A restless Mrs G about a decade ago paced the room, restless. What must I do with my hands? Raised in a family where her father owned various businesses, Mrs. G had a strong entrepreneurial drive. She wanted to own a business. Owning not just a small business, but a global one that affects families and people. But how and where she would start from were the many questions on her mind. Her family needed a sustainable stream(s) of income. She prayed, asking God for direction.
One fateful day, Mrs. G’s husband met a small business owner who taught women to make oils extracted from coconut. And she admitted Mrs G to her classes. In no time, Mrs. G became an expert and started selling oils to a handful of customers. People referred to her as the coconut oil lady. She excelled in her craft, and word spread quickly through many referrals. But Mrs. G didn’t stop at making coconut oil. She pivoted to create body and hair products, household cleaning agents, etc.
In her desire to grow her business from being a local business to touching lives across the nation, Mrs. G began training other women in communities, schools, etc. She wanted to create jobs and see women gainfully skilled and self-employed. From then until now, it has been such a fruitful journey for her.
Our organisation’s role:
Seeing the potential in Mrs G’s business, our organisation has leveraged funding people to learn the trade. One of such stories is about a pastor and his wife who didn’t have a stable income. They often lived in poverty and depended on people for money. Until one day, they met with one of our partners. He encouraged the wife to enrol in Mrs G’s skills academy, offering to pay for the classes.
Today, the wife has become well-skilled and sells household cleaning agents in the market. In their words, the couple said,
“Our family’s income has changed. We no longer depend on people for handouts. Now we have an income from selling soaps and detergents.”
What an exciting example of how training and empowerment can change the trajectory of a whole family.
*Writer’s note: As of today, one of Mrs G’s trainees has supplied 80,000 products to customers in North America.