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The sun just set, the market was crowded, and people were going about their daily business. Sade sat on her plastic seat in front of her shop and watched them as everyone was talking at once. Some were dragging their feet, and some were not. Sade was a grocery seller in a very small and modest shop. But every day she dreamt of a bigger one, something quite different from the one she was into already.
She admired the shops of the big Alhaji's wives who were into fashion and sold fabric and jewelry. She was not an Alhaji's wife but she hoped and prayed that one day she would be able to raise money and delve into that kind of business. She did not know how possible it would be but she knew it would happen.
Her sister, Titi always called her a dreamer whenever she went on and on, daydreaming about how she wanted to own the largest fabric store in the Balogun market.
"Lade my sister, this your big head is always high up in the clouds," She would say, shaking her head with a smile.
But to Lade, her head wasn't in the cloud, her head was in the plan of how to become what she dreamt of every day.
One day, while she sat in front of her small shop she heard on the local radio news of an upcoming community meeting, in which the discussion would be about introducing a new initiative to support small businesses. She learnt from the advertisement that the government, along with some NGOs, was willing and ready to offer grants and training to people to help them expand their businesses.
Lade jumped for joy, "This is how my dream will come through" she said.
But after a little pep talk from her sister who told her she stood no chance against women and men who were already deep into business. And that the government had already given the money to bigger investors but just did the advertisement to fulfil all righteousness. Lade started doubting if she could compete with the other big investors who had more experience and resources.
But something deep within her made her refuse to give up. She did not know what it was but she kept asking herself "Am I a fool for dreaming?". She decided she needed to try.
On the day of the community meeting, Lade sat in the hall with all the courage she could gather and went to the local community office to ask about the government initiative.
"You'll need a business plan," The officer in charge, Mr. Ade said.
"What is a business plan," Made asked confused.
"It is something that shows how you plan to use the grant and how it will benefit the community if you are among the selected few"
Lade did not go to school so she did not know how to write a business plan. She began to wonder if it was the government's means of making the poor like her not benefit from the grant. But she decided to give it a try.
She spent the next few weeks searching the Internet and learning how to write a business plan. She will stay up late while everyone sleeps, researching, writing numbers, and revising projections. Finally, after countless weeks of hard work, she went back to Me Ade and submitted her application.
One sunny afternoon, as Lade was arranging goods on the shelves, she got a text message on her phone. "Congratulations, Lade!" It read.. "Your application has been approved. You've been selected for the government grant."
Lade shouted she did not believe it. She asked her sister to read the message to be sure it was what she saw. Get sister confirmed it. She celebrated with her sister over a simple meal.
When Lade got the grant money, she rented a bigger shop space in the busy Balogun market she had always dreamt about and opened a bougie and fashion house. She bought many sewing machines, hired a few tailors, and stocked up on fabrics and accessories. She became an employer of labour.
She was in luck as her boutique quickly became popular because of the way she treated her clients. Women from all over the community came to buy clothes, and accessories from her. Within a few years, her boutique competed with the best in their community.
But something happened one day as Lade was helping a customer choose a fabric. A small girl walked into her boutique. And was just looking around. Made thought she was a client and asked her
"Can I help you?" Lade asked.
"I want to be a fashion designer like you when I grow up. But my parents say it's just a dream because we are not rich and they can't train me in fashion school."
"Do not believe what they tell you my dear. Dreams are powerful. My parents never had money too but look at me today. With hard work and determination I achieved it".
From that day Lade decided that she would open a fashion school to help girls and boys who wanted to become fashion designers but had nobody to train them. She decided it was her way of giving back to the community.
