She Leads Africa has announced the six finalists in its 2015 Entrepreneurs showcase. This is the second edition of this competition.
The chosen finalists are as follows:
- Beauty Rev NG – Beauty Rev NG provides cool, edgy beauty brands at the click of a button. Founded by Louisa Kinoshi, BeautyRevNG seeks to revolutionize beauty in Africa! Louisa’s goal is to create a company that promotes the modern African woman and empowers her to look inwards for inspiration and to celebrate African influences in beauty.
- Heat Free Hair – Heat Free Hair is the first manufacturer of virgin hair exclusively created to blend with African textured, kinky, and curly hair. Founder, Ngozi Opara is a former financial analyst who currently works as a Beauty Entrepreneur and Hair Manufacturing Technician.
- Heels In The Kitchen – Heels In The Kitchen is a hosted cooking show with a fashion and style edge that teaches viewers how to create meals while providing interactive content and stunning visuals. Founder and CEO, Imoteda Aladekomo, is a Cordon Bleu trained chef who has long shared her passion for cooking with family and friends. She conceptualized and created the show while exercising her vast creative abilities in the make up and entertainment industries.
- InstaHealth – InstaHealth is a company that connects patients to doctors and healthcare information via their mobile phones. Founded by Ugandan Brenda Katwesigye, Instahealth’s vision is to take advantage of the existing GSM infrastructure and the continuously growing mobile phone subscription rates to provide an easy-to-use service that brings health information directly to the phone of every Ugandan.
- KAMOKINI – KAMOKINI is an African swimwear & accessories brand that caters to the average body-conscious yet stylish individual. Owned by Kambili Ngozi Ofili-Okonkwo, KAMOKINI caters to the average individual’s body image and fashion consciousness. The company currently designs women’s swimsuits, kaftans, sarongs, beach dresses and accessories.
- OmoAlata – Founded by Kasope Ladipo-Ajai, OmoAlata produces Nigeria’s first NAFDAC approved 100% organic packaged blended peppermix.
These six finalists emerged out of 400 applications from 30 countries in this 2015 competition. The six finalists currently have a combined revenue of US$3-million and service more than 11 000 customers.
Here is a video showcase of the finalists:
The winner will go home with the $10,000 top prize, direct access to investors, and international media exposure, while the second and third place winners will receive US$5 000 and US$1 000 respectively.
She Leads Africa will also invest between US$25 000 and US$50 000 in two of the top five businesses. This investment is meant to allow for further expansion for the selected companies.
Imoteda Aladekomo of Heels in the Kitchen has already won the People’s Choice Award. She Leads Africa gave the public the opportunity to select the winner of this award by casting their votes.
She Leads Africa’s Entrepreneur Showcase is a platform that introduces the continent’s most promising female entrepreneurs to investors, accelerators, and mentors looking to invest in the next generation of African talent.
Cherae Robinson, Founder and CEO of Tastemakers Africa beat 11 other finalists to win the 2014 edition of this competition.
The pitch for the finals will take place in Lagos on September 25 and 26. To obtain tickets for the event, check on the website.
