Meet the Girls Who Built Something From Nothing

It’s one thing to dream about starting something new, it’s another to actually take the bold step and build it from scratch. Across Nigeria, a new generation of women is doing just that, turning ideas into companies, movements, and platforms that have shaped lives. These women didn’t begin with endless resources or connections; they began with grit, determination, and a belief that they could make things work.

Here are five young Nigerian women who prove that big things start from small places.

1. Odunayo Eweniyi — PiggyVest (2016)

In 2016, Odunayo Eweniyi teamed up with a few friends —Somto Ifezue and Joshua Chibueze to solve a problem every young person could relate to: saving money. The traditional way of keeping money aside was unreliable, and banks didn’t always make it easy for students or fresh graduates. That was how Piggybank.ng was born, later rebranded as PiggyVest.

Odunayo’s background in computer engineering gave her the technical edge she needed, but what truly stood out was her persistence. With just an idea and a small team, she began convincing Nigerians to trust an app with their hard-earned money. Today, PiggyVest is one of Nigeria’s most trusted savings and investment platforms, with millions of users and billions of naira saved.

One of her inspirational quotes is: “Embrace failure and be ready for it: it will happen at some point, so it just depends on what you do with it.”

Beyond PiggyVest, Odunayo co-founded FirstCheck Africa, a fund that invests in women-led start-ups, making her one of the most influential female founders in African tech.

2. Damilola Odufuwa — From Tech Executive to Feminist Coalition (2020)

When Damilola Odufuwa’s name comes up, it’s often attached to two very different worlds: global tech and activism. Before co-founding the Feminist Coalition in 2020, she had already made a mark working at companies like Bloomberg, MTV, CNN, and later leading crypto communications at Binance Africa. According to her, she initially didn’t plan to delve into tech, ‘I didn’t plan to work in tech, but as soon as I realised the impact crypto and blockchain technology can have on women’s rights and freedom, I was sold.”

In October 2020, when the EndSARS protests erupted, Damilola and a group of young women created the Feminist Coalition to support protesters, manage donations, and provide food, medical care, and legal aid. They started with almost nothing, just conviction and digital skills, but quickly became a backbone of the movement.

3. Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin — Pearls Africa Foundation (2012)

Not everyone gets to learn coding at an early age, but Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin wanted to change that for the girls who came after her. In 2012, she founded Pearls Africa Foundation, a non-profit focused on empowering young girls through technology. One of its key projects, GirlsCoding, introduces girls from underserved communities to computer programming, helping them see that they can build apps and create solutions to real problems.

Her initiative has since trained hundreds of girls, some of whom have gone on to build projects tackling issues like female genital mutilation and child marriage. In 2018, she was honoured as one of CNN’s Top 10 Heroes, a global recognition for the work she started from scratch in Nigeria.

4. Oluwatosin Olaseinde — Money Africa (2018)

Growing up, Oluwatosin Olaseinde noticed a gap that almost everyone around her faced: financial education. People worked hard but didn’t always know how to save, invest, or grow wealth. After working in finance and auditing for years, Tosin decided to do something about it.

In 2018, she founded Money Africa, a financial literacy platform that breaks down complex money matters into simple lessons for Africans. Starting with Instagram posts and small online classes, Tosin gradually built a community of thousands of people learning how to budget, invest, and plan for the future.

Money Africa has since expanded into a subscription-based learning platform, and Tosin also launched Ladda, an investment app that helps people start investing with small amounts. She’s shown that teaching people about money doesn’t have to be intimidating. By starting small and growing steadily, she has built one of Africa’s most trusted financial education brands.

5. Bolanle Banwo — The Female Designer Movement (2016)

Design is everywhere, from the apps we use to the ads we see, but for a long time, it wasn’t an industry many Nigerian women saw themselves in. That’s why in 2016, Bolanle Banwo started The Female Designer Movement, an initiative to help women learn design skills and find a place in the creative industry.