Women in business: Meet Demi Samande, founder of Majeurs Holdings

Demi Samande is the epitome of a woman forging an authentic path in life and business. She is the founder of Majeurs Holdings, British-inspired furniture handcrafted in Africa. She is also a manufacturing advocate, a podcast host, and an author.

Samande followed her passion to create a world-class furniture company, which also led to the creation of a training institute that educates and empowers the next generation of skilled craftspeople.

Along the way, she also wrote the book In Her Hands, a ‘love letter’ to builders, artisans, and the women who shape the furniture industry behind the scenes.

Living between two worlds: The beginnings of Majeurs Holdings

Samande was born in London, but always felt a personal connection to Nigeria, where she would eventually take her furniture business.

“I’ve always felt like I lived between two worlds,” she said. “The one I came from, and the one I was meant to build.”

She reflected on how her passion for furniture and manufacturing slowly revealed itself, from her beginnings as a furniture restorer in London, where she developed an appreciation for pieces that had lived many lives.

“I was surrounded by culture, history, and design, but not in an obvious way,” she said.

“It was in the detail of how things were made, how space was used, how homes carried stories.”

Her early influences inspired a respect for the history of materials and how they could be transformed and preserved in stylish, innovative, yet sustainable ways. These experiences set Samande on a personal and business growth journey that would take her across the world.

She recalls how entering certain spaces helped her access an unprecedented sense of stillness, awareness, and curiosity.

“I didn’t have the vocabulary for it at the time, but I knew space could change mood; that materials had emotion,” she said.

Samande has always loved clean lines and timeless pieces that are functional and sustainable, which influenced her signature style, incorporating Scandinavian and Japanese design philosophies, interwoven with African textures and storytelling.

She went on to complete her degree in architecture from London Metropolitan University, but ultimately felt called to a more hands-on approach.

“I never wanted to stay behind a screen or a theory. I wanted to build. To touch. To change real things,” she said.

Samande decided to start her furniture manufacturing business in Nigeria, a move she describes as not just business, but deeply personal.

“I felt like I had something to prove,” she said.

“I didn’t come here to replicate what I saw elsewhere. I came to help reshape what was possible here. To prove that African-made can mean world-class. That we don’t need to import excellence, we just need to invest in it locally.”

Investing in people is the key to growth: Creating Majeurs Academy

Samande described creating Majeurs Holdings as the “unglamorous beginning of everything”.

“It started with one project. Then one hire. Then one mistake I couldn’t afford to make twice,” she said.

During this busy growth period, Samande also launched Majeurs Academy, a Pan-African furniture manufacturing training institute with a mission of investing in capacity-building for local talent and artisans in Africa’s furniture industry.

Creating this new venture happened organically and out of necessity, Samande reflected. Her team couldn’t find enough staff with the training and understanding of international standards, precision and creativity that defined her business, so she decided to build the pipeline herself.

“Now, we’re training the next generation, not just to make, but to lead,” she said.

“We didn’t have a factory. We didn’t have scalable systems. But we had belief, a relentless work ethic, and a deep refusal to cut corners. That got us far, but what got us further was understanding we couldn’t grow without people – skilled, consistent, empowered people.”

Living and conducting her business ventures between Lagos, Nigeria and London in the United Kingdom, Samande has become adept at staying flexible and responsive to the needs of her enterprises. However, she reminds aspiring entrepreneurs not to glamorise international work.

“It’s taxing, expensive, and emotionally complex,” she warns.

“But if your mission needs you to move, move. Just make sure you’re building systems that can grow whether you’re in the room or not.

“My work is deeply rooted in Africa, but I also know the importance of having a global perspective. That back-and-forth is part of my DNA now.”

In Her Hands: Shaping the future of manufacturing in Africa

Amid the whirlwind of building her businesses, Samande’s intuition told her to invest the time to record her experiences and lessons she learned along the way to help guide those who would follow in her footsteps. She wrote In Her Hands, a toolkit for aspiring African entrepreneurs and investors dedicated to transforming the African economy for the benefit of Africa.

“I didn’t write In Her Hands because I had extra time,” said Samande. “I wrote it because there was too much happening not to document it. It’s the book I needed when I started, and the one I hope inspires founders to keep going.”

In Her Hands, which follows Samande’s journey from London to Lagos, where her love for design blended with her family roots, was met with widespread praise, including being shortlisted for the Business Council for Africa (BCA) African Business Book of the Year award for 2025.

While she trailblazed her way through the manufacturing industry, she also created the SUSU podcast, where she shares how she packed her bags and moved to Lagos in pursuit of her dreams. Her podcast became a platform for sharing raw, authentic advice rooted in her personal experience of navigating the practical challenges of launching an international business.

“I wanted to create space for honest conversations about building in Africa, without the fluff,” she said.

“No PR gloss. Just what it really means to scale, lead, pivot, and dream on this continent. Sometimes I’m the interviewer. Sometimes I’m the student.”

Regarding how she manages to juggle so many different endeavours at once, Samande explains that she doesn’t do everything all at once. Rather, she honours what season she is in, whether it’s one of building, learning, writing, or resting.

In a modern, fast-paced world that perpetuates a narrow idea of how we can be successful in life or business, Samande’s story is an important reminder to stay true to what feels authentic to your soul’s purpose. Innovation can only come from blending your authentic purpose with a flexibility to your environment to create something that fills a niche unique to you.

For aspiring entrepreneurs who are unsure of how to make it happen, Samande’s advice is to stay committed to your goal but keep an open mind to new ways of building and growing. It’s about staying committed to your ‘why’ while being flexible with your ‘how’.

Building sustainably with soul: Samande’s next steps

Samande’s vision for the future extends far beyond creating a thriving furniture business – her trajectory is to change the narrative of what is possible and break the mould to open up possibilities for future generations.

“You are the system someone else will inherit,” she said, reflecting on the deeper mission of her entrepreneurial pursuits.

“Production is deeply emotional work; it carries heritage, labour, and legacy.”

Majeurs Holdings is demonstrating the importance of building ecosystems, investing in people, and committing to building “sustainably and with soul”. Samande is working tirelessly to honour and respect the raw materials of her environment, ensuring they are not simply exported and forgotten.

“This industry is rich, but underdeveloped,” she said. “My life’s work is to help change that. Excellence is not a Western concept; it exists here too.”

Samande is now busy expanding Majeurs Academy, launching new digital tools to help artisans scale their business in innovative ways, and expanding her reach into new markets quietly, deliberately, and intentionally.

“I want to leave a blueprint for how to build without losing your values,” she said.

“I want to prove that you can scale with soul. That African women can lead industries, not just participate in them. That systems matter. And stories matter. And when the two meet, industries can change.”