In the clamor and chaos of Lagos, Nigeria, where dreams often clash with the hard edges of economic reality, a quiet revolution was taking shape in the mind of a young architect. Jumoke Dada, freshly graduated from the University of Lagos with a first-class degree in Architecture, was working in some of the country’s most respected design and architectural firms. While her professional path seemed promising on paper, a different kind of vision tugged at her spirit—a vision far less stable, far more daring.

The Problem Space

The problem had been gnawing at her for years. The Nigerian furniture market was a battlefield between overpriced, imported luxury pieces and grand yet flawed local options. Nowhere, it seemed, was there room for high-quality, affordable furniture that proudly expressed African identity. Dada didn’t just want to design furniture—she wanted to create a movement. And in 2018, at the age of twenty-six, with no capital and no financial safety net, she decided to leap into the unknown.

The Solution

She named the companyTaeillo. Its origin was humble, almost desperate. Her first product was funded not by an investor, but by a customer's upfront payment. With that deposit, she bought the materials and built the furniture. The customer received the product; Dada reinvested the modest profit. Then came the next customer, and the cycle continued. It was survival entrepreneurship at its most creative. In a market dominated by distrust and traditional buying patterns, Dada was banking on something different: cultural authenticity fused with bold, modern design.

At first, Taeillo grew slowly through word-of-mouth and referrals. Friends recommended her. Loyal customers returned. Small loans from her personal network kept the lights on. But it wasn’t until 2019 that institutional eyes began to watch her carefully. That year, a wave of early-stage investors came forward, drawn by the strength of her idea and the elegance of her execution.She raised over $365,000 in pre-seed funding from Montane Capital, CcHub, and B-Knight, giving her just enough runway to scale Taeillo beyond a workshop project.

But no one saw the storm coming.

Unexpected Turn of Events

In 2020, as the world ground to a halt under the weight of COVID-19, Taeillo faced an existential threat. With global logistics disrupted and in-person furniture shopping essentially impossible, many companies floundered. Dada chose to adapt. She pivoted her model from B2B to direct-to-consumer. It was a high-risk decision in a market where online shopping for large items like furniture was still viewed with suspicion—especially by older Nigerians. But Taeillo leaned on technology to bridge the gap. They introduced 3D visualization tools and virtual reality options that allowed customers to see their potential purchases inside digital recreations of their homes.

Innovation Births Revenue…and more challenges

The gamble paid off. Within six months, a signature product—the Amakisi table—sold over a thousand units. Revenue surged, growing by three hundred percent in 2021 alone, and the company surpassed the million-dollar annual revenue mark. Taeillo expanded operations to Kenya and shipped more than ten thousand furniture pieces to over five thousand customers across Africa. But behind the scenes, the strain of success was beginning to show.

Dada was facing logistical bottlenecks that her youthful company wasn’t yet equipped to handle. Sourcing dependable artisans proved more difficult than anticipated, and many third-party manufacturers and delivery partners failed to meet rising demand. Some customers waited months for their orders, and online praise was soon matched with frustration. Taeillo, now a name known across Nigeria, risked being swallowed by the very demand it had worked so hard to create.

By 2022, Dada needed more than operational tweaks—she needed a lifeline. That lifeline came in the form of a $2.5 million seed round led by Aruwa Capital Management, a female-led venture capital firm. It was proof that the odds could bend.

With fresh capital in hand, she began a second transformation. Taeillo focused on pre-manufacturing its best-selling products to reduce delivery times from weeks to mere days. New logistics partnerships were formed. A consumer-friendly payment solution—Pay with Flexi—was introduced to serve Nigeria’s rising middle class. Technology investments continued to climb, with the company further integrating AR and VR into its shopping platformsto enhance the customer journey.

As 2023 gave way to 2024, Dada’s face began to appear in places few Nigerian entrepreneurs had gone. She was honored by the Tony Elumelu Foundation, celebrated by She Leads Africa, and even featured on the Nasdaq Tower in Times Square. International media—from CNN to the BBC to Elle Decoration—told her story to global audiences. Still, the accolades did not erase the difficulties. Growth brought complexity. Managing nearly one hundred employees, refining the supply chain, and entering new markets demanded constant reinvention.

And yet, despite all the challenges, Taeillo remains true to its original mission: to make modern African furniture that speaks with cultural pride and functional beauty. Dada is still pushing forward, eyeing expansion into East Africa and the diaspora, still advocating for women in tech and entrepreneurship, still turning sketches into showrooms.

What began as a desperate attempt to prove an idea has now become one of the continent’s most inspiring business stories. Jumoke Dada did not just build a company. She redefined what was possible—for herself, for African design, and for every woman who dreams of building something out of nothing.

Images courtesy of Taeillo.