In 2021, if you had visited Esther’s apartment in Uyo, you would have found a small oven squeezed into a corner of her kitchen.

There was no bakery.

No staff.

No delivery van.

No shop.

No investors.

Just a woman baking cakes after work and hoping enough orders would come in to cover the cost of ingredients.

On a good week, she sold 20 to 25 cakes.

On a bad week, she sold less than 10.

Most customers were friends, family members, church members, and referrals.

Revenue averaged roughly ₦180,000 to ₦250,000 monthly.

Profit was often below ₦60,000 after ingredients, electricity, transportation, and packaging.

The business wasn’t failing.