The “Queens of Africa” dolls gained world-wide exposure after it was reported that they were outselling Mattel’s Barbie dolls in Nigeria.

Now, Taofick Okoya (who founded the dolls in 2007) is bringing the dolls on tour, to American shores to try and get them selling here.

Okoya started the doll company when he realised his young daughter was having an identity crisis and much of it was related to him buying her white dolls and her watching Disney cartoons.

Okoya told Forbes:

‘I got into the doll business by chance. At that time my daughter was young, and I realized she was going through an identity crisis,’ Taofick tells me when I reach out to the Lagos-based founder over the phone. He further adds, ‘She wished she was white, and I was trying to figure out where that came from. I used to always buy her white dolls, and it never got to me that is was relevant which color her dolls were. On top of that, we have DSTV in Nigeria where children watch the Disney programs, and all her favorite characters were white. I started to understand why she’d feel the way she did, ‘cause it was all that she’d been exposed to,’ the Queens of Africa dolls creator explains.

Upon realizing the non-existence of black dolls within the Nigerian market, he decided to create a brand of his own. The dolls’ body parts are manufactured in China, and are subsequently assembled in Nigeria. In the midst of it all, Taofick also empowers local communities of stay-at-home mothers, who make money off of braiding the dolls’ hair and creating outfits. ‘It takes about three hours braiding the hair. One of these women has made 60,000 Naira (roughly $300) doing this.’

The physical features of his dolls are a constant work in progress, and Okoya aims at bringing changes to the dolls’ looks every two years. ‘We’ve made the lips fuller, and the nose rounder. We also offer different hair textures, ranging from wavy to short and curly, as well as coarse hair. We’ve given the body a bit more curves, and we’re planning on doing a fuller butt in the near future. It’s a way of showing also that “African” isn’t just one look. We celebrate both skinny and curvaceous women,’ Okoya shares.

It was hard getting the dolls established in Nigeria because of the colonial mindset and people being used to white dolls, however he is doing well at home, despite a downturn due to Nigeria’s economic problems. He also launched cheaper dolls so that not only the rich can afford these toys.

The dolls have a lot of options to reflect black Nigerian society and the company plans more and more. As representation goes they are probably the best dolls for black identity available anywhere!

So, this summer he arrives in the USA and will be going to various states to make the hard sell.

We wish him luck!!!!

In the meantime you CAN get the dolls in USA through Amazon. Check below….

Read more here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/declaneytan/2016/05/18/nigerias-leading-doll-brand-is-coming-to-america/#7488645b1ec5