PROJECT: Karistal, Senegal
A local laboratory promoting the finest African cosmetics and essential oils.

Mame Diene: "Bringing the magic of natural African cosmetics to the world"

For generations, African women have been soothing and nourishing their skin with shea butter - a moisturising paste derived from the revered shea nut. Senegal has an abundance of shea trees, but lacks the infrastructure to capitalise on this so-called 'African gold'. Most of Senegal's shea nuts are processed at low grades or sent abroad to be manufactured by foreign companies.

Mame Diene, a business school graduate from Dakar, hopes to reverse this trend through her company, Karistal. Founded in 2005, Karistal produces and distributes cosmetic products since 2007 made from shea butter and other local ingredients, such as mango butter and baobab oil, to Senegalese and international markets.

"In Africa, people believe in the magical properties of the balms and lotions we put on our skin," says Mame, who received her Masters of Information Systems from the University of Glasgow. "What Karistal tries to do is to take that magic and, using rigorous scientific methods, put it into our products."

A smooth alternative

Mame hopes to revive ancient African beauty practices, modernising them while preserving their organic character. At a cosmetics tradeshow in California in 2005, she realised that there was a significant opportunity for African products on the international market. She returned home to Senegal and formed a business partnership with her mother, who was already running three local companies of her own. "I get all my entrepreneurial instincts from my mother!" says Mame.

The mother-daughter team built a laboratory in Dakar in 2007. Later that year, they launched the company's first product line, Karistal - a range of "luxury" age-defying shea butter skin care products. The company has since launched two additional brands: Natifam, a mid-cost line of skin nourishing, regenerating products, and Klerdoz, a low-cost range of shea-based soaps and essential oils.

In the past, critics of African shea butter found it to be inconsistent and unreliable. According to Mame, Karistal stands out from the crowd thanks to the fine quality and high concentration of its shea butter. "We want all our brands to be recognised as products of the highest quality," Mame says. "We are using scientific research, expertise and processes to guarantee the consistency and quality of our products."

The company sources its shea nuts from a women's co-op in Kédougou, a small town in south eastern Senegal. The nuts are transported to Karistal's laboratory in Dakar, where the butter is extracted mechanically to preserve its natural bioactive ingredients. The result is an exceptionally rich, pure and lightweight product which retains the naturally rejuvenating and healing qualities of shea butter.

Spreading the balm

Having fine-tuned the production cycle, Mame is now focusing on distribution. The Karistal range is currently sold at the company's laboratory and at Orca, a high-end cosmetics retailer. Mame now hopes to go international and has initiated discussions with Whole Foods and CVS in the US. Soon, all Karistal products will become available to an international audience via the company's website.

In 2009, Mame aims to secure an international organic certification from ECOCERT, giving an added boost to her company's brand image. She also plans to build her own subsidiary in Kédougou to ensure the quality of her ingredients right from the source and create additional jobs for women.

PROJECT: OT Consulting, Nigeria
Consulting services for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Nigeria.

Bosede Edwards: "Developing the business potential of Nigeria's untapped talent"

Small businesses are a dynamic area of growth in Nigeria today. Encouraged by government-led tax incentives, soft loans and micro credit grants, thousands of new micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) have sprung up over the past decade. Despite such promising initiatives, the success of these start-ups is often undermined by a lack of education and business skills.

Bosede Edwards wants to raise the bar for the business sphere with a consulting service that will equip employees for the challenges of corporate life. Her company, OT Consulting Services, will offer both employee and employer development programmes.

"MSMEs have the potential to give Nigeria a competitive edge over neighbouring markets, but only if we can improve employee performance", says Bosede. "Filling a gap is what a business is all about. As I'm passionate about teaching and training, I decided this was the problem I wanted to tackle."

Realising a dream

Port Harcourt, the capital of Nigeria's Rivers State, is one of the centres of the burgeoning MSME activity. Start-ups range from poultry farms to laundry services and cyber cafes. Starting a new business may be a relative breeze, but finding skilled employees is another story. Over 70% of Nigeria's workers are employed in this sector, of which 50% are unskilled, semi-literate or illiterate.

Without proper training, employees often let the business down, explains Bosede, speaking from personal experience. In 1997, she started a dry-cleaning service and discovered how difficult it could be to manage an under-trained team of employees.

This was one experience that led Bosede to enrol in a six-month programme at the FATE Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to increasing employment among Nigerian youth. Upon completion, she decided to create OT Consulting Services. In 2006, she found an office space and soon formed a team of teachers who developed and tested a training programme.

OT Consulting Services will provide three main services: week-long personnel training programmes, six-month training programmes and employer workshops. The programmes will focus on communication skills, interpersonal relations and work-place values. Classes will be conducted in formal English and pigeon English, a widespread means of communication in a region with more than 30 indigenous dialects.

Going places

Bosede hopes to provide opportunities to Nigerian youth. She says, "At the moment, Port Harcourt and the surrounding area are in a state of unrest due to the high level of youth unemployment. We aim to address this issue by providing young adults the training they need to get off the streets and into a profitable venture."

OT Consulting Service is also poised to set an example of female achievement for women across the country. The programme will be employing seven people on a full-time basis, five of whom will be women. Bosede says, "Unemployment is a social plague in Nigeria, as is discrimination against women. We're pushing for industry improvement, social change and gender equality.

In the coming year, Bosede hopes to register the project and set up the training school to get the first students in through the door and learning. She says, "Our language-based curriculum and our team's experience will set us apart from other programmes. We're aiming to become Nigeria's premier consulting service."

"I feel like this is an opportunity to make a real contribution, not just to women and to Africa, but to the world."

PROJECT: Kasselot (Pty) Ltd., South Africa
A new maternity bra with patented technology.

Lee-Anne Kassel: "Giving confidence and style to breastfeeding mothers"

It isn't easy to be stylish when you're the mother of a new baby. Lee-Anne Kassel discovered this first hand when her daughter, Cheyanne, was born and she decided to breastfeed. Unable to find a comfortable yet fashionable maternity bra that would prevent breast milk from leaking onto her clothes, she decided to create one instead.

Lee-Anne founded Kasselot (Pty) Ltd., a company devoted to maternity lingerie. Its signature product, the Evanesse breastfeeding bra, is an elegant, leak-proof bra that draws moisture away from the breast using patented evaporative technology.

Breastfeeding has been shown to offer significant long-term health benefits to mothers and children. Thanks to Lee-Anne's invention, women can continue to enjoy the advantages of breastfeeding with grace and style.

"The last thing working mothers want to worry about is leaking milk or unsightly breast pads", says Lee-Anne. "With the Evanesse bra, breastfeeding mothers can live their lives as usual while remaining attractive and feminine. That should make for happier mothers and healthier babies!"

High-tech bras

The most innovative feature of the Evanesse bra is its patented, breathable technology. The soft inner lining wicks moisture away to a special membrane, where it evaporates due to natural body heat. A similar high-tech fabric is used for sportswear and surgical gloves. "We've taken existing materials and applied them in an innovative way. I think this is the first time that female lingerie has benefited from such cutting-edge technology," explains Lee-Anne.

Supporting women worldwide

Having devoted the last seven years to product development and market research, Lee-Anne is now preparing to launch Evanesse breastfeeding bras on the international market this July. Retailing at about 52 USD, the bras will be available in shops across South Africa and the UK and on e-commerce sites like Birth and Baby in the US.

Lee-Anne explains, "Quality is the key to developing a market following and customer loyalty. There's no use inventing something if it's overpriced or poorly designed. She hopes to have established Kasselot as a recognised brand by 2009. Thereafter, she intends to branch out and create sportswear for mothers trying to shed "baby kilos".

Pursuing her dreams

Born on the front seat of a Volkswagen Beetle on the way to the Mary Mount hospital in Kensington, Johannesburg, it's not surprising that Lee-Anne is an entrepreneur with real "drive".

"If you have a winning idea, it's important to take the time to protect it, especially if you've spent years working to transform it into a viable business proposition." She adds, "I can't wait to meet the other finalists and learn more about their experiences."