Ene’s story

My name is Ene Adasen, I am a wife, a mum, and a certified creator of organic beauty products. I studied mass communication at the University of Lagos but always wanted to own my own business as I was born into a family of entrepreneurs.

At Ene Naturals, we make organic skin and hair care products. I was motivated to create my products because my kids and family developed skin allergies which needed specific treatments, and I realised there was a market for products like the ones they needed.

One of the major challenges of being an entrepreneur for me was capacity building. I had no idea how to invest the money I had to make my business a success long term. Another challenge for me was accessing the market.

During the Road to Growth programme, the participants were taught to forecast how we want our business to grow in the future. This enabled my company to be proactive, resourceful, and meant we could re-strategise so we could stay afloat despite the global pandemic. We also introduced a new product and launched it. The programme ensured I was prepared and I was proud of myself.

For me, success is having a self-sustaining business that can create wealth and opportunity for other people in my community.

The wider impact of success is the psychological impact. Before the Road to Growth programme, my husband never took me seriously, but after the programme due to the changes it had on my business, he started having confidence in me and my business. When you feel successful about what you do, you have a positive outlook on life.

Women entrepreneurs make up the majority of small businesses in Nigeria. If a woman entrepreneur has low self-esteem and doesn’t know how to move her business from A to B, there is very little that woman can do to create impact on her family and society. But when you equip that woman with the necessary skills and knowledge, she multiplies this and in turn, has a positive impact on society. My future vision for myself as a business owner is for my business to be self-sufficient, and for it to be viable and strong enough to be bought out. I also want to go into more collaborations with organisations that support capacity building for women and youth.

The world should support women entrepreneurs because when you support a woman you support a nation. Women as nurturers are very resourceful. If you give us a little, we can multiply it and this is the reason no nation should take women entrepreneurs for granted.