PRECIOUS AKELE: The energy behind the indigenous ‘Maya’ organic products

…says empowering women is her goal-driven mission.

Precious Omolegho Akele is a passionate female entrepreneur who has carved a strong niche for herself in the Skincare industry. She is among the top Nigerian female entrepreneurs to pioneer the skincare industry, using digital marketing as a strategy to build a strong clientele base.

Over the years she has revolved to become a professional beauty aesthetician and manufacturer of a globally accepted and Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Control (Nafdac) approved organic skincare brand called “Maya.”

The innovative entrepreneur is dedicated to the course of empowering African females to become a Skincare consultants and distributors to the brand, ‘Maya’ that gives them the opportunity to earn at least 20-40 percent profit on each products. She has successfully built this model using her digital platform, with over 500 committed distributors around Africa and more females coming on board.

Speaking about building the Maya brand, Akele reveals her motivations, energy and goal-driven mission.
“I will say my motivation is from God, I am close to God and in all I do I check if it is in line with my creator’s purpose for my life. Although I never planned to start a skincare brand, but I started off as a makeup artist, which became very successful.
Along the line, God redirected my path into starting this brand name called ‘MAYA,’ originating from my daughter’s name, Amayah, which means, ‘close to God’ in Hebrew. I connected deeply to the name and ever since then it has been a wonderful journey,” she said.

However, it may not have been easy for a starter like Precious, but having the will and resilient spirit, she weathered storms by not giving up to see the initiative become a reality.
According to her, trowing in the towel was once a challenge but as a strong spirited entrepreneur with focus, she did not give up.
“I have thought of giving up several times. You know, running a business in Nigeria will break you. For us manufacturers, a lot of things are not favourable. Doing business in Nigeria is like, ‘when life gives you Lemon to make LEMONADE.’ What this means is converting difficulties in life into opportunities and producing something positive and desirable. That is what I have done with ‘MAYA ORGANICS LIMITED’ over the years,” added Akele.

With a twist of faith and academic experience, the young entrepreneur combined her dual academic experiences to foster what has today become a brand to reckon with.
“I originally studied History and Diplomacy in my first degree and also did Business Administration in my Masters degree. The truth is that my course of study in the first degree being History and Diplomacy helped me to understand how to relate better with people. It afforded me the opportunity to avoid confrontations with people in business. Utilising the benefits of diplomacy, you can say I am a diplomat. And after seven years in running a business, I decided to apply and study Business Administration at Nexford University, Washington Dc,” says Akele.

Precious Akele disclosed how the industry that is saturated with all kinds of organic products in the market has come to stay, despite the presence of some substandard among them. However, she was quick to admit that Maya has maintained a status quo among others and would always remain ahead.
“The skincare industry is an emerging one in Africa. I do not see Maya in competition with any other skincare brand. This is because of the uniqueness of our products; the quality, efficacy and effectiveness. It is an organic product made with special focus and attention on our consumers in Africa and across the globe. We have been getting amazing feedbacks from customers all over the world. According to reactions, people love the brand. The products are clinical tested and formulated with high performance ingredients.

“Maya will become a household brand in Africa in few years to come, no doubt about that. Our consistency in churning out quality products will not wane. We are also employing evolving technology as a strategy to build and maintain a globally accepted brand. I would honestly say that in less than few years to come, every skincare enthusiast, influencers and celebrities will be talking about Maya products,” Akele noted.

The rising female entrepreneur who has the upliftment of African women at heart said, “We are also asking business oriented women to show interest in distribution of our products, which has a rewarding and empowering effects. We are here to help African women succeed and become independent in life. That would also account to our giving back to society as part of our social responsibility projects.”