There is a belief that every person is born into a context, and every choice is predetermined. This becomes particularly powerful when you are faced with a financial decision that would be simple for others, but unbelievably difficult for you.
Let’s look at Tomi’s life. A firstborn daughter born into a lower middle-class Nigerian family.
This story starts on a rainy afternoon; she and her younger brother were waiting after school for their mother. As the rain began to fall, Tomi ran indoors. Her brother stayed behind, laughing as he played in puddles until mud covered his shoes, his shirt and almost every part of him.
By the time their mother arrived, he was shivering.
Before Tomi could even understand what was happening, wham! A slap landed on her back.
“Why did you let him play in the rain? Don’t you know you’re supposed to be responsible for him?”
She was only ten years old, but the significance of that interaction in relation to the rest of her life was something she could never forget. That afternoon was the day her identity was defined.
Now Tomi is 25. Half of every salary goes home. She watches friends work towards financial freedom, invest in their future, travel, celebrate milestones and make spontaneous decisions with money she never has. She dreams of more, starting a side hustle, but dreams are expensive when responsibility is always due first.
Some evenings, after work, Tomi would sit scrolling through social media, watching people her age talk about businesses. She wondered what she could build for herself. Should she start selling thrift clothing online? Learn digital skills? Register a small food business? Every idea felt promising for a moment, until she looked at her account balance and remembered the responsibilities waiting for her. She wasn’t short on ambition; she was short on support, and the financial breathing room needed to turn an idea into an income stream.
One Sunday afternoon after church, she prepared lunch for the family. Her parents called her into the sitting room.
“Tomi, you know how proud we are of you,” her mother said. “We’re so grateful for everything you do for this family.”
Before she could even smile, her father spoke.
“My daughter, the house rent is due soon. You know I lost my job. We need your help.”
Again, Tomi was faced with a choice.
But the choice wasn’t really between paying the rent and pursuing an entrepreneurial dream.
It was not even about money management, saving money, or financial planning. It was about identity; choosing between being the daughter she had spent her entire life becoming and the woman she was finally beginning to imagine.
Kamala Harris once said,
“You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
This was Tomi’s context, and it raises an important question.
If our financial decisions are shaped by our past experiences, what helps us make different choices for our future?
Whatever Tomi chooses, it won’t be made in isolation. It will be made in the context of everything that came before.
Many people face similar challenges. Some struggle to save because family obligations consume most of their income. Others postpone investing, wealth building or launching a side hustle because immediate needs always come first.
Whilst having the dream is cool, creating the financial room to pursue business opportunities, build wealth, and achieve financial freedom can be hard. That is why FirstBank created SMEConnect, to help entrepreneurs, aspiring business owners and ambitious young professionals to move from intention to action by providing access to resources, knowledge, SME loans, networks and opportunities that can help turn promising ideas into sustainable ventures.
Because while no initiative can choose your future for you, the right support can make the next financial decision feel a little less impossible.
Click here to get onboarded on FirstBank’s SMEConnect Platform.
