You would expect that for turning the milestone age of 40, Mrs. Kiki will throw a one-of-a-kind party that will linger on the lips of attendees and well-wishers for maybe another 365 days. But that wasn’t the case as the celebrant chose a very special way to celebrate her day by empowering 100 women at the upscale Celebration Garden and Event Centre, GRA, Ikeja.
For Kiki, the CEO of Afrocentric fashion brand, Hope by Kiki, her birthday is a perfect time to reflect on all that God has done for her and to give back to the society.
Popularly called the Queen of Blings by her associates and clientele, Kiki has her hands in many pies which include public speaking, mentorship, life coaching and her passion for empowering women has seen her spearheading several initiatives that have been applauded as value add to the growth and development of women.
According to her, her passion for empowerment and giving the womenfolk a platform to excel and contribute to their families and the society is the reason she decided to use the occasion of her 40th birthday to put smiles on the faces of women through the empowerment event which was aptly tagged ‘‘Learn, Connect, Celebrate’.
The 100 women from different backgrounds and localities were selected and trained at no cost on physical hands-on rhinestones and were also feted lavishly by the celebrant. The packed event had volunteer trainers, donors, friends, family and well-wishers in attendance.
When the celebrant was asked why she chose to spend her day doing this, she had this to say; “yes, it is good to throw a party and celebrate but I want to use my 40th birthday to make an impact, to touch lives and to give back to the society.
The 100 women we are empowering today, we believe will have a positive spiral effect as we believe that as they are being trained, they in turn will train others, more like a train-the-trainer initiative and they and their families and the society at large will be the better for it”
Hardly is there any venture that Mrs. Kiki Okewale has gone into without accolades and recognition, some of these ventures are even outside the shores of the country.
Some of her enterprises include BK3, a garment factory she started during the covid lockdown, Stitches of Hope, an NGO that is a subsidiary of her women-based community.
The fashion mogul and herself a fashionista owns Hope by KIKI, Blingsandblanks Academy where she has trained over 30,000 people. Kiki also doubles as an OAP on radio where she hosts the show, Real Women, Real Talks.