Former beauty queen, serial entrepreneur and MD/CEO, Rikaoto, Maryam Elisha beautiful graced the cover of African Founders Magazine, May Edition.

The ex-Miss Valentine, who has over the years successfully built a lucrative business that spans fashion, merchandising, real estate talked about one of the things that has made the RIKAOTO brand stand out.

This she said is part of her involvement in the pageant industry, being a former beauty queen herself, Rikaoto became an inspiration to pageant girls in the continent, a lot of these ladies became her loyalists as it was believed that a streak of luck comes with wearing her dresses to competitions which was largely true.

Rikato, which is her middle name, hails from Kebbi, a northern state in Nigeria, West Africa. Her father is a retired police officer and her mother a seasoned business woman and she is the youngest of seven children. She had her primary and secondary school education in Kano state before relocating to Lagos state to study English Language at the University of Lagos. After graduating from the university, she proceeded to the New Jersey Fashion School, in the United States, where she trained for eight months in fashion designing.

The RIKAOTO by Me brand became an household name and began to gain popularity around 2012 as she became active in the fashion industry, styling celebrities, top personalities , pageant girls and also participating in international fashion shows.

Her passion for creative fashion runs wild as the fiery expression of her desire to bring to life her ideas can be seen in her designs. This entrepreneurial spirit of hers has made her a magnetic force to reckon with and a source of inspiration to younger entrepreneurs.

She also talked about her past, her current activities and future plans with African Founders Digital Magazine Team.