In this first series of Queenterviews with women who inspire me, I wanted to put the spotlight on a black woman who is revolutionizing business in Africa. While scrolling on Instagram, I realized: by tackling Ivorian craftsmanship, Assa fulfills all these conditions.
We met during a year together at an MBA in digital marketing in Paris. At the time, we weren’t very close, but Assa had already caught my attention: I thought she was charismatic, mysterious, and discreet. Now she lives a triple life and runs LouNaturel, her business of natural, organic, minimalist decoration, in collaboration with craftsmen from the Ivory Coast. Let’s take a look together at the portrait of the woman who is committed to making traditional Ivorian craftsmanship “sexy” again.
Jane: Hi Assa, so were you surprised by my interview request?
Assa: A little yes, it’s a new one for me. I’m not very comfortable with the idea of talking about myself but I accepted because I know you, it’s less stressing. And it’s a great opportunity to promote Lou, thank you very much for that!
Jane: I know you’ve got a lot on your plate, between being quarantined in Paris, work and family. It’s also my first time, so thank you for your time and let’s get started!
“I got married in secret!”
Jane: Tell us a little bit about your story. I know you were born in the Ivory Coast. How was your journey from IC to France?
Assa: In short, I was born in a family of 9 children and financially comfortable parents. I had a sweet childhood and a smooth school path. I was very sensitive to new technologies and I started my professional career as a business developer for a software company, before moving to France in 2008.
Jane: Can you tell us about 3 moments in your life that struck you?
Assa: When I was three, I got a serious bone infection that took six years to heal. I still suffer physical and psychological after-effects, but that is what made me the person I am today.
The second and most painful event is the successive deaths of my loved ones, I lost my father, my mother and my little sister in the past 5 years.
The 3rd is the day I held my daughter for the first time in my arms. It is my most beautiful life experience, and she is exactly as I pictured her.
Jane: What is the craziest thing you ever did?
Assa: I got married in secret and didn’t tell my parents!
Jane: What was the last book you read?
Assa: L’enfant noir, from Camara Laye. It’s an autobiographical novel in which the author, who was a little boy at the time, describes his life in Guinea Conakry in the 1950s. It’s also a beautiful tribute to his mother and to all black women through her.
“Authentic Ivorian craftsmanship is uncool”
Jane: Tell me about your business. I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of your products (and your instagram feed which is superb!). How did you get the idea to create LouNaturel?
Assa: I’ve always been a creative person. Before Lou, I had already attempted the entrepreneurial adventure, but in the end the project didn’t succeed because the product was much more technical than it seemed: my ambition was to create flesh-coloured bras for every black skin tone. I wasn’t ready. For Lou, the trigger came in 2016 during a trip to the Ivory Coast. Just when I wasn’t expecting it at all, I came across a village of weavers in the Savannah in the north of the country and it was love at first sight.
After a first collaboration with this family of weavers for the decoration of my apartment, I decided to go further by founding Lou, my home furnishings company. It’s an eco-friendly brand of timeless objects, which aims to showcase traditional Ivorian culture and craftsmanship. I develop the collections in Paris and have them made in very small series by craftsmen from the Ivorian countryside, in 100% natural and raw materials. These are rare pieces because very few craftsmen still use this method.
Jane: I love the idea of the bra, similar to Rihanna’s Fenty products. If it doesn’t exist yet, we’d have to invent it!
Assa: Yeah, it’s now available at Nubian Skin, and I have to test it!
Jane: Was it important to work with African craftspeople?
Assa: Yes, that’s the very essence of Lou, and I truly believe in that. It’s about promoting the ancient traditional Ivorian handicrafts, which excludes artisans with modern techniques found in large African cities, or handicrafts for tourists. Traditional craftsmen are most often located in small, remote villages. The aim of the project is to help them make a living from these ancestral techniques and, in the process, to preserve our cultural heritage. This type of authentic Ivorian craftsmanship unfortunately no longer has a place in the Ivory Coast because it is “uncool”. My goal with Lou is to make it sexy again.
Lou is a Malinké name, used in the north of Ivory Coast to designate home, one’s house, the place where one lives, but also to identify where one comes from.
Jane: I know you’re passionate and sensitive about gardening and environmental issues. How does Lou fit into this?
Assa: My mission and vision with this project is not to make money, but rather to encourage our artisanal craftsmen to perpetuate their ancestral know-how by paying them a fair compensation. And to bring a piece of Ivorian nature and culture into people’s homes at a reasonable price.
We put the protection of the environment at the heart of our approach by producing only 100% biodegradable and untreated objects. For that same reason, we decided to deliver only in Europe in order to limit our carbon imprint. And finally, we plant a tree in the Ivory Coast for each manufactured item, to face the climatic crisis that the country is confronted with. Ivory Coast has unfortunately lost 90% of its forest coverage in under 60 years, making it one of the worst examples of global deforestation.
“I had to compromise my Social Life”
Jane: So I know that you did the MBA to upgrade your skills and you to got a project management position at Orange Business Services. You already have a job, you’re also a mom, and on top of that you’re a business owner. How do you manage all this?
Assa: Honestly, I had to redefine my priorities and make some choices. It’s my social life that’s been sacrificed. Apart from going out with my partner and doing outdoor activities with my daughter, I hardly ever go out and I don’t see anyone.
The equal sharing of tasks within my couple also helps me a lot in my day-to-day organization. My work day is punctuated with meetings with my teams and clients for whom we deploy network and information technology solutions. It’s a sector that I’m passionate about, so I don’t really see time running out.
I work 4 subway stations away from home, more than 2 days of working remotely and I have a great deal of freedom in the organization of my work, which allows me to easily reconcile my private life and my professional life. I take care of Lou during my free time and in the evening when my daughter is in bed. We still impose on each other romantic evenings and one evening a week without a screen.
“Look at what brings you joy.”
Jane: I find your company inspiring because creating a business in Benin (where I am from) is also one of my goals. But it scares me a little bit to launch myself in Africa. Do you have any advice for women (especially black women) who don’t always dare to embark on an entrepreneurial adventure because of lack of resources or for fear of failure?
Assa: There will obviously be challenging times. My main struggle with Lou is the long distance collaboration: I do everything through WhatsApp, and that’s very complicated. But at least, it limits the carbon impact of my business.
But the real answer to your question is passion. Personally, if I didn’t like what I was doing, I wouldn’t have done it, whether it was for Lou or for my company. Dig deep inside yourself and look at what brings you joy, what sparks your interest, and do it. It is passion that energizes us and it is that drive that makes success come much more easily. It’s also what allows me to dream one day of making Lou a great Concept Store in Paris.
Jane : Thank you very much for this fantastic conversation Assa, you were the perfect candidate for my first interview. For me, who can barely manage one job and who doesn’t have children, what you do is an achievement: you are a true Jane Bond, and I am proud of what you do for the Ivorian craftsmanship. I am sincerely happy to get to know you better. Like me, I am sure that your journey will also inspire our readers.
Check out Lou products on lounaturel.com.
Collaborate with Assa via LinkedIn.
Follow LouNaturel on Instagram.
Did Assa’s testimony make you want to start your own business? Tell us all about it in the comments.
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