Ghana's Grace Amey-Obeng, one of West
Africa's most successful businesswomen, made her fortune promoting products
which emphasised the beauty of the black skin, at a time when many of her
competitors were selling dangerous skin-bleaching formulas.
The business empire she started a quarter of a century ago with around $100
(£63) now has an annual turnover of between $8m and $10m.
"The women in the market had destroyed their skin with all
this kind of beauty products, bleaching products” - Grace Amey-Obeng
Grace Amey-Obeng
- Age: 55
- Studied Beauty Therapy at Croydon College, London, UK
- CEO FC Group of Companies
- Annual turnover: $8-10 million
- Start-up capital: $100
- Number of employees: 95
- Exports to: Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo, Ivory Coast, UK, Switzerland
- Branches in Ghana: Eight
- Trainees: 286 currently in hairdressing/beauty therapy
- Hobbies: Collecting African art
Her FC Group of Companies - which includes a beauty
clinic, a firm that supplies salon equipment and cosmetics, and a college - has
eight branches in Ghana and exports to Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo, Ivory Coast,
Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Mrs Amey-Obeng has won dozens of accolades and industry awards for her
skincare beauty products and marketing.
But one of the things that make her especially proud is her FC Beauty College
which, since its opening in 1999, has trained more than 5,000 young people,
mostly women.
"It's like a family bond. I'm so proud that they have managed to go through
the programme," she told the BBC's series African Dream.
Equally important to her is her role as a medical aesthetician and she cites
seeing a skin condition resolved as something that gives her "joy".
"I'm so happy that God has given me that talent and that touch to heal
people," she said.
'Irreparable damage'
Mrs Amey-Obeng studied beauty therapy in the United Kingdom and after
graduation, in the 1980s, returned to her native Ghana.
She knew that in her country women take great pride in
their appearance and was convinced that there was a niche market she could "tap
into".
Working out of her bag and going from house to house she advised people on
skincare.
Soon, however, she became aware that there was "a lot of skin-bleaching going
on", a trend she found "alarming" and something that
is common in much of
Africa.
"The women in the market had destroyed their skin with all this kind of
beauty products, bleaching products, and so I saw the need for assisting them to
reverse the process because otherwise it would become a social problem," she
said.
"The level of damage - in this climate - bleaching does is irreparable," she
added.
Not long after her return to Ghana, she opened her first beauty clinic with
financial support from her family.
"I couldn't access any funds from the bank. I didn't even think about it
because everybody said 'In this country nobody will give you money'".
Business loan offers came pouring in only after her business had been running
for three years.
Although access to bank loans in Ghana might be relatively easier these days,
she advises that budding entrepreneurs should take care not to borrow too
much.
Made in Ghana
Mrs Amey-Obeng explained that, once her clinic was running, she realised that
the imported products they were recommending often proved too expensive for
their clients.
Since its opening, the FC
Beauty College has trained more than 5,000 young people
This was often a result of currency exchange rate fluctuations.
"It was a challenge. They would come back with worse conditions, and so we
said: 'OK, why don't we start our own line that we can sell to our
people?'".
Her skincare line, which she started in 1998, would soon have a huge success
not only because of the products' prices - which currently range from $3 to $15
- but also, in her opinion, because they were made taking into account black
skins and the West African climate.
In view of her concerns about skin bleaching, the name of her brand, Forever
Clair (Clear), may seem controversial to some.
However, she argues that "clair" there refers to "light, hope and strength",
not skin colour.
"The joy of putting smiles on the faces of people that this
business offers, that's what makes me want to do it
forever”
"Light shows the way. It's not about complexion, it's
about the heart," the entrepreneur said.
And she seems indeed bent on helping others to gain hope and strength. She is
well-known in Ghana for her philanthropic work, especially through the Grace
Amey-Obeng International Foundation.
Women leaders, she says, should offer a helping hand to less fortunate women,
encourage them and share expertise.
"The joy of putting smiles on the faces of people that this business offers,
that's what makes me want to do it forever."
African Dream is broadcast on the
BBC Focus on Africa radio programme every Thursday afternoon, and on BBC World
News throughout the day on Fridays
