Sylvia Owori

Sylvia Owori (born 1976) is a Ugandan fashion designer, businesswoman political lobbyist and entrepreneur.[1] She is the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Zipa Modeling Agency, a company that she founded and owns. She is reported to be one of the wealthiest individuals in Uganda, the third-largest economy in the East African Community.[2]

Sylvia Owori
Born1976 (age 46–47)
Uganda
NationalityUgandan
Alma materNewham College (B.A., Fashion Design)
Occupations
  • Fashion designer
  • modeling agent
Years active1999 — present
Known forFashion Design, Business Acumen
TitleChairman & CEO, Zipa Modeling Agency

Background and education

Owori was born in Uganda c. 1976, one of seven siblings. She attended Nsambya Senior Secondary School, in Kampala, the capital of Uganda and the largest city in that country. She studied at Newham College in London, beginning at the age of 19, graduating with Bachelor of Arts degree in fashion design.[3]

Career

Following her studies in the United Kingdom, Owori returned to her native Uganda and opened a boutique that initially sold imported clothes. That enterprise, Sylvie's Boutique, maintains its headquarters at Garden City Mall in Kampala's central business district, with another branch at Mabirizi Complex, also in Kampala, and a third store in Kilimani, a section of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. It employed 80 people in both countries, as of December 2009.[4]

Owori also began designing and manufacturing clothes for herself and her friends. In 2000, Sylvia Owori was selected to design the clothes worn by the contestants at the MNet Face of Africa, in Dar es Salaam and Cape Town. The following year, in 2001, she was selected to design the clothes worn by the Ugandan finalist at the Nokia Face of Africa competition. From 2001 until 2004, Sylvia Owori took charge of organizing the "Miss Uganda Beauty Pageant", thereby expanding her visibility. In 2004, she launched her own clothes line, under the Sylvia Owori label. In 2005, she launched Africa Woman Magazine, a glossy monthly publication with circulation in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tanzania.[5][6] Owori designed and manufactured the costumes for the lead actors, actresses and part of the cast of the film The Last King of Scotland, released in 2006. She is also the founder and owner of Zipa Modeling Agency, a leading fashion talent house in the African Great Lakes area.[7][8][9]

Owori is also the Executive Assistant to Chief Coordinator (Gen. Salim Saleh) of Operation Wealth Creation on Public Private Community Partnerships.

Personal life

Owori is the mother to two sons. One of the children, born in 2008, was fathered by Al Hajji Nasser Sebaggala, the former mayor of Kampala, in office from 2006 to 2011.[10]

See also

References
  1. Shaw, Jacqueline (2013). "Sylvia Owori Launches 2013 Vintage Collection". Africa Fashion Guide. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  2. Bukumunhe, Timothy (9 April 2007). "Who Are The Richest People In Uganda?". New Vision (Kampala) via Cloud-Computing.Tmcnet.com Quoting Thomson Dialog NewsEdge. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  3. Rukundo, Eunice (6 March 2011). "Sylvia Owori Has Lived Up To Her Promise To Succeed". Daily Monitor (Kampala). Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  4. Wandawa, Vicky (1 December 2009). "Executive Value: 'I Have No Room for Failure'". Daily Monitor (Kampala). Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  5. Quaade, Vibeke (December 2006). "I Have No Room for Failure". ActionAid International. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  6. Serugo, Moses (14 November 2005). "Uganda: Owori Launches African Woman Magazine". Daily Monitor (Kampala) via AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  7. Owori, Sylvia (12 November 2011). "The Tale of An African Woman". Sylvia Owori BlogSpot. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  8. Nassuna, Stella (24 December 2012). "Sylvia Owori Wins Coveted Award At Afrikan Fashion Walk". New Vision (Kampala). Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  9. Eupal, Felix (14 December 2009). "Sylvia Owori Fires Up Fashion Nite". The Observer (Uganda). Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  10. Odeng, Michael (1 February 2014). "Seya Wins Custody Battle of Owori Love Child". New Vision (Kampala). Retrieved 6 December 2014.
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