I am an introvert spirit full of creativity. My name is Agripina and I鈥檓 30 years old. I was born in Ebibeyin, in the Kie Nt茅m Province of Equatorial Guinea. I鈥檓 one of my mother鈥檚 four children. My father has four wives and I am the 20th of his 53 children.
At the age of eight my parents divorced, leaving my brothers and I with our mother in Malabo Island, where I still live to date.
I attended Santa Teresita High School obtaining my high school diploma in 2009. That same year, I enrolled for a business management course at the National University of Equatorial Guinea but did not complete my studies at there because I won a scholarship to study at the National Institute of Hydrocarbon Technology (ITNHGE).
At ITNHGE, I learned about mechanical engineering, processes, electrical and instrumentation disciplines, and obtained a diploma in February 2014. In May 2017 I acquired another diploma as a Pharmacy Technician at AFOREPFA (Academia de听Formaci贸n y听Reciclaje de听Personal听Farmac茅utico)听technical school still in Malabo.
My business
My business, AfrikChic by Ndoho, creatively uses听Ankara听or听Kente听materials to make shoes, bags, necklaces, tiaras, earrings, bracelets, hair ornaments and more. I have several apprentices at the moment.
To me, my biggest accomplishment is the acknowledgment and admiration I get from people every time I participate in an exposition. I have taken part in two of such events and I used the opportunity to promote my work. Many young people came to me asking for advice and support to be able to do what I am doing.
Challenges
One of my biggest challenges is getting the equipment that will help take my business to the next level. For now, I鈥檓 only able to line the shoes and bags we make with听Ankara听material. But I need the machines that will help me make the shoes myself.
I sometimes make the bags from hard paper used for making boxes, because getting the right material for it from Nigeria is a challenge. It has gotten worse with the closure of the borders with Nigeria due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
These challenges have prevented me from starting my planned design and craft school where the youth in my community can learn to how to make different items with the听Kente听cloth and earn money to support themselves.
My message to youth
My message to the youth in Africa is, let鈥檚 stop waiting for others to find solutions to the problems we face in our continent. God gave us different kinds of talents to make our continent succeed.
Let鈥檚 use our talents to make Africa a much better place. Let鈥檚 do it with love, passion and strength.
We, the youth, are the solutions to our problems. We must take full ownership!
