| Participant | Queen Christopher |
| Location | Kpundama, FCT Abuja |
| Business | Sale of bags and shoes |
| Disability | Physical disability |
| Programme | Empower Her Ability |
Before participating in the Empower Her Ability Project, Queen Christopher was running a bags and shoes business primarily through physical and retail transactions. While the business was active, she had limited systems for keeping financial records and little presence on social media.
The limited digital visibility made it difficult for her to showcase her products to customers beyond her immediate location and restricted opportunities to expand her market reach.
Queen’s main challenge was limited digital marketing capacity and awareness of how to use social media to promote her business.
Without a strong online presence, her products had limited visibility beyond her physical customer base. The loss of her previous physical shop following its demolition also created an additional challenge, affecting where and how she could operate and display her products.
Through the Empower Her Ability Project, Queen received entrepreneurship training covering financial record keeping, social media marketing and strategies for improving business visibility.
She also benefited from mentorship support, which she described as valuable in guiding her business development and strengthening her confidence in managing both online and offline aspects of her business.
Following her participation in the programme, Queen reports improved financial management skills and greater confidence and independence in running her business.
She has also begun using social media more actively to showcase her bags and shoes and connect with potential customers. This has enabled her to engage customers beyond her immediate location and conduct transactions remotely, giving her business greater flexibility in reaching customers.
The combination of improved record keeping and increased digital engagement has helped Queen develop a more structured approach to managing and promoting her business.
Queen would benefit from increased access to capital to expand her stock and strengthen her competitiveness in the market. She also needs support to secure a new physical shop following the demolition of her previous location. With these resources, she can continue building on the progress made through the Empower Her Ability Project while maintaining both her online and offline sales channels.
| Key change: Queen transitioned from a primarily offline business with limited record keeping and digital visibility to a more digitally active enterprise. Through improved financial management and the use of social media, she has expanded her ability to showcase her products, engage customers remotely and manage her business with greater independence. |
