Mauritius: Francoise

Aged 44 years, Francoise seems to harbor an affinity for activities that bring out her creative juices. Her entrepreneurship journey started with that dedication to creativity which reflected in jewelry crafting. However, her work had always been contained within the confines of her home, until she approached the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) of Mauritius, in search of strategies to increase the visibility of her work. She was then apprised of a course offered by the SMEDA for emerging entrepreneurs, which she credits for her knowledge in management of finances. Towards the end of the course, Francoise brought her handmade jewelries as a token of gratitude, which in turn opened new doors for her. She was advised to take those to the National Women Entrepreneur Council, whereby her craftwork was applauded. She was then introduced as a member of the handicraft section and involved in the production and decoration of hats.

As part of the Women Entrepreneur Council, Francoise receives several benefits, amongst which is firsthand information about upcoming fairs or national expositions. Her first opportunity was one presented by the council, to sell handcrafted ornaments at the Rose-Hill Plaza fair. From there, she started building a network of several women entrepreneurs who helped her extend the reach of her products at fairs in different regions, namely Grand Baie and Mahebourg fairs. Over time Francoise has built a good customer base due to the quality of her work and by maintaining a good rapport with her customers. She shared her experience of working with Mauritians as well as tourists, who recurrent customers during their travel.

Customers generally hail from her neighborhood or are people smitten by her exposition of ornaments during fairs. Starting from simple sales at fairs, Francoise now has her own business card which she proudly shares with customers. Whilst she is frequently contacted to create jewelry sets for weddings in the neighborhood, Francoise has now extended her forte as well as her business to crafting different artefacts. In addition to earrings and necklaces, she partakes in crafting anything that involves pearls be it the decoration of dresses, blouses, curtains, garlands, amongst others. Hence, Francoise revels in the idea that her emerging business is very flexible to customer’s demands.

When it comes to designing different ornaments, Francoise brought a small basket of her products as a sample as well as her working tools, eagerly demonstrating the use of those tools in the crafting process. When probed for the inspiration behind the different designs, Francoise shared that while she uses the internet as a starting point, most of her designs reflect her own imagination. The Judges were fascinated by her products (self-adjustable rings, necklaces, and earrings with a ‘Mauritian’ feel to them) and reckoned that could do very well in the tourism sector. On multiple accounts, Francoise reiterated her penchant for working alone and at home, in the warmth of her living room. She believes that a sense of liberty accompanies the design of products, which enables her to express her creativity and hence, for the product to materialize as expected.

Francoise uses an amalgamation of pearls and sea-shells to manufacture her products, further narrating how she collects broken or defective sea-shells and transforms them into valuable ornaments. Amongst the pearls, the one most commonly used is called ‘collier cipaye’, which Francoise does not need to buy, as she testifies it being easily available. The only pearls that she buys are those which customers specifically ask for, to be included in their ornaments. Francoise describes attaching little gifts to large orders, under an effort to attract an retain more clients. Additionally, there are other technical purchases which must be made, for instance jewelry holders and wires, which Francoise buys in bulk. The two reasons, she establishes, are to prevent recurrent travel costs and to constantly feed the stocks of products available for sale in case of last-minute orders or fairs.

To manage the flow of capital, Francoise keeps are record book which enables her to witness the growth of her business. From consistent monitoring, Francoise recounts that she has no source of fixed or secure orders and is dependent on exterior calls: either that of customers or that of fellow women entrepreneurs. Hence, in the long run, she thinks about opening her own shop, to ensure a fixed location of income. Despite minor difficulties, her business works sufficiently well to generate certain profits, a fraction of which is saved and the other reinvested. As of now, Francoise’s current project is one with fellow women entrepreneurs, where she will be traveling to Rodrigues in November this year to sell her products and hence further increase her pool of clients. As she jokes, she hopes to continue expanding her business while simultaneously making the most of life, or in Francoise’s own words, “Mon envie kumsa sameme contine promener en travaillant.”