In recent years, the fashion industry has undergone a significant transformation making sustainable fashion a priority. Africa consisting of rich cultural heritage, natural resources, growing fashion industry is making an effective impact towards sustainable fashion.
In this article, we discuss a passionate woman entrepreneur from Africa – Chioma Ogbudimkpa, the founder of Redbutton. She is transforming the fashion industry by designing and producing women’s workwear appeals with sustainable fashion and aims to project rare design and African culture to the world.
Chioma Ogbudimkpa: Founder
Chioma Ogbudimkpa is the Founder and Creative Director of Redbutton, a sustainable women’s fashion brand that fuses African aesthetics, local materials, and art from all over the world to create statement apparel. Chioma Ogbudimkpa says “When you have truly experienced life and its offerings, and you eventually manage to put together the things you are passionate about and begin to pursue them, you realize how easy it is to make a difference”
Education
Chioma Ogbudimkpa graduated in the year 2017 from the Martwayne Fashion Institute, Nigeria. She completed the Project Unleash course from Conde Nast College of Fashion, London in 2021. She attained a Master of Business Administration in Technology and Circular Fashion from the Anglia Ruskin University.
Journey of milestones
Chioma has around 10 years of experience in various categories including Project Management, Business Process Management, and Strategy and Planning. She is a seasoned Project Management Professional and has served in diverse sectors and 5 countries. Expressing her love and passion for African fashion, Chioma founded a sustainable fashion brand, Redbutton, in the year 2017.
Chioma is also passionate about writing books that bring transformation or inspire changes in society. She is the author of the book, ‘Pitch Mastery’, a startup founders’ blueprint for a winning business Pitch. The book’s English and French version was launched in 2021 by the Franco-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Awards and Recognitions
Chioma Ogbudimkpa has won several awards for her creative and passionate entrepreneurship in transforming fashion into a sustainable one. Chioma is a 2018 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Program beneficiary and a Green Champion from ‘The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). She won the National and Continental Prize for the Global Creative Business Cup 2019 in Copenhagen and she emerged as one of 30 high-growth founders funded by the European Union through the Women Entrepreneurship 4 Africa Program, implemented by Seedstars and The Tony Elumelu Foundation.
About Redbutton
Redbutton is a women’s wear sustainable fashion brand established in the year 2017 and founded by Chioma Ogbudimkpa. Redbutton is a sustainability-minded fashion company creating protective and sustainable fashion – apparel and headwear for working women in Africa and America.
The vision of the company is ‘To build a truly global brand, amplifying Africa’s fashion innovation’. The mission is to protect rare designs by fusing them with African aesthetics and contemporary art with sustainable fashion. The core values of the company are to innovate in design thinking, project powerful women of Africa with fashion, and adopt eco-friendly practices in the fashion industry to create a better world.
Redbutton focuses on women work workwear fashion for professional females and creates products that emphasize African stories, powerful women, and sustainability. It aims to project rare designs and African culture to the world. The product tailoring is done in Nigeria and sold globally through the Rebutton website and other local and international stores.
Redbutton positions itself as a promoter of sustainable fashion in Africa by producing sustainable materials, production processes, packaging, and marketing. In 2022, Redbutton launched a Digital ID technology that brings transparency to customers regarding their order’s supply chain. The three sustainable pillars of Redbutoon are responsible production, supply chain transparency, and resale and rental platforms. Hence it boosts the customers’ trust by bringing transparency to their orders.
Chioma Ogbudimkpa uses her platform to solve problems by boosting the startup ecosystem by helping founders with funds, contributing to reducing carbon footprints produced by fashion by recycling, and using the digital fashion exchange platform to make fashion more circular in West Africa. Hence along with being a passionate and creative entrepreneur Chioma also focuses on protecting the environment to create a better world.