Description of the Company
Name of the Company: Mina production
Main activity: Sewing and dyeing
Employees: 4 employees and 5 apprentices
Years in Business: 19 years
Description of the Entrepreneurs(s)
Names of the owners: Aminata Diop and Astou Coulibaly
Positions: Director and General Secretary
Ages: 40 and 34 years old
Education: high school (12th grade) and 9th grade.
This interview was conducted with Aminata Diop, Director of Mina Production Company, incubated at the National Council of Negro Women in Senegal.
Is this the first company that you have started, and what drove you towards it?
Yes. I realized that we had the potential. We were trained in sewing and dyeing and wanted to be famous in the field of couture and dyeing. We wanted to create more jobs for the community. Dyeing is a traditional activity in the Saint Louis community and we wanted to value the local culture and tradition while creating new African design.
"We realized that before the incubation, we operated in the dark, we were making money on a daily basis, but we have never operated as an organized business. Incubation helped us be visible through Internet, for the first time we have a free space on Internet where we are displaying our products."
Anita Diop, Director, Mina Production
How did you finance your start-up operations and how long did it take for the company to become self-sustainable?
With support from family and friends, we bought a sewing machine and started our activities without a business plan. We started training dropout school girls in sewing and got some money that was reinvested. We used to sell their product to neighbours. Customers liked our products, in addition we were selling the local fabric pants to tourists as well as dyeing and selling table clothes and other home decoration items.
What are your plans for self sustainability?
The enterprise is not yet self sustainable. The workshop is located in the”Village Artisanal”, owned and operated by the state. Entrepreneurs pay a 10USD monthly rent. We are not formally getting salaries. We have not been able to market our products correctly. This is why after more than ten years of operation, we decided to integrate our company into a women focused incubator, which provides technical assistance and office space to help women entrepreneurs grow. It is a privilege to be selected among incubator clients and we hope to be self sustainable in the near future.
What are your major products and services and how are they unique? What is your competition?
The uiqueness of our products comes from design inspired by local culture and use of local fabrics. Our major products include clothes, home decoration, African masks, jewellery, and cultural artefacts, such as dolls, key holders, and so on. Our main competitors are the boutiques located downtown and others sellers in the “Village Artisanal”, and tailors that make-to-measure. China is also a competitor on the international level, as they produce local designs using mass production selling at low prices.
How did you first launch the product?
We launched our first product by making a direct marketing campaign towards hotels and tourists guides. We got support from family members and friends, for example our sisters and aunts assisted in the production.
How do you measure the success of the company?
Yearly income has gone from 200 USD in 1989 to 11,212 USD 2007. Furthermore, we have participated in 2 international trade fairs and 10 local trade fairs.
Who are your clients and how many do you have? How are you focusing on expanding your user community?
Our clients are tourists from western countries who visit Saint Louis, such as France, USA, Spain, Japan, etc. as well as local customers, such as hotels and individuals.
We serve about ten hotels, 100 tourists annually, and about 700 locals customers annually. We started documenting this when we entered the incubator.
Are you planning to patent your product and do you see any obstacles in doing so?
In the field of sewing, patenting is not an issue. Competitors tend to copy others' creations and the legal environment is not severe for copying. The main difficulty might be the cost of the patent.
What was the biggest challenge in starting an innovative business in your country and how did you overcome that?
Access to finance and equipment was and still is still our big issue. The problem is not yet overcome. That is why we are participating to the incubation program.
How have you benefited from business incubation?
First of all we have benefited through training in management, accounting, marketing, computer software, and the Internet. We realized that before the incubation, we operated in the dark, we were making money on a daily basis, but we have never operated as an organized business. Incubation helped us be visible through Internet, for the first time we have a free space on Internet where we are displaying our products.
Coaching has also been important. The incubator organized weekly coaching sessions, where we were able to discuss the issues and difficulties that we faced in managing our business.
Finally, access to office space and modern office equipment was also something crucial that the business incubator offers. Now in addition to the workshop, which is the shop, we have an office where we do our administrative and accounting work.
Do you have some specific lessons that you know now and wish you would have known when you started your business, and which you would like to share with fellow entrepreneurs?
The incubator is an eye opener for us. It has helped us understand the principals of business management. We learnt that we cannot operate a business without documentation. Management and accounting courses in addition to the computer training have helped us bridge the gap. None of us learned management and accounting before integrating the incubator, with Microsoft excel, we are able to do our accounting, we have a daily log and the software helps facilitate calculations.
Incubation has stimulated the desire to learn more and be in contact with the international market: Astou is learning French to increase her communication skills, and Aminata is learning English online.
Incubation has also widened our horizons. Globalization and international markets have a meaning for us. We learn that we can have access to those markets if they know our product and if we learn how to reach those markets.
Incubation can really make a difference for the informal sector. We cannot do good business, and have access to funds and equipment if we are not able to document transactions and present a sound business plan. Formal registration will allow to do business with international firms
Do you plan to internationalize your product and if so, how?
Yes. So far, we have a free Internet space, where we display our product. NCNW is helping to target the international market. The managing Director participated to the market readiness training Program and presented our products. We got positive feedback that we included in our production process.
With hindsight, are there any particular lessons or messages that you wish you would have known when you started up your company?
Setting and writing down a business plan should a first step. It helps clarify objectives, strategies and the segment of the market you want to reach. You should also have computer skills. It is an essential tool, if we want to compete in the global and local markets. Having proper management techniques and tools is also very important. Every transaction needs to be documented.
Do you feel that you had the necessary advisory and support network when you started your company?
No, we operated in the dark until we were able to join the NCNW Business Incubator. We created the business as an alternative to fight poverty and create our own jobs.
What is your message to funders/supporters and what is your message to the users of your product?
Our message to funders is that incubation is a powerful tool to help entrepreneurs that don’t have the required skills and they need to create more incubators, especially in developing countries, where access to education is low. To our supporters and users of the products we would like to say that buying from us is valuing the local culture and helping us to develop community pride.
For more information about the NCNW Business Incubator, please visit their profile in the Global Network Directory.