SA’S ACHIEVER FEMALE hen I look at us Sharna Darko, 28, Louise Darko, 29, Alexandra “Alex” Fitzgerald, 27, and I, Adanma Yisa, also 27- I see four young female expats in SA with a story to tell. Despite all having been born in the UK, we are definitely African inspired. Let us start with Sharna and Louise. They opened a fashion boutique, MSC Boutique, in 2011. M S C stand’s for
My Sister’s Closet, a reference to the fact that the two are sisters through Sharna’s marriage to Louise’s brother. Louise, who is of Ghanaian descent, believes that every country she has lived in has shaped a portion of her personality including the USA where she received her bachelors in Fashion, Marketing and Design. Sharna, who is of Jamaican heritage, says that they noticed an entrepreneurial opportunity upon moving to SA. “Having worked both in the UK and SA, we noticed gaps in this market and decided to join forces to open
our boutique. MSC is an eclectic mix of everything a young fashion conscious woman would want in her closet, stocking a mixture of South African and international brands as well as our own label – MSC Unique” Alex on the other hand chose to tread a more corporate path. After relocating from the UK, she attended Wits University where she obtained a BA, an Honours degree and her Law degree. She currently works at Norton Rose, an international law firm. Although born in the UK, Alex spent her formative years travelling due to the interests and pursuits of her parents. “My parents, a British mother of Jamaican descent and a South African father, met