Business
National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria Honours Mouka’s CEO
The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Mouka Limited, Raymond Murphy had the Honorary Fellow of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) conferred on him by the Institute on August 1, 2019.
This award comes on the heels of excellent marketing techniques, sterling service and leadership qualities that Murphy has been credited with.
Murphy received this honorary award alongside other captains of industries such as Uchechukwu Ogah, President , Masters Energy Group, Ifenyinwa Afe, Managing Director for HP Inc. Central Africa, Lateef Bakare, a member of the Board of First Bank, Nigeria, John Ugbe, Chief Executive Officer of Multi Choice Nigeria, among other notable personalities.
Murphy is reputed to be the brains behind the innovative ideas that have shot Mouka into the leadership position in the Nigerian foam and mattress industry. While it enjoys a huge market share, the foam company is also redefining the sector.
Mouka has been reckoned with for adding comfort to life through the provision of sleep solutions that have given rise to the opening of 10 sleep galleries across Nigeria. The company has also developed an extensive distribution network with more than 1,000 branded sales outlets and over 300 third-party distributors across the country.
The producer of foam, spring mattresses and other bedding materials is a proud owner of three production facilities in the country.
Murphy came on board as the CEO and MD of the indigenous foam manufacturing company in mid-2015 after the closure of a Private Equity transaction which saw 90 percent of the shareholding transferred to a private equity firm, leaving the remaining balance of 10 per cent to the original founding family. The company has since recorded feats only few in the private sector can boast of.
Mouka has been listed twice in the London Stock Exchange Group’s Companies to Inspire Africa reports for 2017 and 2019. To be included in the list, companies must be privately owned and show an excellent rate of growth and potential to power African development.
Mouka was also awarded the Mattress Manufacturing Company of the Year at the 2017 edition of The Guardian Manufacturing Excellence Award. That same year, the mattress manufacturer also earned another recognition by the African Brand Congress as the Mattress Brand of the Year.
In 2019, Mouka emerged the Foam and Mattress Company of the Year at the Nigerian Real Estate and Property Awards.
Noteworthy, is also the fact that Mouka recently partnered with the prestigious Lagos Business School to organize a leadership training programme for its management staff.
Mouka has been able to attain these enviable heights under Murphy’s watch and leadership.
Preceding the NIMN award, was Murphy’s recognition by Inside Business Magazine as Business Leader of the Year.
Reacting to the honour done him by the Institute, Murphy said : “In many ways I’m honoured and extremely humbled to receive this recognition tonight from such a prestigious institution… I think it’s not necessarily about improving my profile but what I can give back to the Institute in terms of sharing my experience of 3 decades of brand building not just in Nigeria but in other territories across the world.”
He explained further :
“…We have had strong partnerships with advertising agencies, creative agencies, public relations ,media planning and buying agencies and that has significantly increased Mouka’s brand profile over the past 5 years…so it’s about myself and my colleagues and the investment we have made over the past 5 years.”
Having begun his career as Business Development Manager at Sterling Health International in Moscow in 1984, Murphy pioneered the launch of Sterling Health over the counter OTC brands with Panadol as its power brand, in a number of emerging Eastern Europe markets
Between 1990 and 1993, he was Sterling Health’s Business Development Manager for Southern Central Africa and was responsible for the identification of new business opportunities. Murphy implemented successful entry strategies for Nigeria and Zimbabwe and grew sales by 300 percent over a three-year period.
He later joined Gillette International in Budapest Hungary where he served as General Manager between 1993 and 1997. In that capacity, he had the primary objective to seamlessly upgrade the business from third party national distribution to full-fledged local legal entity.
In 1997, he moved over to Indochina Juice Company happy as Chief Executive Officer of a start up project worth an estimated $11.0 million, he was saddled with the responsibility of manufacturing and marketing branded packaged fruit juices of the venture.
Murphy built sales of nearly $5 million during the first year of commercial operations and created two completely new and appealing fruit juice brands for Vietnamese consumers. He also devised a third party logistics solution ensuring cost effective product distribution throughout Vietnam.
In 2001, he became the Managing Director of Cussons Middle East, India and South Asia region and turned around a stagnating business to deliver over 20 percent bottom line annual growth. He restructured operations away from a trading mentality to formally structured marketing led enterprise and replaced under performing distributors and appointed leading distributors in new territories.
As Managing Director of PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, Murphy was responsible for $100 million of sales with seven factory units and 1,500 employees, and successfully doubled profits to $22 million in three years.
Murphy is a seasoned C-suite leader with in excess of 25 years’ experience in Global Emerging and Frontier Markets.
Precision and Heritage: How Fifi Stitches Is Rewriting African Fashion Narratives
A Nigerian-born designer is gradually carving out a cross-continental footprint in contemporary fashion, blending African textile heritage with British technical discipline.
Esther Fiyinfoluwa Adeosun, Founder and Creative Director of Fifi Stitches, is gaining recognition for structured womenswear and bridal couture that reinterprets traditional fabrics through architectural tailoring and precision construction.
Born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Adeosun’s fashion journey began at home, seated beside her mother’s sewing machine. What started as childhood curiosity, sometimes jamming the machine just to understand its mechanics—evolved into a disciplined design practice now operating between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
During an interview with journalists the fifi Stitches once mentioned “I was fascinated by how flat fabric could transform into something structured and meaningful”.
In her Story , early designs made for her family, though imperfectly finished, were worn with pride—an encouragement that laid the foundation for her professional confidence.
Today, Fifi Stitches is recognised for sculpted bodices, controlled tailoring, corsetry construction, and the contemporary reinterpretation of Ankara, Aso Oke, and Adire textiles.
The brand challenges the long-held perception that African fabrics belong solely in ceremonial contexts, instead positioning them within global luxury and modern design spaces.
Adeosun’s training reflects this dual perspective. She studied Fashion Design and Entrepreneurship at the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Development Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, and earned a Diploma in Fashion Design through Alison Online.
In the UK, she undertook industry-focused technical training with Fashion-Enter Ltd and gained fashion business exposure through Fashion Capital UK.
Her technical expertise spans pattern drafting, draping, garment technology, structured tailoring, corsetry, and bespoke fittings—skills she describes as central to credibility in fashion. “Precision builds trust,” she says. “A designer must understand construction as deeply as creativity.”
Fifi Stitches has showcased collections at the Suffolk Fashion Show, Liverpool Fashion Show – FB Fashion Ball, Red Carpet Fashion Event in London, and through editorial features in London Runway Magazine.
The brand has also received coverage in The Guardian Nigeria and Vanguard Allure, expanding its visibility across markets.
Beyond couture, Adeosun integrates community impact into her practice.
She has facilitated garment construction workshops, draping sessions, and introductory training programmes for women and emerging creatives, promoting fashion as both artistic expression and vocational empowerment.
Fifi Stcithes Boss operates between Nigeria and the UK, in order to continue to shape her brand identity.
According to her “Nigeria provides cultural richness and expressive textile traditions, while the UK offers structured production systems, sustainability conversations, and institutional frameworks”.
Looking ahead, Adeosun said she plan to establish a fully structured fashion house spanning Africa and the UK, develop scalable production partnerships, launch capsule collections, and expand independent editorial visibility.
Her broader ambition is clear: to position African textile craftsmanship within global contemporary design conversations—through structure, discipline, and technical excellence.
GTCO Launches “Take on Squad” Hackathon 3.0, Opens Call for Applications
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (“GTCO” or the “Group”) has announced the launch of “Take on Squad” Hackathon 3.0, reaffirming its commitment to fostering innovation, empowering talent, and supporting the development of technology-driven solutions that address real-world challenges across Africa.
Now in its third edition, the Hackathon brings together developers, designers and entrepreneurs across Nigeria in a collaborative environment to build practical solutions across key sectors including financial services, healthcare, commerce and digital inclusion. Under the theme “Smart Systems: The Intelligent Economy,” participants are challenged to design and build intelligent, data-driven solutions that transform how communities engage with money.
Applications are now open, and interested teams can find full guidelines and registration details on the official portal at https://squadco.com/hackathon.
Speaking on the initiative, Eduophon Japhet, Managing Director of HabariPay, stated: “Today’s dynamic, digitally driven world demands continuous innovation, which is shaping how economies grow, how businesses scale, and how societies evolve. Through “Take on Squad” Hackathon, we are deliberately investing in the ideas and talent that will define the future. Our objective is not simply to encourage innovation, but to enable its translation into scalable solutions that deliver real and measurable impact. This reflects GTCO’s role as a financial services platform that connects capital, capability, and creativity to drive sustainable progress.”
The social coding event remains a cornerstone of HabariPay’s mission to foster creativity and problem-solving among emerging tech talents. Competing teams will leverage Squad’s advanced APIs to create scalable digital tools that address everyday challenges faced by businesses and individuals.
Through initiatives such as this, GTCO continues to position itself at the intersection of finance, technology and enterprise, actively shaping the future of digital transformation in Africa.
About HabariPay
HabariPay Ltd is the fintech subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), one of the largest financial services institutions in Africa with direct and indirect investments in a network of operating entities located in 10 countries across Africa and the United Kingdom.
Licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), our goal is to support SMEs, micro merchants, large corporations and other fintechs (Tech Stars) with the tools they need to thrive in an evolving digital economy and expand beyond their current market reach. HabariPay’s solutions include Squad, a full-scale digital payments toolkit to make in-person and online payments simpler, HabariPay Storefront, an e-commerce website to facilitate online purchases, Value-Added Services to help merchants access cost-effective and flexible airtime and data bundles to run their businesses, as well as a switching infrastructure that enables tech-focused businesses to optimise cost and make transactions more efficient.
HabariPay’s contributions to Accelerating Digital Acceptance in Africa have not gone unnoticed–it received Mastercard’s Innovative Mobile Payment Solution Award at TIA 2022 for its innovative payment solution, SquadPOS.
About Squad
Squad is a complete digital payments solution that is reliable, secure, and affordable, making receiving in-person and online payments simpler and convenient.
Thousands of merchants currently leverage Squad’s payment solutions for their daily business operations. Squad’s current products and service offerings include SquadPOS, Squad Payment Links, Squad Virtual Accounts, USSD, and E-Commerce Storefront.
Find out more at www.squadco.com.
Electric 8-Seater Tula Moto Keke Enters Nigerian Market, Targets Higher Operator Earnings
LAGOS — A new electric-powered tricycle with an expanded passenger capacity has been introduced into Nigeria’s urban transport sector, offering operators a potentially more profitable and eco-friendly alternative to conventional petrol-driven “keke.”
The newly launched 8-seater electric tricycle, now available in Lagos with plans for nationwide distribution, features a dual-row seating arrangement capable of accommodating up to eight passengers per trip—significantly higher than the standard three-passenger configuration common across the country.
Promoters of the innovation say the increased capacity is designed to boost daily earnings for operators, particularly amid persistent fluctuations in fuel prices. By running entirely on electric power, the vehicle eliminates dependence on petrol, reducing operating costs and shielding drivers from fuel price volatility.
According to the distributors, the tricycle is equipped with a durable battery system capable of covering extended distances on a single charge, making it suitable for commercial operations across high-traffic routes, residential estates, campuses, and marketplaces.
“The concept is straightforward—enable drivers to earn more while spending less,” a company representative stated. “With higher passenger capacity and zero fuel requirements, operators can maximise each trip without the burden of daily fuel expenses.”
Beyond its cost-saving potential, the electric keke is also said to require less maintenance than traditional models, offering additional long-term savings. Its quieter and smoother operation is expected to enhance passenger comfort and overall commuting experience.
Industry analysts note that the introduction of electric mobility solutions reflects a growing shift toward cleaner and more sustainable transportation alternatives in Nigeria, particularly in densely populated urban centres such as Lagos.
The distributors added that the product is currently available under a limited promotional offer, with delivery options across the country.
For inquiries and purchase: 📞 08153432071
📞 08035889103
Office Address:
📍 Plot 9, Block 113, Beulah Plaza,
Lekki–Epe Expressway,
Lekki Phase 1, Lagos
As transportation costs continue to rise and environmental concerns gain prominence, innovations like the electric 8-seater keke may signal an emerging transition toward more efficient and sustainable mobility solutions nationwide.
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