Startup Story
Fátima Armando Ernesto is the founder of Faes in Mozambique, a digital graphics and t-shirt sales business specialising in creating t-shirts to each customer's taste. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, she was a Road and Bridge Construction Technician at IIM, Public Relations and Leadership Technician at Wake Up, Aspirant at Rotaract Clube de Maputo, and worked as a Site Clerk at SS Construção where she provided services in the following roles: Archivist (Management and control of files), Assistant to the Warehouse Manager of the main Shipyard, Responsible for diesel control (purchase and sale), Formwork Clerk (Rent, purchase and sale of material).
Fátima participated in the Descola Program which is an essential skills development program for entrepreneurs and their businesses, and also participated in the Ready to work Program at Absa where she acquired professional, interpersonal, financial and business skills. Fatima participated in the Girl MOVE Academy's Shine Program where she acquired skills leadership skills and practical tools to work on her business and activated her community through a community event.
Sou Fátima Armando Ernesto, nascida a 19 de Setembro de 1998, solteira e de nacionalidade Moçambicana, Técnica de construção de Estradas e Pontes no IIM, Técnica em Relações Públicas e Liderança na Wake Up, Aspirante na Rotaract Clube de Maputo, Trabalho como Site Clerk na SS Construção onde presto serviços nas seguintes funções: Arquivista (Gerenciamento e controle de arquivos), Assistente do Gerente do Armazém do Estaleiro principal, Responsável do controle de diesel (compra e venda), Clerk Formwork (Aluguel, compra e venda do material).
Participei do Programa Descola que é um Programa de desenvolvimento de competências essenciais para empreendedores e seus negócios, participei do Programa Ready to work no Absa onde Adquiri de habilidades profissionais, interpessoais, financeiras e empresariais , participei do Programa Shine da Girl MOVE Academy onde Adquiri habilidades de liderança e ferramentas práticas para trabalhar na minha história e ativei a minha comunidade por meio de um evento comunitário.
LoA spoke to Fátima Ernesto about her career path, her entrepreneurial journey, and her ambitions for for the future of her business.
When did your start your business?
FAES has existed since 2016, when I was still studying at the Industrial Institute in Mozambique. At that time I was 18 years old and I had this idea of opening a business, but I didn't know how and what I could do, until the idea of opening a website came up on Facebook with the name FAES_MODA. I remember that my mother came home with some dresses and said that she didn't need them any more, they were scraps. So I took those dresses and published them on the page, without imagining what could happen. After a few days I saw that people were joining and I decided to resell my mother's dresses - it was a success! People called me and I sent them to my mother's dress stall. Thank God FAES was known, and that's why I reached 5000 thousand followers at the time. But seeing that I wasn't earning anything for just having the name and the page, as the dresses weren't mine, even though I was helping my mother. I had to stop and look for another way to make FAES have credibility, so I joined Avon. I worked with them for a while but I still felt like it wasn't my area - I sold makeup and many more items. I ended up getting distracted or better, so I focused on my studies and FAES was forgotten for more than two years, until I finished my training and started working in a construction company. There I met new people in my circle, where one of these people recommended a store that sells t-shirts. So I remembered my dream of starting a business and asked myself, why not? I decided to invest in t-shirts, and so it was, that year I sold a lot of t-shirts, simple and printed t-shirts according to the customer's choice. I realized that what was missing in my business was training related to entrepreneurship and that's what I did and I'm still doing it. By doing this, I learned about digital graphics, where I did a lot of work in this area and with that I expanded my network of contacts, I had the privilege of creating FAES t-shirts and in this way I created a Brand. So that's when I decided to bring together all my talents under a single name “FAES”.
Por que FAES? De referir que a FAES existe desde 2016, quando ainda estudava no Instituto Industrial, nessa altura tinha 18 anos e surgiu-me esta ideia de abrir um negócio mas não sabia como e o que Poderia fazer, até que surgiu a ideia de abrir uma página no Facebook. com o nome FAES_MODA, lembro que minha mãe chegou em casa com alguns vestidos e disse que não precisava de mais, eram retalhos e eu peguei aqueles vestidos e publiquei na página, sem imaginar o que poderia acontecer, depois de alguns dias vi que as pessoas estavam aderir e resolvi revender os vestidos da minha mãe e foi um sucesso, as pessoas me ligavam e eu encaminhava para a banca de vestidos da minha mãe, graças a Deus a FAES era conhecida, e por isso alcancei na altura 5000 mil seguidores. Mas vendo que eu não estava ganhando nada por só ter o nome e a página mas os vestidos não eram meus, mesmo estando ajudando a ela, tive que parar e procurar outra forma de fazer a FAES ter credibilidade, então entrei Avon Trabalhei com eles por um tempo mas ainda sentia que não era minha área, vendi maquiagem e muitos mais itens. Acabei me distraindo ou melhor, posso dizer que foquei nos estudos e a FAES ficou esquecida por mais de dois anos, até que terminei a minha formação e comecei a trabalhar em uma construtora civil e conheci novas pessoas no meu círculo, onde uma dessas pessoas me recomendou um armazém que vendem camisetas, então me lembrei do meu sonho de empreender e me perguntei, por que não? E resolvi investir em camisetas, e assim foi, naquele ano vendi muitas camisetas, camisetas simples e estampadas conforme a escolha do cliente, e percebi que, o que faltava no meu negócio era uma capacitação relacionada ao empreendedorismo e foi isso que fiz e ainda estou fazendo, Aprendi sobre gráfica digital, onde fiz muitos trabalhos nesta área e com isso ampliei minha rede de contatos, tive o privilégio de criar camisetas da FAES e desta forma criei uma Marca. Então foi aí que decidiu reunir todo o meu talento num único nome “FAES” .
“I remembered my dream of starting a business and asked myself, why not? I decided to invest in t-shirts, and so it was - that year I sold a lot of t-shirts, simple and printed t-shirts according to the customer's choice.”
What does your company do?
Faes is a creation company (digital graphics and t-shirt sales), where, based on a design idea and concept, we create t-shirts to the customer's taste.
É uma empresa de criação (gráfico digital e venda de t-shirts), onde, a partir de uma ideia, criamos t-shirts ao gosto do cliente.
What inspired you to start your company?
My mom.
Minha mãe.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
My trajectory, everything I went through to make this business possible.
minha trajetória, tudo que passei que isso fosse possível.
Tell us a little about your team:
I'm still without a team - I am a solopreneur.
Ainda estou sem equipa.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
My entrepreneurial journey includes business training and development through the Descola Program, Ready to Work Program at Absa, and Girl MOVE Academy's Shine Program.
Programa Descola, Programa Ready to work no Absa, Programa Shine da Girl MOVE Academy.
“Faes is a creation company (digital graphics and t-shirt sales), where, based on a design idea and concept, we create t-shirts to the customer's taste.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
The future aspirations of this venture are to be able to meet all demands using the right tools, and not just be a brand, but have quality work to deliver.
As aspirações futuras deste empreendimento são poder atender todas as demandas utilizando as ferramentas certas, e não apenas ser uma marca, mas ter um trabalho qualidade por entregar.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Firstly, I consider that what I do is out of love, so in a way my greatest satisfaction is being able to make a difference.
Primeiramente considero que o que faço é por amor, então de uma certa forma minha maior satisfação é poder fazer a diferença.
“The future aspirations of this venture are to be able to meet all demands using the right tools, and not just be a brand, but have quality work to deliver.”
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Try to do what you like, regardless of the circumstances and difficulties you encounter, and you will see that you will do it with a lot of love.
Procure fazer o que gosta, independente das circunstâncias e dificuldades que encontrará, você verá que fará com muito amor.
Find out more:
Email: cossafatimaarmando@gmail.com
Why LoA loves it…
Many women entrepreneurs start their entrepreneurial journeys with a single idea and product that they feel passionate about and where there could be a gap in the market. Fátima Ernesto has built her printed T-Shirt business in Mozambique to provide customers with the opportunity to create their own bespoke designs. She has found a gap and a customer base looking for something different, and is building a business to meet that need. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa