It’s International Women’s Day again. And to commemorate this day, we’ll highlight stories from women on Rise who said “yes” to their dreams and journeyed toward achieving them. Women who said “yes” to a Master’s Degree. Yes to financial independence. Yes to travelling to new places, and yes, to starting a new business.
So whatever stage of a life story you’re in, the high or the low or the totally unremarkable, we think it’s worth taking a moment to read and feel inspired by these women and by what’s possible today.
How Nonye found Success with Kasai Clothing in a Pandemic.
Nonye started her clothing business, Kasai Clothing, during the Covid lockdown in 2020, a period when many businesses shut down. 3 years and some more, Kasai still stands tall. Nonye, in her story, tells us about her journey and how Rise played a huge role in helping her keep money in dollars while also earning returns.
“When I first started using Rise for my business, I used it solely for saving, as we needed to keep our profits somewhere pending when we needed it back into the business. At the time, I was worried about just having naira sitting in the bank account, not growing. I’d even lose money because they keep charging for different things. Then Rise introduced the wallet feature, which allowed us to keep our money in dollars and also earn interests. I call it a little more flesh. And honestly, the wallet feature is the best for us because we can withdraw at any time, especially when we need to restock something sooner than we scheduled.”
Simisoluwa saved her wedding funds on Rise and it made all the difference.
Everyone has a goal— one which inspires them to start or double down on their financial journey. For Simi, it was her wedding and the need to save the funds for it in USD, against currency devaluation. In her words,
“When I was getting ready for my wedding, I had to think about what would make my budgeting journey successful. I knew the amount and goal I had in mind, but feared if I kept it in naira, it probably would not work. It was also 2022, and I knew I was getting married in eight months. The news about the currency redesign also came out around this time, causing scarcity. I decided to keep my money in USD in Rise to preserve its value, and this move saved me from a lot of financial trouble.”
Ifunanya got her Masters Degree in the UK.
Ifunanya, who, at the time of writing, was studying for her Master’s degree in Managing Innovation and Information Technology in the UK, spoke to us about saving for her Master’s degree on Rise. According to her, Rise was instrumental in helping her reach her goal of pursuing a master’s abroad.
“At the maturity of my investment, I held the FX (another wonderful thing about Rise is being able to get your dollar investments back in dollars). There would have been so much I wouldn’t have been able to afford if I had to buy FX at the black market rate, as I was leaving for my Master’s at the time. The dollar investments I had on Rise were beneficial and a key part of this journey. Crazy how one good decision can change a lot.”
GbemmyG said yes to preserving her wealth and made over 1 million naira on exchange rate gain.
We spoke to GbemmyG, a Key Account Manager and fitness trainer who started using Risevest in 2020 on her investing journey. In her words,
“My money was depreciating, which didn’t make any sense to me, so I had to move everything to my Risevest account. At the time I did that, a dollar was about 350 naira. It is currently 590, and I’ve made a lot just by that, not even counting my stock gains. I love Rise because of the safety it offers against the devaluation of the naira because my money is in dollars. I also know I’m not losing anything, even if the stock market declines. My portfolio grew about 40% just through the exchange rate, and this doesn’t even include the gains I took from stocks and across my portfolio over time. At some point, I had about $500 gains just from my stock plan. I have gained so much money on the Rise app that at some point, I had over a million naira gain on just the exchange rate.”
Lola elevated her nanny’s life and finances by introducing her to Rise.
Like the Igbo saying, “Onye aghana nwanne ya” which roughly translates to “Do not leave thy brother behind” (well, in this case, sister), Lola introduced her kids’ nanny to Rise, helping her grow her finances. She said yes not only to elevating her own life, but also to those around her. These are her words,
“I was so happy with my experience that I started telling everyone about it. I told my parents and brothers. I told everyone on my Youtube channel. I told my friends on Instagram and even tweeted about it a couple of times. I also told my staff, including my kids’ nanny. I told her because she would give me part of her salary every month to help her keep. But since I don’t save my money in naira, I suggested putting it in Rise which she didn’t understand at that time, but agreed to. I did the 3 months maturity plan for her because I feared she might need the money anytime soon, unlike me. I reinvest it every 3 months, if she doesn’t need it. So after about a year, which was just a few months ago, I told her how much she had made and she was so shocked. She didn’t expect the money to grow so much as it did. But because we weren’t saving in naira, it grew both based on the investment returns and the exchange rate difference.”
As we celebrate International Women’s Day today and reflect on the journeys of these remarkable women, let us remember that there is no dream too big or small to say “yes” to. Let their stories inspire us to embrace our own aspirations, persist in the face of challenges, and thrive in the end.
Most importantly, we all have a role to plado not forget to inspire inclusion wherever you find yourself, in your own little ways. Happy International Women’s Day!