Meet Taofick Okoya The Man That Makes Africa Barbies Doll In Nigeria

 Taofick Okoya was inspired to make black dolls when he niece wanted a black doll but he was shocked that he could not find one to buy even with the high population of black children all over the world.
  The 43-year-old spotted a gap in the market and, with little competition from foreign firms such as Mattel Inc, the maker of Barbie, he set up his own business.
 He outsourced manufacturing of doll parts to low-cost China, assembled them onshore and added a twist – traditional Nigerian costumes. Seven years on, Okoya sells between 6,000 and 9,000 of his Queens of Africa and Naija Princesses a month, and reckons he has 10-15% of a small but fast-growing market.

 "I like it," says Ifunanya Odiah, five, struggling to contain her excitement as she inspects one of Okoya's dolls in a Lagos shopping mall. "It's black, like me."

 While multinational companies are flocking to African markets, Okoya's experience suggests that, in some areas at least, there is still an opportunity for domestic businesses to establish themselves by using local knowledge to tap a growing, diverse and increasingly sophisticated middle class
 The dolls sell for between N1,300  to the special edition N3,500 naira ($22), while cheaper Naija Princesses sell for N500-1,000  apiece.

Okoya makes a profit margin of about a third, and as well as selling at home, is increasingly shipping to the US and Europe.
 He plans dolls from other African ethnic groups, and is in talks with South Africa's Game, owned by Massmart, part of Wal-Mart, to sell to 70 shops across Africa.
Like Barbies, Okoya's dolls are slim, despite the fact that much of Africa abhors the western ideal of stick-thin models.
Okoya says his early templates were larger bodied, and the kids did not like them. But he hopes to change that. "For now, we have to hide behind the 'normal' doll. Once we've built the brand, we can make dolls with bigger bodies."