When we first spoke to Oluwatoyin at the first selection process and inaugural training workshop, she sounded quite business savvy and had a firm grasp of her business. Oluwatoyin is married and with children, a business woman who derives pleasure in making money. For her, business has always been a thing for her and she finds herself exploring opportunities to always ensure that she has financial independence and is able to support her husband to provide for their family.

Oluwatoyin is a retail grocery seller with a shop in Ketu axis of Lagos, Nigeria. She sells basic staples of provisions and says she earns from selling in large quantities. When asked about the profit margin derived from the sale of provisions; she did say that while the profit may not be much, there is guaranteed sales as people will always shop for these items and that is okay. That sounds like a woman with a grasp on the market, right?

Outside of being a retail grocery seller, she doubles up as a personal shopper for her customers who find it quite difficult to come to the market to shop for their needs and wants. This she does by asking them to make a list of the items they want; she shops around the market for such items and providing other value-added service that ensures customer retention and quality in service delivery. Oluwatoyin understood that there is a gap that she could tap into to increase her earnings.

The third thing this business savvy woman is into is the sale of sand, stones and gravel in trucks. While this is not a primary business for her, it is still modeled after being able to spot opportunities and a deep desire to be able to earn more for herself.