I’m Nicole Or. I founded FusionLens in 2017, along with a partner. I am a trained engineer, specializing in developing mobile apps. My teammates and I have been developing mobile photography technologies. This is our core strength – optical engineering and computational photography on mobile devices.

Things were going exactly to plan and I was running a business that I had trained for.

But life is never that predictable, is it?

The Coronavirus pandemic struck and the world plunged into fear and confusion. People stayed home and businesses suffered. The only protection we seemed to have from the deadly virus was a simple mask.

At that time, right at the beginning of the pandemic, there were no suppliers of masks in Hong Kong. I decided that it was time to contribute to the need of the hour and dived into the hygiene products sector. I set up a new business - supplying masks, something the country needed the most at that time. Soon, we started expanding.

Corporate client orders (B2B) started growing steadily, especially for customized
masks. Since then, I have been putting more effort into the development of those.

What actually started off as a desire to help, is now a growing business; one whose sales have exceeded our original mobile lens business sales by 20%.

One thing that helped me pivot quickly to the new business was my online presence through Facebook and Instagram. It has helped me greatly in not just reaching new customers but also in conversion to sales. It also gave me the courage to step out of my comfort zone to share my behind-the-scenes stories and product details on FB Live. This helped strengthen the bond with my customers as it eased their worries during these troubled times.

My earlier business and this one are widely different and learning new skills helped me make that switch at a time when it mattered the most.

I am Cinci Leung, founder of CheckCheckCin and a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). I first thought of creating my brand when I saw that my patients were unable to stick to their wellness goals due to their hectic lifestyles. Traditional Chinese medicines are unappetizing. Most people are hence reluctant to consume them. CheckCheckCin was born with the idea to combine TCM’s preventive healthcare ideology with a modern, patient-oriented approach. CheckCheckCin manufactures herbal soups and rice water products that can be consumed on-the-go. We also create bite-sized, health related content on our mobile app and social media channels

Our products aim to meet the nutritional requirements of customers that were previously unfulfilled. We provide our customers with easy ways to cultivate a healthy lifestyle. Making a difference in other people’s lives mattered a lot to me. The #SheMeansBusiness initiative by Facebook gave me the perfect platform to connect with like-minded women entrepreneurs in Hong Kong. CheckCheckCin’s business has expanded to 6 branches with over 50 employees. We have a community that is 260,000 and 135,000 members strong on Facebook and Instagram respectively. Thanks to the powerful combination of Facebook’s business tools and our business strategy of ‘Make Healthy Living Accessible’, these numbers keep growing.

We have provided the sick with a holistic approach to aid their recovery. Motivated by our success on digital platforms, CheckCheckCin aims to continue its mission of promoting natural and healthy living in the community.

I am Vriko Kwok. My partner and I founded Herbs’Oil, a new generation skincare company, in 2016. We were looking for skincare products that simultaneously helped maintain healthy and sensitive skin. This led us to discovering the potential of Hawaiian botanicals in tackling these matters. We realised that a holistic approach to healthy skin, combined with using ingredients that have been scientifically proven to work, would show visible results. Our products help protect and restore the skin, rendering it a beautiful glow!

Our mission is to cultivate a community that believes in the power of Hawaiian botanicals and the spirit of Aloha, which refers to the coordination of the mind and heart within each person. To promote this, we turned to Facebook. Like any new brand, the biggest challenge we faced was to generate a buzz around the brand. Creating our own Facebook page and a private Facebook group was the first step. Good content served in a private group helped us come across as authentic and made people feel more comfortable about interaction. We could gauge our customers’ needs and serve them better. We have over 7600 engaged members in our private group. The private Facebook group was a cost-effective platform for promoting our products on a more personal level. Facebook also gave us insights to create content. We studied trends so that we could produce relevant content that mattered. This strategy has brought over a 1,000,000 views to our videos.

Facebook has helped Herbs’Oil in creating a more intimate relationship with our customers. Customers who feel connected to us are always more loyal. We are proud to have served over 12,000 customers since our inception. We hope this number only grows in the future.

I, Tamanna, became a mother in 2014. My child refused to take the bottle. I read many books and articles to find a solution. What finally came to my rescue and helped me were suggestions from other mothers. I was based outside of my home-country when this transpired. Realising that serving other mothers was my calling, I moved back to India. I immediately began work on building a personalised and trusted community to help mothers with parenting information.

Our outreach endeavours began with a page on Facebook. We created ample parenting content on this platform. Mothers could now talk to each other and get information about home remedies, nutrition, employment and emotional well-being very easily.

We started with an idea which I got because of my own problem. Only a couple of years after starting, more than 2,00,000 mothers had already connected to each other through Facebook Groups. 8 million mothers had read and implemented our content every month in their day to day lives by that point. Many mothers have found employment through this effort. Our mission is to make this mother-community stronger and potentially global!

I am Pabiben Rabari, founder of Pabiben. My father passed away when I was 5 years old. My mother kept me in school for only a few years after that. I have studied till 4th grade, despite wanting to study more. It was after I got married that I was encouraged to follow my passion and talent. My husband encouraged me to stitch bags and sell them. The first things I ever made were 3 to 4 different kinds of bags.

My husband’s support gave me the will to start my business. However, in the beginning, I did not have a lot of money to take my business forward. That is when I took the help of Facebook and the #SheMeansBusiness program. When we uploaded pictures of our products online, a lot of people posted comments of appreciation. Mustering whatever little English I knew, I replied back to them. People from all over the world saw our products online and placed orders. When I was younger, I used to fill water from the well for a living, for a single Indian rupee. I used to make 41.19 USD a month. After taking my stitching business online, my turnover grew to be 27,461 USD a year!

Today, people from all over the world come to buy the 60 to 70 kinds of products that my company makes. More than 50 women work with me to put these products together. I see providing them with a source of livelihood as an achievement. I have one message to give my fellow sisters. I want to tell them to work hard, use the internet for their business and to stand on their own feet!

I am Shashi Bagchi and I co-founded Maati with my husband Anin Bagchi in 2006. I sought ways in which I could positively impact the environment and the lives of others. I turned to terracotta because it was a dying art. It pained me to see that few people were buying from potters. I started my own business in an attempt to revive this industry and maintain the livelihood of these craftsmen.

I looked into the production aspect of our unique terracotta planters and artefacts. My husband brought in his commercial business expertise. As a team, we worked hard and tried selling as many items as we could. Better understanding of digital marketing tools helped us sell more products. Once we started selling online, we realised it wasn’t as difficult as we thought it would be. You just had to take a picture of the products and upload it. There was ample guidance available online on how we could market it further.

As Maati grew, we started getting orders from all over India. Many of these were specifically from Punjab and New Delhi. Our posts would receive at least 3000 views. People met us and exclaimed, “Oh, Maati? We follow it on Facebook!” My clients, both newer and old ones expressed that they were pleased they were contributing to the environment. I was glad that our products were reaching so many people and interest in terracotta was reviving. This meant that the potters I worked with got their due credit. I will strive towards increasing the number of craftsmen who benefit from the online sale of products through Maati.

I am Nirmala Sainath Habka. I come from Koyenguda village in Maharashtra. I work at Devrai Art Village. This is a non-profit initiative to connect with nature and celebrate creativity. Like me, there are 40 other Adivasi craftsmen and artists from the naxalite affected areas of Gadchiroli and Chattisgarh who find livelihood and a refuge in Panchgani. Initially, I started by making small jewelry from iron, brass, stone, wood, bamboo and fabric. I used to make some pebble handicrafts, too. Soon after, I started making handicrafts that were both bigger in size and better-looking. My husband and I dreamed of providing our 2 visually-impaired children with the best of schooling. To make this possible, we decided to sell our handicrafts on Facebook.

When I started selling online, our business took off! Our pieces got a wider audience and so, we got many orders. Some people ordered 10 to 11 pieces and some ordered 20. This made us very happy. We worked hard and fast to deliver to our customers quickly. While initially there were only 3 to 4 artisans at Devrai Art Village, more and more artisans joined us as the workload increased.

We made enough money at Devrai Art Village to fulfil our dreams for our children. We were able to send them to a school that looks after their needs and nurtures their talents. Our kids are very happy and so are we!

My name is Parvesh. I am from a small village in Haryana called Bajghera. I work as one of the artisans at Indha. This company was founded in 1996, when the NGO ‘Literacy India’ was established. Its objective was to empower underprivileged children and women and make them self-sufficient.

I am not very educated as I failed and dropped out of school. But, I wanted my children to have a better education than I did. So, I started working at Indha. In the beginning, we were only 5 women. We made bags but they were not very well made. We wanted to sell them but lacked money to open a shop. That was when we decided to sell online. We created our own Facebook page. We clicked pictures of our products and uploaded them on it. Taking all costs into consideration, we priced all items accordingly. Gradually, our sales started picking up. Initially, we got only 10 to 20 orders. But soon, we got 500 to 1000 new orders per month. We never thought our products could sell internationally. Facebook and the support of our partner, Josh Talks, made it possible. People reached out to tell us that they liked our work. Our embroidery and designs received a lot of appreciation.

From starting out as a very small workforce of 5, today we are a group of 300 women at Indha. We all work together and we feel proud of ourselves for having an international market for our products. We are very happy.

I’m Anastasya Citra, the founder of TACI Design. I didn’t always work in this field. I was 30 years old when I developed a new hobby of (and a great love for) design using software. The internet helped me hone my skill. Social media also gave me a platform to showcase my art to friends. I started slowly accepting various jobs. I founded TACI Design in 2016 as a Business Development and Design Consultant.

The jobs that came in at the start involved tasks like logo and banner creation. It was only when I united design and branding that the scope of my work expanded. Many companies sought this combination to grow their own business. TACI Design helped such clients with guided and astute brand visualization. We would cover logos, social media, packaging and all aspects that could support their company branding.

In marketing TACI Design, social media remains the main strategy. We have been growing rapidly thanks to testimonials from our clients. A good social media portfolio has opened opportunities for international projects. These have been coming in through Instagram. We’re always amazed by the power of social media and the doors that it can open.

I started Kios Kaos Kupang in 2012. The designs of my T-Shirts are unique as they celebrate and elevate the iconic cultural features of this region. My intention was to make extremely fun T-Shirts made from good-quality fabric.

I identified tourists as the biggest buyers of my T-Shirts and employed digital marketing strategies to grow the business. I used social media to update them about my products, interact with customers and hold online competitions to increase brand awareness with potential foreign buyers. This grabbed many eyeballs and proved to be a fruitful business move.

I want to play an active role in increasing tourism in this region. I know that using online platforms further to my advantage could help, as well as working with new and more designers.

I’m Meybi Agnesya Lomanledo, the founder of Timor Moringa. I founded the company in 2018 when I noticed a problem experienced by Moringa farmers in the East Nusa Tenggara region. The selling price of Moringa leaves was too low, despite the various benefits it offered.

I knew that I would need a creative solution to tackle this issue. I decided to make an innovation of Moringa-based food products. We started making Moringa-infused tea, chocolate and more products. I did not have adequate manpower at the beginning. I managed to start selling the products internationally by pulling together all the resources I had. I started using social media for business as I wanted to reach a wide audience. This aided my goal of doing justice to the efforts of these local farmers.

Since the start of the company, we have used only 100% Organic Moringa Leaves from East Nusa Tenggara. We strive towards achieving a certain level of finesse in our products. Today, Moringa from our region has been ranked #2 worldwide. I am determined to keep developing the business and help this community to the best of my abilities.

I am Nadia Qamar Ali, the founder of Ajia Collection. I started my clothing line to provide a comfortable life for my 3 daughters, who are the real source of my happiness. This is the story of how I, a simple lady who was not technologically savvy, gathered enough courage to do something about my situation and run a successful business online.

To secure a future for my daughters, I had 2 options before me- either teaching or stitching. I chose to teach at first, even though I had a household to manage. However, it did not work out as the pay I received was insufficient. I chose to quit and turned to stitching instead. I worked on the sewing machine gifted to me by my mother. To help my craft get better, I used to purchase some materials from a flea market and stitch frocks for babies. I took on some work from friends and family. My work received appreciation and on someone’s suggestion, I chose to sell the clothes on buying and selling groups on Facebook. The next challenge before me was showcasing my products attractively. I could not afford to get a professional shoot done. Hence, I purchased a smartphone from my savings and kicked off Ajia Collections. With the help of Femprow, I successfully learnt digital marketing, created my own ads and attracted customers for my products.

To grow my business further, I enrolled for the #SheMeansBusiness training. There, I learnt about Instagram’s ‘3 second rule’, which pushed me to design my posts in a way that they got attention within 3 seconds. I truly attribute my success to the digital skills that I learnt.

I, Bushra Shahid, have been interested in arts and craft since I was a student. I made a Facebook page in 2018 to showcase my wooden craft work, called BeesCraftland. My inspiration for this page at that time came from some other pages that made similar products. I would get some appreciation for my work, but I wouldn’t earn much. My family members worried that I was wasting my time.

Attending the #SheMeansBusiness training program helped my business. I learnt to use social platforms better to increase my sales. I tailored my posts on WhatsApp business, Instagram and Facebook since each platform was different, and catered to a different audience. Page Insights taught me to get maximum engagement by learning what was the best time to post. I paid particular attention to the first 3 seconds of all my videos, added a human element to my photography and took advantage of the scheduling posts option. This helped me to manage my time better.

I realised that one “behind-the-scenes” video received great engagement. Orders started pouring in organically after that post. I decided to expand my team to ensure that such posts kept getting made. I hired 3 women to manage the page while I dealt with customers. We registered robust sales after this expansion. I look forward to achieving more milestones, while empowering other women. The #SheMeansBusiness training helped immensely to scale up my business.

I am Saira Jahan. I run Moksha Resorts, located in the picturesque Hunza mountain region, with my family. Moksha Resorts is a child and pet friendly space that can be rented by families for leisure or business. The safe and comfortable environment provided by our resort helps our guests unwind. Our resort has a special restaurant area and we provide room service, too. They love the scenic backdrops of the Hunza mountains. We arrange for our guests to take a tour of the various attractions between Karimabad Market and Khunjeraab Pass.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospitality sector across Pakistan had to shut down. To ensure that our business did not get affected as badly, we enrolled in digital marketing training programs with the support of our partner, USAID SMEA. We learnt a lot about social media for business during the training.

We have a lot of gratitude for #SheMeansBusiness. Thanks to the training we received, our business could survive the pandemic. Moksha Resorts can continue being a place for all to relax and enjoy nature.

I am Nida Jaffery, a food-loving Lahori. Nationwide, Lahoris are known to enjoy traditional meals. I founded Nashtay Walay in 2018 to deliver home-cooked breakfast to Lahoris. Our offering included delicacies like Murgh Channay, Nihari, Paye, Qeema and various styles of Parathay.

I participated in USAID SMEA’s online training in collaboration with #SheMeansBusiness. Learnings from this program helped improve my business immensely! I could reach existing and new customers during the COVID-19 pandemic when the restaurants were shut down. I attribute my business staying afloat during these tough times to the digital marketing tools that I had newly learned to apply.

My resume is a mixed bag of experiences ranging from an administrator to working at a photography studio. I branched out into the food industry and started Nashtay Walay because of my love for traditional cuisine. But soon after the company was founded, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This was definitely a cause of worry. But, with quality service, business acumen and the application of new online marketing tools, we pushed through. In 2021, I was named one of the “101 Incredible Women CEOs of Pakistan”. The dream is to achieve more milestones as the company grows. All this, while having a stomach filled with heart-warming treats!

I am Sher Bano, the founder of Sherry’s Stitching. Our town, Rahim Yar Khan, did not have a lot of work opportunities for women. I wanted to have a source of livelihood of my own. Hence, I decided to open a fashion boutique. We sell a lot of beautiful, custom-made dresses. Sherry’s Stitching was the first tailoring outlet in our town that was run only by women. This puts our female customers at ease when they have to be measured for their order.

I wished to support my family financially. I realised that to make this possible, I needed to have a sound education. Hence, I finished a diploma course in Vocational Teaching Development from the Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA), Rahim Yar Khan. Post that, I decided to open Sherry’s Stitching. As a woman, it was difficult for me to travel. It was not feasible for me to open new stores in other cities. That’s when I got the opportunity to attend a #SheMeansBusiness program organised by TEVTA in collaboration with Facebook. After the program, I decided to promote Sherry’s Stitching online. I created a Facebook Business page for my store. I applied all that I had learnt during my training to the page. The results were excellent. My monthly earnings had doubled.

Digital Marketing Training provided me with the knowledge I needed. I now knew how to create a presence for my store on other social media platforms. I could earn more and lead a better life. Now, I wish to expand Sherry’s Stitching’s business to newer cities. I plan on sticking to ecommerce to help me with this.

My name is Katrina Cortez. I run Katrins Kaong & Nata de Coco, a family owned, second-generation business. I had always looked up to my mother’s work ethic and resilience. I took over the reigns of the business in 2016 and quickly secured a Food and Drug Administration License. We started with two products and went on to serve twelve. Our journey of nineteen plus years involved a lot of hard work, research, product diversification, and a fair share of ups and downs. But my mother and I were there for each other throughout this journey. The Covid 19 pandemic adversely affected the food processing business. The demand for bottled sweet preserves decreased dramatically and we needed to diversify. From sugar palm fruit preserves, we moved to jams, which had better demand.

The BANGON MSMEs (Boost with Facebook and SheMeansBusiness) Program inspired me to embrace digital marketing skills. This was especially important considering the challenges we were facing due to the COVID 19 Pandemic. The training also helped improve our existing Facebook Business page, generate new enquiries, and enabled our products to generate more awareness online.

Although our business hasn’t returned to its pre-pandemic state, I am certain that we will make a slow but sure recovery. With the help of DTI, Bayan Academy, and Facebook, we got access to resources that help MSMEs. Hope never failed us and we kept at it. My advice to other women entrepreneurs is to never doubt your decisions. Do not let problems bog you down. Just keep going.

My name is Jocyl Gobres-Militar. I founded Jocyl’s Foods Chorizo de Kalibo in 1991. We started manufacturing processed meat products like chorizo and tocino that sold really well in the tourist island of Boracay. I owe my passion for running a business to my mother. She gave me the idea that making chorizos would be good business. Everything was going well for us until 2018, when the government ordered Boracay’s closure for rehabilitation. My company suffered immense losses. Although we had a Facebook business page for quite some time, the island’s closure compelled us to turn to it as a business tool.

A Digital Marketing event I attended encouraged me to take our marketing online. We recognized the importance of keeping our business updated with technology. Being short on resources, we needed smarter ways of working. We made use of features such as chatbots to automate replies for frequently asked questions. We worked on further improving our page and were able to connect with clients outside of Aklan. Thanks to Facebook, our products reached Zamboanga, Davao, Pangasinan, and Batangas.

Maximising the use of Facebook as a primary business platform helped us streamline our operations, widen our reach, and increase our base of clients and resellers. I understand the importance of having an effective online strategy and have made the best use of all available resources to equip myself with the latest skills ever since.

I, Marian Tuazon, founded Hurnohan Handcrafted Pastries in Makati, Philippines. The unforeseen circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic took me back to my love for baking. Baking quickly turned from a hobby to a business, and Hurnohan (a Filipino word for oven), was born. I have always been a strong advocate of sustainability, I sourced my products – be it ingredients or packaging, from local entrepreneurs and farmers. This also gave them business and helped them earn a livelihood. Starting a business meant having to step up my online presence to make it more active and attractive. A friend helped me set up Facebook and Instagram business pages for my baked goods.

I signed up for BANGON MSMEs (Boost with Facebook and SheMeansBusiness) as soon as I heard of it. I knew it was going to benefit me. I will forever be grateful to the Bayan Academy and Facebook for the excellent program. Although I didn’t know much about business, the Bangon MSME Program was equivalent to a B-School program . It changed my perspective in handling a business, and was especially helpful in acquiring financial and digital marketing skills.

I hope my story inspires fellow entrepreneurs to help and look out for each other. Moving forward, I am eager to continue my partnership with other local MSMEs and farmers to source sustainable ingredients and support local goods.

My name is Michelle Marjorie Con Pablico-Zabanal. I founded Sweet Memories – Invitations and Souvenirs in 2017 in the Philippines. An educator and an avid craft maker at heart, I decided to pursue my passion as a profession. My handcrafted creations gradually became known locally and internationally. This gave me the confidence to start my own business. Sweet Memories quickly earned a reputation for unique, elegant, high-quality but affordable invitations and souvenirs. I was always finding ways to improve my skills and this reflected in my work and craft. However, our pace suddenly slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic as the events industry took a hard blow. We had to shut shop for three full months. My husband and I even started selling plants to keep things going. As restrictions eased, we reopened our business.

The BANGON MSMEs (Boost with Facebook and SheMeansBusiness) Program proved to be a miracle for me. The online seminars were particularly helpful in making business continuity plans and equipped me with digital marketing skills. I learnt how to explore digital  platforms, improve our organic reach and sell online. I also learnt to attract the right audience for our products. This enabled us to improve the quality of work, increase client satisfaction and constantly upgrade our products and services.

Sweet Memories has always been on a mission to provide high quality products at a fair price. We were one of the first few in Palawan to offer handcrafted products and services online. We continue to set newer benchmarks and bring more smiles with our services with each passing day.

My name is Catherine V. Taleon. I started Balai Tablea in Iloilo, Philippines. I wanted to support the local cacao farmers and produce high quality chocolates. Balai Tablea was initially a side project, and I was just a one-woman team running the show. I started with only a small investment. I didn’t even have a proper support network. But I learnt business skills along the way, and built vital networks. Today, we are a well established business. .

Attending the #SheMeansBusiness workshop in Iloilo was definitely a turning point in my entrepreneurial journey. I learnt about building my brand, driving exports, increasing sales, and attracting new customers through the use of Facebook Business tools. I also became part of a network of like-minded women entrepreneurs in the #SheMeansBusiness community. After this, I was able to attract more customers in a metro city like Manila. This was the same market I was unable to tap into earlier. The training helped me build character and made me optimistic.

I am Sam Lin, the designer and founder of Sam Star Shoes. Shoes have interested me since childhood, and I believe, a good pair of shoes can uplift any outfit and make a woman feel more confident.

I started my business in 2010 in my apartment in South Africa. I was a rookie in the entrepreneurial world, and from finding the right factories to the raw materials, I did everything by myself. In the process, a lot of people cheated on me when it came to money. But that helped me learn my lessons and I only came out stronger. A few years later, I collaborated with fashion magazines to showcase my talent and was even chosen as one of the hottest entrepreneurs by a South African magazine. All along, I was also using Facebook to promote my products. This contributed to my popularity and 30-40 boutiques began selling my shoes.

In 2020, when the pandemic struck, my sales fell by half. I battled the loss for a year before returning to Taiwan in 2021 to start afresh. Another wave hit and the country was under lockdown, but this time I began focusing on online sales and tapped into the e-commerce market. I renamed the brand ‘Sam Star Shoes Asia’. I still remember when I received my first order then. It was reassuring to know that someone liked my work.

To improve my skills in digital marketing, I turned to workshops and the pitching competition held by SheMeansBusiness and Academy of Women Entrepreneurs hosted by Meta, Ministry of Economic and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). They brought together entrepreneurs who could learn so much from each other that one never felt lonely running a business. In the near future, I have two goals — one, to develop sustainable, fashionable, and environment-friendly women’s shoes, and second, to grow my team and work together to bring my products to the international market and let more people see my shoes.

A client had once told me that she feels beautiful when she wears my shoes, and that is my biggest takeaway. This is the love that I have worked so hard for and will continue to rise above all obstacles to take my business to the next level.

Society grooms men and women very differently as they grow up. As a woman, I grew up with a good sense of fashion, a way of feeling confident with what I wear. For some reason, men have never focused as much on grooming. This led me to start Legere, a business catering to the needs of empowering men with a smart wardrobe, helping them carry themselves with grace and confidence.

Our brand promise was clear: marrying high-quality fabric with immaculate custom clothing. We got Egyptian cotton fabric, wool, linen, and silk sourced from a century-old factory in Italy. When it comes to quality, our brand seeks no compromise.

After the initial phase though, the business went through a crisis. We weren’t able to get much response beyond friends. Identifying the problem was turning out to be an unexpected challenge. So we decided to go back to basics. We got down analyzing what the customer really needs and how we could provide it.

That's when we decided to focus on custom clothing by introducing a new concept - “wardrobe-planning services”. This was a genuine breakthrough, we tasted some success post that. However, one thing that kept troubling us was our advertising. We had tried doing a campaign or two, but those attempts failed. After that, it was a case of ‘once burnt, twice shy’ and I was reluctant to try advertising again.

However, in 2020, as we know it, the pandemic came knocking at our doors. And since our unique selling proposition involved physical interaction, business came crashing down. We had no use in keeping the shop open. We more or less shut it down. This, however, paved the way for a lot of time to learn and rebuild. Armed with new learning, I decided to try advertising again. Fortunately, I received opportunities to attend courses by #SheMeansBusiness and Academy of Women Entrepreneur co-hosted by Meta, Ministry of Economic Affairs, and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). I also participated in its pitching competition to bring my learnings into a comprehensive business plan.

The training has made me understand the importance of brand-building and accumulating traffic before attempting conversion. I was obsessed with the idea of “conversion” online. But I realized that for a brand that emphasizes a tailor-made experience for men, we were hardly tailoring our content for different audiences. Building custom content for our different audiences helped us enhance our brand image during the pandemic. The pandemic also gave us an opportunity to re-organize the team, optimize our systems, and prepare for our next round of growth. I now hold the vision of expanding across multiple bases in Taiwan and replicating the experience we provide for men, and I’m elated to say that we’re on the right track!

I founded BOBA CHiC in 2018. For me, BOBA CHiC is my way of bringing taste into people’s lives. My belief in individuality and my passion for traditional Taiwanese tea come together in my business.

At BOBA CHiC, we believe in following strict processes. We plant tea leaves in our own plantations and create the tea in our factory. Then, use the one-tip, two-leaf method of manual harvesting because we believe that the warm process of manual harvesting is what really brings out the intense flavor of Taiwanese tea.

Committed to making the West meet the East, I mixed the refined local taste of Taiwanese tea and boba pearls with the western flavors of milk and caramel. And it looked like the world was already waiting for these unique flavors because my products were warmly received. The business took off comfortably and everything was going well. Until the pandemic struck suddenly.

The lockdown was a nightmare for the whole service industry and we were no exception. But my team and I used that time productively to think of product innovation. We came up with a DIY (do-it-yourself) bubble tea kit and pivoted the whole business to digital. It worked! The kits became so popular that we now export to over 60 countries. And we were awarded the prestigious Silver Stevie Award for Innovation in the B2B Products & Services category.

These triumphs and milestones have made me keen to want to give back to the whole SMB community in Taiwan. I am grateful to play a part at the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs and the SheMeansBusiness program as speaker and mentor to share my learnings and experiences. After all, what better way to grow than to teach.

I am Mandy Huang, founder of Choice Delights. I used to work in the semiconductor industry at first. During that time, I fell ill. I realised how important it was to take care of my health. I quit my job and founded Choice Delights in the hopes of helping people eat more healthy food which tastes delicious, too. Since I was a child, I have always enjoyed cooking. The entire process has made me a firm believer in food’s ability to touch people’s hearts. Also, using the highest quality ingredients is necessary in order to make quality products. Therefore, we have always carefully chosen local Taiwanese ingredients with a high nutritional value to bake our cookies. We carefully consider the amount of sugar we added in our products so that they are diabetes-friendly.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused my business to incur losses. Coming across the Go Digital training on  #SheMeansBusiness’ Facebook page was a blessing. The course offered a series of comprehensive online lectures on content development and advertising that would help small and medium-sized businesses like mine survive the pandemic. The online nature of the course proved to be extremely convenient as I could learn anytime and anywhere. The training covered all the basics, which was what a beginner like me needed. I immediately applied my learning from the training in real life. Now, my products reach a much broader audience.

2020 was a big challenge for entrepreneurs. I think it is very important for businesses to turn to digital platforms for business in the post-pandemic era. I am looking forward to sharing stories about my products and reaching foreign markets, so that more people can taste the goodness of Taiwanese products.

I am Candace Chen, the founder of Fluv. My dream is to have all fur babies feel loved and cared for. When I was working in the United States, there were many apps which could get me any help I wanted. After I returned to Taiwan, I noticed that there were many animals who could not receive the love and support they needed. I came up with the idea to develop an app to help people find legitimate caretakers for their pets when they are unavailable. This would help in lowering the abandonment rates of pets and provide extra resources to care for stray animals.

I remember seeing a dog in Taiwan, who was badly injured because his leg was caught in a trap. The sight of his suffering really moved me. Even though my family was not supportive of my ambition to quit my stable career to pursue this cause, I knew I had to do something about it because I cared about it deeply.  Creating Fluv was the solution. To ensure that only people who are really passionate about animals could register on the app, we designed a unique screening process that all applicants must pass. Only those people who cleared the assessment criteria were allowed to register on the app and be assigned to cases. Linking our app to our Facebook fan page helped in attracting a large number of users.

With Fluv, the goal is not only to provide better lives for animals but also to create job opportunities for people in need. Fluv brings me true happiness because of the positive impact it brings to the society. When people thank me for my work, it lights me up. It’s what I always wanted to do.

I am Jie Ying Huang, the founder of Golden Flower Tea Oil. After marriage, I joined my husband’s family’s agro processing business. With 3 kids at home and zero experience, it was stressful for me at first. My youngest child suffered from atopic dermatitis and one of our clients suggested that we should add the Camellia tea oil we manufactured in our child’s diet. It worked wonders! Since then, we shifted to creating products out of our Camellia tea oil. Our products’ quality assurance has helped in consolidating a loyal customer base.

When we first established our brand on Facebook, we did not understand how to use its marketing tools to our benefit. When we started Golden Flower Tea Oil, a large amount of our money was also wasted. This was because the outcome we generated in terms of our input was not enough. There were a lot of bumps in the road. Things improved immensely after we attended the #SheMeansBusiness training program and workshops. We were able to efficiently employ marketing strategies that helped our products reach both the old and the young. We conducted Facebook Live sessions to demonstrate the usage of our oils in various recipes. This helped customers understand our products better.

I am Viola Cheng, co-founder of Good Food Enterprise. Our seafood restaurant is based on the social enterprise model, where we recruit the underprivileged as employees. My business partners and I trained them in person, so that they could gain economic stability and independence. At the same time, we used local ingredients in our food preparations to make them shine in the community.

My husband and I strongly believed that training the underprivileged to become self-sufficient was important. Hence, in our business, we always kept the work procedures very simple. This way, even a new employee without much experience could pick up the tasks easily and feel accomplished. We invested time to train them step by step if it was necessary. People in Taiwan think that good deeds should not be marketed. On the contrary, we believed that by marketing our good causes, it would help to expand our reach and generate more business and support. Few years ago, I joined #SheMeansBusiness program to learn about how we could use social media tools to strengthen the business. I truly believed in the mission of the program in empowering women entrepreneurs. Eventually, I pursued the path to become a #SheMeansBusiness advocate, myself. I helped mothers, who had their own businesses, to set up Facebook pages so that their products could gain more exposure. I view helping others in need as my responsibility.

I am very grateful to #SheMeansBusiness for giving me the opportunity to help other women entrepreneurs. By guiding them to the right resources, I make sure that they do not feel like their efforts are ever wasted. I want to tell all the women entrepreneurs out there that no success is ever coincidence. Whenever one overcomes a setback, it acts as fertilizer to strengthen our future growth. Hence, it is important to never give up.

My name is Nguyễn Thu Hồng. I founded Chả Cá Hồng in 2018 in Vietnam. I am from Nha Trang, a seaside city in Southern Central Vietnam. While I was pursuing a research career in Japan, I discovered the health benefits of fish paste and the high hygienic standards used in Japan. I decided to return to my seaside hometown and start a fish cake production business that would apply these principles in Vietnam. I have always believed that when people eat nutritious food, the nation becomes more prosperous. I wanted to leverage the large reserve of seafood in my hometown and pin it on the Vietnamese food map. I frequently traveled to Japan for research and to learn the technique prior to starting my business.

Facebook’s “zero dollar” market testing tool helped me pilot my products in the early days. Ever since, I’ve used Facebook to promote my products to a larger audience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was able to easily sell my products online. Regular Facebook Live sessions also helped boost my sales greatly.

My business’s online presence enabled me to retain my employees over the difficult period of the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to upskill them with digital marketing skills on Facebook. My aim is to further expand our reach online and inspire other businesses in Vietnam to promote local specialties

My name is Nguyễn Hoàng Điệp. I founded the Ơ Kìa Hà Nội Film Production and Creative Hub in 2018, in Vietnam. As an established film director, the love and influence I have earned over the years gave my business the much needed initial push. My aim with this business was to establish creative hubs aiming to connect independent artists, audience, and artworks of my city, all funded through the proceeds of the teahouse. Operating as a non-profit business comes with its own set of challenges. We served a very niche segment of people with an interest in arts, and this required us to constantly promote our activities to the right people with the lowest costs.

Facebook became the go-to channel to promote all our events and activities. We also successfully built a community for Hanoi art lovers on Facebook. We used our main brand page as a platform to promote the pages of various products and services, such as herbal teas, essential oils, cinemas, and libraries to benefit the local creators in our city. This has allowed us to share our love for Hanoi’s independent arts and ignite an interest for art and culture in the community among youngsters.

My dream is to eventually create an ecosystem initiative that connects the arts with everyday life in the city. I want to start by opening more Ơ Kìa Hà Nội spaces in different areas and build a “Little Hanoi Museum” in the days to come.

I, Trần Thanh Huyền, founded True Juice in 2017, in Vietnam. My brand emerged to be a pioneer in the cold-pressed juice space. We were among the first to introduce the concept of using fresh raw juices for a healthy lifestyle in Vietnam. After experiencing the benefits of cold-pressed juices myself, I was determined to share it with the people around me. I started writing a blog in Vietnamese about juicing and healthy living called ‘Juicy Life’. This blog became really popular, and I went on to establish True Juice as most of my readers were drawn to the idea of a daily supply of healthy nutrition.

At first our model did not have traditional outlets or stores and we started making all our sales online. With nearly 90% of sales coming from Facebook, it became our primary channel for sales and contributed to more than 70% of revenue. It also helped us connect with our customers and interact with them on a regular basis.

I started with a young team who had no business expertise. We lacked management, sales and marketing skills and had to build everything from scratch. But our continued efforts to create an organized business gradually paid off. Utilising Facebook’s services will further enable us to build our platform as a-one-stop-point for those looking to lead a healthy lifestyle.

I, Lương ThanhHạnh, founded HanhSilk in 2012 in Vietnam. Restoring the craft village of Nam Cao in Thai Bình province was one of my primary sources of inspiration. I wanted to acquaint the world with the supreme quality of Vietnamese silk. We started with the end to end process, from growing mulberries, silkworm raising, weaving, spinning to making finished products such as clothes, skirts, towels, jewelry, blankets, pillows, etc.

Our products were mainly exported to foreign markets but the COVID-19 pandemic led us to shift focus to the domestic retail market. We felt challenged as the high quality and dearly priced products now needed newer marketing strategies to reach new customers from within Vietnam. We identified Facebook as one of the main channels to introduce and share information about our products and interact with clients.

At Hanhsilk, we aim to expand our domestic and international markets, along with creating more employment opportunities for the women who are sustaining the tradition of Nam Cao craft village. Our long-term vision is to introduce Vietnamese silk to the world. We are also elated that our journey is creating a renewed interest in fellow women entrepreneurs to revive the traditional arts and crafts of Vietnam.

My name is Ngô Thị Hoài. I am the Program Director of WeCreate Vietnam, a public private initiative between the US Government and Griffin Worx that supports start-up women entrepreneurs with access to mentors and resources. I am also a Facebook Community Leader Fellow and a Facebook Lead Trainer, delivering digital marketing knowledge and skills to thousands of women through our #SheMeansBusiness program since 2017. Being a full time mother who was resuming work after 3 years, I was worried about my career at first. But I’m glad I stepped up and powered through! WeCreate gave me the opportunity to help many women realise their entrepreneurial dreams.

Since its inception, WeCreate Vietnam has relied on Facebook to reach out to women entrepreneurs. Most of our communication and coordination between the mentors and mentees has happened through Facebook and groups. Most women entrepreneurs joining WeCreate’s program also use Facebook as their key marketing and communications channel. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we continued our program online to keep our support for the women entrepreneurs going.

WeCreate Vietnam connected over 215mentors with 450 women entrepreneurs, with an active participation of over 3000 people in its first few years. This pace of success makes me confident that we will build a bigger community in future. The goal is to empower more Vietnamese women entrepreneurs with the motto of “pay it forward”.

I am Janet Falola, the founder of Ankara for Shakara. I founded my business while I was at university, looking to earn some money. I started out by drop-shipping other people’s products and posting pictures on Instagram and WhatsApp. Now, I am both a retailer and wholesaler of Ankara fabrics. Along with having 2 full-time employees at my company, I also reach clients across Nigeria, the United States and United Kingdom.

From the beginning, I have used Facebook and Instagram for my business. I showcased new products on my Facebook page. For advertising on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, I used Boosted Posts. Even with no active ads running, I received an average of 5 sales enquiries on these 2 platforms, apart from those on WhatsApp. I engaged with new customers and reconnected with the old ones on WhatsApp by sharing updates on new stock via the ‘status’ feature. I utilised WhatsApp Groups to coordinate with wholesalers and drop-shippers. Although the COVID-19 pandemic caused the brand’s revenue to dip, Instagram Live and using the platform’s ‘support small business’ stickers helped keep us on the radar. Lastly, the company also created a paid course to teach other small businesses how to grow with Instagram.

80% of Ankara for Shakara’s monthly revenue can be attributed to Facebook’s apps and services. To give back to the community that has shown me so much support, I have started mentoring budding entrepreneurs who wish to have their own online business. As for my business’ future, I truly hope to someday establish a factory for Ankara for Shakara’s operations in Nigeria.

I am Oluwunmi Funbi-Olufeko, founder of Design For Love (DFL) Clutch Bags. This is a business born out of my immense love for African prints. We have sold unique clothing, bags and accessories since 2004. What started as a business out of my mother’s garage has now grown to 2 physical storefronts, an online store, a workshop with 22 sewing machines and 18 employees. I have sold my products to customers in Nigeria, the US, Canada and Ghana.

Before I brought my business online on Facebook in 2011, I had to travel a 1500 km distance almost every week to procure the right materials for my products. Facebook helped to transform visitors on my website into buyers. I employed Facebook Ads to personalise my target ads for women who had shown interest in apparel items of African heritage. As for Instagram, using the Stories and IGTV features kept my audience engaged with DFL Clutch Bags’ products. WhatsApp and Instagram messages came in handy while managing customer queries. The COVID-19 pandemic affected business and I had to shut my physical stores for a month. During this time, I turned to Facebook and Instagram to keep up customer engagement. 80% of my sales were digital during this time.

In 2018, my business had grown considerably. I was in a position to expand my business. Hence, I opened a large factory and a second retail store for DFL’s Clutch Bags.

My name is Saudat Salami. I am a website developer turned founder of an online grocery store, Easyshop Easycook. My store delivers everything from household appliances to fresh foods to homes and offices. I built Easyshop Easycook back in 2001, when I saw how shopping for fresh food was often a challenge for working women. In 2015, I was given a $5000 grant by Vital Voices Grow Fellowship, an accelerator programme. It was the push I needed to launch Easyshop Easycook on a larger scale.

I invested the grant money in Facebook Advertising. I ran successful conversion campaigns on my website. I found new customers with a shopping history similar to the existing ones. Also, I could retarget all the people who did not complete their purchases on my website, thus nudging them to do so. On my Facebook for Business Page, I made videos that answered frequently asked questions about food storage, product information, etc. I communicated directly with my customers through Facebook Messenger. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, I relied on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook to keep my business running. In fact, during April 2020, my sales grew by 300%. I had to shut my website for a week to keep up with the demand! I then decided to give back to the community by distributing food packs to the vulnerable.

My growth with Facebook enabled me to hire 30 employees for my brand. I wanted to encourage other women around me to launch their own businesses, too. Hence, I launched an initiative called ‘Personal Home Shopping Business’. I wish to foster a sense of entrepreneurship in them all.

I am Tosin Oshinowo, founder of House of Lines (Ile-Ila). Ile-Ila is a line of contemporary hand-crafted furniture. I have collaborated with talented photographers and influencers to create attractive content for my brand, which has fans in both New York and Miami. I also received the honor of being nominated by ELLE Decor as one of the 55 Black designers and creative people worth following on Instagram.

While I was still at design school, I had created chairs using Aso-Oke fabric. A client was so delighted with the chair she bought that she photographed it for me! I took her photographs and made a short video out of them. I then uploaded it on Instagram. The video quickly gathered 16,000 views. This gave me the confidence to start Ile-Ila in 2016. Instagram remained Ile-Ila’s main advertising platform. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was Instagram’s IGTV feature that kept business afloat, despite having made no sales for over 2 months. I made videos to showcase my products and also to engage customers. Facebook’s apps and services help me engage with customers globally. I got real-time feedback on what products work best.

I attribute 100% of my revenue to Instagram, especially after the pandemic, when the government regulations were eased. Sales started coming in through this platform and I actually closed 12 sales within 6 weeks. I began receiving queries for my products from international customers, too! I am very excited to ship my products to them once the pandemic situation eases up. With the business growing, I was able to employ 6 more people in my company. I am very grateful for it all!

I am Emem-Obong. I started Mfrima Bakes in 2018 as a way to earn income from home. I make healthy, freshly baked pastries and breakfast items for pick-up and delivery. My company came into existence after I found success with my reduced-sugar banana bread recipe. When people saw it on my WhatsApp Status, they bombarded me with requests to sell the bread. This prompted me to open an Instagram and Facebook page. Even though I deliver only in Lagos, I have engaged potential customers from around the globe, thanks to Instagram and Facebook Live.

I improved my digital marketing skills by taking courses on how to run ads to increase sales and brand awareness. I used to post healthy eating tips and videos on Instagram and Facebook, 5 times a week. I had highlighted testimonials left by satisfied customers on my Instagram Feed and Stories. All of these actions came in handy when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I used to receive 10 orders a week through Instagram Direct messages. I decided to concentrate my menu to 3 of my most popular items, the ingredients for which could be easily sourced. Putting up my offerings on Catalogs in WhatsApp Business and Facebook Shop helped in recouping some of the losses in my revenue.

Since the start, Facebook’s Advertising tools have been my business’ backbone. I attribute 80% of my overall sales prior to the pandemic to Facebook.

I, Mariane Quattara struggled to find quality beauty products for black skin while I was studying abroad. That’s when the idea for my business, FariFima Cosmétique, was born. After earning a doctorate in chemistry, I moved back to Senegal and launched my company. I started producing innovative natural skin products for people of color. My ambition was to bring international standards and organic treatments to my home country. Thanks to my studies, I had the know-how to set up a laboratory. Here, I was able to develop my inclusive cosmetics.

The response to my organic products was great. My next goal was to build a strong brand. I set up a professional page on Facebook. This allowed me to build new relationships as well as drive direct sales through the platform. I could reach out to other local businesses to develop mutually beneficial partnerships. I could also interact with potential buyers. All in all, I reached over 300,000 people through this platform. As well as posting on my page, I also held Online Live events. These events would receive a great attendance.

The brand got a lot of engagement since its inception. It saw over 2000 sales a day even during times of the COVID-19 pandemic. I will continue to invest in my local community by developing high quality products. I will also provide training on cosmetic formulas to young people.

I am Thérèse Mayé Diouf Ba. I feel empathetic towards the underprivileged young girls in Senegal. They get sent off at around 10 years old, to work as maids. They often return having been abused or made pregnant. I launched Growing Life Farm in 2018. It is located in a rural community 115 km south-east of Dakar. We provide young Senegalese girls with an alternative. I contribute to their empowerment by training them in agro-ecology and organic farming.

My endeavour helps in reducing childhood pregnancies and fighting poverty. This project also provides practical, day-to-day advice about nutritional health and zero-waste agriculture. Every year, I invite local girls to join the programme for 4 to 6 months. During this time, they help grow fruit and veg on my 4 hectares of land and learn about agri-business.

I used social media tools to announce the names of local markets where I would be taking my farm produce. Doing this remarkably increased the income from the sale of my crops and other organic products like spices, tea and fresh pasta. I invested some of these earnings back in digital marketing training sessions. Soon, 70% of my sales started coming through digital portals. I also increased the interactions with young girls so that they received the kind of education that I had. I wanted them to be economically autonomous and free from exploitation.

I, Siny Samba, launched Le Lionceau because I felt passionately about infant nutrition. I wanted to improve the health of young children in Senegal. I knew about the importance of quality ingredients in baby food. I had learned all about it at the start of my career. I used to be an intern in the Research and Development department of a large French infant food company. I saw how it could promote a healthy life beyond childhood.

I wanted to offer healthy and nutritious baby purées. I knew that locally sourced ingredients would help in making these. Using local products would also benefit the hardworking farmers from my region. But, it was a challenge to source the high volumes required to make the business viable. I tried many ways to develop my baby food in a cost-effective manner. I realised that my main customers were mothers looking for good nutrition tips. I reached out to them through Facebook Messenger. At the same time, my Community Manager drove direct conversations around infant nutrition and organised workshop events. My customer base increased by an impressive 80%. I could now buy quality produce and significantly help local farmers by doing so.

We soon started enjoying having an increased awareness around our brand. I now have ambitions to conquer the business to business market and sell through supermarkets. The future of my company looks like the future of the babies who eat my purées- strong and healthy.

I, Fatima Sarr Mbow , started Mossane online in 2017. I realised that a friend had bought the same pair of shoes in Paris that I had purchased in Dakar for a fraction of the price she had paid. I set myself a goal. I wanted to offer women in Senegal the opportunity to buy the same quality beauty and clothing products they could purchase abroad, but at reasonable prices. I also wanted to eradicate the issue of counterfeit products in the Senegalese marketplace. Senegalese customers needed reassurance that their purchases were genuine.

Mossane started online, but 2017 proved to be a very difficult year for the business. My partners and I decided to open a physical store, too. We launched one in 2018. This store allowed customers to come in and try the products before buying them. Expanding the business to offline had its perks. But as we expanded, we kept in mind the power of social media. On it, we communicated directly with customers and also engaged with influencers to drive brand awareness.

She plans to use Facebook’s data and analytics tools to track sales in future.

Customers in Senegal now feel confident that the products they are purchasing are not counterfeit. We have managed to build this trust. We will be solidifying it further in the years to come. Moving forward, I plan to use the data and analytics tools online to track sales and increase them, too.

I, Zelna Naude, founded Avrio Kursusse in 2013 in Heilbron, South Africa. Through my company, I wanted to focus on people who were looking to improve skills to boost their employability. Having recently lost my job as an admin manager, I was on the lookout for a new source of employment. During this process, I discovered Sage Pastel, an accounting software system. I trained to become a certified Pastel Trainer in 2013. This helped me identify training as a new career opportunity. We began by teaching softwares such as Sage Pastel, Microsoft Office along with soft skills training.

At first, I endorsed my business in a local newspaper. The results were unsatisfactory. This prompted me to explore Facebook as a medium for advertising. I started by sharing tutorial videos and conducting webinars every week. I also ran engagement ads several times a month to achieve website conversion and boost video views. This led to a 6x increase in the number of trainee sign-ups. I was also able to reach potential trainees from all of South Africa’s 9 provinces. 90% of my business revenue came from Facebook apps and services.

My business was adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. I was unable to hold one-on-one training sessions or deliver learning materials to students. I started live training sessions on Zoom and shared learning materials via Dropbox. Although it seemed difficult at first, I now prefer virtual training over physical meetings. I am pleased that my business performance has come back to its pre-COVID state. I plan to branch into corporate training for groups and companies in the days to come. I am also offering free training sessions to two people every year since 2016.

My name is Margaret Chandia. I founded Tru Beauty Africa, an all-natural hair and skincare brand, in 2016, in Johannesburg, South Africa. I started using indigenous African plants and oils to make natural beauty products. Having dealt with my fair share of skin troubles as a teenager, I was determined towards working to create a venture that could offer unique skin solutions to the world. I had been making natural skin and hair care products ever since I was 14 years old. When it was time to find a job, I dedicated myself to doing market research. I found business potential in my hobby and decided to start Tru Beauty Africa.

I have used Facebook tools in a variety of ways to help drive business growth. I post details about my skincare products and share informative content about healthy skin on my page. Paid promotions have helped me reach women in Johannesburg and Pretoria. I used Instagram to connect with other businesses and this even helped me secure a partnership deal. WhatsApp makes processing orders and advertising new products easy. Tru Beauty Africa attributed 70% of the company’s monthly revenue to Facebook apps and services.

I launched Tru Beauty with three products and grew them to 12. The demand for my products has increased with time. I have also experienced organic business growth. My team and I are now targeting customers in Johannesburg, Cape Town and beyond.

My name is Jackie Owgan. I founded Image Cartel Nail Academy, a family-owned, internationally accredited nail training company in 2003, in Alberton, Gauteng, South Africa. We started with training professional nail technicians in all nail technology systems. We also dealt in the supply of professional nail products from Europe to local salons, spas and nail bars. As the Co-Founder and Marketing Manager, my son Vaughan Owgan, has helped me run the business efficiently and scale even greater heights.

Using Facebook ads helped us grow our business in size and revenue. The footfall increased from 10 to 30-45 trainees every month and we began to generate about 200,000 rands in revenue. 60% of our customer conversion has come through Facebook. The phenomenal growth we’d achieved helped us hire new employees. My son Vaughan, used the Ads Manager to run engagement and conversion ads to direct traffic to the company’s website. His love for marketing drove him to explore the Facebook tools further and target the right set of customers to achieve greater sales. Installing Facebook Pixel on our company’s website helped us monitor conversions and Messenger has made customer interaction easier.

We recently launched two new outlets in South Africa. The size of our staff has also grown considerably and this has helped us organise the business better. As we move forward, we are also giving back to the community by supporting The Gregg Mitchley Foundation, which cares for pensioners and older people.

My name is Tamburai Chirume. I founded ONEOFEACH, a fashion label business in 2013, in Cape Town, South Africa. We deal in luxury handbags and fashion accessories made in Africa. With this brand, I wanted to challenge the stereotype of luxury products not coming from Africa. Before starting ONEOFEACH, I worked in an investment bank in Cape Town while my mother sold her handmade accessories from home. During this time, I happened to post the pictures of some bags made by her on my personal Facebook account. All of them were sold out in less than two weeks! This inspired me to combine my business knowledge to market my mother’s skill and start a business.

I started using Facebook for business from the start. As a professional, I understood the importance of establishing an online presence, especially for a brand like mine. Through Facebook and Instagram, I have been able to position my business as an international brand and sell my products abroad.

Due to increased demand, my team has grown from 2 employees in 2014 to 7, in recent times. We provide creative and retail industry training for our employees. This contributes to their personal development as well, as most of them have no prior work experience. I feel proud to lead an all women team that has achieved success with continued hard work. We look forward to many more years of success.

I, Mogau Mosebjadi Seshoene, founded The Lazy Makoti 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa. We started with delivering interactive and immersive cooking lessons aimed at helping people improve their cooking skills, especially of treasured South African food. It all began when a friend reached out to me for help with cooking a traditional South African meal. Eventually more and more people began to reach out. This reignited the passion for cooking within me. I quit my corporate job to start my venture. I started by giving cooking lessons in one of my customer’s homes. Around 2016, the demand gradually increased. I moved my classes to studios and started teaching in batches . In 2018, I released my first cookbook. It won second place in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Macau, China.

Through Facebook and Instagram, I reached out to people interested in learning to cook South African meals. Promoting my brand on Facebook also helped me partner with brands, and industry leaders in other African countries like Ghana, Botswana, Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, and Namibia. 70% of my customers came through the platform and I made about 60,000 rands every month in revenue. I also attribute 60% of my total cookbook sales to Facebook. Instagram Stories and IGTV have kept me connected with my students.

We had to move all studio cooking classes at The Lazy Makoti online due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Employees working at the studio were forced to stop working. But we were making enough revenue to pay them all. We did this by switching to online classes. I worked out a way to send over the ingredients to our students’ home to use during class. My business also supports chefs who cook local African dishes. They are employed in our studio as teachers. Navigating through these tough times has made us stronger as a team and taught us to innovate. We are hopeful of expanding our business to other cities including Cape Town in the days to come.