Startup Story
Irina Samade is the Founder and Designer of the Rawá brand in Mozambique. She has worked to build this brand for the past 4 years, and in addition to Rawá, she is also the Founder and Floral Designer of Frangipani Flores. She has worked in this area of business for 15 years and is now a 41 year old entrepreneur. Irina is passionate about flowers and the idea of being able to use natural resources in art, consciously using what nature offers and discards.
Meu nome é Irina Samade sou a Fundadora e Criadora designer da marca Rawá .
Trabalho a 4 anos com esta marca para além da Rawá sou a Fundadora e Floral Designer da Frangipani Flores trabalho nesta área a 15 anos . Tenho 41 anos de Idade , sou apaixonada pelas flores e pela ideia de poder utilizar os recursos naturais em arte, utilizando de forma consciente o que a natureza oferece e descarta.
LoA spoke to the enterprising and highly creative Irina Samade about her journey to building two businesses, and her ambitions for the future.
When did you start your company:
I launched my Brand 4 years ago at the MFW- Mozambique Fashion Week fair and today is employs 6 people.
Lancei a minha Marca a 4 anos na feira do MFW- Mozambique Fashion Week.
“What inspired me was wanting to transform the simple straw baskets on the market into luxury bags for everyday life, in order to value our local products.”
“In addition to working with the Rawá brand, I started my business journey as a florist and to this day I maintain the florist. Thanks to the florist business, I have been able to create Rawá to become this well-known brand in the market.”
What does your company do?
We make straw bags with leather.
Ela faz bolsas de palha com Cabedal.
What inspired you to start your company?
What inspired me was wanting to transform the simple straw baskets on the market into luxury bags for everyday life, in order to value our local products. The name Rawá came from the inspiration of the Bitonga native language of Inhambane which means BASKET. Most of our baskets come from there.
O que me inspirou foi querer transformar os simples cestos de palha do mercado em bolsas de Luxo para o dia a dia . De modo a valorizar o nosso produto local. O nome Rawá veio da inspiração do Bitonga língua nativa de Inhambane que significa CESTO. Maior parte do nosso cesto provêm de lá.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
What makes it special is that each bag is exclusive, even if we have 2 or more identical bags, the bag will always be exclusive because it is a handmade product.
O Que torna especial é que cada bolsa é exclusiva , por mais que tenhamos 2 ou mais bolsas iguais a bolsa será sempre exclusiva por ser um produto handmade.
Tell us a little about your team:
We work in partnership with a community of women in Linga Linga, in the province of Inhambane where they receive the design of the basket to be braided and in Maputo the leather is applied and hand-sewn and passes into the tailoring training process.
Trabalhamos em parceria com uma comunidade de mulheres em Linga Linga , na província de Inhambane onde elas recebem o desenho do cesto a ser Trançado e em Maputo é feita a aplicação do cabedal e custurado a mão e passa para o processo de formação da alfaiataria.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
In addition to working with the Rawá brand, I started my business journey as a florist and to this day I maintain the florist. Thanks to the florist business, I have been able to create Rawá to become this well-known brand in the market.
Para além de trabalhar com a marca Rawá iniciei a minha jornada empresarial como florista e até hoje mantenho a florista , graças a florista pode criar a Rawá para poder se tornar nesta marca conhecida no mercado.
“My plan is to have Rawá products for sale in international stores and to place our products into a foreign market. We can have baskets from almost all provinces to sell our products.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
My plan is to have Rawá products for sale in international stores and to place our products into a foreign market. We can have baskets from almost all provinces to sell our products.
O meu plano é de ter os produtos da Rawá a venda em lojas internacionais . Colocar o nosso produto em mercado estrangeiro. E nós produtos a comercializar poder ter cestos de quase todas as províncias.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
It's seeing the result of a product that arose from an idea come to fruition and finalized. It’s seeing that idea come to fruition and it takes shape.
É ver o resultado de um produto que surgiu de uma ideia concretizado e finalizado. É ver que aquela ideia concretizou-se é que ganhou forma.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
May you never stop chasing your dreams even if it seems difficult to achieve, one step each day is a victory, you are closer to reaching your goal than standing still.
Que nunca deixem de correr atrás dos seu sonhos mesmo que este pareça difícil de alcançar, um passo a cada dia é uma Victoria , estas mais próximo de chegar ao teu objectivo do que ficar parada.
Find out more:
Email: Rawacarteiras@gmail.com
Why LoA loves it…
The desire to enhance local value chains is often the key motivator for starting a business, and for Irina Samade, that was certainly the case in Mozambique. Her accessory business is transforming simple handcrafted woven bags into luxury, high quality accessories that customers want to buy. Her brand is getting attention, she is creating jobs, and local communities that traditionally have weaving skills are benefitting from her business. Now that’s how to extend local value chains! — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa