Michelle Ntalami was born in Nairobi in 1984. She graduated with first-class honors from the University of Nairobi with a bachelor of arts in design and communication in 2010.
She worked with Scangroup as an accounts manager and in 2011, she started a company – Brandvine Group – to provide creative brand design and interior design solutions to companies and individuals. In 2014, Ntalami traveled to Italy to study interior design at the Florence Design Academy.
When she returned, she formed another company Marini Naturals, the first hair care line for women with natural hair in Kenya. Ntalami’s advice to all aspiring entrepreneurs in the country is to be confident and bold about their ideas and ‘just do it’
Michelle Ntalami started Kenya's first quality natural hair care line, Marini Naturals, in response to the lack of organic products on the market specifically catering for natural, Afro-textured hair.
Since opening shop in Kenya in 2013, Marini Naturals products can now be found on the shelves of beauty stores and supermarkets across East Africa, South Africa, and even France.
"I feel very accomplished to have -- in the time frame of just a year -- to be able to move Marini Naturals from Kenya beyond borders. African hair naturally needs moisture to be able to be maintained properly so butter tends to seal in the moisture very well," explained Ntalami.With the help of her family and an investment club, Ntalami was able to raise between $70,000 to get Marini Naturals off the ground.
"I got a lot of support from my family, my mom, my brother, who came through for me and we were able to collect all the finances we could to set up shop.Marini Naturals has already been featured on CNN as one of “Africa’s Most Promising StartUps” and by CNBC as the “World’s Top 10 Hottest Start-ups.” She has been listed in Top 40 under 40 women in Kenya 2016" Last week, on 23rd June she won The Entrepreneur Award at Soma Awards 2017. Her vision is to make Marini Naturals the leading hair care line for all women in Africa and beyond.
Comments
Post a Comment