Entrepreneur Creates Online Community That Celebrates African Women

While beauty and tech entrepreneur Louisa Kinoshi was visiting Nigeria, she lost her favorite foundation and was shocked to learn that there was no place in Lagos – one of the largest cities in the world – to replace it at an affordable price. “Many of my friends and associates had similar experiences and the idea for BeautyRevNG was born,” said Kinoshi. BeautyRevNG is an e-commerce site and online community for African makeup artists, beauty bloggers, and makeup enthusiasts.

“I was tired of seeing our version of beauty omitted from mainstream and social media. I wanted to build a company that highlights our beauty story. I want girls all over the world, from Berlin to Shanghai, to look at our African makeup style with our bright gels, beads, and bold lips and think ‘Wow, that’s dope!'” said Kinoshi.

Beyond e-commerce, BeautyRevNG provides visitors access to tutorials and advice from Africa’s top beauty influencers while spotlighting young African female entrepreneurs in beauty.Â Prior to founding BeautyRevNG, Kinoshi worked in corporate and consumer public relations and marketing for more than seven years for various clients, including Clean Line Energy, Starbucks, PepsiCo, Pfizer, and others. Using her corporate experience and passion for writing, she created BeautyRevNG.

BlackEnterprise.com caught up with the young trailblazer to learn more about her journey and the lessons she learned along the way.

BlackEnterprise.com:Â What is your greatest achievement personally and professionally?
Kinoshi:Â The greatest achievement for me is being able to inspire the other young women in my family. After watching me launch BeautyRevNG, my sister, a senior at Carnegie Mellon, has expressed interest in starting her own business. My cousin, who is an IT developer, wants to launch her own tech firm. There is nothing more fulfilling than inspiring others to go for their dreams.

What do you wish you had known during your startup phase that you know now?
I wish I knew how much logistics plays a part in the success of a business in Africa. Managing the logistics of getting the products from the website to the hands of the customer is especially challenging – due to bad roads, extreme traffic conditions, and more. However, thanks to our relationships with our delivery partners, we are able to overcome that challenge, and most of our deliveries now take place within 24 hours.

List the top three resources you use to manage your business.
The top three resources my business could not live without are: Instagram, Shopify,Â and my mentor.

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