From a Wheelbarrow to a Thriving Market Stall

For two years after her husband's death, Ngozi sold peppers and tomatoes from a wheelbarrow she pushed between her local market and the roadside, earning barely enough to feed her household each day.

"I had no stall, no storage, nowhere to keep my produce overnight," she says. "Everything I didn't sell by evening, I lost." JOF's economic empowerment team identified Ngozi through a community outreach visit and enrolled her in a business fundamentals course alongside a ₦50,000 micro-grant.

With the grant, Ngozi secured a proper stall in Ogun State's central market, invested in storage crates, and began buying produce in bulk directly from farmers, cutting her costs significantly. Within a year, she was supplying fresh produce to three local restaurants on standing weekly orders.

Today, Ngozi's stall employs two other widows from her community, both of whom she trained herself using the same business principles JOF taught her.

"With a micro-grant and business training from JOF, I now run a stall that supplies three local restaurants. I've helped two other widows set up their own stalls."