Episode 2: Francesca Opoku - “As an entrepreneur, I have learned that a lot is possible.”
This episode features the fabulous Francesca Brenda Opoku, a Social Entrepreneur and Chief Executive Officer of Solution Oasis Ltd; a Ghanaian agro-processing company that manufactures the BEAUTY SECRETS, EXOTIC MAN and KIPENZI brands of natural beauty products from shea butter and agricultural waste. Entrepreneurship: After leaving her corporate job and despite a rocky start to her entrepreneurship journey, Francesca pushed through in the face or early challenges and now curate’s high quality shea butter products sourced directly from cooperatives in Ghana. One of her key lesson learned is that “as an entrepreneur, I have learned that a lot is possible.” Francesca shares many gems and pearls of wisdom that demystify entrepreneurship and paint a more accurate but still quite inspiring image of what entrepreneurship is really like. Entrepreneurship is not a thing that you do alone, it is a thing that you do in partnership. Funding Challenges: When asked about her challenges with funding she emphasized how much time and dedication the process of securing funding or financing requires. She often wonders whether she has spent a whole lifetime fundraising—knowing that it is a necessary although trying part of the process of growing and scaling a business. She shares how frustrating and sometimes demoralizing fundraising can be to the point of bringing her to tears sometimes, but it is part of the hurdles that many entrepreneurs will have to overcome to get to where they want to take their business. Her many challenges with fundraising has often left her disheartened but her resilience has always allowed her to rally when she thinks about why she does what she does and what she has already invested. Her resilience is anchored by the hunger and appetite for what she has created, and the blood sweat and tears that have been invested and a bit of hope. “What business do I have staying at the mediocre stage when I know that the world is mine to take and that if I do, I am not going alone. I am taking so many people with me and also that I am very qualified for what is available and why are the doors being closed?” This is a question that she is still looking for answers to. Partnership: Francesca talks fondly about the beautiful relationship that she has developed with competitor turned partner and friend who has become like family—Funlayo Alabi of Shea Radiance skin and haircare brand. Francesca supplies the black soaps marketed by Shea Radiance and is a part of the Shea Radiance supply chain while maintaining her own skincare product lines and living and defining what it means to ‘collaborate to compete’. As entrepreneurs and black women in the case of Francesca and Funlayo, they are proving that women can collaborate to win while competing in the same business. How to connect with Francesca: Email: beautysecretsusa.com Social media: beautysecretsusa in Instagram and Facebook beautysecrets africa Come back to check out new episodes released every two-weeks on Wednesdays. If you like this content go to Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts and hit the subscribe button and stream or download your favorite episodes. Don’t forget to leave a rating and review to get the podcast more listeners and spread its impact.