This month I am so pleased to be featuring Margaret Kadi. I met Margaret through my social enterprise organization Girls Empowerment Summit Sierra Leone. Margaret served as a mentor for our annual summit that takes place every year in the organization. After the summit ended I took a visit to Margaret's store Pangea and was blown away. Pangea is a Made in Sierra Leone lifestyle brand that celebrates the creative side of Sierra Leone. Pangea specialises in Custom Furniture, Home Decor and Fashion Accessories. Their Custom Furniture product range includes Doors, Beds, Wardrobes, Office Furniture and much more. With regards to the Home Decor and Fashion Accessories, the company caters to the well-travelled discerning customer who appreciates the value of handmade. Some of these handmade products include woven blankets, woven table runners, clothing for women, men and children. If you are looking for some of the most quality eco-friendly and beautifully made goods and products Pangea is your place to visit and Margaret is one of the people to do business with.
This woman is one of the powerful, entrepreneurs in Freetown and I am so blessed to have met her. She exudes such a positive spirit, whilst commanding a presence of confidence with her work. I walked away with a few amazing items and was treated with such respect, love and care as a customer. If you are ever in Freetown you must head over to Pangea. I am so happy to have interviewed her and her story will truly inspire you.
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| Margaret Kadi Owner of Pangea |
ON MARGARET THE WOMAN
Q: Describe
yourself in 1 word and tell us why you chose that word?
A: Determined – I
will have a go at anything because nothing really scares me. My determination
and stamina has taken me to places beyond my wildest dreams
Q: Tell us
a bit about yourself, your cultural heritage and background, where you grew up
and what brings you to the work?
A: I was born in Sierra Leone and lived
and studied there up until 1993 when I went to further my studies in the UK. I
was raised by my father as sadly I lost my mother when I was 5years old. Having
two older brothers and a successful father definitely shaped me in being a very
strong woman. I wanted to do everything
the boys did – I was into breakdancing and football - I am still into football
bigtime!
My father was my role model and I wanted to achieve as much as he did. I
got my degree in Business Administration as I didn’t really know what I wanted
to do after I graduated. I had to do a year’s placement in my third year at
University so I was offered a placement in the Finance Department at MTV
Networks Europe. Whilst there, I figured out this was the opportunity of a
lifetime and I wanted to know how other aspects of a multinational company
worked. At the weekends I would go to the studios and watch the live shows
being filmed and I fell in love with the world of television. I did that for
about 2 months and I got to know the crew very well. To my surprise I was asked
to help them out at the weekends which I did voluntarily as I could not believe
my luck. I worked 7 days a week for a whole year, but it paid off, because I
was asked to stay on in Production as a Floor Manager for 2 live shows whilst
in my final year and worked for them full time after I graduated. I later on worked for Sky Sports (British Sky
Broadcasting) and Discovery Channel before my husband convinced me to visit
Sierra Leone after being away for more than 15 years. This was when my love affair
for Sierra Leonean made products started and I decided to start my own business
called Project Sierra Leone, making quality handmade home décor and fashion
accessories. We had a store for two years and we have a display of our goods at
Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel, Freetown. Just before the lease ran out on my
store, my husband and I decided to collaborate and open a new Lifestyle Store
called Pangea. We specialize in locally made Hard-wood Furniture, Interior
Decoration, Home and Fashion Accessories.
Q: How do you
take care of yourself and what to you enjoy doing to take time for yourself
outside of work?
A: I am a bit of a workaholic so I don’t
have too much time outside work but I am working on it! I had one month were I
worked every single day without a break
and my husband had to be stern with me about working too much – I got the message
after that. Now I make Sundays ‘my day’. I literally have my phone off and do
nothing work related, go to the beach with my husband and chill, eat and read a
book. When I don’t get the chance to go
to the beach I am perfectly happy staying in bed watching a movie or football. This
totally relaxes me and gets me ready for what’s ahead.
I am a bit of a social butterfly so I also love spending time with my
awesome girlfriends who are equally as crazy as I am and always know what to do
to make me relax.
ON PANGEA AND CREATIVITY
Q: Tell us a
bit about Pangea, where does the name come from? and Why did you decide to
enter into business within this specific market?
A: Pangea is a Latin word and it means
‘Supercontinent’ and is a reference to ‘One World’, before the continents split
into Africa, Asia, America etc. It also relates to Mother Gaia/Mother Nature,
hence our affinity for naturally made products. I have also always loved
Interiors and Soft Furnishings – growing up I had books, video tapes of home
improvements shows and my husband and I must have literally watched a thousand
documentaries on home improvement, renovations and construction projects. We
had always hoped to be doing what we do today so we feel so blessed it came to
fruition.
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| Handmade Chair from Pangea Store |
Q: Tell us
about challenges you face doing business in Africa particularly Sierra Leone?
How have you overcome these challenges?
A: We face a lot of challenges doing
business in Sierra Leone which range from logistics, shortages/lack of
materials, timekeeping, electricity, lack of education etc. The list is endless
but we do the best we can to overcome them.
Part of the way we cope with these challenges include amending the
designs of some of our furniture. We don’t use handles on any of our pieces
because all we have here are cheap imports so we have kept our styles simple.
Q: What do you love about Pangea? And what do you believe has
contributed to the growth of your business?
A: I absolutely love everything because I am involved in every aspect of
the business - from sourcing fabrics to designing a dress for a client. I think
the passion my husband and I have for what we do is quite evident when you come
into our store. We really love what we do because we have a lot of repeat
custom and I think that says it all. The drawback with having a lot of repeat
custom is the fact that we always have to be creative so that the store is
fresh with new products all the time.
We pretty much have most of the pieces we have in the store in our
home so it’s very easy to sell what you love. With regards to the furniture we
sell, our customers are locals but we have a lot of travelling customers for
everything else. Our customers are like an extension of our family as they will
always come back to tell us how well received the products were and suggest
some items we should make – listening to what the customer wants always helps.
We customize everything sold in our store so it’s greatly appreciated when a
customer can have something made to their specifications.
Q: 10 years from now where
do you see Pangea ?
A: 10 years from
now I see Pangea as one of the leading brands in Sierra Leone. On the
international stage, we hope to have a presence in Africa either by having
another store somewhere in West Africa or exporting our goods to other markets
around the world.
LOVE + SISTERHOOD
Q: Tell us 3 most important characteristics one must have to be
successful in your field of work?
A: The 3 most important
characteristics I think one must have to be successful in my field of work are;
1.
Belief – try
not to lose this even when no one around you trusts what you are doing
2.
Always uphold
standards – never compromise on it. Nothing makes it to the shop floor if it hasn’t
been approved by me or my husband. We do all our quality controls and if it
does not meet our standards we have to start again. I am a bit of a stickler
which I am sure frustrates the artisans sometimes but they get it now when they
see the admiration for our work.
3.
Innovate – We
do a lot of research with regards to our products. We have a lot of travelling
customers so I am always looking at how to make things that are small,
lightweight, stylish and most of all functional.
Q: What does Sisterhood
mean to you and why is it critical to our success as African women?
A: Sisterhood is
everything to me, nothing makes me more happy than to see another woman
succeed. I believe in my own abilities and I know that I can do anything I want
to do if I put my mind to it so I applaud other people’s success. We need to
support each other through the good and the bad times in-order for us all to
win.
Q: Please
complete the sentence “Women Change
Africa because…?”
A: Women
change Africa because we are not scared to stick our necks on the line for what
we believe in.
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| Cushion Covers from Pangea Store |
Facebook – www.facebook.com/pangea
Read Margaret's recent feature in Guardian Nigeria 5 women to conduct business with in Sierra Leone curated by Women Change Africa.
Read Margaret's recent feature in Guardian Nigeria 5 women to conduct business with in Sierra Leone curated by Women Change Africa.
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