Dolls outselling Barbies?

We all know the popularity of Barbie, but she is not exactly empowering when it comes to building self-esteem in young girls. Aside from the efforts made by activists and artists, the staple childhood toy does not eaxctly qualify as a relatable model for all young girls.

Taofick Okoya an African entrepreneur, decided to create his own dolls to reflect his culture. Okoya created the Queens of Africa dolls, which have been selling at the rate of about 6,000 to 9,000 units a month, outstripping the sales of Barbies in Nigeria.

Okoya created the dolls based on Nigeria’s biggest ethnic groups: Igbo, Yuruba, and Hausa. He designed the figures with empowerment rather than perfection in mind. Not only are the dolls meant to boost the self-esteem of young African girls, they are also educating about cultural issues.

It makes perfect sense why these dolls are selling through the roof in Africa compared to Barbie. These dolls are authentic and reflect the genuine African culture.

African girls are able to relate and see themselves in these dolls, and that is something worth celebrating!

We encourage you to reach out and encourage the young women in your life to love themselves just as they are. If we all continue to challenge what society tells our girls they should look like, we can make change for the best.