How To Make It: Aronke Emmanuel: Redefining Maternity Care Business Landscape

Aronke Emmanuel is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of ChildAfrique Limited, an online marketplace for made-in-Africa children and maternity care products.

According to her, “A very popular inspirational quote says, ”Everything that we need to succeed is already within us” and I find it to be true for me. I have always had a drive for excellence, a disgust for mediocrity and a very insatiable drive for innovation. I have an affinity for gravitating towards uncharted courses and pace setting, so it wasn’t a surprise to me when I decided to chart the course of growth for Africa’s economy through the aggregation of manufacturers in the child and maternity care industry.

“Being able to spot problems is a gift that everyone has, however, what we make of those problems is exactly the reason why some people succeed and some don’t.

“In February of 2020 just before the Covid-19 pandemic struck Nigeria, I birthed my son quite earlier than planned, everything I had shopped abroad for him and myself as essentials for a newborn and new mum got held up and delayed in arrival due to the disruption to global supply chain by the impact of Covid-19. I didn’t have many of the essentials at the time my baby was born, so I had to look inwards to shop locally to meet my immediate needs.

“All of the products I bought at the time turned out to be incredibly good and suitable for my baby and me and it felt like an “Eureka” moment for me.

“That was when I began to research more products that are locally made and based on my research, started working towards giving visibility to these manufacturers as well as helping new parents to save on the costs of childcare products.

“13 months later, ChildAfrique was born. ChildAfrique is currently positioned as the foremost online marketplace for child and maternity care products made by African brands. These products are very affordable as there are no intermediaries between us and the manufacturers, so products are sold at the price the manufacturers have listed them and parents don’t have to pay multiple delivery fees for different products from different brands. You can shop all the products your baby needs on our one-stop shop at www.childafrique.com.

“Birthing an innovative solution like this will require some grit, focus and tenacity. What this means however is that, if one is able to forge through all the challenges on the way, success is what lies ahead. Successful people don’t mind being on a lonely journey where they are setting the pace in innovation, charting the course through unknown paths, testing and launching products that may or may not succeed, taking risks that are seemingly extreme, but therein lies the success they desire to change a situation or a people.

“Have I made it? Absolutely not, but by God’s grace, I am well on my way to imprinting my name in the sands of time. One may say that only people who are privileged can make it in this country, but that is not true!

“I am not privileged in any way, born to parents who are civil servants – a lecturer father and a retired nursing practitioner mother, I only made up my mind to work on my passion in a collaborative way with God as my CEO.

“There will be a lot of challenges but how we handle such challenges will determine our outcomes. Facing and dealing with challenges are easy ways to gain experience and all our experiences prepare us for a future unseen. The addition of the right knowledge to passion and experience with a generous dose of tenacity will set anyone rolling on the path to success and “making it”.