UEL entrepreneur's arrival on world stage
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Published
28 February 2023
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When Senegal beat home nation Qatar 3-1 in the World Cup in November, billions around the world watched cult footballer El Hadji Diouf celebrate.
The former Liverpool and Bolton winger - twice African Footballer of the Year - was photographed wearing a cap on his head, bearing the distinctive logo of start up streetwear brand SCJ.
It's the kind of product placement and influencer endorsement that any entrepreneur dreams about. And for Amadou Kassarate, the moment was doubly sweet.
Although Amadou was born in England and raised in south-east London, he is a Senegalese international footballer himself, having played for the Under 20s. Also, El Hadji Diouf, pictured below left, "was my hero growing up".
He said, "That meant a lot to me because he was the reason I wanted to be a footballer."
Aside from the unrivalled global exposure, there was another layer of symbolism to the cap. For while Senegal were waving the flag for African football, Amadou's company was waving the flag for African culture.
SCJ stands for Sapes Come Jamais, which translates as "swagger like never before" and that's what Amadou wants to convey through his designs.
"My streetwear is inspired by African culture, blended with contemporary fashion and the goal is to champion individuals to celebrate their truth - who they are, where they come from - and to celebrate African culture in general."
Seed of an idea
Amadou's business is based in the Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability, at the University of East London, where he graduated in sport and exercise science and was an elite sports scholar.
He received the office free for a year and the help of an intern for three months as part of UEL's support programme for entrepreneurs. And he received and continues to receive mentoring as a result of this programme. He credits the week-long boot camp with teaching him the fundamentals of business, from marketing to finance to pitching.
Amadou currently plays with Welling, but it was when he was playing in Scotland, with Spurs alumni Nathan Oduwa in 2016 that he decided he wanted to start a business.
"I've always had an idea to start my own business. I didn't know what or how, I just had that in mind," said the former Dumbarton player.
He refined the idea and opted to start a streetwear brand, a quest that would push him to the limit of his ingenuity - and bank balance.
The 27-year-old said, "My mum always said to me you have to study as well. In football you never know what will happen so always have a Plan B. I never wanted to just rely on football. I was always into exploring different avenues in life."
Streetwear seemed like a natural area to explore.
Amadou said, "The football world is all about fashion, about expressing yourself, being bold. While I was in Scotland, Nathan and I would discuss ideas - what would it look like, how would it inspire, why would people want to wear it. Through that we started drafting designs and understanding the aesthetic of the brand."
The idea fell away when Nathan returned to Spurs, but Amadou knew he was onto something with his urban streetwear brand inspired by African culture and contemporary fashion. His inspirations were everywhere he looked.
"I did a lot of research. I was borderline obsessed. I looked at brands like Maniere De Voir, MDV, run by a former footballer and one of the fastest growing fashion brands in the UK. I looked at GymShark. I looked at brands like Daily Paper, an African inspired brand from Amsterdam."
He started producing samples, using social media to get the word around among his influencer friends. He began promoting the idea just to get feedback. And the feedback was positive. But he was busy playing football as well so, again, the idea took a back seat.
Then the lockdown struck
But all that changed with a run of bad luck.
After he graduated from UEL in 2018, Amadou went to play with Thesprotos in Greece but he had to come back early because of an eye condition.
"In 2019 I had surgery. I was trying to get fit, trying to get back into football and then the pandemic happened, and football was taken away from me. There was nothing else so the first time in my life I was at a standstill."
Now, he thought, was the time to really push his idea. He sold his car to buy his first inventory of tracksuits in different colours. "I had time, we were in lockdown, and I didn’t want to waste time and I pushed it and pushed it.
"I started to order samples and those samples I would give to footballers and influencers and celebrities. It helped me with word of mouth.
His social media began filling up with pictures of well-known faces such as football players Cheikhou Kouyate and Edimilson Fernandes.
But the journey was far from problem-free.
Orders from China came back with mistakes and he hadn't accounted for import duty.
Amadou said it was tough, he needed a thick skin. And that's when what he calls the "power of the why" becomes a factor.
Amadou says he's not just launching a clothing brand, he's on a mission to represent the African diaspora. Born of migrant parents, he wants to celebrate the Afro-culture and the changing perception of the continent as a creative powerhouse.
He said, "You have to have a mission and it's got to be deep and profound for you to want carry no during the tough times. A lot of people know what they want to do and even how, but they never go deeper to understand why.
Telling powerful stories
"That's when they get unstuck because that 'why' is the difference between winning and losing. Once you have a mission bigger than yourself then you will find a way to get there."
Now he's happy enough for the time being letting SCJ simmer nicely while football occupies much of his time.
"I have a strong network of influencers, and celebrities, rappers and footballers - it's been two years now and if my product wasn't any good it would have fizzled out after six months.
"For me SCJ is a never-ending process. I don't know where it's going to end. I will keep pushing to change the narrative about Africa, always telling powerful stories through fashion."
To find out more about how UEL supports entrepreneurs, see Be Your Own Boss.
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