Olatorera Oniru is the 29 year old founder and CEO of Dressmeoutlet.com, an online African inspired fashion retailer. The business itself is under one year old and has already garnered offers of financial support from outside investors, including billionaire and business entrepreneur Tony Elumelu.
But before this e-commerce start-up began, its founder Olatorera spent many years developing her business skills and cultivating her company.
Mrs. Oniru graduated from North Carolina A&T State University majoring in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship. Upon graduation, she moved to New York and made her debut on Wall street.
In an interview with Forbes.com Oniru explains, “Working for Bank of America Merrill Lynch sums up one of the absolute best times of my life – working on Wall Street in the world’s greatest city that never sleeps – New York City, while leading million dollar initiatives supporting the optimization of revenue by investment bankers.”
After leaving Merril Lynch, Oniru went on to work for Bank of Nigeria as a Senior Supervisor and then to Emory University to receive her Masters in Business Administration. It was during her tenure at Emory University that Olatorera focused on building her own business.
“As comfortable as I was, earning way above average with the conglomerates I worked for, I just could not be too comfortable knowing that the poverty rate in Nigeria is 65% and even worse in other African countries.”
“During my MBA days, I was keenly learning and strategizing on how to innovate, build, grow and lead a large company and thus my goal as an MBA candidate was to learn, learn, learn, plan, plan, plan. A good percentage of the business plan for Dressmeoutlet.com was written during my MBA days” reports Forbes.com.
Once receiving her MBA, Oniru spent her last employee experience at Lars Magnus Ericsson Corporation, a telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. While working in Sweden, Olatorera received two Executive Leadership Certificates.
“During my MBA days, I was keenly learning and strategizing on how to innovate, build, grow and lead a large company and thus my goal as an MBA candidate was to learn, learn, learn, plan, plan, plan.”
Although Olatorera was already a groundbreaking success, the young business leader recognized a greater need to reach her own goals. Once she felt completely comfortable in her skill level, Olatorera transitioned into entrepreneurship, launching her business with her personal savings in May 2016.
Since launching her business, based in Lagos, Nigeria, Olatorera Oniru has been named in Forbes’ list of “30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs In Africa.”
Beyond her quick success as an entrepreneur, Olatorera has another goal of increasing the quality of life for Nigerians and other African countries.
Through her business she hopes to provide job opportunities and create a spike in economic growth in Africa. “As comfortable as I was, earning way above average with the conglomerates I worked for, I just could not be too comfortable knowing that the poverty rate in Nigeria is 65% and even worse in other African countries. And I know we need more leaders in Africa coming out of our comfort zones to change the status quo,” says Forbes.com.
Dressmeoutlet.com offers high-quality fashion products, health & beauty products and home-goods. 40% of the products are manufactured in Africa.
To learn more or to support the business, visit http://www.dressmeoutlet.com.
Article headline is wrong. She is not a former Aggie. Once an Aggie, always an Aggie.