A skills agency for Nigerian women
SOLITAIRE funds vocational training for young Nigerian women, supports them to start earning from it, and asks each one to bring the next woman up. From nothing to everything, one skill at a time.
Why we exist
Across Nigeria, young women finish school with no route into income. Not because they lack ambition or capability, but because nobody funds the gap between wanting a skill and having one. Training costs money. Tools cost money. Time spent learning is time not earning.
SOLITAIRE closes that gap. We pay for the training, place women inside real working studios, and stay with them until they are earning. Then we ask one thing in return: help us bring the next woman in.
The model
Most programmes end when the funding ends. SOLITAIRE is designed so that every woman who finishes becomes part of how the next one starts.
You apply and are placed on a full or half scholarship at one of our partner studios.
You learn hands on, inside a working business, from a professional who does this every day.
You finish with a starter kit and the business basics to take your first paying clients.
Every graduate helps bring the next woman in, through referral, mentoring or training her directly.
Start with one woman. This is the mechanism, not a forecast. Every diamond is one woman earning her own income.
What you train in
SOLITAIRE is a skills agency. We started where the demand, the income and the partners already were. Trades, tech and services follow as we grow.
Classic, hybrid, volume and mega volume extensions, plus lash lifts and tints. Application, removal, infills and aftercare, taught until your sets hold.
Manicure and pedicure, gel and acrylic application, extensions and nail art. Including hygiene and safe removal, which is where most self taught nail techs lose clients.
Everyday, glam and bridal makeup application, including skin prep, colour matching and working with different skin tones. Taught until you can confidently take paying clients.
Lace frontal application, melting, styling and maintenance. A high demand service with strong repeat client potential.
Pricing, bookings, social media and money management. The part most training leaves out, and the reason skilled women still end up broke.
Sewing and other trades open as we sign new partners. If there is a skill you want funded, tell us on your application. Demand is how we decide what comes next.
Scholarships
We fund on need. Tell us the truth about your situation on the application and we will place you accordingly.
SOLITAIRE covers the full cost of training. You pay nothing.
SOLITAIRE covers half the cost of training and you contribute the rest, so that funding stretches to more women.
Scholarships cover training. They do not cover housing or living costs.
Who this is for
You do not need experience. You do not need equipment. You do not need to know anyone. You need to want this enough to show up every day.
Why trust us
Before taking a single application, we surveyed Nigerian women about what they actually needed, signed a working salon in Port Harcourt to deliver the training, and won a university award for the model. Nobody is learning in a classroom or on a whiteboard.
The University of Manchester's Venture Further Awards back new ventures with real potential to change something. SOLITAIRE won the Community Impact category in June 2026, and that funding is what puts the founding cohort through training. In plain terms: a panel of judges looked at this model closely and decided it was worth putting money behind.
Who runs SOLITAIRE
SOLITAIRE is a registered nonprofit, currently run by its founder. Advisors and trustees will be named here as they are formally appointed. Every pound raised goes into training women.
Applications
Thank you to every woman who applied. We're giving each application the attention it deserves, and we'll be in touch. Follow @solitaire_impact to hear first when applications open for the next cohort.
Follow @solitaire_impact