Poni Victoria Abraham is a young enthusiastic South Sudanese entrepreneur turning the industry around in the young nation.
She said her passion and love for fashion made her venture and explore the industry. She added that the fashion industry is still a virgin and needs to be explored since many people in the industry do not embrace the local designs instead most of their clothing lines are imported from foreign countries.
However Ms. Victoria hopes to change that mind set and use some of the locally available resources plus imported fabrics to make something that shows the beauty of the different cultures in South Sudan.
The Lady stressed that her clothing lines are very unique because all the products in her boutique are South Sudan made and can be customized to the client’s taste.
“All my products or clothes in the boutique are made by my tailor here in this shop and can be customized if need be to the desired taste of my clients. I find this unique because I only import fabrics and the final products are made here,” she explained.
The young mother of two believed that many South Sudanese love fashionable styles but there are no much that is offered to them. She believes that with time Victoria House of Fashion will be able to meet all the market desires of people of South Sudan.
Poni is not an exception the pandemic has affected her business but that did not make her give up from achieving her dreams. She said people’s purchasing power has reduced but she made sure that all her products can be bought by almost anyone who goes to her boutique.
“All my products are relatively cheap and am flexible and people from all walks of life can afford to buy from Victoria House of Fashion. I also make clothes or any products basing on orders from my clients in order not to waste my materials,” she explained.
The young entrepreneur also noted that the rate of depreciation of pounds has affected her business because it is difficult get hard currency to buy fabrics from other countries.
The 24 year old added that the South Sudan’s government law on taxation on local businesses is also very poor because a lot of money is being charged on businesses and they are not provided with services.
Victoria appealed to government to exempt local small businesses or start-ups from some of these taxes so that they can establish their base in the business world.
“I want the government to review the taxation policy, because we pay a lot of money for no reason. For instance we pay for general services, garbage collection yet nobody is collecting the garbage, and even the registration fee is very high,” the young entrepreneur said.
The fast raising business woman said she has not yet launched her brands officially but the boutique is open Monday to Saturday.
