The African Jewel
Q&A with Tadiwa Sora, Afroodrip – Styra Yacho
This week our collaborator is a young, inspiring, and trend-setting brand. Their desire to do the unusual whilst demonstrating to other African youths that it can be done is a true reflection of expressing one’s authentic self. Our conversations with them have spanned several months and we hope this Q&A can help illustrate their ambitions and African expression. Enjoy!
Tell us a bit about you and your brand. When did you begin and what were your early motivations? My name is Tadiwa Sora and I am a 23-year-old student studying computer Information systems and Marketing in Chicago, USA, I own Afroodrip, a Zimbabwean brand that sells African-themed jewellery. Afroodrip was started in August 2020 and amongst many motivators were the hopes of promoting African pride amongst the Zimbabwean youths and elders. I’ve seen how a brand can flourish if it stands for something people believe in and because of my pride as a young Zimbabwean I was motivated to start a Zimbabwean business.
Why did you choose to start a jewellery brand, especially when most millennials are focused on digital content creation? I chose jewellery because one of the main ideas I had was to produce something of quality and that represents Africa as a whole. Content creation is very lucrative and has a heavy influence on the youth but I felt it was of importance to have something tangible that a person can wear and never forget about.
Have you always been interested in mining and jewellery? I never used to wear necklaces growing up but as I got older I started to wear accessories that are African themed when I moved here to America I realized that Africa is the most unique continent on this earth having lived in England, Australia and the Americas & I speak from my own personal honest experience.
Describe your process. Would you say you have a clear idea of your direction when you work? I decided to make my process as easy as possible because I am far away from the actual location of it. I basically handle marketing on social media and my friend Tadiwa, who is also my business partner handles sales and distribution on the ground. For international orders, I ship from here in Chicago to provide our customers with the most affordable and efficient shipping.
Where do you draw inspiration for your designs? Most of our designs are inspired by Africa and its never-ending beauty that’s why we sell African-shaped necklaces, earrings, Zimbabwe-shaped necklaces and Egyptian jewellery as well.
Do you have a personal connection with your jewellery? Yes, I wear my jewellery most of the time and since I am a devout Christian I wear the Afroodrip cross most of the time.
Are there people who have contributed to or shaped your craft? Yes, my mother has been a strong inspiration to me. I see African women as the strongest and most beautiful on this earth and when I select my designs I try to look at women’s jewellery to represent that.
How would you respond to those who say African jewellery brands have a uniform aesthetic, and what have you done to stand out? I believe Afroodrip is the most unique brand on this planet because we truly value our customers and our mission statement. Our designs mix southern African tradition, Ghanaian, Nigerian, Jamaican and Egyptian traditions.
Have you been successful in carving your place and staying relevant in a world of trends? Yes, we have been successful at keeping up with trends. We do understand that our youth do want a little bling so we are soon introducing Cuban chains and bracelets to accommodate everyone’s needs.
Do you think it’s important that your jewellery should have very strong visual symbolism and references? Yes, visual symbolism is important because if you look at the top brands in the world you can recognize their logos without even seeing their names and that is our goal. That’s why we brand every single picture and video with our logo and put it on our complimentary jewellery bags as well.
Share your vision. Where do you see the brand in the next few years and what do you want it to evoke? In the next few years, Afroodrip endeavours to be based in multiple countries, providing custom jewellery and pre-made jewellery for Africans. We intend on having a massive community objective as we will be partaking in women’s rights campaigns and funding efforts around children’s rights as well.
What are your thoughts on Africa being the jewel of the world but still being called a developing continent? Africa provides 30% of the world’s resources and yet we only enjoy a portion of those profits. I believe we need to invest in ourselves and sustain our own economies. This will definitely shoot us to the top as we are already well-educated, well-read, and well-exposed.
“I see African women as the strongest and most beautiful on this earth.”
Do your ambitions as a brand go beyond just jewellery? What impact would you like to have on Africa and the world? Afroodrip is the people’s brand, our ambitions are based on what people want in this world that is why a large portion of our profits have gone to charity at Danai Children’s Home and other individual families that have asked for help.
Is this a legacy that you would want to pass down to your children and why? Yes, I would like to teach my children about being of service to mankind as that is what my father taught me.
Has your knowledge of minerals and mining changed ever since starting this brand? Yes, mining is very difficult so we actually prefer to purchase pre-made necklaces however in the future Afroodrip will have mining facilities and structures as we will be doing custom jewellery.
What obstacles have you had to overcome, and how do you feel you have grown along your journey? We have had to learn as the brand has grown, we have run out of stock a couple of times due to shipment delays and obstructions but we are working on making sure our customers are rarely disappointed.
In light of changes brought on by the COVID-19 Pandemic, how have you persevered through all the uncertainty? Covid has actually shown us that people will support you regardless of the situation, especially if they share the same values as you. We were scared our business would be heavily affected but it actually flourished and I am proud of that.
What advice would you like to impart to other youths that might want to get into the jewellery business? I advise the youth to do research regardless of what they want to sell. Remember getting your product in front of the right person is the most important thing so marketing plays an integral part in that as well.
What is your motto or call to action? We actually don’t have a motto yet. My friend and I have been working on it but we haven’t come up with anything maybe one of our customers will give us a good one.
We Are Africa Today!
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