Women entrepreneurs seem to grow weary of feeding young men and women who keep living idle lives with the excuse of waiting for government jobs.
Now, the women have given marching order counsel the youths to start something and stop waiting for the government.
To help push the youths and women, a proactive woman entrepreneur has initiated a regular trade fair gleefully termed ‘Awoof Fair Pitakwa Series’. And, over 100 small business owners, predominantly women and young entrepreneurs, showcased their products and services at the November 2026 edition of the fair.
Participants have however called on the government and private sector leaders to invest in small businesses and create more opportunities for women and youths.
The two-day trade fair, organised at New GRA section of Port Harcourt, provided a platform for entrepreneurs to promote their brands, attract customers, network and sell their products at discounted prices amid prevailing economic challenges.
Speaking on the initiative, Mandy Ogolo, the chief organiser, said the fair was established to provide small business owners with visibility and opportunities to expand their businesses beyond their immediate communities.
Ogolo said the initiative had continued to grow through five editions, with its activities organised twice yearly, during Easter and the Christmas season.
According to her, participating vendors were required to pay for stalls, after which they were encouraged to publicise their participation and take advantage of the platform to attract customers.
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The essence, she said, is to bring more people into business and bring down prices and boost sales. This she said is reason and concept of ‘awoof’.
The organiser, who also operates a business at the fair, said the initiative had recorded encouraging feedback from participants, adding that customer and vendor feedback had been instrumental in improving successive editions.
She disclosed that Port Harcourt-based businesses, including Port Oil, had partnered with the organisers. She appealed to more corporate organisations, investors, and development partners to support its expansion.
She also called on the Rivers State Government to consider a partnership with the organisers, stressing that the fair was contributing to the state’s economy by supporting small businesses, creating visibility, and encouraging entrepreneurship.
Ogolo identified women empowerment as her major motivation, noting that many women had recorded encouraging business growth through the platform.
“Women are multipliers. Once you start empowering women, you will definitely see growth in this country,” she said.
She urged women who lacked capital or were yet to establish businesses not to surrender to economic difficulties, but to identify opportunities, develop practical ideas and start from somewhere.
The organiser further disclosed that the fair prioritised security, with security personnel and patrol teams deployed to ensure the safety of vendors and visitors.
She said the long term vision was to expand the initiative beyond Nigeria, with aspirations of establishing the fair in the United Kingdom, Dubai and other international markets.
Supporting the initiative, a buyer simply named Oyechi, who attended the fair with her children, described the event as encouraging, particularly because of the relatively affordable prices offered by participating vendors.
Although she expressed optimism that patronage would improve on the second day, she commended the organisers for providing a platform that allowed small business owners to display and sell their products.
She urged the government to sponsor similar initiatives, arguing that financial support and improved marketing would help make the fairs bigger and attract more customers.
Another buyer, Precious, a spa owner in Port Harcourt, described the fair as very good.
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