Moyosore Benjamin Pitan is the founder and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MBP Couture, based in New York, United States. Meeting at the GTCO Fashion Week in Lagos recently, Pitan shares with Olujimi Abatan his overseas experience, business line and advice to Nigerians seeking greener pastures. Excerpts:
Nigerians leave the country for various reasons. What was your motivation for leaving for the U.S. when you did?
It was good timing. We all decided as a family that it was the potential next chapter for me. My mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer about six years prior to this, and through her experiences, or our experiences, the fight, and many inadequacies in healthcare, she found it important to explore education, and life experiences elsewhere. She passed away shortly after that, and I took it upon myself to explore this idea that she felt so strongly about.
What is your experience of living abroad?
The transitional process often differs from person to person. For me, I was able to adjust and adapt effectively. I have always been very personable, and I found it fairly easy to associate with others. Adjusting to the New York fall and winter climates, cultural diversity, social differences, language/accent barriers, and culture in general, were all minor issues for me. I am aware that this may not be the case for others. Not having the same family support and community I had gotten accustomed to was a bit of a struggle at first. In addition to these experiences, continually working on myself, and investing in my education – these avenues seemed to be the only way to effectively navigate through life and my experiences abroad, despite any racial discrimination or inequality.
Did New York meet your expectations?
I didn’t have any expectations, except the idea that there will be many differences, and on arriving, it was the case. The weather in the fall was a transition, but I soon arrived at my university, and it was time to get to work. Hard work and its reward were comforting, and I soon embodied investing my time and efforts into realising my purpose, and the rewards matched. Like anything else, investing in the right things returns great things, which continues to be the story of my journey.
The in-thing in Nigerian is the ja-pa (meaning ‘to leave without plan of returning’) phenomenon. Based on your experience, what is your advice to these mammoths seeking greener pastures overseas?
Everyone has their own story, which I like to refer to as our educative process that includes all our life experiences, and how these experiences have shaped our decision-making process and reality. Our stories are rather very complicated yet comprehensive, and it is important to find your purpose, always stay the course, strive for the best, provide value to the world, and never give up.
Not giving up in this case, means simply finding your purpose, it could take the form of having an idea and making it tangible by realising this dream, doing something about it. It starts with you, your mindset, how and what you think and how you feel, internalising each idea and not taking ‘no’ for an answer – that is, being able to pursue all other options and effectively transitioning to the next thing or person. Not accepting defeat.
Speaking about the idea of ‘ja-pa’, there is no blueprint to exploring these avenues – living your dreams, becoming successful, or realising your purpose. You get to define what this is to you, and what it all means. Exploring what the world has to offer is extremely beneficial, and necessary for growth and perspective, and we should all strive to be the best we can, placing focus and prioritising what we hope to realise. Everything else falls into place.
What is the MBP Couture brand all about?
MBP Couture creates and curates unique, simple and fashionable designs by infusing our signature Ankara pattern with our custom-made clothing. We web-designed a vibrant signature Ankara pattern fabric, that is incorporated in all our pieces, digitised, stitched, embroidered, and infused into all our designs. It started with the idea of altering fashionable pieces, and making it more appealing with the help of my sense of style. It quickly became the vision to blend the perfect fabrics, designs, and arrangements, to create something spectacular, ensuring that with every stitch, we can identify with something that allows us to be expressive, and it is representative of who we are.
There are subsidiaries, including MBP Football Club.
Yes! These subsidiaries organically came on. I had coached soccer at the university level, and did some youth level coaching for a few years, which led to MBP Agility, coaching young athletes, and focusing on player development, which transitioned into MBP FC, allowing my athletes in the same age group to compete across the New York area. As I transitioned into a corporate role in analytics, I completed my Masters of Science degree in Business Analytics. I gained experience, acquired licenses and certificated in soccer analytics, and MBP Analytics was created to effectively provide game analysis, and provide collegiate, semi-professional, and professional soccer/sports teams with insights through data, to better prepare them for game appearances.
How do you juggle all of these together?
My involvement in analytics, sports, and clothing came about through education, passion, and time. I went to school for business, and as I transitioned through the workforce, I arrived at wanting to pursue work in the analytical space. This opened doors in the world of sports, coaching, player development, and performance analysis, which all continued to form as I gained experience and connections in these areas. I began a doctorate in leadership and management, exploring more education and career advancement. I look forward to completing and defending my dissertation soon, with MBP Couture finding its way into all of this. Balancing it all is a battle, but we prioritise what is most important to us. We are unaware of our capabilities until we push ourselves.
Would you consider yourself to be a career or businessperson? Or a blend of both?
I am a blend of both, with involvement in spaces. I have three business degrees and am currently completing my doctorate in leadership and management, as well as a corporate role in analytics, and running businesses in private analytics, sports coach, and supporting MBP Couture as the fashion designer. Purpose is defined by the individual, and as we evolve through our educative purpose, we find this purpose, and effectively balance everything that it comes with.
How did your business survive through COVID and, how old is MBP Couture?
MBP Principal LLC was created during this period, with subsidiaries in the clothing, the analytical space and sports. MBP Couture existed before this, but was created during this period, and a few fashion shows, and photoshoots propelled the brand. With the pandemic negatively affecting most existing ventures, it was a good time to perfect the look and define the most effective approach to transition through the industry.
Other than fabrics and shoes, what else do you design?
We found household items very simple and effective; items such as socks, t-shirts, crew neck sweaters, hoodies, shorts, pants, and hats. In addition to these items, the shoe collaboration with Stubbs and Wotton is an addition to the collection, and we will continue to grow in that direction, exploring other pieces and adding to the collection. We are open to anything and everything that aligns with the essence of our brand.
What has been the market response in New York?
The quality, value, and essence of the brand transcend through all spaces, and the reception has been incredible. We create pieces with the Ankara pattern embedded in the African flag, Nigerian flag, and any flags on request, to represent inclusivity, and individuals can identify with these designs, and represent where they come from. Aside from the vibrant Ankara fabrics that people find attractive, and always complement, our pieces are simple, but yet so fashionable, and this allows the market to easily support the brand and enjoy our designs.
What is your impression about the GTCO Fashion Week?
Experiencing the GTCO fashion week 2022 and connecting with a few designers, it was incredible to see different styles and experts in the industry create and share their creations to the world. We hope to continue to grow, perfect our look, style, and enjoy the journey. I plan to be back as often as I need to, for the sake of community and promoting the brand. As we continue to gain exposure in New York, Palm Beach, and abroad, we look forward to doing the same at home, here in Nigeria.
Where do you see MBP Couture in the next 25 years?
Through growth and exploration, I hope to take MBP Couture global. Our vibrant unique Ankara design pattern is incorporated in all our pieces, and our designs can be easily identified with this pattern. We continue to explore collaborations with different worldwide brands, currently designing slippers/mules with Stubbs and Wotton, Worth Avenue Palm Beach Florida. These collaborations infuse our Ankara pattern and unique designs with brands that share similar vision and style. Also, introducing this African/Nigerian American brand to the world.
