Who Is Uchenna?
Uchenna (Jane) Ibe is the Founder and CEO of Ivy League Collections, a leading soft-furnishing and sustainable textile company whose products have reached more than one million homes and hotels across Africa. An MBA-trained entrepreneur and circular economy advocate, she is recognized for pioneering eco-friendly manufacturing, advancing women’s economic empowerment, and championing circularity in Nigeria’s textile industry. With global credentials from Walden University, Cornell, Cranfield, and the Miller Center, and active mentorship roles with Goldman Sachs, Vital Voices, AWEC, and the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, Uchenna stands at the forefront of Africa’s shift toward sustainable living and inclusive entrepreneurship.
The story of Uchenna (Jane) Ibe begins not in a boardroom or factory floor, but in a modest home where the psychology of space revealed itself to her long before she ever heard the term circularity. As a young woman, she watched her elder sister, a seasoned interior designer—transform empty rooms into places of refuge, dignity, and identity. When her mother gifted her a sewing machine after her wedding, what seemed like a simple gesture quietly unlocked a calling. That machine would become the first stitch in a lifelong mission: elevating homes, empowering women, and transforming textile waste into opportunity.
For Uchenna, the home is more than shelter; it is the first teacher of values, confidence, and belonging. As she explains,
“The home is the primary unit of society; it is where values are formed and where we recharge.”
This belief would define her entrepreneurship, guide her advocacy, and shape her vision for Africa’s sustainable future.
Roots of Resilience and Leadership
Uchenna’s path is deeply rooted in a lineage of strong women who defied convention. Her mother, Ambassador Justina Eze, made history in 1979 as the first woman from South-Eastern Nigeria elected into the National Assembly. Her grandmother, the revered “Ada Ogwu”—the Wise Woman—served her community as a respected arbiter, living to 107 years. From them, Uchenna inherited courage, clarity, and a lifelong conviction that women are not merely participants in society, but architects of it.
This legacy shaped her worldview, steering her toward education and leadership. She pursued a B.Sc. in Geography, grounding her in environmental systems long before sustainability became central to her career. She went on to earn her MBA in Entrepreneurship from Walden University and completed notable global programs at Cornell University, Cranfield University’s Bettany Centre for Management, and the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University. Each step reinforced her belief in responsible entrepreneurship and the power of social impact.
Her training expanded beyond academics. Through programs like Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women, the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), AWEC, ImpactHER, and the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, she gained not just credentials, but a global network that amplified her mission. She later became a mentor within these same networks, completing a full-circle journey from student to advisor.
Building Ivy League Collections
In 2006, Uchenna founded Ivy League Collections, unaware that the company would eventually reshape how textiles are perceived, used, and repurposed in Nigeria. Inspired by her sister’s early guidance and driven by her own fascination with the psychology of space, she began creating soft-furnishing solutions that blended contemporary global standards with the richness of African aesthetics. She recalls the spark clearly:
“I noticed a significant gap in the market for soft furnishings that could bridge contemporary standards and our traditional African aesthetics. I wanted to create products that didn’t just fill a room but elevated the dignity of the family living in it.”
Over the next 18 years, Ivy League Collections would grow from a small vision to a powerhouse brand, supplying curtains, bedding, home essentials, and interior textile products to more than 20 retail stores nationwide. Her company operates on a B2B model, partnering with major chains and superstores while maintaining a strong community presence.
Today, Ivy League products have reached over one million homes and hotels across Africa, a milestone that stands as both a commercial and cultural achievement. As Uchenna describes it,
“Seeing our products grace over one million homes and hotels affirmed that Africans deeply desire spaces that reflect both excellence and heritage.”
From Manufacturing to Circularity
Success brought scale, but scale brought questions, especially when Uchenna realized the environmental implications of textile production. Her academic grounding in environmental systems converged with her real-world experience as she confronted the volume of offcuts her factory generated.
Then came the defining moment.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, nose masks became scarce. In response, Uchenna mobilized her team to produce more than 5,000 reusable textile masks for communities and organizations. She observed the piles of neatly sorted offcuts and understood the magnitude of waste the industry generated.
“I realized that if I wasn’t part of the solution, I was actively driving the problem. This wasn’t just business strategy anymore; it was stewardship.”
That moment sharpened her mission. Ivy League Collections began adopting eco-friendly manufacturing practices, turning textile waste into new products, and training entrepreneurs—particularly Fashionpreneurs and business owners, on circularity.
Her pivot marked the beginning of a broader movement: transforming textile waste into economic and environmental opportunity.
Empowering Women, Communities, and Industries
Uchenna’s work extends far beyond manufacturing. She is a lifelong advocate for women’s empowerment and uses her company as a catalyst for change across the value chain.
Women make up the majority of Ivy League’s workforce—employed as tailors, site agents, manufacturing assistants, procurement officers, retail agents, and distributors. Beyond jobs, she creates pathways for women to build confidence, leadership, and financial independence.
Her mentorship journey is equally powerful. As she reflects,
“Whether I am mentoring entrepreneurs through Goldman Sachs, Vital Voices, or WIMBIZ—or guiding hundreds of secondary school girls through the Big Sister Program—I am simply paying forward the courage my mother instilled in me.”
Uchenna also serves the Catholic Church as a Deanery Coordinator, counselor, and youth mentor within the Archdiocese of Lagos, shaping families and communities through guidance, values, and leadership.
Because of her visible impact, she has been featured on Africa Magic, DSTV, and the Bank of Industry Impact programs, and twice honored by the Catholic Women Association of Nigeria for women empowerment. Most recently, she served as a panelist at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, contributing to global conversations on gender financing.
Transforming Waste Into Wealth
The next chapter of Uchenna’s work is bold, ambitious, and urgently needed: establishing a state-of-the-art textile waste management facility in Nigeria.
Her goal is not only to process waste, but to:
- Extend the lifespan of textiles
- Convert offcuts into new economic value
- Create production hubs across Nigerian regions
- Expand employment for women and rural communities
- Reduce the environmental impact of the textile sector
- Normalize circularity as a cultural and industrial standard
Her upcoming book, The Onion Chronicles: Lessons from My Grandmother, slated for release in 2026/2027—captures the values fueling this vision: resilience, integrity, stewardship, and community. She describes these principles as the backbone of her leadership.
“True scale isn’t just about revenue; it’s about the depth of your impact. Advocacy is the first step, and at the core of transformation.”
Editorial Note
Uchenna Ibe’s journey is a testament to what happens when purpose meets courage, and when tradition meets innovation. She has taken a simple sewing machine and turned it into a platform for sustainability, empowerment, and generational impact. Through Ivy League Collections, her mentorship across continents, and her advocacy for a circular economy, she continues to weave solutions that uplift homes, communities, and industries.
Her story challenges every entrepreneur and leader to ask:
How can we build businesses that honor both people and the planet?
How can our personal heritage shape a more sustainable future?
Uchenna’s life proves that transformation is not a distant vision, it is a series of intentional choices. And through her work, she invites the world to rethink textiles, rethink waste, and rethink what is possible when leadership is rooted in purpose.
