Startup Story
Fátima Lorgat is an entrepreneur and the founder of Ohana in Mozambique. She is also a wife, and a mom of 4 children. She always had a passion for sewing and fabrics, and in 2018 she started to make beach tote bags for family members. By the end of that year, she was approached to sell her beautiful tote bags commercially, and so came up with the idea of creating a Brand. In 2019 she founded Ohana as a business and in April of 2020, expanded her range to start producing protective masks to help prevent Covid19. Thanks to the love and effort that she put into her work, the masks were a success and the brand name started to be well-known for its quality. In early 2022, Ohana reinvented itself and today produces a range of useful and versatile products which use 100% cotton fabric and only good quality Capulana fabric. The main product range includes the Ohana Eco-bags, tote bags, personal and home organizers, and accessories for cooking and kitchen. All Ohana products are made with care to make our clients life a little bit better.
LoA spoke to founder Fátima Lorgat about her entrepreneurial journey, her vision, and how she achieves work/life balance with her business and family.
What does your company do?
The company produces and sells products of creative sewing in Capulana and plain cotton fabrics. Products that people need and help people on daily basis. Our target audience is mostly women.
“We make products with love and care, and we try to make useful products as well as aesthetic.”
What inspired you to start your company?
I started this company to do good, to help people and the environment, producing protective masks that can protect people and the environment avoiding single use masks. We had cotton fabric masks and we also had masks made of an intelligent fabric to prevent against viruses.
What makes your business, service or product special?
We make products with love and care, and we try to make useful products as well as aesthetic. We love taking the Capulana from Mozambique to the world.
Tell us a little about your team
I work with other 3 women. We are 4 women in this small company, 2 seamstresses, 1 fabric cutter, and me as founder.
“We love taking the Capulana from Mozambique to the world.”
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I am a mother of four, I learned to sew and stared sewing eco-bags in 2018. I started giving them to my family and friends, and they in turn showed them to their friends and started selling. But it was more like a hobby, I did all by myself. By that time I had 3 children. Ohana really became formalized as a business, with documentation, logo, and branding in 2020, in the early pandemic, during which time I also had a baby of 4 months. I started the business at home so that I can work and take care of my kids. I came from an entrepreneurial background, my father founded Mobilias Mamad, a company with more than 40 years in business.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
First of all I want to move the business out from home and open a space to build my shop so people can see the products, because now it is only an online shop and my factory. I also want to export my products. People buy Ohana products for gifting to their families overseas and I always receive compliments. People have received Ohana products in South Africa, Zimbabwe, India, Pakistan, Japan, USA, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Argentina, Portugal, UK, so far and that I know, my products have traveled to all of these countries.
“The most satisfying thing about being an entrepreneur is making products that makes other people lives better.”
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
The most satisfying thing about being an entrepreneur is making products that make other people lives better.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
I want my kids, and all other women ton know that is possible, and that we can if we want. Everyday I work thinking that my kids are looking at my hard work as an example for them to know that in life, no matter what happens to us, we have the strength to wake up and make up.
Contact or follow Ohana
INSTAGRAM | EMAIL ohana.mpt@gmail.com
Why LoA loves it….
Tapping into and harnessing a skill and a passion is always a good basis of a business, and Fátima Lorgat has done both with Ohana. She has built a brand that reflects her passion for Capulana fabric and also her desire to make products that enhance people’s lives. Ohana is fast building its reputation for high quality products that are well designed and manufactured, blending practicality with beauty. A proudly Mozambican brand to watch as it continues its growth journey over the coming years. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa