as well as innovative techniques for gaining increased media attention for their businesses.

    Evadney Campbell was the  first black female presenter on BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

    Evadney spent 17 years presenting and producing an African Caribbean radio magazine programme, ‘Black Echo’, for the BBC South West region -covering Gloucestershire, Bristol and Wiltshire.

    In 1994, she was awarded an MBE for services to the African and Caribbean Communities in Gloucester following her dedication to charity work.