Vera has high hopes for the future!
At Wow Braids, we are not only in the business of making women look good but also about creating opportunities for women at the bottom of the pyramid to earn more money.We recently jumped at the opportunity to help generate employment in Kaduna state with the DFID funded GEMS3 project which has the mandate to help women in Nigerian states access finance and markets for their products.
To achieve this, we partnered with the amazing women of the Divine Favour Braid Cooperative teaching them how to make our world class wigs and guaranteeing the offtake of their products. This allowed them to access funding and materials needed to be Wow Braids suppliers and grow their businesses.
Vera Elisha (wife, mother and superstar stylist) is one of the women in the Divine Favour Braid Cooperative which is our largest supplier group.
In her own words, before supplying Wow Braids she had a one-man salon with very little income. But since her cooperative has been working with us, they have increased their income and have high hopes for the future.
Since she joined the cooperative and started working with Wow Braids not only has her wig making and braiding skills improved and her business mindset broadened, she has also seen a major change in her finances as she is now able to pay her children's school fees without any hassle. She has also been able to purchase more goods and equipment for her own salon and has employed more staff of her own to meet up with the demand from WOW! Braids.
Mrs Vera is looking forward to continuing work with Wow Braids and the GEMs 3 in future and covering even more ground in terms of growth and market reach.
Beatrice - Old trade new skills
Beatrice is a wife, mother and business woman who is part of the Divine Favour Braids Cooperative; the group of women that make the Wow Braids wigs.
She owns her own salon and used to make different hairstyles on her own but did not know that braids could be made into wigs until she was trained on how to make wigs for Wow Braids.
She was all smiles when asked how working with WOW! Braids through the cooperative had impacted her personally and was happy to announce that she could now pay her children's school fees easily ( unlike before when it was a hassle) and she also employed two more ladies to work with her which goes to show that not only was she personally empowered but she was also able to empower other's by employing them.
She has also been able to buy furniture, stock up on more weaves and equipment for her salon and is able to use the skills she learned since the partnership began to improve the quality of her own services.
She is eagerly looking forward to a continued work relationship with Wow Braids and the eminent growth that will follow.