(Seychelles News Agency) - A Seychellois entrepreneur is seeking to build a dropshipping business as well as promote self-confidence among women through her bikini line.

Soley Swim is an e-commerce platform which swimwear and other beach accessories using the dropshipping business model through its website – www.soleyswim.shop.

Diane Rose, the mompreneur and founder of the brand, told SNA that when the time came to formalise her business venture, she chose to have an online presence rather than a physical, walk-in store.

She explained that at the outset, bikinis and other items were being sold hand to hand. When the market grew, she and her family wanted to have a presence and that is when Soley Swim was officially established in July 2020. 

Soley Swim is seeking to build a dropshipping business as well as promote self-confidence among women through her bikini line.(Soley Swim) Photo License: CC-BY

“The amazing Mr Peter Roselie gave a lecture in one of my MBA classes circa COVID landing in Seychelles. He referred to dinosaurs, not in a literal sense, but referencing to many businesses succumbing to loss by refusing to keep up with modern innovation, such as digitization. During that time Soley Swim was but a seed. Instead of nurturing it to grow into a retail business just like any other, we had to adapt to the current developments as well as maintain robust risk management for the impending economic collapse,” explained Rose.

This is when the team opted to go into e-commerce. They outsource items from five different factories. Drop shipping allows entrepreneurs to start an online business and sell products to their buyers without ever actually stocking the items themselves.

“Necessity is the mother of invention, just as job security fears during COVID necessitated the need to create something which would facilitate financial independence for my family,” said Rose.

Talking about the name of the brand, Rose said that she and her team unanimously agreed that they wanted a name that would represent sun, sea and sand, not forgetting Seychelles – 115 islands in the western Indian. Though Beach Babe was the first name chosen, the team settled on Soley Swim as they believed that using the word Soley – Creole for the sun - already provides the local relevance which they were aiming for.

To stay in touch with clients and advertise its items, Soley Swim has a presence on Instagram. (Soley Swim) Photo License: CC-BY

“We did not add Seychelles to the name because Soley Swim also has an outlet in South Africa, and plan on being available to other countries,” said Rose.

Through Soley Swim, Rose seeks to establish an empowerment platform, boosting the confidence of women through the realization that every human being was created to live a fulfilled life for an amazing and unique purpose.

“Soley Swim does not promote empowerment just for the sake of sounding politically correct. We promote it because as individuals we have also been impacted by the lack of it. Sadly, the norm in Seychelles is that only a handful of women will be confident enough to wear a bikini. People prefer to wear T-shirts or wraps over their bikinis, or no bikinis at all, out of shame or fear of 'exposing' their bodies,” explained Rose.

“‘Soley Swim also stands in that testimony and we aim to inspire all women so they may likewise blossom into the confident being they were created to be,” she continued.

To stay in touch with clients and advertise its items, Soley Swim has a presence on Instagram. The brand was one of the official sponsors for last year’s Miss Seychelles pageant, for which the team filmed an advert using four beautiful Seychellois ladies of different body types - from size 8 to 18 - given “that we wanted to demonstrate how our brand was available to all ranges of Seychellois women,” concluded Rose.