Poultry farmer in Nigeria
Ijeoma Ewurum, a mother of nine, lives on a compound on the outskirts of Aba in Abia State. Keeping poultry had always been a hobby for Ijeoma, and she was able to focus her energy into making it a business after she retired in 2013 from a long career as a teacher.
In under a year Ijeoma has become one of the most trusted egg suppliers in the area, particularly popular with bakers. Her good reputation is thanks to the high quality of her eggs and she attributes this to the Business Women service. It was the Business Women text messages she received that focused on innovation that encouraged her to take measures to improve her eggs.
After researching what she could do Ijeoma invested in a special vitamin supplement and the colour and size of her eggs are now consistent. As a result, customers are happy and are spending more: “One lady usually takes three crates of eggs but she called me up and said ‘next time I want ten.’”
“If you just sit back and think ‘I know it all, why am I reading all these text messages?’ you will just be on the same level every week, every month, every year. But when you read the text messages and put them into practice, you sky rocket!”
Ijeoma also describes how the text messages have helped her to understand concepts such as capital investment: “Formerly, if I hear that word I just pass by it but these text messages have educated me more. Capital is the money you invest in your business. It’s not the type of money you say ‘ok I invested 100 Naira but I am in need of 2 Naira, let me just borrow this.’ No! You don’t touch it – that is your capital.”
The impact of these lessons have come together: Ijeoma is now saving the extra money she is making from her improved eggs to invest in growing her business. Her plan is to scale up production so that she can start selling to hotels and restaurants.
