By Brooke Glasford
In the spirit of International Women’s Month and continuing the series that I unwittingly started, I want to talk about some Guyanese women and women in business that have created substantial followings on TikTok across a range of industries. These women have a cumulative reach on TikTok of over 150,000 people. That number is mind boggling to me because that is 20% of the population of this country— there is so much power in harnessing that kind of reach. So let’s look at what these four women are doing.
1. Makeup
Malika Jervis – @Artisitc_Makeup_Queen on TikTok
Current following : 34,700
I started seeing Malika’s posts mid 2022, and I remember in one of her “Day in the Life” videos, she took us to work with her and I found out that she has a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Electrical Engineering and was currently on the team of engineers working on the new Pegasus that was being built. It was incredible for me to realize that this woman who is an engineer by day morphs into a special effects makeup artist by night, and through her work doing makeup garnered a following of over 34,700 people.
2. Lifestyle
Mola – @Official.Mxla7
Current following: 99,700
I know mola from her “Day in the Life of a Promotional Model” series which were very entertaining, and grew her a following of almost 100,000 people on TikTok, which had my jaw on the floor when I first saw it. She churns out regular content outside of “Day in the life”, including food reviews, behind the scenes of her photoshoots, try on hauls. Given her large following, she began offering promotional services where she will review and/or advertise your product/ service for a fee, and has also launched her own business, Top Tier 592, where she imports and customizes Crocs slippers for you.
3. Food/Lifestyle
Tiffany Bazilio – @Tiffyally1
Current following : 15,100
With 15, 100 followers Tiffany is on the lower end of the follower count but is just as impressive. She gained popularity with her food reviews of restaurants around Guyana, but is also a great example of building a personal brand and translating that to your business and vice versa. Owner of popular boutique, Brazo’s Gift Shop, Tiffany has created an online persona that shows us who she is beyond her business.
4. Marketing/Entrepreneurship
Made For Guyana – Juliana & Maria Lopes
Made for Guyana, MADE is actually an acronym for Marketing & Advertising for Developing Enterprises, and the business has a core belief that all businesses need to have a quality digital presence, and aim to offer to that to local businesses. They have grown their following on Tik Tok to 14, 300 by focusing on sharing business tips and covering business events and expo’s going on in Guyana. Front and centre of Made For Guyana’s social media presence is co-founder Juliana Lopes, pictured below.
