A peep into Elizabeth Kperrun’s entrepreneurship journey

Elizabeth Kperrun-Eremie is the founder of Lizzie’s Creations, an outfit that develops mobile and web applications targeted at educating and enlightening women and children.

Kperrun-Eremie holds Diploma in Mass Communication from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and Bachelor’s degree in Business and Entrepreneurial Management.

She created AfroTalez, an interactive story-telling app that narrates traditional African folk stories to children, to change a particular narrative.

The 32-year-old entrepreneur discovered that African traditions and culture did not feature much in children’s cartoons.

Another major reason why she decided to come up with this idea was the fact that folk stories, which were a critical part of the African culture, were increasingly being forgotten.

So, children would grow up without knowing these folklores and stories, which were part of the African’s upbringing.

The Benue State-born entrepreneur also created a game known as ‘Shakara’, which is an African dress-up game meant for someone who wants to dress up an African model in traditional ethnic styles.

It is like a demo, which enables African young women to dress up models in the latest fashion trends.

Another application she created is ‘Teseem’, which is an educational app for babies, pre-schoolers and toddlers between one and five years. It teaches them the first words, English, Swahili Hausa ,Yoruba and Igbo all in one place.

In addition to learning their first words in English, the application enables children to learn African languages and culture right from the start, from their very first words.

They learn colours, numbers, body parts and many more.

She is inspired by story-telling and wants Nigerian children to enjoy them.

“My favourite part in the creation process is coming up with the stories to tell. In the case of AfroTalez, it is like re-living my childhood,” she told Ventures Africa in an interview.

After launching her app in 2013, she entered an MTN app and game developer contest. It was a success as she recorded 200,000 downloads, making her the owner of the best app in the entertainment & lifestyle category.

“That was a huge deal for me. First strike and I had struck gold, so to speak. We’ve won a few more contests after that, being invited to take part in various conferences and seminars in Nigeria and a few other countries, and received a lot of media and publicity. It has all been a humbling experience really,” she said in an interview with nativedge.com, an entrepreneurship blog.

She was listed by Forbes in the ‘10 Emerging Women Entrepreneurs To Watch In Africa’ in 2014. She is a TED fellow and has been described as a ‘Young Global Leader’ by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Her plan is to monetise her apps through direct sales, app advertising, collaborations, sponsorships and DVD sales.

“Africa is our home. I think we are so in a rush to become Western that we are forgetting things that are really important, things that should be passed on of who we are, and I don’t think that’s right,” she told Voice of America.

ODINAKA ANUDU