Facebook Launches Nigerian SMB Success Stories Series

Mary Nnah

Facebook has announced the start of its #FBSuccessStory campaign, aimed at spotlighting Nigerian entrepreneurs using Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to grow their business. The campaign, running for six weeks, is designed to celebrate, whilst inspiring future entrepreneurs, and highlight the tools available to scale their businesses.

Facebook’s Head of Communications, Africa, Kezia Anim-Addo in a release made available to THISDAY, noted that Facebook is proud of the role that it has in enabling small and medium-sized businesses to grow and scale.

“This campaign is a celebration of some of these Nigerian SMBs making an impact, both in Nigeria and beyond”, Anim-Addo said.

The#FBSuccessStory campaign, which started on November 18th and would be running till December 21st, 2020, will air exclusively on both BellaNaija and The Guardian TV as a special series showcasing four Nigerians that have experienced growth by using Facebook’s platforms and product offerings to overcome business challenges, connect to their target audiences, and achieve successes in their marketplaces.

The four entrepreneurs selected to feature in the campaign are: Tricia Ikponmwonba, founder of Tricia Biz, an online training and academy platform in Lagos, that provides affordable and quality business advisory service for micro, small and medium scale entrepreneurs. Tricia has used Instagram to reach and guide over 130,000 small and medium scale businesses in increasing their bottom lines in various industries worldwide.

Oluwatoyin Onigbanjo, founder of Augustsecrets, an award-winning child nutrition brand in Nigeria that provides healthy, handmade cereals and snacks for babies and young children. Onigbanjo has been able to feed over 30,000 children with her products within the first 18 months. Through her use of Facebook paid advertising, she has been able to reach customers across all the 36 states in Nigeria, including securing clients from Ghana, Canada, Cameroon, Gambia, and Nairobi.

Gina Ehikodi, founder, Foodies and Spice, Nigeria’s foremost food and travel show. With the help of Facebook, Gina has been able to showcase and promote other food brands through her annual food festival called Foodaholic Festival. Through her use of video content and relevant food hashtags, she has gained a following of over 100,000 on Facebook and Instagram and has become a food influencer, with a large audience who look up to her for ideas on how to cook and also manage their food business and Samiah Oyekan-Ahmed, a medical doctor turned entrepreneur and founder of The Gift Source.

Head of Video Content, The Guardian TV, Bunmi Amosu, said, “As one of Nigeria’s foremost multi-media and news platforms, we are continually seeking new ways to share the authentic African story.

Founder of BellaNaija, and media partner, Uche Pedro, said, “BellaNaija has always believed in celebrating people making an impact in their industries. This is why we are delighted to work with Facebook to spotlight local entrepreneurs leading change within their communities in West Africa.

“This BellaNaija-Facebook partnership has given us another opportunity to support business owners and brands as we applaud their resilience in an exceptionally tough year.”