Razak Okoya was born in Lagos in 12 January 1940. His father was a very good tailor, and Razak Okoya worked alongside his dad. They also sold tailoring accessories.
As a young student, Rasak Okoya has already made up his mind to pursue business. He said,
“In school, I could see my teacher in worn and often shabby clothes and at the same time, I could see the well-dressed businessmen of Dosumu street, the heart of business in Lagos then. It was easy for me to choose business life.”
So while working for his father, Rasak Okoya engaged in his own side tailoring services like mending shirts and trousers for a fee. He saved up every penny he made until he had £20, and then decided to strike out on his own, into small scale trading.
At the time he started his business, a lot of people weren’t ordering items directly from the manufacturers. But Rasak, who had stumbled upon a product catalogue of a manufacturer based in Japan, studied their goods, realized they could sell out, and decided to place an order. He got stuck when he realized the value of the order was £70, meaning he was short of £50.
To make up his capital, he approached his mother for a loan. Being a loyal wife to her husband, she requested he first gain his father’s permission to obtain the loan from her, which she did. After completing his capital, he placed an order for the items. Upon arrival, Rasak Okoya realized that the product qualities were far better than what was in the market already and also far cheaper. This helped him sellout quickly and he place more orders in a very short time frame.
The quick turnovers helped his business to expand rapidly, and gave him the finance he needed to launch into other areas.
His next foray was into manufacturing. It also brought him great success and the rise of the Elaganza group. I all started because his first wife’s penchant for expensive jewellery.
In an interview with vanguard, he said,
“As my business started expanding, I traveled far and wide and saw how different things were manufactured. I always felt that we could do as good, if not better (than what I saw).
By this time, I had married my first wife. She would bring jewellery that cost so much. I used to be baffled at how much she said they cost. I felt it was ridiculous. These were metals that I felt we could design and at a cheaper price; especially as we had the metals available here (Nigeria)
I saw the way women loved to wear jewellery. Challenged by what I felt was a healthy demand, I travelled abroad, bought the machines and came with some experts. That marked the birth of Eleganza Jewellery.
The success was phenomenal. We could not keep up with the demand because, the products were beautiful, durable and cheap. They were instant best sellers.”
