Afrique Nana began in 1992, after Ghanaian-born Nana won praises for a flowing and colorful African dress she wore while attending her cousin's wedding in the U.S. That same year, she bought two industrial sewing machines and employed her mom and another tailor back home in Ghana to begin making her unique fashions.
One of Mainoo-Yeboah's lucrative designs is an “Attitude” hat, which “you can wear in six different directions,” she said. “I developed the hat 16 years ago and it's still selling.”
Mainoo-Yeboah said she 'concentrated on a market niche' to sustain her business. “I go with high-end clothing and sell to pastor's wives and professionals,” she said. “They like to look different.”
She said she has served over 1500 steady customers in the U.S. and employed as many as 14 people in her small specialty import business. Because of the recession, those employees have been cut to seven.
“The recession made it very difficult for specialty clothingAfrican clothing to survive,” said Mainoo-Yeboah. “We do well during Black History Month. But, that is about the only time we really do well and during the summer.”
Mainoo-Yeboah is looking forward to growing her business soon. But, she is skeptical of the financial opportunities for small minority businesses. “Some of the other challenges are getting the capital to expand. Banks aren't really giving out any money,” she said. “SBA is, but you really have to go through the banks. And, the interest rate is still high . . .”
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According to her, competition from other foreign markets such as India and China is driving the market price for African clothing down and “making the specialty market very difficult to penetrate.”
Mainoo-Yeboah said her next step is to take Afrique Nana online. “The Internet is the way to go now. My customer's can choose what they want, anytime.”
Afrique Nana
Owner: Nana Mainoo-Yeboah
Location: 2800 W. Roosevelt Dr. (By Appt. Only)
Contact: (414) 736.5886
Email: afriquenana2@aol.com
