Nigerian Business Women: The tale of a successful SME in Nigeria

Aim for this article:

To help boost the morale of many struggling SME startups, especially online SME startups.
To educate young entrepreneurs on the need for mentorship and upgraded classes.

Scope:

This article is focused on the tale of a successful Nigerian online SME business woman.

Methodology:

Personal and virtual interviews.
Online exploration of the subject’s social media pages.

Nigeria is a country with a lot of potential for small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs). Over the years, the number of successful SMEs in the country has been on the rise, and many of them are successfully run by women.

Many SME owners are entrepreneurs, launching their own businesses and creating jobs for fellow Nigerians. Others are taking their skills and experiences to the corporate world, climbing the corporate ladder and becoming leaders in their respective fields.

Nigerian business women are making their marks in a variety of industries, from fashion and accessories to technology and finance. Nigerian businesswomen are also making a name for themselves in the world of philanthropy, with many of them setting up charity organizations to help the less privileged.

These women are using their wealth and influence to make a difference in the lives of those in need, and their work is having a positive impact on the nation. Many of them have indeed made indelible marks in the business world and have become role models for other aspiring entrepreneurs. The success of these businesswomen is a testament to the fact that with hard work and dedication, anyone can make it in the business world.

Nigeria has a lot of successful SME business women, such as Toyin Lawani, Nkechi Harry-Ayoka, Ebi Atawodi, Folorunsho Alakija, Hajia Bola Shagaya, but I am choosing to talk about one phenomenal SME Nigerian businesswoman whose story is so inspirational to a lot of young women who are struggling with their businesses.

This article focuses on a certain young lady, Miss Oluchi Joy Onuoha, the Founder and CEO of JOYFIED DESIGNS. Miss Oluchi is a twenty-seven-year-old creative writer, digital storyteller, a graduate from the prestigious University of Benin and most importantly, she is a very creative beaded bag designer.

Her beading journey started sometime in 2018 during her university days when she paid her then course mate Dorcas Soleye some money to teach her the basics of beading. She learnt the skill and started up her business. Like every other business, hers faced many hurdles in the beginning. For instance, there were challenges of inadequate funding, difficulty in sourcing for raw materials as some of the materials weren’t readily available in her community, lack of proper channels to showcase her skills, and the need for upgrading her skills since she was only taught the basics.

Despite the challenges, Oluchi never backed down or gave up on her dream of becoming a successful businesswoman. When she started, there wasn’t a Craft Business Coach that could put her through on the business of beading. The few persons who were in her area of business were not willing to teach her the business. Well, she rolled up her sleeves and went to work and did deep research and discovered a lot of secrets needed to build a profitable beading business. Part of her resolve was to teach others coming after her, the secrets she discovered so that life in the industry would be easier for them.

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She took several paid business trainings to improve her knowledge and to grow her business.

This resulted to her creating her signature course called THE BUSINESS OF BEADING.

After her discovery, JOYFIED DESIGNS was not just re-branded, it was reborn and registered under the SME registration act of Nigeria. As a creative writer and a storyteller, Oluchi used her imagination and real-life stories to create intense and engaging stories on her social media pages to attract the required attention her advertised products needed. The technique worked out so well for her that she has shipped countless numbers of her beaded bags to major cities in Nigeria like Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Benin, Asaba, Onitsha, Calabar, and Owerri. She hopes to exhibit her beaded bags on global fashion shows in years to come.

Furthermore, this determined businesswoman has mentored and inspired many young Nigerian women to help them be their own boss and take charge of their craft businesses despite any challenges. To give back to her community, Miss Oluchi has taught young women the art, skill, and business of beading in both free and paid classes online and offline. She has a lot of beading courses she created for people who wish to learn this skill and business. She has also written some books to help beadmakers and crafters on how they can build profitable beading business. Two of her books that will be launched in 2023 are 30 WAYS TO MAKE CRAZY MONEY FROM BEADING SKILL and 35 MARKETING STRATEGIES for BEADMAKERS and CRAFTERS. She is determined to give beadmakers and crafters all the help they need to succeed in their craft.

She’s both passionate and committed to helping young women develop into audacious women who are not scared to be all they were destined to be in the future. She wants them to succeed in their chosen crafts and career. She is a skilled craft coach and has an online beading business community where she coaches young women in the art of craftsmanship. On her social media platforms, she shares her business and growth stories. She believes strongly in Personal Development and this has caused her to pay and take classes and several training on sales, marketing, content marketing, business development, storytelling and among others.

One of Miss Oluchi’s dreams is to build the first Skill University in Nigeria that will empower Nigerians and people from other African countries.

Miss Oluchi’s story is an inspiring one and she is a true testament to the fact that you can successed if you work hard and remain resilient. She is a role model and an inspiration to many young women who are looking to make it big in SME’s.