Demi Samande: An Industrious Woman Doing Audacious Things in the Manufacturing Industry

Ayodeji Ake

Meet award-winning entrepreneur, Demi Samade, one of Nigeria’s finest manufacturers, who has carved a niche for herself in a male-dominated industry. Her name may not ring a bell but her company, Majeurs Holdings, and products echo out loud like a vuvuzela. She has not only done well, but it will interest you to know that all furniture is done with locally sourced materials.

Majeurs Holdings is a unique furniture solutions company that prides itself on delivering exceptional quality and craftsmanship.

Recently, she was engaged in a tete-a-tete with newsmen where she fields answers to questions on how she was inspired to return to Nigeria amid the ‘japa syndrome’, how she was able to navigate her way in the industry, empowering the youths through her academy and revealing her debut book ‘In Her hands’.

Semande’s debut book, “In Her Hands”,  is a guide to shaping the future of manufacturing in Africa: It is a story told from a woman’s perspective and provides a toolkit for African entrepreneurs and investors to drive transformative growth and achieve sustainable business success.

As Africa is seen as the next largest economy to grow, concerns about exploitation from outside interests are equally growing. The book offers practical tools, inspiring stories, and expert insights based on Demi Samande’s real-world experiences as an entrepreneur and investor.

“In Her Hands” is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of manufacturing in Africa and the role of youths in shaping that future. The book also provides a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges African entrepreneurs and investors face. It offers guidance on how to seize opportunities to transform the African economy for the benefit of all.

The book will motivate emerging entrepreneurs to tackle business challenges and provide the guidelines they require to create successful businesses. It features interviews with renowned entrepreneurs, business executives, and creative persons.

“I am thrilled to share this book with the world. It is a testament to the power and resilience of youths in manufacturing in Africa and a call to action for all of us to support and empower them,” she said.

Semande uses her personal story of a humble beginning from a flat in London to becoming the premier manufacturer of luxury furniture in West Africa to motivate and empower furniture makers, artisans, and creatives who fuel the manufacturing industry and prepare them for the global market.

She revealed how she was intentional about bridging the knowledge gap in the manufacturing industry.

“When I moved to Nigeria to start my business, I realized there was a significant knowledge gap. Many manufacturers had been in the industry for 20 to 25 years, yet their stories were unknown. If these stories had been available, they could have saved me time and effort during my early days. With this book, I wanted to capture those stories so that entrepreneurs like myself have a template to guide them,” she said.

Speaking further, Semande said she wants her book to be a “conversational starter on why we can no longer afford a country and as a continent to ignore manufacturing as a means to transform the lives of young people genuinely.

“If we want true growth and an environment that inspires people, we need to be sincere about one thing, to be a country that is self-sustaining, a country that can not only support itself but create value in the global market also, we absolutely and unequivocally cannot afford to continue ignoring manufacturing as a way to create opportunities and a way to create prosperity.”
“I am a product of manufacturing and my wish is to ultimately see more young people genuinely coming into the manufacturing industry because the industry cannot be sustained by itself.
“We need innovation and support so desperately and we need people to understand that as a country, we are leaving so much money on the table by not empowering our nation by taking our raw materials and natural resources seriously by processing them for the manufacturing industry to turn it into value-added products.”

As a way of giving back to society, she kickstarted a project tagged ‘Buy a Book, Train a Student,’ supports the academy’s mission to foster technical and creative skills among students. She promised to use part of the proceeds from the book to empower some Nigerian youths enrolled in her manufacturing academy, Majeurs Academy.