Femi Olayebi
Femi Olayebi is the Chief Creative Director of Femi Handbags, a manufacturing company that produces only unique handbag designs.
The business, which started in 1994 focuses on the design and manufacture of highly quality, and affordable handbags targeted at different segments of the market.
Femi Olayebi’s love for leather and a desire to see the industry grow led her to start the Lagos Leather Fair, an initiative that showcases West Africa’s leading leather brands to the world thus creating awareness on the potential value of the leather industry.
This annual event, now in its fifth year, brings together stakeholders from across the leather value chain to find sustainable solutions to move the industry forward, and to build an ecosystem that works.
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Femi completed a bachelor’s degree in French from the University of Ibadan, and other certifications from the Institute of Translators and Interpreters, Strasbourgh, France; Lagos Business School-Pan Atlantic University, and Modapelle Academy, Milan.
Following her success in the leather industry, Femi has mentored creatives passionate about the leather industry, providing them with trainings and road maps to follow in order to achieve success. She hopes to develop the institution further into a well-structured platform where leather designers can come together to showcase their work. She believes that the leather industry, like its fashion counterpart, is capable of standing on its own as shown by the success of the various editions of the Lagos Leather Fair.
In recognition of her efforts in the leather space, she was selected in January 2017 by WeConnect International in Washington as the 2017 Women’s Business Enterprise Winner in the Best Mentor and Role Model category for her mentoring role in the lives of upcoming designers.
Femi is the recipient of various awards including Best Female Handbag Designer by Exquisite Ladies of the Year Awards in 2016, Nigeria 100 SME Women by Bank and Entrepreneur Africa (2017), and 100 Most Innovative Female-Owned Businesses in Nigeria by Invicta Africa and SME 100 Africa in 2017.