WhatsApp Spotlights Nigerian SMEs in New Campaign

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A three-week campaign celebrating Nigerian small business owners and the everyday hustle behind their businesses has been launched by WhatsApp.

Tagged Power Your Hustle With WhatsApp Business, this initiative will document how selected business owners started their ventures.

A virtual masterclass will also bring together small business owners from across Nigeria for practical guidance on using WhatsApp Business tools, including the Meta Business Agent and ads that click to WhatsApp.

Already, three entrepreneurs in Lagos, Ibadan and Abuja have been chosen to share their stories, the journeys that have shaped their businesses and how the WhatsApp Business app has helped them connect with their customers and grow.

“WhatsApp continues to be an important part of how business gets done in Nigeria, and we’re seeing business owners use it for far more than just messaging. The founders we’re spotlighting are finding new customers, answering questions quickly and making sales.

“With Meta Business Agent, business owners now have AI working alongside them, and we look forward to seeing how they use it to power their hustle,” the Head of Communications for Sub-Saharan Africa at Meta, Oluwasola Obagbemi, said.

One of the business owners chosen, Ms Mosumola Oladoye, who runs Edibles by Lera Ipapanu in Lagos, said, “WhatsApp Business is the digital storefront of Edibles by Lera Ipapanu. One feature I love is the Catalogue, because customers can browse our products, see prices and check available sizes.”

Another entrepreneur, Ms Aminat Akinyemi, who established FHR Spices in Ibadan, Oyo State, said, “WhatsApp Business has become one of our most powerful tools for building relationships and driving sales. While I am  busy in production, the Meta Business Agent knows my product as I do, and it answers customers’ questions in a way that feels personal.”

As for the third small business owner, Ms Augustina Onoriode of Abuja-based Twinny’s Kitchen, said, “WhatsApp Business has helped me transform customer conversations into lasting relationships, and it has become the biggest driver of Twinny’s Kitchen’s growth. With Lists, I organise my customers into groups like New orders, Follow up, Pending orders and Waybill.”

As their businesses have evolved, WhatsApp Business has become part of how the three founders chat with customers and run their businesses day-to-day. All three are using the recently announced Meta Business Agent, a new AI-powered assistant in the WhatsApp Business app. It can answer customer questions, recommend products and help move a sale along when an owner can’t get to their phone.