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Success Story

Liberating a Swedish business to sell Ghanaian shea butter worldwide

When traditional banks failed Aida, she turned to Silverbird

Aida

In 2020 Ghana was under government-mandated lockdown.

Aida, a Swedish national, was pregnant and stranded with her husband and young daughter. She was twenty-eight years old, and she was bored. There wasn’t much to do — all the shops were shut.

Naturally, she did what many bored twenty-somethings do: she posted a selfie on Instagram.

It was an ordinary selfie. At least, that’s what she thought. But quite soon she received a complimentary message from her friend, asking her what skincare products she used.

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The answer was simple: shea butter.

“It’s called women’s gold in Ghana” Aida explained, “not just because of its golden, buttery colour - but also because of the money made by the women who make it by hand”.

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Aida
Shea butter

Soon, Aida found herself chatting to her friends and family on Instagram about the therapeutic benefits of shea butter and the amazing women who make it. Her Instagram was flooded with messages from followers. Everyone seemed to want a piece of the gold.

So, Aida bought ten suitcases worth of the stuff and once they managed to get a flight back to Sweden, she sent parcels of shea butter to their friends and family.

Women's Gold
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It just exploded. People wanted more.

Aida and her husband realised there was an opportunity here — not just to make money for themselves but to provide an export opportunity for the women who make women’s gold. They tucked into their private savings and bought more shea butter.

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And so Nuni Global was born.

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Orders were piling up — they had to find a way to send money quickly. Aida had lost all hope.

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Aida and her husband
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I’m a woman in a hijab. My husband is a black Ghanaian. If you have that combination, there’ll be low chances of success with a Swedish bank.

Business should be simple.

Here was a successful family company with a vision, suppliers, a market and a desire to do good. But they encountered problems from the get-go. Even though they had a registered company and the correct paperwork, every bank avoided them like the plague.

Aida wasn’t surprised.

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I was crying for three days. I was googling and googling and googling. I found World Remit. They always came up first.

But World Remit wasn’t enough — they could only send two hundred euros at a time.

They started to think about giving up on the business entirely.

Carrying shea butter

But then, as luck would have it,

Aida found Silverbird.

“I thought it was too good to be true."

She even contacted a member of the Silverbird team to ask whether all of the money could really get to Ghana.

“Of course, Silverbird makes it easy for merchants to easily send international payments, with no limits.” Silverbird's customer support team replied.

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Women's Gold being made

She hasn’t looked back since. From the easy-to-use interface to the smooth transactions, Aida is ecstatic about Silverbird.

“Three clicks and the money is sent — that’s it!"

But it wasn’t just the sleek, simple interface that impressed her. Nor the professionalism of the employees. It was their warmth.

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All the staff at Silverbird are so helpful. Always there to answer my call if I have a question. It’s been life-changing. Everything has changed.”

Flash forward two years later: four thousand kilos of shea butter and black soap sell out in two months.

They have plans to expand the business and import new skincare products from Morocco.

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Silverbird made it possible.

— Aida

Discover new business horizons with Silverbird.

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Max Faldin

About Silverbird

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Imagine a future where banking is inclusive and on the side of customers. Where cross-border payments are instant, limitless and anyone from anywhere can participate. This is the world we’re building at Silverbird.

We’re determined to help merchants grow their businesses by removing the barriers to entry that traditional banking have put in their way, including sky-high transfer fees. These blocks are not only unfair but unnecessary.

Silverbird began in 2020 as the smarter, digital alternative to traditional banking, and our core belief hasn’t changed. SMEs deserve an equal right to participate in the global economy, no matter their size or location.

By making payments borderless, limitless and affordable, we deliver the most fundamental ingredient of trade: freedom.

Max Faldin signature

— Max Faldin

CEO & Founder of Silverbird

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