Precious Bassey is the Founder of Purple Leisure, a multi-million company that caters to clients’ travel, mobility, security, and accommodation needs for tourists. Precious was the winner of our Hospitality and Tourism category in 2022.

• What does being a young and successful entrepreneur mean to you?

It means a lot of things, especially because I’m female and striving to break boundaries and barriers in society. My career and my business mean the world to me.

• Can you share the inspiration behind your decision to start your own business at a young age?

My mum is my major inspiration. She has always owned businesses and she committed some aspects of the businesses in my care to give account and manage. So growing up, I knew I also wanted to run my own business.

When I started Purple Leisure, it was initially just for profit and monetary gains, but as we evolved, I started developing a solutions mindset.

• On work-life balance/harmony, how do you manage your time effectively to run a successful business while also pursuing personal interests?

I’ll say I’m doing a fairly great job with that now because I currently have so many things going on. But what has worked personally for me over the years is understanding that I cannot work myself to death, and so it’s very important to have a balanced life.

I also work smart, in the sense that whatever I can do with my laptop, I do with my phone, so that I can always get things done.

• As an entrepreneur, what motivates and sustains your drive?

Right now, it’s the happiness we give our clients. We are bringing solutions for mobility because transportation is a basic problem in Nigeria, especially for people coming into the country. We mostly serve expatriates and tourists, and we’re doing a very good job with that. That is what keeps me going. I’ve handled situations where people land in the country at night and they don’t know what else they are to do. So they call us and we provide solutions.

So the humanity that comes with putting people first is what keeps me going.

• Throughout your entrepreneurial journey, what accomplishment are you most proud of?

The 25under25 Awards was the first award we ever won. It was a huge deal to me, even though prior we were already getting some recognition here and there. But winning the award gave us a push.

• What advice would you give fellow young entrepreneurs just starting their own businesses?

Focus. Africa is filled with countries that have problems and need solutions. So I will say do your research, look for problems that need to be solved, and focus on solving them. The money may not come in immediately, but it will eventually.

• Do you have a favorite quote/mantra that resonates with your entrepreneurial spirit?

To be honest, I can’t remember all, but I have a few that I love that I have on sticky notes on my wall. However, Oprah Winfrey is someone I absolutely adore and there are so many lessons I have learned from her.