Meet the Boss: Debo Onabanjo, Creative Director, D-First Home Essentials

Connect Nigeria met with some peculiar women entrepreneurs at the 11th Unique Interior Exhibition that took place at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island recently. We could not resist talking with these women taking interior decorations in Nigeria to the next level. One of them is the Creative Director of D-First Home Essentials, Debo Onabanjo. CN: Tell us about your professional and educational background? DO: I am a graduate of University of Ife; graduated in 1979. Were you born then? (Laughs) I worked for African Petroleum for 25 years but I have always had a passion for interiors so when I retired from African Petroleum about 7- 8 years ago, I decided to go for a short course on interiors so I could do other things in interiors apart from merchandising interior accessories. CN: What inspired the name D-First Home Essentials? DO: I chose the name because I want my customers to think first of Home Essentials before going anywhere else. We want to be first for everything that has to do with unique home accessories and designs. We do window dressings, carpets, and everything that has to do with interiors. CN: Why Interior Decorations? DO: Interior Decorations is my passion. When you are doing something that you are willing to wake up in the middle of the night for and you are happy doing it, that is clearly your passion.

CN: How can you rate your customers’ satisfaction level? DO: If we are still in business, and you know the business terrain in Nigeria is not that easy, but despite that we are still moving on and after 9 years, we are not thinking of folding up. I believe our customers are definitely getting what they bargained for and much more.

CN: Who is your business targeted at? DO: I cater to every class of people. The fact that you have a lot of money or you don’t does not increase or reduce the issue of quality on my part. I cater to all classes to give them the best. CN: What is that unique selling point and why should Nigerians choose D-First Home Essentials over competitors? DO: We have the personal touch. I interact with my customers. Some come in to buy a few things but I go further because I am interested in the space you want to put the decorations you are buying in. I am interested in making sure the beauty of that environment is brought out because of the decorations they’ve gotten. CN: What would D-First Home Essentials be known for in the future? DO: We will be known for unique interiors. I have a daughter who is studying Architecture presently and I am praying that in the nearest future, she would decide to work side by side with us so that we will be able to offer constructions and renovations on homes too.

CN: About Interior Decorations in Nigeria? DO: Interior decorations as an industry has not just come into Nigeria; there are people that have been in this industry for more than 20 years now. I have a friend who has been in it for more than a decade now in Nigeria. It is just that with the younger people becoming interested in it, a platform has been created for it. They want people to realise that when you build a beautiful home, it is not right to put everything in a mismatch but to have professionals to take a look at the space to have a beautiful interior too; people who can help organize the home in a beautiful manner. CN: How is the Unique Interior Exhibition Event going? DO: It is going fine and I believe this is a step in the right direction because more people will eventually know a lot about it if it is publicized well enough and according to the person who sold the idea to me, the organizers have been in it for 11 years. I believe they can only go from strength to strength if the organizers put in the required effort.