Chibueze Justina Chinenyenwa formally launched her homemade sanitary and hygiene products in 2018 while still a student at the Abia State College of Health Science and Management Technology.
By Eberechi Obinagwam
Chibueze Justina Chinenyenwa formally launched her homemade sanitary and hygiene products in 2018 while still a student at the Abia State College of Health Science and Management Technology.
With the business name JustLove Enterprise, she would produce Germicide, Antiseptic, bleach, toilet wash, tiles cleaner, liquid soap, etc. Sales were poor but she never relented.
In 2020, the year of COVID-19, Chibueze got her breakthrough after the pandemic made the world hygiene-conscious. While many were idle at home during the lockdown, she was busy producing and delivering her sanitary and hygiene products to various states across Nigeria.
“While many were indoors doing nothing. Justlove Enterprise was busy producing hand sanitiser and antiseptic and delivering to a different location in the state and across the country. 2020 was the year we had the greatest push in our business,” she stated.
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How it all started.
With the zeal of trying new things, she learned making sanitary and hygiene products from a neighbour in 2017. She also acquired additional skills from Google.
Chibueze said she considered the market demand when she got positive feedback from those she shared her products with in 2018.
“Initially it was my zeal to try new things that inspired me. But after giving out some of the products I did to people to use, I got a lot of positive feedback, that made me consider the market demand.
“Sanitary and cleaning products are among the things we use in our day-to-day activities. Therefore, it increases the awareness of healthy living, the social impact; considering how hygiene and sanitary products will help to improve health and its contribution to the society,” she said.
Financial challenges
Because she was still in school at the inception of the business, she faced financial challenges but refused to let them hinder her progress. To sustain her business and fund her education, she multi-tasked, taking on two jobs simultaneously.
She said: “Of course, the capital was a big challenge. Considering that at the moment I was seeing myself through school, it was not easy at all.
“But I was able to solve the problem of capital to an extent by firstly starting small. I started with the little money I had then with just a product, that is, liquid soap. I had to multitask myself. I worked in two different offices just to save up some money, in addition to the support I got from immediate family and few close friends,” she added.
Chibueze was also faced with the challenge of penetrating the market. According to her, penetrating the market was not easy at all. She said it took her a year to break into the market.
“It wasn’t easy at all penetrating the market, though we have not fully penetrated the market nationwide. We are still on it. As a business owner, one of the biggest challenges is to penetrate the market because there are many known products in the market. Even if yours is better than those products, you will need to convince the world. Some people will still stick to their known products,” she said.
How she overcame
“We started by giving some of our products to shops to sell to give us money when all products were sold. Also, there was an advert on radio stations telling people about our products. We also shared fliers with people. It took also close to a year to break into the market,” she said.
But while struggling to establish her brand, the young entrepreneur said people looked and talked down on her business just because she introduced herself as the one producing it. She said it’s an experience she would never forget in a hurry.
“There were many experiences but the one I will never forget in a hurry is people talking down on my business just because I introduced myself as the one producing them. One funny thing about the experience is, most of them do come back after the initial purchase, and some of them now tell people about our products,” she enthused.
Chibueze also identified government regulations as a big challenge for Nigerian businesses. “Government are supposed to help regulate business owners and not to frustrate them,” she said. She also lamented that poor electricity power supply is the major challenge of business owners in Nigeria.
On Japa
“Travelling out is good but building our own is the best,” she said. She added that Justlove Enterprise did not start because they wanted to make a profit but rather with a passion for good health and healthy living.
Chibueze said she would rather stay back and contribute her quota in making Nigeria a better country than travel out to build another country.
Who is Chibueze?
Chibueze is a community health technologist. She had her National and Higher Diploma at Abia State College of Health Science and Management Technology Aba, Abia State.
She recalled how she went to the village to stay with her grandmother because she could not stand her parents’ anger for not clearing all her papers in WAEC exams particularly, her chemistry where she scored D7 at Holy Rosary Secondary School, Umuahia, Abia State.
“When I did not clear all my papers during my WAEC, particularly the Chemistry I got D7, my parents were so angry with me. I couldn’t stand their anger so I had to travel to the village to stay with my granny. She registered WAEC for me the next year at Prince Nnamdi Ekebuisi Royal Secondary School at Isuochi, Umunneochi local government, Abia State,” she said.
Chibueze said she has received some recognition from some individuals and organisations, and has also gotten some grants from the government. She equally trains people, adding that two of her students are doing well in bar soap production with their soaps all over the markets.