Afi Amoro, the Chief Executive Officer of Jandel Limited, has shared a daring yet inspiring story of how she ventured into the world of interior decoration, securing a contract with a major hotelier in Accra.
In an interview with Elsie Lamar on GhanaWeb’s Talkertainment, Amoro, who currently heads one of the country’s biggest decoration firms, opened up about her early days starting as a florist.
However, she never said no to any accompanying demands from customers, rather choosing to outsource such demands and later learn on her own. This eventually led to her accidentally falling into the interior decoration space.
“I saw people building at the Coco Palm buildings at Cantoments, so I walked into the offices and asked to see their managing director. When he came, I told him that I had seen construction going on and I had potted plants and could do horticulture (I didn’t even have a clue about horticulture, but I just wanted the opportunity). He asked me, ‘Do you also do curtains?’ I said yes,” she said.
According to her, some dignitaries were supposed to inspect the buildings, and the house needed to be furnished quickly.
“They needed to have everything done in three days. I told them I could do it; meanwhile, my heart was pumping inside me… I had no clue where I was going to start from,” she narrated.
Subsequently, Madam Afi Amoro was then given the fabrics, and orders were placed for the potted plants. But she had only three days to execute the task.
“So I called someone who knew much about the business… She said, ‘Take me to the place so we can see if it could be done in two days.’ So we went there, and as she was taking the measurements. I was observing keenly,” she said.
Fortunately, the job was completed in two days, a full day ahead of the three-day deadline, impressing the manager.
“The man said, ‘You have done so well, and we will continue to use you, and when we start our hotel, we will make you one of our service providers,’ and they did that.
“They started La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, and I did about 85% of all the curtains and bedspreads,” she shared.
Despite her inexperience, that bold step, her quick thinking, and her desire to learn led Amoro down the path of interior decoration, making her one of the biggest in the industry.
Watch the full video below:
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