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Three Nigerian sisters, Lilian, Marysonia and Mirian Ugokwe founded one of the top-selling Afrocentric clothing and accessory brands online, Dashiki Pride. The company was founded in 2014 and the sisters were inspired by the pursuit to move our culture far beyond the stereotypes of what people see. We wanted people to appreciate the Afrocentric culture and to also for people to feel liberation in expressing the love and being apart of it.
“Dashiki Pride is all about freedom, freedom of the norm, being prideful in who you are and the history that makes up your identity,” says Mirian. “Dashiki Pride is cool, it’s fun. Whenever you wear our clothing, I know people are going to stop you and ask “where did you get this from?” It’s going to start up a conversation to change a certain stereotype on what society has placed on a certain culture.”
Since the launch, the entrepreneurs have gained customers in more than 70 different countries and even gained the attention of many celebrities including rapper and Nigerian native, Wale.
“We were very surprised [by the amount of support],” expresses Lilian. “That’s kind of what motivated us to do better. People needed this, people wanted to affiliate with the African roots. It was one thing that we didn’t know people needed so much. It pushed us and motivated us to do more.
Outside of their thriving online business, the sisters are also expanding into the tech and event world.
“We have an app called “Afreekmoji,” Mirian shares. “It’s an afro-centric keyboard and we also do different afro-centric events called Dashiki Pride fest. We’re just trying to move our culture…for that to be there norm and feel comfortable in who they are.”
Lilian also reveals what it is like to build a business with sisters.
“It’s so great,” says Lilian. “We think alike, we were raised together so our taste is kind of the same. We don’t really have that much-opposed views because we all agree. We all have similar goals. We’re able to work together to achieve what we always dreamed about.”
Check out Dashiki Pride in NYC on Saturday, November 3rd, for their first pop up store.
Check out the official site for Dashiki Pride: https://www.dashikipride.com/