TVET Programme: Registered Artisans Laud Impact Of myhandiwork.ng Online Platform On Business Growth

Trained artisans of The Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) programme,
onboarded about a year ago on the digital platform, myhandwork.ng have
praised the impact the platform has made on their businesses in the last 12
months, after a year on the platform.
These are the first cohort of the next-generation grassroots entrepreneurs,
earlier trained under the TVET scheme powered by Research Links and
Nerdzfactory, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.
The artisan shared their testimonies at a recent mini-workshop at Ogba, near
Ikeja, organised to refresh the skills of the trainees. The workshop was mainly
organised to bring together artisans who had challenges in operating
effectively on the Instagram platform of myhandwork.ng, as well as other
social media platforms.
In the last few months, various visits to beneficiaries revealed that a good
number of artisans were not tech-savvy, so they needed urgent assistance to
make remarkable business impressions via social media platforms.
The workshop provided hands-on training for artisans on how to effectively
expand their digital reach. With the growing relevance of digital awareness in
day-to-day business activities, tech experts were deployed at the workshop to
train those artisans with challenges in managing their businesses digitally via
social media.
At the event, many artisans recounted the benefits they have derived so far
from the platform and how it has increased profitability in their various
businesses.
Mercy Okundaye, a lady in the business of shoe-making, described her
involvement with myhandwork.ng as the best thing that has ever happened to
her business.
In her words, “the training over the last year has stirred up my creativity in
shoemaking to a level I never imagined.

"Before my business was added to the platform, they taught us so many things
about dealing with customers, how to handle our apprentices, how to run our
businesses digitally, how to advertise our products online, and many other
different things that will help our business grow”.
Based on the training, Okundaye revealed she had to change all her business
strategies in line with the training she received to usher in the kind of growth
she has been experiencing since the beginning of this year, when she started
seeing the impact of the lessons learnt.

Also speaking, Reginald Effiong, a designer and bead maker based in Ogba,
stressed that he could not quantify the lessons so far because of the massive
benefits they have yielded.

She explains: "We were taught how to manage our apprentices and workers
and integrate them into our new business vision. We also received training on
how to close sales.

"Now I know how to close huge sales daily. If I had not come in contact with
myhandwork.ng, advertising my products on Facebook, Instagram, and other
social media platforms would have remained a mystery. I am almost a social
media expert today.
“In the next five years, I hope to open branches of my business across Lagos,
and I am even thinking of moving beyond the borders of Nigeria”.
On her part, Tina Okafor, a caterer in Oke-ira, revealed that myhandwork.ng
has exposed her to business ideas he felt could only be done abroad or by big
companies. According to Okafor, “I run a local catering business. And I can now
make my food, snap it, post it, and people will start asking for it.
" Let me say, since the beginning of this year, I've had about 72 online
customers, and many of them book my food regularly. I don't know most of
these people, but when they see my post, they call my number. I do the
preparation, and my money is transferred to my account, then I deliver. This

programme has helped me a lot. In fact, if you come to my shop, you may not
see much on the ground, but online, I am making a kill”.
Commenting on the success of the programme so far, Eme Young, the
Coordinator of the project, expressed great satisfaction that the platform has
remarkably enhanced the businesses of artisans and tradesmen of the first
cohort. Speaking further, she said, “All artisans across the country would soon
realise that they need our platform, whether you are a plumber, hairdresser,
fashion designer, mechanic, technician, or adire fabric maker. All trades can be
handled by the website. They just need to sign up, get trained before they can
showcase their trade or services to prospective customers. It is always a win-
win situation for all involved.
“We are looking forward to a larger number of applicants when we flag off the
second cohort. The current participants are our ambassadors, and they have
shown others that our platform will connect participants with tech experts
who will offer digital knowledge, potential investors, and mentors who can
offer guidance and