Meremeta Africa Beauty emerged when I realized that beauty and fashion entrepreneurs in Nairobi need a way to successfully launch and relaunch their brands online because they often lack the expertise to do so.
If this is you and you don’t get the right people to help you early on, you’ll waste time, money, and effort. If you’re already feeling overwhelmed you’re probably going to feel less and less in control of the direction of your business.
Let’s not forget the disappointments! Most times there’s no one to guide, support and empathize with beauty and fashion entrepreneurs when they need it the most – you’re not alone if you’ve been ghosted and probably even scammed. I can relate!
With the pandemic came rules and regulations left, right, and centre. Washing or sanitizing hands had become the norm. Something clicked in me when people started complaining about their hands drying out which is why I launched a hand cream range in March 2021 to support women battling dry hands due to pandemic regulations.
Working with too many independent parties was the first challenge I experienced. I couldn’t imagine what I’d probably go through when ready to expand the range of products because I had different suppliers for different things – a nightmare. It didn’t make it any easier that communication despite how bad things were was not a concept for most. I even had someone ghost me after paying them $70 for a starter website so I learnt the hard way NOT to do anything without a contract. I’m aware that some people have the audacity to ghost, even with a contract but that’s a story for another day. Early days as an entrepreneur can really be the worst – you can only hope for the best.
Lacking insights on best practices was another challenge I encountered. I needed guidance and support. I remember receiving samples for my packaging labels that were so off and getting really frustrated because I took my time to explain exactly what I was going for. It’s funny thinking about it now because I see that I didn’t have an understanding of the process I would have to go through before finding something that works though I was also lucky to find someone in my network who expressed interest to learn and bring my vision to life. That’s when I realized that when you think you have one step to go you probably have 10 mini-steps you’re working with. You can never really know what you’re up against you until you get to work.
I eventually social media launched but when sales slowed down I didn’t know what to do so I got stuck. I know for a fact that I was depending on the success of the Album Cover Challenge to see me through a successful product launch so the shock was on me. This is how I developed an interest in branding. I, in fact, spent many weeks searching for guidance and support tailored to my industry and eventually started learning the ropes. I stopped production as I developed a greater interest in figuring things out which is why my drive and passion are now invested in ensuring that beauty and fashion entrepreneurs have a quality consulting service they can turn to for everything brand preparedness, marketing, sales, and strategy.
Being a previous brand owner myself, I understand what other beauty and possibly fashion entrepreneurs must be going through everyday to feel confident about putting their brands out there, and creating a brand that looks great. Despite it being a great idea to keep reiterating, the more I tried to stick with the hand cream business, the more disinterested I became. All in all I’m glad that I took the step to start the hand cream business because it prompted me to think about what I wanted to be doing in my business on a daily. It was also the idea that led to THE IDEA for me – a win – so I really have no complaints!
I’m looking to create a global one-stop shop for access to insights on best practices among beauty and fashion entrepreneurs with a special attachment to the African continent to really enhance the confidence in our skin, country, continent and heritage as Africans. More African beauty and fashion brands ought to be globally recognized so the confidence in home-grown African brands can increase. Africans also deserve access to the best inclusive beauty and fashion brands in the world.
I shared the idea with a key mentor at the time who acted as a sounding board and the journey began. Through research I discovered that the main struggle for local beauty and fashion entrepreneurs wasn’t so much lacking the expertise, but doing everything themselves. Understanding this burden, I started figuring out how to handle different parts of our clients’ businesses to allow them to focus on the aspects of their businesses they enjoy the most. I’m looking to make increased usage of the best beauty and fashion products and services in Africa the main differentiator for all Meremeta Africa Beauty services.
I also joined an accelerator in November 2021 to launch the consulting service with the support of established African entrepreneurs in the consulting and branding space, and thereafter facilitated my first pitch at a show & sell event upon completion of the program.
Our mantra ‘Meremeta nasi. Glow with us’ embodies the fact that we’re passionate about the best beauty and fashion brands gaining global recognition as we put Africa on the map with the work we’re doing. Speaking of the work we’re doing I immediately got my first paying customer even before launching the consultancy. We now plan to work with the top 100 beauty and fashion brands in East Africa by 2024.
Today through Meremeta Africa Beauty’s consulting service I am proud to say that beauty and fashion entrepreneurs have a consulting company they can turn to because we understand their struggles like no other! We begin with a due diligence process to (i) identify the root cause of challenges the brands are facing and (ii) map out the journey it will take to create the kind of brand presence and strategies that will help them win.
Meremeta Africa Beauty is the first pan-African consulting brand of its kind that aims to support, encourage and showcase the true beauty of Africa and it’s people. We do this by acknowledging the different branding, marketing, and launch needs entrepreneurs and business leaders have and creating brand-specific solutions for them. By jumping on a few calls with us, one can successfully launch or relaunch their beauty or fashion brand within just 3 to 6 months.
When I say that Meremeta Africa Beauty is for any beauty or fashion entrepreneur that has a special attachment to the African continent this means you could be black, white or brown in color — it really doesn’t matter!
I do have a soft spot for skincare entrepreneurs so I’ll be keen on eliminating many problems they face through partnerships. The same goes for all our clients really. Entrepreneurship is not easy ooo – as my west African brothers would put it.
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