Page 29 - Start Up_Genesis
P. 29

Luxury Events Face Challenges in Zambia but One Ambitious Designer is

        Paving the Way and Supporting Aspiring Creatives


              wai  Yeboah is a Zambian by birth. She  and events and a high-end skill set to Zambia, but
       Mwas born and raised in this country with  it hasn’t been easy. Having brought one industry-
       its bone-penetrating  beats, spirited warmth  acclaimed  experience  to  Zambia  already,  Mwai
       and rich cultural expression.  Today, she is an  faced a number of challenges. “I wanted to use as
       international, multi-award-winning wedding  much local labour, furniture, and decor as possible,
       planner and designer who runs  Love From Mwai,  but I really had a hard time accessing the calibre
       a  boutique  wedding  and event planning  studio  that we needed for this level of luxury event. I
       based in Reading, London. Mwai is also a brand  shipped a lot of stuff from the UK and flowers
       ambassador, venue  consultant,  speaker,  blogger  from other countries and the customs fees were
       and author of the book The Chaos-Free Bride- exorbitant. Because this was an educational event
       to-Be: A Purse-Sized Wedding Planning Advice  meant to upskill other wedding planners, florists
       Book with Key Tips and Powerful Declarations  and designers, I had letters from the National
       for a Joyful Wedding.                                 Art Council, but these did very little to help with
                                                             the customs fees and obstacles. Vendors and staff
       The Challenges of Luxury Events in Zambia             didn’t always understand the expectations of this
                                                             market and how to cater to it and many did not
       With a passion to uplift her home country and the  understand  the  extensive  process  that  must  be
       creatives who call it home, Mwai has spent the last  followed. Many balls were dropped and yet at the
       year working tirelessly to bring luxury weddings  same time, so many rallied together to pull off a
                                                                                                                    26
   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34